 The 2000 SPC
Rally |
| The 2000 SPC
Rally |
| Gingerman Road Course - Lapping Day
It's an unfortunate fact. When you set foot (or tire) out onto a racetrack or take part in driving events on a regular basis, you realize that there are risks. Unexpected things can happen and parts can break. For the most part, lapping days go without incident and the enjoyment and adrenalin are worth the risk. But sometimes, things do happen...
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| Bill H came into
the paddock with one of his Dunlop tires falling apart. It looked like the edge of
the tread layer was separating from the remainder of the tire. Funny thing was that
another participant had the same tires for track use and has never experienced a problem.
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Having just installed some Eibach springs & KYB struts, I was really enjoying my morning on the track. Not only was the car performing better than it ever had on this track before, I knew that I was driving my absolute best as well. In just the morning sessions, I had used an entire tank of gas (11 gallons) in about 100 miles. Click HERE to hear a hi-RPM 3rd-to-4th gear upshift as I pass by the camera (8 sec, 41k).
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After the last 20-minute session before lunch, I came off the track began to hear a ticking noise. I didn't think much of it at first, as I've gotten new rattles & exhaust leaks during track events before. After calling over mechanical guys Jon and James, they felt that it was likely a bearing problem that would become more serious over time. Damn.
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| I spent the
afternoon packing up and changing back to my street tires & pads. In an effort
to put off the inevitable (since I wanted to try to get the car closer to home), I had a
local quick lube do an oil change and hoped for a bit of luck. >>>Fast forward>>> The next day, the caravan made it about 30 miles out of South Haven before things started sounding really bad and I decided it was time to get a tow. You can hear what the engine sounded like right before loading the car onto the flatbed HERE (7 sec, 44k). The car was taken to Saturn of Countryside in Chicago while I stayed with the Rally group to enjoy the remainder of the events. Countryside got to work quickly on repairs and after a few days work, the car is now back to perfect health (and looking forward to the next day on the track!). On a personal note, I owe a great deal of thanks to Jeff P (AAA rules), Wild Bill for the use of his car (20k miles & still that new car smell), and Deebs for all his support and assistance in getting my car back on the road.
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Later during the Rally festivities, Wally had a run-in with a very angry big concrete parking curb and did some damage to the car's cradle. Ouch. Wally & I weren't in the best spirits after our unfortunate luck at this point, but the Rally must go on! <<<Rewind<<< Ok, back to the normal order of events...
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After our day on the track, we relaxed with a beverage or two back at the hotel. Saturn guys Chris & Chuck not only gave us a great perspective on the big One Lap of America race, they also told some wild and hilarious stories that took place during the event. Sounds like you guys had a great time.
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As posted by Deebs to the Saturn Performance Club mailing list about the Saturn guys: "After the day on track was finished, I asked them about what their expectations of the day had been. They weren't sure exactly what we'd be doing, and thought that they'd show up, polish/wash the cars and answer one lap questions. When they learned that 1). they were gonna get track time and 2). they were gonna get a HUGE amount of it, they were thrilled.. As I was standing in the paddock area and Jeff P or Carl came ripping (heaving?) by in the Enterprise sponsored SL2 one of the awestruck Saturn members quipped," Man, you guys are hard core..." This leads me to think we made a good impression on them. A big word of thanks to them for attending as well."
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