Surprise!: 'nother MMMiata

[Gordonovski]

I’ve put this write-up off for a few days just to clear my head and think about the weekend, so now here it goes.

The weekend practically began for me on Wednesday. I sat at work all day hoping that my rear brake pads would come in so that I had time to install them that night. Luckily they did, and with the help of some MMers and their beer, I did a quick rotor and brake pad job and had them bedded in on Buffalo Dr by 8:30. I decided that an oil change wouldn’t be a bad idea, but a large oil pan and bad placement of a jack stand lead to the above picture and having to soak up about a half a quart of oil. With the car as prepped as I wanted it to be that night, I loaded up all the extra pads and rotors I have, more fluids than was probably necessary for DE1, and went to bed with more anticipation than a kid on Christmas Eve.

I had a 10-5 shift on Thursday, which consisted of me mostly looking at the clock and waiting until I could sprint out, change out of my work uniform, and get on the road. Hopped in the car at 5:15, threw the top down, and I was headed down. Stopped at the Sheetz just south of Lynchburg for gas and grub, and ended up talking to a guy who usually runs HC with NASA Southeast. Got to VIR around 8:30 and met with Jake, Jack, and Jack’s friend at the tavern for a drink. Friday was more or less uneventful with the exception of a caliper scare, but everything ended up being fine and ready to go for Saturday.

I met my instructor early on Saturday morning, Bill O’Brien, whom I later learned has had his SM car since the class started 17 years ago. One of his cars has 292,000 miles on it, 270,000 of which were from racing. After getting the initial jitters out with my first session on Saturday, Bill really helped me find the line with the car and where to push it to keep up momentum. I think he might be a fan of Jeremy Clarkson -- after each braking zone, I just heard, “powah powah powah” coming out of my headset. I learned a lot with the car the first day and was having a ton of fun. The only problem I can think of, and I think James, Matt, and Adam can attest, is that I was pushing my tires on each corner. They were definitely screaming around every turn, but didn’t start to lose too much grip until the last two sessions in the afternoon.

Obligatory first track day and nothing went terribly wrong picture!



Sunday was even better -- my laps felt faster and the sessions felt shorter. Compressed braking zones on the front and back straights and Hawks still killed it. I was holding my own with some of the higher HP cars through turns, especially from the uphill esses to Oak Tree, but most just walked away on the straights, which is what I was totally expecting and okay with.



The car overall felt really good for what little had been done to it. I can’t wait to get seats and harnesses in it, as well as suspension and some stickier tires. Hopefully I’ll be able to drive and work for April, but that’s still up in the air, and with how busy Hyperfest is, I’m only hoping for maybe a session or 2 on Sunday.

Also had a fun drive back in off-and-on rain until Lynchburg, at which point the top came up all the way back to Harrisonburg. Looking forward to seeing everyone at the car show!