I signed up for this weekend a couple of months ago. This is the children's charity weekend that Trackmasters runs every year. It is also the weekend where we get together and do a "track Thanksgiving" dinner. Most of the attendees are old school Trackmasters people, but a few years ago I got included and have been attending ever since. This year, I also brought Michael. Since my car was still in the shop, Chris even volunteered his car for me to drive.
Unfortunately, as we got closer to the actual date, the weather was looking worse and worse. 1.25 inches of rain was forecast on Saturday and 0.5 inches on Sunday.
Michael was unable to come up the night before, so he planned to arrive about 10 AM on Saturday. Overnight, it had really started raining, so the course was very wet by the time the first session came.
During that session, I used the time to figure out a reasonably good wet line around the course. There were rivers of water in multiple places, and a couple of "lakes" - most notably, T10 - and traction was often difficult to find. On the other hand, we were all getting experience running at (or just beyond) the edge of grip.
Michael showed up just as I was getting off the track, so I suggested a lead-follow around the course in the next session, so he could get the benefit of the experience I had gained in the first session. As we started out in the second session, it wasn't long before he started dropping back, and at the end of the first lap, he returned to the paddock. After the session, I found out that the tires on his car were not gripping and he was sliding all over (we had put street tires on, figuring they would shed water better). So, we changed tires and did the lead follow in the third session. At the end of that session, they sent the trucks out to fetch a camaro that had gone into the wall between T6 and T7.
Pretty much destroyed. Here's the kicker - it's rented. Yes, RENTED!! Not from a place that rents race cars, but from a dealership.
Apparently, all season, this guy has been renting cars to track them. Of course, all rental contracts prohibit this. So, he was planning to tow it about 5 miles away and claim it happened there. But, he apparently didn't realize that it had OnStar - the tracking system GM uses in its new cars. When they pull up the data, they will be able to see every lap he drove, where he crashed and where he towed it to before calling in.
By the fourth session, the rain had stopped and the track was starting to dry out. Well, not dry out really, but at least shed some of the standing water that made a bunch of places treacherous. At the end of the session, when I got back to the trailer, Michael wasn't there. I figured it would just be a minute or two, but as time passed, it became clear something was wrong. They were not sending the next run group out onto the track. And, the tow truck went out. I was getting worried. Fortunately, he had just hit the paint on one of the rumble strips (which is very slick) and spun, and ended up with two wheels in the dirt. But, he couldn't get himself out without being pulled out. Other than a little dirt, everything was fine.
Saturday dinner was wonderful as usual. Lots of good company and lots of great food.
As I was walking back to the trailer from the driver's meeting, I noticed this car which had just pulled in. This is hilarious.
And, in case you're wondering about the pitot tubes, one of them actually works (according to the owner).
Just before our first session, it started raining harder than I've ever seen it rain at the track before. When I got out on course, all the rivers from the day before were there, but they were deeper, and there were new ones. There was also a lot of standing water (or water that couldn't drain off fast enough) everywhere. Between T6 and T7, I hydroplaned in 5 different spots. In one case, the front of the car was pointed at T7, but the car was going about 35 degrees to the right, right down the drag strip. T10 was the worst.
On Saturday, the strategy was to be as far driver's left at the entrance to T10, continue a little longer than normal, then turn and go almost straight to T11. This set you up with the best line thru the lake where you were guaranteed to hydroplane. Unfortunately, on Sunday, there was also a lake in the driver's left entry, making it almost impossible to get any decent traction anywhere. Here is a video of the outlap.
All through the session, the rain got lighter, and the traction was more like Saturday.
Michael was already back at the trailer when I pulled in. As I was taking off my helmet and gloves, he came over and asked "Did you see it?" Then, he pointed to the car he'd been driving.
That's all I can say, when I saw it. T10 had claimed another victim.
Apparently, after getting the checkered flag in T7, he relaxed a bit and came into T10 at 40 MPH (I had told him the day before "No faster than 35"). He lost traction and ended up in the wall right at the corner worker's station - close enough that the corner worker could ask him if he was OK in a conversation tone of voice.
It could have been a lot worse. In fact, it's the most benign encounter with T10 that I've ever seen. Still, it broke my heart to see our beautiful Miata wrecked. Nothing that can't be fixed, of course, but it was still heartbreaking nonetheless.
Michael was even more broken up than I was. He decided to call it a day and go home.
The next two sessions, about 5 minutes before each one, it started to rain again, though not as hard or as long as before. But, just enough to say "It's still wet!" Then, for the fourth and fifth sessions, it was completely dry and the track even started to get more grip - not enough to do regular lap speeds, but faster. I also wasn't going to push it because I wanted to return Chris's car to him in the condition in which I had received it.
In fact, my three goals for the weekend were: return his car unscathed, learn how to drive better in the rain, and have fun.
Mission accomplished