Story by James Chartres
Photos by Laura Shih, Lisa Giovaneti, Meghan Frolli, Sierra LaVonne Lacey, Steve Bohac and James Chartres
Returning to the Historic WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and the famous Corkscrew. Photo by Sierra LaVonne Lacey.
After a year away from the track, we return to the challenging and Historic WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for Races 5 & 6 of the SCCA San Francisco Region Championship.
Friday - Test Day
I was excited and a little nervous to return back to racing having only done one event last year. Thanks to Ric of CSR Performance for helping to get the car prepared and ready to run. The car had mostly sat for the last three years, so the big aim of the test day was to make sure everything was working well at speed. Leading up to the weekend we had installed a new battery, replaced any suspect suspension parts, addressed maintenance items, checked it over for leaks, and also performed a full set up and alignment.
Heading into Turn 4 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Photo by Sierra LaVonne Lacey.
The first session was all about getting myself and the car back up to speed. A few warm up laps to check how the car felt and then a quick trip into the pits to check tire pressures and look for any leaks. Everything felt and looked great so I started pushing the car harder with the lap times dropping each time past the start-finish line. At the end of the session I was already in the 1:42 lap times a few seconds off my previous best lap time.
Sequoia enjoying the race track with her purple ear muffs.
Heading off track and back to the paddock to check in with the family and give the car a detailed inspection before the next session. Some fun with Sequoia and race car inspections and we were good to go for the next test session.
Racecars are fun but sometimes you just have to stop and blow bubbles in the paddock.
For the next session, I focused on myself and getting back up to speed. It felt great to be back in the car and driving at speed while the lap times continued to improve. I was getting much better at mid-corner speeds and corner exit but was having a hard time getting the hang of threshold braking and corner entry. I just didn't have the same level of feel and confidence on brakes I used to have. The result was loosing time in the hard braking zones of Turn 11 and the Turn 2 hair pin.
Oil and Filter Change between sessions, fresh 30WT Race Red Line Oil going in.
The lunch break before the next session gave us some time to check the car over in more detail and do an oil change with a brand new filter and fresh 30WT Race Red Line Oil going in.
Testing was a lot of fun with a focus of getting the car and driver back up to speed. Photo by Steve Bohac of @CaliAutoLife.
For the final test session of the day, I focused on braking, corner entry and also trying to put together a few tidy laps. At the end of the day my best time was a low 1:41 only a second off my best previous time. With the car running well and myself feeling comfortable at speed, I was very happy with the lap times and my overall improvement throughout the test day.
A thorough check over the car at the end of the day with our detailed check list and everything looked ready for the morning qualifying. We put the cover on the car and headed out to dinner with friends and family that had come down for the weekend to see us, and of course the racing. Mostly, I think Sequoia stole the show.
Saturday - Qualifying
The morning was nice and cool but not foggy so the track was relatively dry, normally the early morning Monterey fog makes the track damp and the first session can be tricky to find the grip.
Coming out of Turn 11 down the front straight. Photo by Sierra LaVonne Lacey.
There was a fair amount of traffic, so I spent the first few laps trying to build a gap so I could put in some clean uninterrupted laps. Then it was a matter of pushing a little more in every corner to find those extra tenths of a second and then trying to put it all together in a single lap.
At the end of the session I had surprised myself qualifying 8th out of 25 with a solid lap of 1:40.685. FastLap video here!
Coming off the track it was time to hang out with friends and family before the afternoon race.
Saturday Race
Lots of friends had showed up to say hello and the see the race. I waved goodbye as I headed the pre-grid and got lined up with all the other cars.
Sequoia cheering me on with her checkered flag.
Saturday Race Video here! It was a late Green Flag and I got a great start moving up to 5th gaining three spots by Turn 6 with some heads up driving and side by side racing through the opening corners, great drivers to compete against.
Going through the Corkscrew with the #64 Haydn Fischer and #13 Tao Takaoka close behind. Photo by Steve Bohac of @CaliAutoLife.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t keep up the pace and slowly a few faster drivers caught me falling back to 6th and then 7th in the closing laps. I finished the race in 7th which was a great result for the first time racing wheel to wheel in a long time.
Friends and family watching from Turn 5.
Sequoia liked pointing out all the different colors of the race cars.
Rhys and Kendall enjoyed sitting in the car.
