GT400: California Pizza Kitchen 100 at Laguna Seca

[Spiny Anteater]

I'm crossing my fingers I can make this one as the car seems to be going well around here with just a little tinkering (and I mean very little tinkering) with the gears. I'm not Snyder fast, but a best of 1:25.5 and being able to run consistently within 0.4 seconds of that must augur well for the race (assuming i don't bin it!). However, it's not so happy on cold tyres - I think I will lose more time on the first two laps of fresh tyres than I would on four laps on yellow. So if I'm there, the question will be how brave am I on fuel?

[bimmerlovere39]

I'll be doing amazingly well to crack INTO the 26s...

 

[RenoWrench]

I'll be doing amazingly well to crack INTO the 26s...

 

You and me both, I'm just hoping my fancy paint job gets me an extra couple of tenths. 

[Open2nd]

Well, I found lightning earlier today and put down a 1:26.2xx in a 25 lap race with Spiny and Dirt.  I think its safe to say that fuel and tires won't be a problem, and if Spiny shows up the battle for first won't be much of a battle for me.  I can hang on his bumper when he's on cold tires, but once they warm up I fall behind quite quickly.  Also, don't expect any 1:26.2s from me during the race, I think that was a one shot deal...  I did seem to have speed against Pete and Dirt though, so there may be a podium for the RX-8 still.

[fndrbndr]

I'll be doing amazingly well to crack INTO the 26s...

 

You and me both, I'm just hoping my fancy paint job gets me an extra couple of tenths. 

I keep getting slower and slower....lol

[Open2nd]

O2R Press Release:

Today is the start of a beautiful partnership between Doritos potato chips and O2 Racing!  After extensive discussion and a great showing in practice today, Doritos have decided to sponsor the Doritos Mazda RX8!  We couldn't be more pleased with the new sponsorship package and the support from the fine people with Doritos.  The GT400 California Pizza Kitchen 100 tomorrow should be extremely entertaining and we are confident the Doritos RX8 will be running among the front, vying for our first race victory!







Our team is prepared for the race, and we'd like to thank everyone at Mazda/Mazdaspeed, Pirelli, and the rest of our sponsors and investors for sticking by us through this long week.  We'll see you all on the track tomorrow!

-O2R

[Spiny Anteater]

Thanks to Dirt and Open (that new paint looks good by the way) for running another 25 laps last night so I could see how the Miura stood up to it. Apart from being surprised at just how quick this car is around here the tyre wear and fuel consumption were pretty much as I expected. By which I mean that the fuel gauge was showing empty by the end of the race - it wasn't spluttering but I don't think I could have run another lap.

The tyres are definitely not going to prove a problem though, although I am running the Firestones so should have an advantage over most of you in terms of tyre life. But even the front right didn't start to go yellow until the start of lap 21, and he front left didn't start going yellow until the start of lap 23. Even at the end of the race I only had wear in the high 60%'s and there was no noticeable drop in lap times - lap 25 was a 1:25.9xx. I feel that if I make it non-stopping is the way to go for me. Main problem for me is that I don't seem to know how to drive at 9/10ths. That and the cold tyre issues Open mentioend which may cause me a problem if there are a lot of cautions.

[fndrbndr]

Awesome paint.  There will be a prize car.  It'll be a Spec Miata legal MX5 with a real world-based tune and a California Pizza Kitchen paintjob.  I'm not sure the winner will get it today (I'm STILL doing game theory work), but the prize car is definitely in the works.

[Spiny Anteater]

Sorry guys - it looks like I'm a confirmed absentee tonight. I could probably make the qualifier, but would have to go before we got very far into the main event so I'm afraid it looks like it'll be a similar show to last week

...and that's why I said I would only be a partial attendee. I faced a similar problem with Sundays for the Clios too - only I got lucky and it all worked out that I could do one of Sat or Sun for all nights except the last. C'est la vie

[fndrbndr]

Sorry to hear it, spiny.  Have a good Sunday, either way!

And now for the pregame show...

Intro:  Last week was one of the best finishes in the history of motorsports.  Three cars.  Four seconds over fifty laps.  This week, the GT400 rolls out west to the California Pizza Kitchen 100 at Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway.  Will the drama continue?

CF:  Hi, and welcome to the California Pizza Kitchen 100 at Laguna Seca.  I'm here with Dorsey Schroeder.  Last week was a great finish, Dorsey.  Will this week live up to the hype?

DS:  No.

CF:  What?

DS:  I really don't think it can.  Last week was the kind of finish every race promoter hopes and prays to get once in a season.  These cars are really competitive with each other, but I just don't see any series having more than one or two finishes like that in a year.

CF:  I think you're wrong there, Dorsey.  It's a shorter race this week, a 25-lap sprint.  The pits will be open, but none of the teams we've talked to are planning on using them.  There's plenty of chance for the front runners to use up their tires while there are stilla  few laps left.  I think it could be a good one.

DS:  Maybe.  In the mean time, Brian's down in the pits trying to get a few interviews.  He's got Fndrbndr from Tiny Terror Racing right now.  Brian?

BT:  Thanks, guys.  Fndr, tough finish last week for Tiny Terror Racing, coming third despite a pretty strong race.  Any thoughts about the target for this week?

