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Originally Posted by honda93
Second, I don't think the 2006 Si that finished so low in the results (Sam Karp and his codriver) is being driven to its potential in such a tough GS; I'd be interested to see where Greg and Chris would have been with the car.
Anthony "Mario" Crea
NNJR-SCCA
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Wow, thanks for that. How would you know Anthony? Have we ever met for you to critique my driving? Where you at Nationals to see how the site behaves?
I'll admit, I'm not the best. I'm a mid-pack driver now at the best, so I will agree with you! I've only been doing this seriously for 3 years and this was my first year on R-comps. I have a lot to learn. I just don't agree with you saying it because you have no backing.
At least I had the balls and effort to show up with the car at multiple BIG events this year. Not taking anything away from Greg or Chris, but I performed very well at locals this year and sucked it up at Tour's. Don't put any stock into what the car or drivers did locally. Chris' past achievements precede him, but this car and tire was new game for him.
Our (Ben and I) nationals results was a little disappoint as I threw away a few spots with cones (hit stupid cones on both days fastest runs) and Ben was too nervous to even walk straight. Ben also puts very little effort into walking course (he walked west course twice). He learned the hard way with all of his DNF's. I was honestly expecting us in the mid 20's with low 20's....high teens as our stretch. We finished a little behind MY goal but learned a lot about the site this year and now that I have to set the car up a little tighter at my home events to have it behave well at HPT. We set the car up as loose as we could at Miller Park (a site many said is nearly identical to HPT in terms of grip) and were not expecting the problems with oversteer at HPT. We had rear pressures as low as 17psi in the warm-up and were still caught out. It was too low for the day-of-the-event though as we ran 3rd heat with good rubber down and right after the sand was cleared off line (which is huge since we run a slightly different line than the thoundands of spec-MINI's in the class). Next year we (or I) would come more prepared (as in fresh rear tires that grip, not heat-cycled out junkers that let the car rotate).
With that said, I am hoping to get out of the car for 2007. With the cost of custom shocks and how many tires we would eat, it would be less expensive to buy a 94-96 Miata R and run it in ES. As long as I can get the cash for the Miata, the Si will become a really expensive (as in $529 a month) daily driver.
PS-This is a really good thread. I just noticed it when paging around. Good info. I will keep my eye on it to see if I can contribute any more info.
I wish the best to you guys running nationally in HS next year. You are going to have a tough fight. I hope it turns out better than my attempt in GS.