Had a great time at Winterfest this year. Rule changes allowed passing anywhere on the track (point-by). I was apprehensive about that since I had never passed or been passed in corners before. At first I did not try or point in the corners but by days end I was doing it and it was a lot of fun and a great learning experience. There were many talented drivers out there, once again I felt like the least experienced driver on track.
I had the car at the dealer for two months due to shifting problems. My dealer is great and they go above and beyond trying to help get the issues fixed. However they were getting (IMHO) little help from Ford for this problem. With a completely rebuild trans I started to suffer 5th gear problem by the end of the first session and 4th gear problem on day two. The only fix for this is a 6060 with a race clutch, there is no other fix. If I continue to track I have to do this, getting tried of bugging my dealer that wants to help me but really can't and getting tired of fighting the car on track.
Here is a vid of some my best laps (not going to show you the worst, right?). There were many cars on track and this was the cleanest runs I had, just found a good spot to run this session. I have some great vids from the helmet cam with the Traqmate data. Uploading to utube is super slow so it may be a day or two.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYHeq5WZuvY[/youtube]
Here is a vid from session 3, times are not the best but having some fun in light traffic. At the end of the vid (11 min mark) I overcooked turn 17 and almost popped the wall. Worst part is the white Porsche followed me almost right into the wall. I have no idea why I did not hit it, just lucky I guess.
I swore it was the BMW's fault getting too wide coming into the pits. Video does not lie and he did nothing wrong, I got spooked and went too wide and too fast, goes to show ya, there is nobody to blame but yourself out there.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A995tROOMA[/youtube]
Got some great helmet cam vids, not washed out. Here is one in some light traffic. Times are not good but I was having fun passing in the corners and learning some new skills. I have two more I am working on from the helmet cam. I love the shots you get this way, it can give you a feel for how rough Sebring is, mostly turn 17. You can see the camera bouncing around, in fact my helmet is hitting the roof.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4duLPWooLqY[/youtube]
Last session of the event, I lost the brakes going into Tower Turn. This was the same place I lost the brakes last year, I ended up off track and into the tire wall. At that time I panicked and only tried to steer the car, didn't work. I had hoped I learned a lesson from that, many people told me the first time it happens you don't handle it well but after that you are ready. Well surprise, surprise I was ready and started pumping the brakes and get the car back under control. This starts at about the 12 min mark in the vid.
I was getting passed in the turn and almost slid into the car passing but had just enough steering control as he passed by. You can see me pumping the pedal at this point and again in the next turn. I was thinking to run an easy lap to let them cool off but since I had a passenger in the car I decided to head in. Good thing I did since the caliper was bad and the pedal was on the floor going down pit road.
Anyhow been using the new PFC 08's and I love them. Can't really tell too much difference between them and the 01 but they last for ever, I had 3 full days on the last set (5 sessions per day).
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnJkor1l1V0[/youtube]
I had the car at the dealer for two months due to shifting problems. My dealer is great and they go above and beyond trying to help get the issues fixed. However they were getting (IMHO) little help from Ford for this problem. With a completely rebuild trans I started to suffer 5th gear problem by the end of the first session and 4th gear problem on day two. The only fix for this is a 6060 with a race clutch, there is no other fix. If I continue to track I have to do this, getting tried of bugging my dealer that wants to help me but really can't and getting tired of fighting the car on track.
Here is a vid of some my best laps (not going to show you the worst, right?). There were many cars on track and this was the cleanest runs I had, just found a good spot to run this session. I have some great vids from the helmet cam with the Traqmate data. Uploading to utube is super slow so it may be a day or two.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYHeq5WZuvY[/youtube]
Here is a vid from session 3, times are not the best but having some fun in light traffic. At the end of the vid (11 min mark) I overcooked turn 17 and almost popped the wall. Worst part is the white Porsche followed me almost right into the wall. I have no idea why I did not hit it, just lucky I guess.
I swore it was the BMW's fault getting too wide coming into the pits. Video does not lie and he did nothing wrong, I got spooked and went too wide and too fast, goes to show ya, there is nobody to blame but yourself out there.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A995tROOMA[/youtube]
Got some great helmet cam vids, not washed out. Here is one in some light traffic. Times are not good but I was having fun passing in the corners and learning some new skills. I have two more I am working on from the helmet cam. I love the shots you get this way, it can give you a feel for how rough Sebring is, mostly turn 17. You can see the camera bouncing around, in fact my helmet is hitting the roof.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4duLPWooLqY[/youtube]
Last session of the event, I lost the brakes going into Tower Turn. This was the same place I lost the brakes last year, I ended up off track and into the tire wall. At that time I panicked and only tried to steer the car, didn't work. I had hoped I learned a lesson from that, many people told me the first time it happens you don't handle it well but after that you are ready. Well surprise, surprise I was ready and started pumping the brakes and get the car back under control. This starts at about the 12 min mark in the vid.
I was getting passed in the turn and almost slid into the car passing but had just enough steering control as he passed by. You can see me pumping the pedal at this point and again in the next turn. I was thinking to run an easy lap to let them cool off but since I had a passenger in the car I decided to head in. Good thing I did since the caliper was bad and the pedal was on the floor going down pit road.
Anyhow been using the new PFC 08's and I love them. Can't really tell too much difference between them and the 01 but they last for ever, I had 3 full days on the last set (5 sessions per day).
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnJkor1l1V0[/youtube]