The past weekend was the EXE weekend at Winton.
These events are always great, giving you a chance to hang out with great people and also put a heap of effort into the weekend and hopefully come out with a PB!
I drove up on Saturday morning, arriving at Wallan about half an hour before the people I was meeting, so continued onto Benalla to top up on fuel and have a coffee at McDonalds.
The weather was ABSOLUTELY perfect!! Blue skies, nice and cool, with no chance of any rain through the day.
After scrutineering a few cars and drivers briefing, we went out for our first session.
I was in Group E with the big boys, which despite being a bit intimidating in the pre-grid, is a perfect group to be in because everyone knows their track etiquette and I'm only worried about what is coming up in my rearview than what is in front of me and going slower.
From the first few laps, the grip was definitely there and I knew it was going to be a pretty quick day. I didn't push too hard and came back in to check tyre pressures and prepare for the attack and hopefully triumphant 1:39 lap!
My laps for Saturday.
1:51.4600 1:42.5900 1:46.5980 *:**.****
1:54.1850 1:40.6470 1:41.2800 2:05.0020 *:**.****
1:49.2400 1:46.9500 1:47.2530 2:08.4290 1:41.1820 *:**.****
1:48.0470 1:43.0130 1:43.9270 2:00.4630 2:04.5950
1:51.4610 1:40.6780 1:55.8680 1:40.7840
As you can see above, I was able to get back on pace with 1:40, despite the change in gearing from the FD change (4.9 down to 4.4) from when I was last running laps this fast. Earlier in the year when it was a tad warmer, I was unsure on gearing for a few corners, but seem to have sorted that out.
The places that caused me concerns were through the boobs, where I was unsure if 2nd or 3rd would be quicker, as I was hitting the limiter a number of times before the middle, though 3rd really bogged down and changing from 2nd to 3rd back to 2nd or any combo like that meant I was doing too much and getting a bit overwhelmed.
The only other issue was pushing understeer through the dog leg and the back two corners. This is a pretty common issue for me and despite running my coilovers on hard on the rear, I was still unable to make the rear rotate how I had wanted it to and was pushing the tyres far too hard.
This resulted in a few off road adventures and committing to the dirt instead of dealing with the back of some of Winton's worst ripple strips.
I'm not sure what happened in the 3rd session, maybe I got caught in traffic?!
4th session was a passenger session with my pit buddy Bong. He commented on my increased commitment to corners compared to him. He runs similar laps in his JDM DC2R on RS3s.
The last session I went out in the cooling afternoon to try and throw together a good lap. I was on a reasonably quick one, when I came up to my nemesis aka the dog leg! I turned in and the car just pushed forward towards the ripple strip. I was committed to this lap and aimed off the back of the ripple to get onto the dirt and just stayed with my foot on the accelerator and came back on the track and continued on from my dust cloud! I came around to the start/finish for it to basically match my quickest lap for the day! Could have been something nice!
So end of Saturday, we were sitting at a 1:40.64, though I was feeling pretty good at the pace of the car despite the 'slower' gearbox. I was definitely having fun!!
Tom and I in the pits on Saturday.
After a pretty early night, due to a 4am start, we were back at it again to smash some PBs! I had left my car at the track, so had nothing to setup. I just checked the fluid levels and headed back out.
From the very first out lap, the track was in GREAT condition and on my first hot lap I pulled out my quickest lap for the weekend so far!!
I usually PB 2nd lap of the 2nd session, so to do it in the first session was quite surprising!
Previously I was all about smashing bulk amounts of laps, but at Winton I much prefer an out lap and then aiming to smash my quickest lap for the session on the following. It seems to work, the car/tyres/driver aren't too hot and I find it easier to focus on one lap than one session. More of a hill climb focus.
2nd session I went out and do another 1:40! at least I'm consistent and I would have probably been pretty happy with that, when a friend offered up his RPF1s with a 225 Kumho V70A tyre.
He had previously run NT01s before moving to these on the front and was impressed with the initial turn in and how precise they were compared to the NT01. I had lunch and then switched the wheels over before heading out in the 3rd session in the middle of the day.
By T2 on the out lap I knew this was going to be THE LAP for me. The turn in was so crisp and EXACTLY how I have wanted the car to handle at Winton but had never been able to achieve.