Fndr:  Well, the target is always first, of course.  With Spiny and Snyder both out again this week, it's still pretty wide open.  The car is good.  Those Stoptech brakes are great, and the Goodyear tires are really putting down the power.  The Mazdaspeed suspension components are dead on, as always.  The car is fast and very neutral, even when I overdrive it a little.  If I just stay out of trouble, I should be OK. 

BT:  In practice you weren't very consistent.  Does that worry you?

Fndr:  Yeah, it does.  This car is very fast off the line, and if I don't qualify well, I'm not sure I'll be able to use the car's ability to launch from a dead stop to get a few places off the start.  That was what helped me so much last week. 

BT:  Any parting thoughts:

Fndr:  Just keep it on the gray stuff with the shiny side up.

[bimmerlovere39]

Finish Order:

Position	Driver	Car	Total Race Time	Fastest Lap
1st	OpenSecond	Mazda RX-8	36:51.882	1:26.315
2nd	BimmerLoverE39	BMW M3 (E46)	37:15.768	1:26.912
3rd	FndrBndr	Mazda RX-7 (Gen 3)	37:19.691	1:26.997
4th	BarbecuePete	Ferrari 288GTO	37:42.870	1:27.501
5th	DirtDriver	INGS Mazda RX-7	37:45.497	1:27.742

[Open2nd]

CF: Well Dorsey, it looks like you were somewhat right in your estimation of the excitement of this race.

DS: The real excitement, again this week, came from the battle between second and third.  Once again bimmerlover and fndrbndr were duking it out for the second step on the podium.  The real shocker though, is Open2nd.  He was all but out of the race at Sebring, and after a dismal performance due to botch aerodynamics and poor pit strategy, his main sponsor Rain-X dropped him.

CF: That's right Dorse, but that RX-8 looked very well prepared today.  Late last night, O2R was picked up by a new sponsor to the series, Doritos.  I'm sure they're thrilled with the outcome, they won pole, as well as the race, and they also had the fastest lap today.  Brian's down in winner's circle with Open now.  Brian?

BT: Thanks guys.  We're here in at the California Pizza Kitchen Winner's Circle with Open2nd, winner of today's sprint race at Laguna Seca.  Open, you had sponsor troubles early in the week, and after that finish at Sebring, things didn't look to be going your way, tell us a little about the week leading to the race.

O2: I'd first like to thank Doritos and Mazda for the support today.  Without them, we wouldn't even be here, so I'm really happy Doritos got on board.  I can't say enough about the work the team's done to get the car were it was.  We've worked really hard on this car through the week, and it paid off for us.  The Pirelli's did their part, running optimally for the race's entirety.  When I wasn't wrenching on the car I was on the phone trying to lock this sponsorship down.  We were left in quite a precarious position, and everything just wound working out in the end.  We're looking forward to a long and rewarding season, and we're stoked to have Doritos and Mazda on board.

BT: Well said.  The car sure looked impressive out there.  Next week is Maple Valley with no mention as to whether it will be the long or short ribbon.  Any thoughts going in to next week?

O2: Sure, we're excited to get to Maple Valley, we feel that the Doritos/Mazda RX-8 will perform well there, but for now, we're going to relish this victory!

BT: There you have it.  You think he's excited guys?

[Open2nd]

[fndrbndr]

CF:  We're back from the break.  Just like last week, the real battle was for second.  Again, it was Fndr and Bimmer fighting it out, and again, Fndr comes up just a few seconds short.  Brian is with him down on the track.

BT:  Thanks, Calvin.  I'm here with Fndrbndr of Tiny Terror Racing.  You made a gamble going with a softer compound than most of the field.  Did it work out?

Fndr:  Well, I'm on the podium, so I guess I shouldn't complain too much.  The loss of a little front downforce may have actually kept the tires around a little longer, I'm not sure.  The car felt good, though.

BT:  Yeah, over the radio, you mentioned that you were having some understeer issues toward the end.  Talk about that for a minute.

Fndr:  Well, early on, Pete and I got into each other.  The front got a little chewed up when I went off, but nothing major, lost a few pounds of front downforce. Anyway, by the time I got off the track at the end, the fronts were corded.  Obviously, there wasn't a whole lot of turn-in by the end.  I felt like I held out better than I deserved, to be frank.  We made a mistake on the tires.  We're gonna get with the boys over at Tire Rack and see what they can put together for us.

BT:  Next week you're headed to Maple Valley, a frequent test track for TTR.  Any thoughts?

Fndr:  Well, thanks for jinxing me!  Nah, I've always run reasonably well there.  The track seems to favor aero cars and higher downforce, so maybe I'll finally beat out Bimmer.  I'm just hoping we can find out which ribbon we're running, because they're very different race tracks.

BT:  Best of luck either way.  Back to you, guys.

[Snyder005]

family vacation prevented me from getting in on this, but i've been training for Maple Valley.  At first i thought that my fastest was gunna be a 1:28.080, which i kept running within .2 of for 5 laps.  Then i broke through the barrier and started getting faster and faster!  1:27.8, 1:27.6, 1:27.4, 1:27.3!!  However consistency is a real problem, as I went off about every other lap for the first 5 laps or so 

It will be a stretch to battle for the series win however, already down 2 races and all, but it'll be fun!