working on those GPL personal bests.
I had previously managed to get my handicap down by exactly five seconds
without attacking the Ring:
Monaco - 1.59 seconds just by persevering, using Alison's X-files Lotus
setup (from 1:33.53 to 1:31.94)
Spa - 3.05 seconds thanks to Greger Huttu's Eagle setup and watching his
replay (from 3:26.63 to 3:23.58)
Silverstone - 0.36 seconds by again using Greger's Lotus setup/replay
(from 1:31.02 to 1:30.66). The new Silverstone time enabled me to beat
my third Papy Benchmark, joining my efforts at Monza and Watkins Glen.
It was now time to work on the Ring this weekend. My personal best at
the Ring was 9:01.95 in a Ferrari (using Alison's setup). I decided to
attempt getting under 9:00 in a rather unorthodox fashion. I first
wanted to improve some of my poor times in the other chassis. My goal
was to at least get these to relative respectability while
simultaneously really learning the track. So my plan was to drive three
flying laps at the Ring in all the chassis.
First up on Friday night was the Cooper (using Alison's setup). This
one was a joy to drive, relatively easy to keep on the track. My
previous best was around 9:39. On the third lap, more or less clean,
I dropped that to 9:08.78. A promising start.
Next up was the Eagle. My previous best was around the same as the
Cooper - 9:40.xx, I think. I had more trouble with this one, never
getting a clean lap, and only managed a pathetic 9:18.02.
On Saturday afternoon, I switched to the Honda, having previously
clocked in at around 9:35.xx. I also had problems on all three of my
laps and only brought it down to 9:15.83.
On to the Brabham. Previous best was 9:24.xx. I never feel like I am
going fast in this car because of its gear range, but I was surprised
when I brought it home at 9:01.88. This was a new overall personal
best, improving my Ferrari time by an eyelash - 0:00.07.
I didn't get any more seat time until late Sunday night and I was
determined to break 9:00 before the end of the weekend, so I went right
to the Ferrari. The BRM and the Lotus would have to wait until later.
My out lap was horrific, more spins than I had managed all weekend. My
first flying lap wasn't much better. I took it fairly easy on the
second flying lap, still had one brief spin on the run up to the
Carousel, and was flabbergasted to see my pitboard read 8:57.95 as I
exited the hairpin! I wiped out early on lap three and called it a
night, stoked at having accomplished my goal. Yahoo!
Dave Ewing
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David A. Ewing
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