marshall_mosty
04-20-2009, 05:43 PM
Wow, what a weekend... too many things to list but just wanted to get my thoughts before they started to fade.
First, as everyone has noticed, my attendance in regional races as been, well... scarce. I've put all my $$$ into the enduro basket for this year in lieu of running several regionals. So, the prep for this year started with replacement of the broken bits from last year. After a new power steering rack and pump, the car was in pretty good shape.
Fulcrum Motorsports also was instrumental in the prep of the car as they supplied a new production 14" chord AI spec rear wing and adjustable splitter. In addition to the aero bits, they also reworked the radiator ducting and oil cooler mounting. A big thanks to Neill Gathings and Jim Dulaney for their countless hours of fabrication.
With the arrival of the R888, this was my chance to race on a fresh set of tires for the first time in my racing career. Racing on second hand tires was a handfull last year during the enduro, so Michael and I decided to get a set of full tread 275 888's. They were scrubbed in during a testing session at MSR-C in January and they felt good during the 30-minute sessions. We where hoping they would last the full 8-hours.
After the weather reports started showing a chance of rain, wipers were fitted as well as headlights. Additionally, the maximum 150 lbs of ballast was bolted into place as my motor found an extra 18HP and 12TQ since last season (go figure).
Getting the car on track for qualifying showed that the car had great promise and felt pretty well balanced. A quick check on the scales late Friday night showed a pretty decent weight balance L/R and cross so we didn’t have to do much to get it finally ready for the race on Saturday.
The start of the race was amazing, as we ended up 7th (I think) on the grid for the start of the race and by the end of turn 1 we were in 2nd place!!! Frank and Glenn were in close proximity with Keith Vargas’ BZZZ Miata in the lead. I realized that I could outbrake the Miata going into one and by the third lap I passed the Miata for the overall lead. I was stoked and couldn’t believe that I had a clear track ahead of me. Frank, however, was glued to my front bumper for what felt like an hour. I realized that Frank had it down for setting up T6 and he finally overtook me when I blew my braking zone and had a very late turn-in which killed my exit speed. I spent the remainder of my first stint glued to his rear bumper around the course. He played his cards very well and didn’t give me so much as an inch of room… (good one Frank).
The first pit stop worked well and I was off for my second stint. As I came out of the pits, I was a bit aggressive going through 1A and ended up pushing off the track into the swamp. My though was that we were going to be stuck for a LONG time but when I finally stopped sliding sideways (well over 60 yards from the track) I just kept it at about 3K in 1st and VERY slowly made my way back between T2 and T3.
The second pit stop and driver changed worked very well and Michael was off. Of course, he has to outdo me in everything with four wheels so he goes and rips off the second fastest lap of the entire enduro (1:55.xxx). His stint was pretty uneventful and he came in and took gas only.
We were planning on a three stint set in the middle of the race, but Michael peeled out of the car after his first session. I got into the car and immediately had issues… During Michael’s stint, Rob looked at me a said “Marshall, when was the last time you had anything to drink?” My reply was to pick up a 32oz Powerade and chug it and say “There you go Dad…”. Well, that decision came back to haunt me during my third stint. I was supposed to triple stint, but after five minutes in the car, my bladder was about to explode. I tried for six laps to just up and piss my suit so I could keep driving. The gods would let that happen so I had to come in for an emergency driver stop. Needless to say, Michael wasn’t ready and it took us a bit longer to be ready to go back out. I felt so bad for Michael since he double stinted and then had to get back into the car after only 15 minutes.
When I got back in the car it was just business as usual until about the 5:30 mark when coming through T8 I hear a “pop” in the front suspension and then the front right tire stated jumping violently. After making it though T9 and into the beginning of T10, the right tire finally flopped out and I slid off the track. After getting a flat tow back to the pits, it was diagnosed as a failed tie rod adjustment sleeve. That unfortunately was the end of the enduro effort for our team.
At the end of the day, I would like to thank my crew (Rob Liebbe, Jerry Jordan, Jeff Wirtz, and Chuck Penny). Without their help, we wouldn’t have been able to pull it off.
