This year was my first to attend the Rotary Revolution, and I enjoyed it. Here's my anti-whining thread.

The bad: F'n' Cold

The good: Everything Else (see below)

On Saturday I brought my future brother-in-law with me who knew absolutely nothing about rotary engines. I ran into some familiar faces from MRR, and we checked out the various cars. We eyed the 3 rotor FD and got some pictures of it.

After a little more browsing, we decided to try out the autocross course. We drove over into the staging lanes and then did the walk of the two courses. After that we went back to my car, firmed up my suspension, tweaked the tire pressure, put on our helmets, and waited in line for our first try.

We autocrossed for over an hour, and then grabbed some lunch while listening to the history of the rotary engine seminar (quite good). The autocross was easy to get into and out of. We had a blast especially in the slalom. After lunch we checked out some vendors including the Globe Lift and LeatherSeats.com tents. Then we autocrossed until 4:30 or so.

Somewhere in there we watched the unveiling of the 4 rotor LeMans car and were lucky enough to be standing right by it when it was brought to life. I've never heard a 4 rotor before, and I'll never forget it!

We couldn't stay much longer for the day, so we headed out after checking out some of the Rotary Review cars. There were some sharp cars in the group including a very tweaked GSL-SE, two 10th aniversary TIIs, a mint FC vert, and some clean FDs and RX-8s.

Sunday I arrived early for the road course session. Step one was to get in line and start taking things out of the car for the tech inspection. Out with the floormats, toolbox, torque wrench, spare tire, etc. After that we had a little class room time to get acquainted with the rules for the day. Then I was treated to a drive as a passenger in my own car by instructor Paulie D'Angelo. I tried like mad to memorize the course and take in all of the advice. I could tell he really did not push my car too much, but it was really cool to see someone drive it so smoothly.

Then after some more advice on where to keep the speed down, where to pass, etc, I was into the driver's seat. I was seriously nervous, because it was my first real experience on a road course other than some trivial touring laps at Road America. Here are a few lessons learned:

Keep both hands on the wheel unless you are shifting.
The timing of the braking, throttle, steering, and shifting is seriously tricky to master.
Focus on driving the right line and being smooth. Speed will increase as your skill does.
Following a good line requires that you keep your vision up off the hood of the car.
In a series of corners, a poor execution of the first turn can really put the car into a bad position for later turns.
Letting the car drift out the edge of the track after the apex is a bit frightenning.
I tense up and steer too quickly when I get nervous.
Brake pads smell bad when you go from 90 to 40 quickly. ;-)

Here's a big thank you to Paulie and Chris who gave me pointers during the road course session. My goal was to start to learn the basics of how to drive a road course without flying off into the grass, and I think I met that goal with success.

I also watched the RX-2 and 4 rotor zip around the track for a bit while I was eating lunch. I did another drive on the track after lunch, and then I had to head home.

I hope I can scrape together enough money to come next year too!

 

See the attachements.

 

I'm glad you enjoyed it. I had a great time myself.

 

the thing that killed me was the wind!!

but i also agree...it was still fun to see all of the rotaries and rotary lovers out there. cant wait til next year

 

Pauly is the man!

 

I'm posting with you positive guys instead of arguing with the pessimists.

I drove through the storm cell Fri., suffered the cold, and drove home to PA through snow on Sun. I would do it again in a heartbeat. It was my first meet that I got to drive my car to and my first ever autoX. Everyone was really nice about giving me tips and I made some huge improvements just in that day. The one instructor was more than happy to show me how to drive my car to the edge Maybe he was just being generous but I remember something to the effect of it being better than his Miata. Plus one 1st gen next year? Maybe...
Yeah, the weather sucked, but I thought about it and if I wasn't there and it was sunny and warm I KNOW I would have been kicking myself for not going. You could tell R.R. would've been mind blowing had it been nice out. I would've liked to see the rotory vehicles kick *** on the drag strip, but I understand drag racing is dangerous enough in good weather so I'm not complaining about the lack of it. Accidents are more of a downer than having to wait for another opportunity. I was more interested in something I could participate in anyway, and the autoX was running smoothly the whole time. I don't know how many times I ran, but I think the term would be 'an ungodly number.' I DID plan on seeing more seminars but I was having too much fun racing. At least I made good friends with the starter. And really, how often do you get to see that many 7's in one place able to do what they were made for? I for one totally appreciate the effort the organizers made. I'd say it was a success even without being able to do everything they had planned. Those that say otherwise, well, we differ on some basic car philosophy. I'd rather not start a fight...er, debate though We all love these cars is the point.

I was floored to find out what my '84 could do. She drove 1000+ miles AND raced pretty hard in one weekend with no complaints. I barely did any prep to get her to preform. I'm totally in love with her all over again. My dad came along too (his first 7 meeting and autoX as well) and we were both excited about the ability of these 'old' cars to run just as well if not better as those coming off the assembly line. Just the inspiration needed to tackle my project race car. You'll be seeing both my girls in Indy for R.R. 2006!
Plus I beat my dad at the autoX, so I have bragging rights for the year and you can't put a price on that.


The only suggestion I would make would be to set up text message announcements to people's cell phones (I dunno if that's feasible or not.) Then if things change due to weather or something, everyone would know exactly what's happening.

 

Pauly is a great driver and instructor. Lucky you didn't get some slouch like me

 

I'm glad someone took a picture of my car. I was feeling like the red headed step child after Chris got pics with his car and the ladies.

I'm glad I could have contributed. Maybe next time I will put a passenger seat in the car and show someone the "other side" of track driving.

Too bad I ran out of tire. At least I didn't run out of gas.

I could not resist. Don't worry Chris, you'll get your revenge when you are waxing my *** on track in two weeks.