After the race we hung out with friends and family that came to visit and showed them the race car, of course a lot of people wanted to sit in it and see what it felt like. If you are ever at a race, stop by the paddock and we would be happy to show you the car and let you sit in it.
Sequoia enjoying a donut in the paddock.
It was great to see so many people and share the racing with them all. Thanks to my wife, we also had donuts to share with everyone as it was my birthday weekend. An embarrassing and terrible rendition of the Birthday song and people were tucking into donuts.
Fresh brake pads installed for Sunday Qualifying and the Race.
After the festivities friends headed out while we got to work checking over the car and going through our normal maintenance checklist. Everything looked good except the brake pads were getting pretty thin so we decided to take the time and put new front brake pads on the car to avoid any potential brake issues on Sunday. Then it was time to head off to the hotel and dinner with the family.
Sunday - Qualifying
After a great race and fast opening qualifying on Saturday, I was looking forward to the Sunday morning qualifying and hoping to improve on my best lap time. Unfortunately coming out of Turn 4 on my first flying lap the car lost drive. I was horrified and thought I had a broken clutch or even worse destroyed the gearbox. I had enough momentum to roll and pull off at Turn 5 behind the corner station. One of the E-Crew said there was something moving around on the back of the car. A quick look and the inside tripod of the long half shaft was loose and able to bounce around.
SCCA San Francisco Region Workers Rhonda Corbitt and Gregg Schla giving us a lift back to the Paddock to repair the broken half shaft. Photo by Lynne Huntting.
A quick tow by the emergency crew, thank you SCCA workers, we headed back to the paddock and were able to get the car jacked up and half shaft removed. Unsure if it was just the half shaft or also an issue with the transmission we worked to quickly replace the tripod. Turns out we had sheared the splined axle end off. Thanks to M&L Racing we were able to source a used half shaft axle. After inspecting the old tripod and CV we decided to get brand new axle ends from CSR Performance and pack them full of fresh Red Line Oil CV-2 grease.
Jacking the car up to remove the broken half shaft.
A quick drive around the paddock confirmed the gearbox and clutch were in working order. Unfortunately without setting a lap time in qualifying, I would be starting in last place from the back of the grid for the Sunday race.
Sunday - Race
Heading out for the race on Sunday, Sequoia wished me well waving her checkered flag as I suited up and got strapped into the car.
Go daddy, go!
Sunday Race Video here! Starting dead last in 25th it was tough to see so many cars ahead on the formation lap behind the safety car, but at the least the race was going to be a fun challenge.
Having not raced in awhile I didn't know the driving style of some of the new racers. I tried to give plenty of room and stay out of the starting chaos. Heading into the Turn 2 hair pin I made up a few positions. A spin by the leader in Turn 3 sent cars left and right avoiding the temporary road block. A few more passes heading to Turn 5 before the safety car came out with double yellow flags at Turn 10 and 11. I was already up to 13th behind the safety as they worked for several laps to clear two stricken cars from the short straight between Turns 3&4.
Catching and trying to pass the pack of cars. Photo by Sierra LaVonne Lacey.
On the restart I got a decent run but had to get the timing right to get past the car ahead as I kept catching them mid corner and had to back out killing my momentum down the straights. Once past it was a matter of chasing down the next car and then timing the passes right before I came up on a pack of four cars racing close together. It was a lot of work but I slowly picked them off one by one passing in the corkscrew, Turn 10 and in Turn 11. A good run out of Turn 11 and we were three wide heading into the Turn 2 hair pin. Got the inside line and I was able to get past the group of cars and slowly pulled out a gap as I tried to catch the cars ahead but didn’t have the speed. At the checkered flag I was 7th. I went from 25th to 7th!!!!! It was a lot of fun, thanks to all racers for the great clean racing.
Thank You!
After the race we caught up with some more friends who had made the trip out to see the racing on Sunday. Big thank you to all the friends and family that came out over the weekend to see the racing. Always great to spend time with friends and fans at the track.
Friends and family showed up with their kids for the race and they had a great time.
Thank you to all our Sponsors and Partners. Huge thanks to Ric of CSR Performance for helping get the car ready and for all the trackside support throughout the weekend.
Two thumbs up to the SCCA Workers and Volunteers who put on another great event. Thanks for keeping us safe out there.
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After a long time away from the track we return to the Historic WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca with SCCA San Francisco Region. A fantastic weekend with great friends and lots of close racing.