Well have to do this all again next year!!!
First, as everyone has noticed, my attendance in regional races as been, well... scarce. I've put all my $$$ into the enduro basket for this year in lieu of running several regionals. So, the prep for this year started with replacement of the broken bits from last year. After a new power steering rack and pump, the car was in pretty good shape.
Fulcrum Motorsports also was instrumental in the prep of the car as they supplied a new production 14" chord AI spec rear wing and adjustable splitter. In addition to the aero bits, they also reworked the radiator ducting and oil cooler mounting. A big thanks to Neill Gathings and Jim Dulaney for their countless hours of fabrication.
With the arrival of the R888, this was my chance to race on a fresh set of tires for the first time in my racing career. Racing on second hand tires was a handfull last year during the enduro, so Michael and I decided to get a set of full tread 275 888's. They were scrubbed in during a testing session at MSR-C in January and they felt good during the 30-minute sessions. We where hoping they would last the full 8-hours.
After the weather reports started showing a chance of rain, wipers were fitted as well as headlights. Additionally, the maximum 150 lbs of ballast was bolted into place as my motor found an extra 18HP and 12TQ since last season (go figure).
Getting the car on track for qualifying showed that the car had great promise and felt pretty well balanced. A quick check on the scales late Friday night showed a pretty decent weight balance L/R and cross so we didn’t have to do much to get it finally ready for the race on Saturday.
The start of the race was amazing, as we ended up 7th (I think) on the grid for the start of the race and by the end of turn 1 we were in 2nd place!!! Frank and Glenn were in close proximity with Keith Vargas’ BZZZ Miata in the lead. I realized that I could outbrake the Miata going into one and by the third lap I passed the Miata for the overall lead. I was stoked and couldn’t believe that I had a clear track ahead of me. Frank, however, was glued to my front bumper for what felt like an hour. I realized that Frank had it down for setting up T6 and he finally overtook me when I blew my braking zone and had a very late turn-in which killed my exit speed. I spent the remainder of my first stint glued to his rear bumper around the course. He played his cards very well and didn’t give me so much as an inch of room… (good one Frank).
The first pit stop worked well and I was off for my second stint. As I came out of the pits, I was a bit aggressive going through 1A and ended up pushing off the track into the swamp. My though was that we were going to be stuck for a LONG time but when I finally stopped sliding sideways (well over 60 yards from the track) I just kept it at about 3K in 1st and VERY slowly made my way back between T2 and T3.
The second pit stop and driver changed worked very well and Michael was off. Of course, he has to outdo me in everything with four wheels so he goes and rips off the second fastest lap of the entire enduro (1:55.xxx). His stint was pretty uneventful and he came in and took gas only.
We were planning on a three stint set in the middle of the race, but Michael peeled out of the car after his first session. I got into the car and immediately had issues… During Michael’s stint, Rob looked at me a said “Marshall, when was the last time you had anything to drink?” My reply was to pick up a 32oz Powerade and chug it and say “There you go Dad…”. Well, that decision came back to haunt me during my third stint. I was supposed to triple stint, but after five minutes in the car, my bladder was about to explode. I tried for six laps to just up and piss my suit so I could keep driving. The gods would let that happen so I had to come in for an emergency driver stop. Needless to say, Michael wasn’t ready and it took us a bit longer to be ready to go back out. I felt so bad for Michael since he double stinted and then had to get back into the car after only 15 minutes.
When I got back in the car it was just business as usual until about the 5:30 mark when coming through T8 I hear a “pop” in the front suspension and then the front right tire stated jumping violently. After making it though T9 and into the beginning of T10, the right tire finally flopped out and I slid off the track. After getting a flat tow back to the pits, it was diagnosed as a failed tie rod adjustment sleeve. That unfortunately was the end of the enduro effort for our team.
At the end of the day, I would like to thank my crew (Rob Liebbe, Jerry Jordan, Jeff Wirtz, and Chuck Penny). Without their help, we wouldn’t have been able to pull it off.
Well have to do this all again next year!!!