Race Report 2003 - Round 3


Date: May 18, 2003
Venue: Miller Field - Dalhart, TX
Results: 1st in Class (6 total), 2nd Overall (29 total)

This event turned out to be a LONG day for me.  I arrived several hours earlier than usual, so I could help setup the course and help get our new timing and scoring software up and running on the club's new laptop computer, and I was also the absolute last person to leave the event site.  But, the day was pretty good... great weather, great course design, a class trophy, and lots of smack talk amongst friends.

With the purchase of new (used) racing wheels and tires, I was anxiously anticipating this event.  I was hoping that the new racing rubber would make the M3 a lot more competitive, but I was also kinda worried that I might not do as well as I (and probably everyone else) was expecting because I might choke under the pressure of being expected to do well... especially after all the smack talk I dished out.   However... I did pretty good.  I ran in the first heat, and really flogged the M3 in an attempt to produce a fast enough time that it wouldn't get beat by anyone running in the second heat.  I was able to run a pretty quick time on my final run, which had me in first place in my class as well as first place overall for the first heat.  My time was holding up pretty well during the second heat until Steve Sucsy ('00 Honda S2000 in B-Stock) ran a quick enough PAX time to beat me by only 0.220 seconds!  However, Steve wasn't able to beat my best raw time, and I'm still pretty happy with 2nd place overall, especially considering the Street Modified's steep PAX that I'm now having to use.  Hisham Besheer ('00 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT in STS) was only 0.181 seconds (PAX) away from me in 3rd place, so I need to keep an eye on him throughout the rest of the season!

When I first acquired the M3, my goal was to make it as competitive at the local level as the Mustang was, but, unlike the Mustang, still be able to keep it a fairly comfortable daily driver.  Being able to run as fast as Steve at this event with racing tires and only a few minor upgrades lets me know that this has already been accomplished, and that being a serious contender in the WTR-SCCA championship in 2004 is very possible with a few more upgrades to maximize performance.  Being a serious contender at the National level?  Well that's a totally different $tory.   The next upgrades to the M3 will be a Schroth 4-point harness (BMW clip-in) to keep me firmly planted in the seat, and a set of Eibach adjustable anti-sway bars to further reduce body roll without diminishing the ride quality.

Our region's next two events will be at Kimbrough Stadium in Canyon, TX, which is a really crappy venue in my opinion (a really small, loose gravel parking lot), so I won't be attending either of those two events.  The next Dalhart event isn't until August 17th, so I'm going to trek down to a Texas Region SCCA Solo2 event at Texas Motor Speedway on June 22nd to get some seat time in before the next Dalhart event.


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