The first race of the 2013 season was at VIR March 22-24. I decided to not only run my FFR#48 but also rent a BMW SpecE30 racecar from drive-gear.com just to see how that series is to run with. FFR drove great, see Carl’s race report below.
SpecE30 Report:
Friday test & tune had 4 sessions so I decided the first 3 sessions I would do in the BMW, then the 4th in the FFR. Things went well, I was getting used to the BMW but did not have any comparison on how I would rate with the other BMWs. Saturday practice (best time of 2:20.873) and qualifying (best time of 2:21.145) went without issues, with me placing 10th out of 22 SpecE30’s, not bad for the first time in the car. The race start was very close with the whole group bunched up for quite some time until I started loosing pace to the front runners. The rental had power brakes with ABS enabled, me used to the FFR brakes no power, no abs had a hard time finding the limit under braking while the other E30 racers around me were used to this and took good advantage of it. After some mayhem in front of me with cars going off and what not I found myself in 5th with a couple of laps to go but had a bunch of E30’s on my tail ready to pounce under braking. On the second to last lap right before oak tree I got passed by the yellow BMW that was on my tail and them got hit in the rear part of the car. I quickly got back on track not loosing much time, passed him back and finished the race 7th. Good close racing up front, but unfortunately got hit in the rental car. My best time during the race was a 2:20.489, well off the pace of the fast guys who were in the 2:18’s.
Carl Thompson’s Race Report:
John George “Blisters” VIR at March Madness – setting new track record
What happened to Spring? Six Challenge Series racers towed to VIR on Thursday afternoon/evening/night to a cold wind and below freezing temperatures. And, Test & Tune Friday dawned crystal clear and 22 degrees. Spring?, you must be kidding. Only Brian Sanders and Gregory Wellinghoff (Jr.) braved the cold first run and “bitched” about frozen fingers, etc. The remainder of the sensible folks, Wayne Patterson, Tom Lavell, and Carl Thompson waited for warmer temperatures and John George was focused on getting to know his rented ride in a Spec E 30 – luxury enclosed car with heated seats – not!
The good news on Friday was the HP – cold weather really does help. So, everyone, except John, did tons of laps in the FFR cars. Wayne had some continuing work to do on his new bodied car, brake lights, etc. So Mark and Brendon Dougherty were busy finishing up items that didn’t get done in the “all nighter” before coming to the track. Greg, Gregory’s mechanic was with them and his parents, Ken and Sandy came down to VIR from Richmond to get in on the fun. We all met at an Outback for some great food and getting to know Greg’s folks – Great People!
Saturday morning was bright and sunny – and above freezing – what a treat. Everyone made it out for warm-up and John immediately “let her rip” turning a best time of 2:07.512, Gregory at 2:14.523, Carl at 2:16.796, Wayne at 2:22.766, Brian just a few tenths behind with a 2:22.909, and Tom in the 3:23’s. When qualifying came along John was consistent with a 2:07.521, Gregory in the 2:14’s, Carl in the 2:15’s, Wayne in the 2:16’s, Brian in the 2:19’s and Tom in the 2:20’s.
So, the grid was set and the Factory Five Challenge Series cars were gridded together by time, so we had our own start as part of the Thunder group. John disappeared, to go fight with the faster classes, drafting Mustangs and Corvettes – at one point hitting 150 MPH on the back straight. The rest of us battled back and forth after Gregory and Wayne pulled ahead of Carl, Brian and Tom at the start. Wayne got stuck between – 3 wide at the end of the straight – and took to the grass. Carl went flying by in pursuit of Gregory, but the 25 minute race was checkered in less than 20 minutes. Not enough time to catch him. So, John ran away finishing 10 overall in a group of 56 starters, posting a best time and new record of 2:06.798. Gregory finished 2nd with a best time of 2:14.831, Carl 3rd at 2:15.044, Tom 4th at 2:16.622, Brian 5th at 2:19.315, and Wayne 6th with a 2:15.790.
Everyone finished with the cars intact contemplating what to do about the Sunday races when the forecast was for highs of 39 degrees and rain. After some serious thought about impending snow storms about the cover Ohio and the East Coast, we all decided to load up and get ready to leave. We first had to go to the awards ceremony and see John get his trophy from the NASA girls. It was FUN.
Brian and Gregory decided to head out Saturday night to see if they could beat the snow to Ohio. The rest of the gang decided on a good nights rest and then all headed out Sunday morning. We didn’t miss the cold rainy racing on Sunday!
Pictures: http://www.johngeorgeracing.com/gallery/index.php?/category/290
Incar Video from John’s FFR#48 race: http://vimeo.com/62524525
Incar Video from #88 SpecE30: http://vimeo.com/62646654
Incar video from #73 SpecE30 (guy who hit me): https://vimeo.com/62526454