Race Report 2007 - Round 1
Date: April 22, 2007
Venue: Miller Field - Dalhart, TX
Results: 1st in Class (4 total), 2nd Overall (23 total)
I decided to run in STU class this season on Falken Azenis tires due to the really low PAX for this class and there were only a few minor things that I would have to change to make my car legal for this class. I was also liking the idea of driving to and from the event on the tires that I would be racing on, as that means a lot less physical work for me on the event day. I know that the Falkens aren't the best tire to have for STU as the Yokohama Neovas are praised as the best, however I didn't want to spend $100 more per tire when this venture into a street tire class may only last one season . If I decide to continue in STU, then I will certainly consider the Neovas next season, but... I never bought the Hoosier tires when I ran in BSP, so it's all about compromise and a tight budget for me.
The course was designed and setup by Gary Fuller, and while there were some very tight spots, it turned out to be a long and technically challenging course. Definitely a good test for the new Falkens.
I did pretty good at this event... typical 1st in class and 2nd overall as I would usually place on racing tires. I'm fairly impressed with the Falkens. They're definitely not a racing tire, and they also screech and howl in pain during hard corning (as you can hear in the video), but the car still handled very well considering. I went with the same tire pressures that I was running in the Victoracers (40F/38R cold) for this first event, but I will be experimenting with pressure for the Falkens throughout the season. I normally run higher pressures than most E36M3 autocrossers due to my Eibach springs being softer than the typical coilover racing suspensions that you see on autocross M3s. This car is still a street driven car, and I want to keep it as close to a good compromise as possible as far as suspension modifications are concerned. Plus I don't really have the budget to go with a full racing suspension now that I also have a newly found interest in street motorcycles.
Class Results ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Class: 'ESP' Total Entries: 4 Trophies: 2 1T 95 Chuck Brazeau 95 BMW M3 91.129 89.720 89.982 89.691 (bumped from STU) 90.176 > 89.691 95.018+1 89.829 90.376 DNS 2T 9 Jimmie Huffman (ST) 03 Ford Mustang DNF 100.766 100.818 98.411 99.541 111.634 100.536 99.485 > 98.411 98.594 3 3 Lucas Huffman (ST) 03 Ford Mustang DNF DNF 103.855 100.160 103.773+1 102.635 101.884 105.093+3 101.923 > 100.160 4 197 Michael Ross (ST) 04 Ford Mustang 109.179 107.971 107.560 102.756 106.711 107.323 106.095 DNF 104.803 > 102.756 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Overall Results ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- P ST Car # Driver Car Model Time Factor Pax Time M Pts ST ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 AS 98 Steve Sucsy 00 Honda S2000 87.324 *0.838 = 73.178 M 175 2 STU 95 Chuck Brazeau 95 BMW M3 89.691 *0.821 = 73.636 M 170 3 ES 42 Dan Hendren 96 Mazda Miata 92.684 *0.812 = 75.259 M 165 4 GS 03 Stefan Ference 03 Mini Coop S 95.484 *0.803 = 76.674 M 160 5 1 SS 21 Kelly Kitchens (ST) 02 Chevy Z06 91.652 *0.848 = 77.721 M 155 175 6 BM 33 Terry Johnson 87 Swift DB-2 83.730 *0.944 = 79.041 M 150 7 2 AS 72 Christopher Romero (ST) 06 Subaru WRXSTI 96.907 *0.838 = 81.208 M 146 170 8 3 GS 13 Bryan Prima (ST) 00 Nissan Maxima 101.247*0.803 = 81.301 M 142 165 9 STS 27 Greg Nelon 97 Honda Civic 101.792*0.805 = 81.943 10 4 ESP 9 Jimmie Huffman (ST) 03 Ford Mustang 98.411 *0.834 = 82.075 11 5 SS 00 PW McCarty (ST) 99 Dodge Viper 97.911 *0.848 = 83.029 M 138 160 12 6 ASP 7 Chris Goebel (ST) 87 Porsche 944T 96.871 *0.858 = 83.115 M 134 155 13 FM 85 Jerry Hampton 89 VW Solo Vee 93.634 *0.890 = 83.334 M 130 14 7 BP 10 Marco Fortiari (ST) 87 Mazda RX7 96.379 *0.866 = 83.464 15 8 ESP 3 Lucas Huffman (ST) 03 Ford Mustang 100.160*0.834 = 83.533 16 STS 85 Clint Hampton 98 Honda Prelude 105.039*0.805 = 84.556 M 127 17 9 CS 5 Gary Fuller (ST) 07 Mazda Miata 103.676*0.822 = 85.222 M 124 150 18 STS2 33 Jerry Goebel 94 Mazda Miata 106.012*0.806 = 85.446 19 10 ESP 197 Michael Ross (ST) 04 Ford Mustang 102.756*0.834 = 85.699 M 121 146 20 11 SS 01 Gerald Kirks (ST) 98 Corvette 101.243*0.848 = 85.854 M 118 142 21 12 BP 12 Chris Philpott (ST) 87 Mazda RX7 100.418*0.866 = 86.962 22 CSP 01 Donnie Shoemaker (ST) 01 Mazda Miata 104.576*0.845 = 88.367 M 115 138 23 13 AS 29 Thomas Boyd (ST) 07 Subaru WRXSTI 125.296*0.838 = 104.998 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------