I crossed the start finish and headed out in the lap and turned in as I would, but had to correct as instead of catching the understeer, the car went where I wanted it to! In T2 I was able to get on the power earlier than I ever have and then out through the sweeper. As I exited the sweeper, I saw a certain CR-X driving friend off in the dirt, so lifted ever so slightly and then straight into the boobs. Again, the turn into the boobs was great and I was bouncing off the limiter more than previously because of this extra drive. After coming through the boobs and towards the dog leg, I turned in and got through the corner probably the cleanest I ever have!
The Racechrono lights were going green by this stage and I got through the back corners with no issues. Coming in through the esses, I knew it was going to be a PB, so shook my fist at my pit buddy Bong who had done his first 1:39 the day before. As I crossed the line for a 1:39.1, it was a pretty good feeling!
I pulled off after that, knowing there was more in the car with the V70As on the front, but also happy with what I'd achieved.
Here are my laps for Sunday
1:51.4690 1:40.4380 1:47.7740 1:41.3870
1:46.1140 1:40.7140 2:00.7450
1:48.8560 1:39.1040
Here is my quickest lap.
Here is the Racechrono screen shot. The map is slightly off because I was trying to hold the map in the best view while screenshotting it! My external GPS now works perfectly, so all the times and speeds are correct!
What I learned from the weekend.
- Despite my 'slower' car via the drop in FD, I'm able to come within half a second of my PB.
- Tyres are worth their weight in gold, so when these NT01s wear out I'm going to try something else, maybe spend a little more money.
The car ran quite well, with nothing major to cause me any issues.
I have concern about the amount of coolant ending up in the overflow. The car gets an absolute beating at Winton, so does get warmer (or I assume so!) here than other circuits, so I'm hoping its nothing serious. There is some coolant traces around the cap on my Mishimoto radiator when I come back in, so I'll replace that cap and see what happens after that. I'm hoping its not a head gasket, though if it is, then I'll just get it fixed.
Over the next few weeks, I'll get an alignment, have the car dynoed at Nug Nats dyno day and then head to PI in early July. I was planning on doing both days, but the dyno day is the day before, which is fine for me.
Other than that, was a great weekend and I love this car.
These events are always great, giving you a chance to hang out with great people and also put a heap of effort into the weekend and hopefully come out with a PB!
I drove up on Saturday morning, arriving at Wallan about half an hour before the people I was meeting, so continued onto Benalla to top up on fuel and have a coffee at McDonalds.
The weather was ABSOLUTELY perfect!! Blue skies, nice and cool, with no chance of any rain through the day.
After scrutineering a few cars and drivers briefing, we went out for our first session.
I was in Group E with the big boys, which despite being a bit intimidating in the pre-grid, is a perfect group to be in because everyone knows their track etiquette and I'm only worried about what is coming up in my rearview than what is in front of me and going slower.
From the first few laps, the grip was definitely there and I knew it was going to be a pretty quick day. I didn't push too hard and came back in to check tyre pressures and prepare for the attack and hopefully triumphant 1:39 lap!
My laps for Saturday.
1:51.4600 1:42.5900 1:46.5980 *:**.****
1:54.1850 1:40.6470 1:41.2800 2:05.0020 *:**.****
1:49.2400 1:46.9500 1:47.2530 2:08.4290 1:41.1820 *:**.****
1:48.0470 1:43.0130 1:43.9270 2:00.4630 2:04.5950
1:51.4610 1:40.6780 1:55.8680 1:40.7840
As you can see above, I was able to get back on pace with 1:40, despite the change in gearing from the FD change (4.9 down to 4.4) from when I was last running laps this fast. Earlier in the year when it was a tad warmer, I was unsure on gearing for a few corners, but seem to have sorted that out.
The places that caused me concerns were through the boobs, where I was unsure if 2nd or 3rd would be quicker, as I was hitting the limiter a number of times before the middle, though 3rd really bogged down and changing from 2nd to 3rd back to 2nd or any combo like that meant I was doing too much and getting a bit overwhelmed.
The only other issue was pushing understeer through the dog leg and the back two corners. This is a pretty common issue for me and despite running my coilovers on hard on the rear, I was still unable to make the rear rotate how I had wanted it to and was pushing the tyres far too hard.
