Track Cars vs. Aviation

I used to race SCCA Spec Miata. Was logistically difficult given my distance from any tracks (4+ hours). Have some experience in SVRA too, and in SRFs. I haven’t raced in almost two years though because I just finished my private pilot training, which took two years (only 44 hours, but spread out a lot mostly due to a part-time instructor and my own schedule). I’ll get back into racing one day. My brother has a 944 race car. In the mean time, I have a GT3 as a street/track day car.
 

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Decided I just had to race sportbikes for a few years when I probably should have been getting my CFI instead :lol: Ahh well, got some memories, a lighter wallet, and a shiney new metal plate in the ankle from that experiment. Loved every moment of it (minus the recovery periods). Looking forward to get back into it after I get some more hours built up.
 
I, then my son and I, raced Formula Mazda in SCCS, NASA, and then IMSA/FIA back from 2005-2011. I, the primary sponsor, bowed out of most competition when my son went on the pro circuit Star Mazda tour. The original tube frame rocker arm/radius bar car/carb‘ed 13b rotary powered/Webster 5 speed box was replaced with a carbon tubbed, F.I. Renesis engined, sequential shift 6 speed box. Both cars were a hoot to drive but the second generation was perma-grin territory. I didn’t run the pro events in the carbon tub car but would run an SCCA weekend once or twice a year as a treat. I wish I had mere fraction of my son’s talent.
Getting suited up and buckled in with his engineer and mechanic:

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On the top step of the podium in Trois Rivieres, Quebec…hometown and track of Gilles Villeneuve. Being of French, albeit Acadian, or ‘cajun’ French, he was a hit with the locals and had two wins and a podium on that grim reaper of a street circuit. Some homely trophy gal took the opportunity for a photo bomb. LOL:
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Standing starts were a bi+ch on the clutch pack. ”Splitting the car” to put a fresh clutch in after practice was over. It took about 2hrs to make double sure all was back in order although I’ve seen it done much quicker but it didn’t instill confidence in the driver. Once off the start the clutch was not used again until coming to a stop, either in the pits at the end of the race or in a much less ceremonial fashion during the race. ;)
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Half Fast said:
Apparently racing is in the blood. My dad and his friend Willie Carter (in the pic below) shared a dirt-tracker back in the late 1950s / early 1960s.

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You are making me feel old. That type of car was called modifieds at the track I started racing at, not as a driver but as a gopher.
 
Pinecone said:
I am WAY too old to be tumbling down the track over 150 MPH. :D

My first love is open wheel, but my budget is much more closed wheel, spec class racing.
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Look at it this way: the older you get, the less of your life you’re risking.

If I had the funds to do an arrive-and-drive type program, I might go racing again. I loved it while I did it, but these days the game is no longer worth the candle.
 
Desmo said:
I used to race SCCA Spec Miata. Was logistically difficult given my distance from any tracks (4+ hours). Have some experience in SVRA too, and in SRFs. I haven’t raced in almost two years though because I just finished my private pilot training, which took two years (only 44 hours, but spread out a lot mostly due to a part-time instructor and my own schedule). I’ll get back into racing one day. My brother has a 944 race car. In the mean time, I have a GT3 as a street/track day car.
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Mmmmm, GT3...
 
Half Fast said:
Look at it this way: the older you get, the less of your life you’re risking.

If I had the funds to do an arrive-and-drive type program, I might go racing again. I loved it while I did it, but these days the game is no longer worth the candle.
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I sort of do arrive and drive with my SRF. I own the car, but it lives at the CSR shop. I call and tell them what race I want to run, and I arrive and drive my car. They handle all trackside support, including fuel.

Not as cheap as DIY, but a lot lower time involvement. I once raced a weekend, left the track for the airport, caught an international flight, was gone almost 3 weeks, got home, drove to a hotel near the track, and did another race weekend. :D

As for risk, it is pretty low. First, as far as I can find, SRF has never had a fatality. I am on a track where all the other drivers are well trained. They are going the same direction (no oncoming or crossing traffic). I have a roll cage. A 5 point harness. Helmet and HANS. Fireproof clothing. On board fire extinguishing system. A bunch of people around the track just waiting to come run and help. An ambulance and crew at the track.
 
Pinecone said:
I sort of do arrive and drive with my SRF. I own the car, but it lives at the CSR shop. I call and tell them what race I want to run, and I arrive and drive my car. They handle all trackside support, including fuel.