 

You're welcome. I was surprised when I spotted your car, because I recognized it from your website! Sorry I spelled your name wrong. Thanks again for the driving experience. It was a blast.

 

the main reason i enjoyed the event is because it made me realize how much i missed my FD. so now i'm searching again!

now i can't wait for next year so i'll have something to show off.

the first year, my car was lightly modded, but i still managed to win the drag comps

last year, my diff overheated on the way up there and it sat all weekend at a cummins plant. this sucked because i just had fresh paint, a totally new turbo setup, and a ton of other stuff i wanted to show off. the rain made me feel a little better about it though

this year i got to show off my lovely fiance in the spokesmodel contest.

next year it'll only get a ton better

 

Thanks hun!! And, I'm sorry about the car (again)....I know you don't want to hear it but it's the truth. I can't wait for you to get another one, and I can't wait to get my FC! Then we'll have a little rotary convention in our apartment parking lot and invite all the local rotorheads over!

The revolution has been better and better each year, as I have stated in other threads. I simply love it, and am proud to have become a part of it as a spokesmodel this year. I will try my best to represent the event as it should be, as I am sure the other girls will too.

I love this event, and even through the cold it was still a good time. You just have to know how to make the best of a situation instead of making everything into an obstacle. You gotta know how to have fun and appreciate the event and all the people who make it a reality. This includes Aron, Mike, all the vendors and sponsors...and even us spokesmodels.

I'm glad you guys had fun at the Revo, and hope to see you all next year!

 

spoolin- Congrats you not only have a positive attitude but a beautiful lady to support you!- if you are looking for a 3G RX7- we have three very nice examples for sale- these are customer vehicles, and we aren't making a dime on them -just helping them sell them as they pursue new projects- they range in price and condition from $8k - to $15K- you may contact us at www.rotorsportsracing.com or at 704-933-6222

 

I thought my slouchy instructor was pretty damn good.

Seriously, thanks Ryan.

 

You know I'm just now starting to live down running out of fuel at Mid-Ohio three years ago and now this!

I had a much better time instructing than I thought I would. It was my first time. I'm generally not very patient and don't think of myself as a good teacher at all. And I HATE being a passenger. It was the free track time that got me interested. But I really enjoyed myself alot! Guess having a few pretty good drivers to ride around with all day makes it worth while. Just hope I was able to contribute something to you guys enjoyment of the weekend.

I cannot wait for next year!

 

congrats to you both.

 

thanks! i just checked out the website, but didn't see any details. if you could, pm me some info to spoolin7@insightbb.com

i'd be interested to see what ya got

tom - thanks again man. it was fun hanging out with you. maybe we'll get to do the same next year

 

hey I am fixing up the FC SO if it is still mine maybe you can use it and we can both do the road course or Kayla can use it either way.

Hey does your regions in SCCA have any saturday autocrosses?

 

I am interested in a the lowere price range can you email pics also. aceworksmotorsports@yahoo.com

thanks

I have a 1st and 2nd WHY not complete the set.

 

Hahaha...i thought the exact same thing driving home from the revolution

 

I dont know if you guys saw a black Honda Civic out at the Lee's inn hotel circling around alot, but that was me. You guys probably thought i was stalking you, but actually I just wanted to see your guys cars. I remember a year or 2 ago i saw one here in town and i about **** my pants becuase i had never seen one in real life. So i found out they were staying out at the Lee's inn hotel. It was much warmer last time and everyone was out showing off their rides. I met some new people that were really cool. I was disappointed this year because it was so cold. I wanted to get out and walk around the cars, but it was rainy and cold. Well i just wanted to say it is so cool to have you guys in town and i always look forward to seeing them next year so, come back again. Andy

 

I enjoyed meeting all the new people I had a great time too & am glad to hear that the weather didn't dampen most people's spirits It was great to see all the RX-8 owners out there & hear their fondness of all things rotary Got to speak with quite a few knowledgeable people & learned a lot. The "Rotary History" seminar from Jerry Harding was interesting too.

On Sun. we arrived uber early for tech inspection to some light snow. The track was damp when some the instructors made their initial run. One of them unfortunately put his white M3 Beemer into the wall in turn 15. Luckily he wasn't hurt, but his car had to be flatbedded away. Needless to say, I was timid when it was time to make my first run with my instructor; IndyKid. Mad props to him for sticking with us for most of the day despite being sick The road coarse was a hoot & a half! I had the most problems with turns 2 & 3, but finally got them down during my 4th run after much instruction. The track was mostly dry by our 2nd run & we all got >100mph on the long straight. I got to ride in IndyKid's Supra for additional tutoring. That was a blast, it pulled hard despite having the boost turned all the way down...sic! At lunch we were treated to watching the 4-rotor & GT3 race cars run the road coarse. Of course it took them a while to warm up the tires, but they were eventually able to make some fast runs. It was sweet hearing the 4-rotor makin' passes from the top of the grand stands Gave me goosebumps, or was it the cold wind I even like the name "Kudzu" the creeping vine that overtakes everything...lol I was getting into the groove during the last afternoon session (instructorless) & had a smile on my face the whole time. Had to pull off a couple of laps early due to lack-o-gas.
Didn't want it to end

Thanks to the sponsers, spokesmodels, & volunteers who made it all happen & thanks again to Mike & Aron for all the hard work they put into the Rotary Revolution!!!

Can't wait til REVO 2006

 

kayla actually just purchased a pretty nice '90 GXL off of ebay, so she'll be reamin on it next year. and hopefully i'll have another FD shortly.

nah, my region only has sunday auto-x's as far as i know

 

that is cool!!!! Tell her congrats for me.

 

Complete your set with this '93 PFS IMSA RX-7 -->

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...RK%3AMEWA%3AIT

 

wish I could! I need to be under 10,000