It was a dark and stormy night - well actually it was a gorgeous two weekend
series with the exception of an extremely damp Monday at Lime Rock.
Five hardy souls and one Canadian made the trek from San Francisco to Lime
Rock for the Labor Day event. Our Canadian friend Murray Ross (of Cortina
fame) drove non-stop from British Columbia with his lovely wife Judy ( now
there's a patient woman).
My first and lasting impression is that Lime Rock is one of the prettiest
settings I've ever seen. Charlie Gibson really knows how to throw a party. The
event was well organized with plenty of track time. The ladies actually
stopped in and watched us race (briefly). They visited every quaint town
within a days drive , and they're all quaint. They wore out several wooden
bridges and generally elevated the local economy to new heights.
Unfortunately our racing activities were not trouble free. On Friday AM I blew
the clutch in my 56 Alfa Spider, but I was lucky enough to locate Keith and
Scott from Alfas Unltd, who got me back on track in time for my PM run.
Fellow Alfista Jerry Tinney experienced a messy rear seal failure (on his car)
and managed to spin into the tire wall at the top of the hill on the back
straight, rearranging the the body of his GTV. We celebrated with a Bondo
party in our pit and made the GTV look battle hardened but raceable for The
Glen on the following weekend.
By Saturday PM I thought I had Lime Rock all figured out. I was having a great
time racing with screaming Honda when, after passing him on the front
straight, I went for 3rd and hit FIRST !. How exciting - I recall watching the
Honda flash past my nose as I spun off the turn onto the grass.
Whew, no damage, I thought, as I congratulated myself for escaping impact. But
for some reason, my trusty Alfa refused to start. Oh well I thought, probably
just a weak battery.
Imagine my surprise, after being towed back to our pit, when I peaked in the
wheel well to see my starter hanging by its cable and all the bolts sheared on
that side of my bell housing. Closer inspection revealed that the bell housing
was shattered.
So, back to Alfas Untld. Since Sunday was a Lime Rock Sabbath, but not Keiths,
He agreed to take my beleagured Alfamobile back to his shop for the necessary
repairs, which included a bellhousing and a whole bunch of bolts.
Miraculously, nothing else was damaged. My clutch was still clutchable and my
engine had the proper number of valves and springs in the correct position.
Monday dawned wet and miserable at Lime Rock. All of us felt grateful to still
be in the running, so we quietly folded our soggy tent and headed off for The
Glen.
Watkins Glen is without question the most exciting track I've ever driven
(remember, my home track is Sears Point so that's quite a compliment) I had
several lengthy conversations with my right foot and eventually convinced it
to stay down from turn one to the chicane. What a rush. I got down to 2:31 and
I know where I left a few seconds.
My disapointment with the Glen was the condition of our paddock area. How can
a world class track have gravel and boulders in the pits? But that's a small
complaint. Overall I would rate The Glen experience on a par with Road
America. R/A has brats, corn and Siebkens. But The Glen had the incredible
recreation of the original race. Imagine 6+ miles with crowds yelling and
waving flags. We even got to slide a bit going out of town - left up the hill,
until the cops slowed us down on the next lap.
Helmets Off to Jack Woehrle and his crew for somehow orchestrating 300+ cars
into town from the track, staging them on the Main Street for a show and then,
after two 6 mile laps at very reasonable speeds, back to the track in the
fading light.
Quite frankly it was an experience none of us (including our wives/pit honey-
passengers) will ever forget.
We ended up Sunday night with a burned exhaust valve in our FIA African Safari
Comet, a spun bearing in our GTV and no reverse on my Alfa. The Elva Courier
and the two Cortinas escaped without a scratch ( Murray Ross actually stopped
off at Road America on the way home to BC and had a great weekend racing at
the Fall R/A event)
So, cudos to all the organizers. Charlie Gibson and Paul Bench are my new
heroes. I learned that SVRA drivers do NOT eat their young, despite West Coast
rumors.
Come on out and visit. I can't come back for awhile. I'm licking my wounds and
counting my change.
Thumbs up to all of you ! You made us feel welcome and provide a once in a
lifetime experience.
Don Queen
President and CEO
"Smoke & Mirrors "
(all rights reserved - patent pending - close cover before striking )
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