Not as cheap as DIY, but a lot lower time involvement. I once raced a weekend, left the track for the airport, caught an international flight, was gone almost 3 weeks, got home, drove to a hotel near the track, and did another race weekend. :D

As for risk, it is pretty low. First, as far as I can find, SRF has never had a fatality. I am on a track where all the other drivers are well trained. They are going the same direction (no oncoming or crossing traffic). I have a roll cage. A 5 point harness. Helmet and HANS. Fireproof clothing. On board fire extinguishing system. A bunch of people around the track just waiting to come run and help. An ambulance and crew at the track.
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When I was racing in IT, I was also crewing for a SRF driver. My races were all regionals and his were all nationals, so we were usually available to help each other out. SRF was a fun class, lots of great people.
 
Pinecone said:
I sort of do arrive and drive with my SRF. I own the car, but it lives at the CSR shop. I call and tell them what race I want to run, and I arrive and drive my car. They handle all trackside support, including fuel.

Not as cheap as DIY, but a lot lower time involvement. I once raced a weekend, left the track for the airport, caught an international flight, was gone almost 3 weeks, got home, drove to a hotel near the track, and did another race weekend. :D

As for risk, it is pretty low. First, as far as I can find, SRF has never had a fatality. I am on a track where all the other drivers are well trained. They are going the same direction (no oncoming or crossing traffic). I have a roll cage. A 5 point harness. Helmet and HANS. Fireproof clothing. On board fire extinguishing system. A bunch of people around the track just waiting to come run and help. An ambulance and crew at the track.
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Many of the guys that raced FM in the Texas/Oklahoma area had the same arrangement; they owned the car but it was stored/maintained/supported trackside by the region CSR in Cresson, TX. It would have limited our testing days and we had the space and transportation capabilities to get our two cars to events. I have to admit that when I stopped driving and had a professional team handle everything, it was more fun. My wallet sure took much more of a beating though. Fortunately I had benevolent friends with an armada of Spec Miatas so I could still get my jollies.
 
455 Bravo Uniform said:
Drag raced from 1983 to 2007. Picked up aviation in 2015. Kart race crew chief and head mechanic & tuner 2022/2023 which rekindled my interest in racing, this time using a steering wheel…
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Same here only I didn't start drag racing until 1988 on a jap bike. Started flight training in 2015 also.
Sorry have never been round and round.
 
robin ardoin said:
I, then my son and I, raced Formula Mazda in SCCS, NASA, and then IMSA/FIA back from 2005-2011. I, the primary sponsor, bowed out of most competition when my son went on the pro circuit Star Mazda tour. The original tube frame rocker arm/radius bar car/carb‘ed 13b rotary powered/Webster 5 speed box was replaced with a carbon tubbed, F.I. Renesis engined, sequential shift 6 speed box. Both cars were a hoot to drive but the second generation was perma-grin territory. I didn’t run the pro events in the carbon tub car but would run an SCCA weekend once or twice a year as a treat. I wish I had mere fraction of my son’s talent.
Getting suited up and buckled in with his engineer and mechanic:

View attachment 120868View attachment 120867

On the top step of the podium in Trois Rivieres, Quebec…hometown and track of Gilles Villeneuve. Being of French, albeit Acadian, or ‘cajun’ French, he was a hit with the locals and had two wins and a podium on that grim reaper of a street circuit. Some homely trophy gal took the opportunity for a photo bomb. LOL:
:View attachment 120870

Standing starts were a bi+ch on the clutch pack. ”Splitting the car” to put a fresh clutch in after practice was over. It took about 2hrs to make double sure all was back in order although I’ve seen it done much quicker but it didn’t instill confidence in the driver. Once off the start the clutch was not used again until coming to a stop, either in the pits at the end of the race or in a much less ceremonial fashion during the race. ;)
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Cool stuff, love it. Man do I miss racing sometimes. It's like a drug and should not even be looking at your pictures. Great that you can share that with your Son!!
 
robin ardoin said:
I, then my son and I, raced Formula Mazda in SCCS, NASA, and then IMSA/FIA back from 2005-2011. I, the primary sponsor, bowed out of most competition when my son went on the pro circuit Star Mazda tour. The original tube frame rocker arm/radius bar car/carb‘ed 13b rotary powered/Webster 5 speed box ...
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That reminds me - back in the 90s I lived in the SF Bay area and one of the SF Region SCCA competitors drove a Ralt RT-5 with a 13B engine at autocross events. Super cool!
 
MRC01 said:
That reminds me - back in the 90s I lived in the SF Bay area and one of the SF Region SCCA competitors drove a Ralt RT-5 with a 13B engine at autocross events. Super cool!
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Quite possibly a Daryl Drummond built motor. He could get some serious HP out of a rotary. His 3 rotor builds for RX-8's in the GT class are legendary. He rebuilt a couple of our motors for the gen 1 FM (carbed version) but they were a spec motor so no magic parts short of ceramic apex seals which were a longevity deal vs increasing HP.
 
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