This resulted in a few off road adventures and committing to the dirt instead of dealing with the back of some of Winton's worst ripple strips.
I'm not sure what happened in the 3rd session, maybe I got caught in traffic?!
4th session was a passenger session with my pit buddy Bong. He commented on my increased commitment to corners compared to him. He runs similar laps in his JDM DC2R on RS3s.
The last session I went out in the cooling afternoon to try and throw together a good lap. I was on a reasonably quick one, when I came up to my nemesis aka the dog leg! I turned in and the car just pushed forward towards the ripple strip. I was committed to this lap and aimed off the back of the ripple to get onto the dirt and just stayed with my foot on the accelerator and came back on the track and continued on from my dust cloud! I came around to the start/finish for it to basically match my quickest lap for the day! Could have been something nice!
So end of Saturday, we were sitting at a 1:40.64, though I was feeling pretty good at the pace of the car despite the 'slower' gearbox. I was definitely having fun!!
Tom and I in the pits on Saturday.
After a pretty early night, due to a 4am start, we were back at it again to smash some PBs! I had left my car at the track, so had nothing to setup. I just checked the fluid levels and headed back out.
From the very first out lap, the track was in GREAT condition and on my first hot lap I pulled out my quickest lap for the weekend so far!!
I usually PB 2nd lap of the 2nd session, so to do it in the first session was quite surprising!
Previously I was all about smashing bulk amounts of laps, but at Winton I much prefer an out lap and then aiming to smash my quickest lap for the session on the following. It seems to work, the car/tyres/driver aren't too hot and I find it easier to focus on one lap than one session. More of a hill climb focus.
2nd session I went out and do another 1:40! at least I'm consistent and I would have probably been pretty happy with that, when a friend offered up his RPF1s with a 225 Kumho V70A tyre.
He had previously run NT01s before moving to these on the front and was impressed with the initial turn in and how precise they were compared to the NT01. I had lunch and then switched the wheels over before heading out in the 3rd session in the middle of the day.
By T2 on the out lap I knew this was going to be THE LAP for me. The turn in was so crisp and EXACTLY how I have wanted the car to handle at Winton but had never been able to achieve.
I crossed the start finish and headed out in the lap and turned in as I would, but had to correct as instead of catching the understeer, the car went where I wanted it to! In T2 I was able to get on the power earlier than I ever have and then out through the sweeper. As I exited the sweeper, I saw a certain CR-X driving friend off in the dirt, so lifted ever so slightly and then straight into the boobs. Again, the turn into the boobs was great and I was bouncing off the limiter more than previously because of this extra drive. After coming through the boobs and towards the dog leg, I turned in and got through the corner probably the cleanest I ever have!
The Racechrono lights were going green by this stage and I got through the back corners with no issues. Coming in through the esses, I knew it was going to be a PB, so shook my fist at my pit buddy Bong who had done his first 1:39 the day before. As I crossed the line for a 1:39.1, it was a pretty good feeling!
I pulled off after that, knowing there was more in the car with the V70As on the front, but also happy with what I'd achieved.
Here are my laps for Sunday
1:51.4690 1:40.4380 1:47.7740 1:41.3870
1:46.1140 1:40.7140 2:00.7450
1:48.8560 1:39.1040
Here is my quickest lap.
Here is the Racechrono screen shot. The map is slightly off because I was trying to hold the map in the best view while screenshotting it! My external GPS now works perfectly, so all the times and speeds are correct!
What I learned from the weekend.
- Despite my 'slower' car via the drop in FD, I'm able to come within half a second of my PB.
- Tyres are worth their weight in gold, so when these NT01s wear out I'm going to try something else, maybe spend a little more money.
The car ran quite well, with nothing major to cause me any issues.
I have concern about the amount of coolant ending up in the overflow. The car gets an absolute beating at Winton, so does get warmer (or I assume so!) here than other circuits, so I'm hoping its nothing serious. There is some coolant traces around the cap on my Mishimoto radiator when I come back in, so I'll replace that cap and see what happens after that. I'm hoping its not a head gasket, though if it is, then I'll just get it fixed.
Over the next few weeks, I'll get an alignment, have the car dynoed at Nug Nats dyno day and then head to PI in early July. I was planning on doing both days, but the dyno day is the day before, which is fine for me.
Other than that, was a great weekend and I love this car.
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