Just back from the inaugural vintage event at VIR with VDCA. Whew! I must
say it was the most enjoyable and memorable weekend of my admittedly short
vintage career. From the welcoming "guards" at the front gate, to the
cheerful registration team, to the unlimited paddock parking (500 cars can
be accommodated), to the ample electrical hookups (cutting down on the din
of generators), to the clean and generous bathroom facilities, etc., etc.,
this facility and its staff just oozes attention to detail and the mark of a
class operation. The whole weekend just seemed to flow and was well
organized without the appearance of stifling "organization". And the track!
3.3 miles of everything you could ask for: longish straights, tight
corners, sweeping corners, uphill esses, downhill esses, elevation changes,
and a glorious view from an open cockpit. And the "historic" corner known
25 years ago as Oak Tree and still there today. A tight, decreasing radius
corner (tighter, slower, and narrower than LR) it features a majestic oak
tree on the inside of the corner. The tree's branches overhang the track
creating a patch of shade as you race under them. Talk about the ambience
of years gone by. And the track has been very safely resurrected with a
minimum of concrete barriers and guardrail but huge amounts of open grassy
runoff areas. Yes, some racing also took place if you could take your mind
off the beauty of the whole place.
The Easter Egg hunt of Friday evening took on a serious note as the amount
of eggs you collected determined your starting position in Saturday's Big
Bunny Enduro (yes, it was that kind of weekend, fun and relaxed). Neither
Michael Mulroney (Morgan +4 SS), nor Don Greimel (Morgan 4/4), nor yours
truly (Morgan +8) wanted to run the whole hour so Michael asked the
organizers if they would mind if the three of us ran our cars as a tag team
for the hour. The VDCA thought it was a great idea. The egg hunt took on a
serious note as we combined our eggs so our leadoff man (Michael) would get
a good position (he/we started 10th), I became the middle man, and Don
(with respect to his having run at VIR when it was "new") was our anchor
man. My wife Kerry was our pit woman/timer and, as per the enduro rules,
had to wear a set of bunny ears although one wag actually duct-taped his
ears to his helmet! To keep track of our stints, we used the old method of
pieces of tape stuck to the dashboard, although mine began to stick to each
other and I lost track, I think I "ripped" Don off of one lap. We even
garnered an award although it may have been more for "accomplishment" than
speed. My only "complaint" was that there weren't enough cars in my group
(TA). Four were registered, one was a no-show, one had a mechanical
problem, leaving me and the ground-pounding Corvette of Udo Horn to "fight
it out". I kidded Udo that my "race" would be to try to keep from getting
lapped during the nine lap feature! I was left for dead at the start (the
exhaust blast from Udo's car moving the little Morgan that (wished it) could
over about two feet) and gamely tried to keep up in the twisty bits. Don
Greimel and I figured Udo should come blasting by on the last lap. I
started watching my mirrors in earnest around lap 7 and glancing over at
other parts of the track looking for that hulking orange Corvette, but come
the checkered flag, I had done it, moral victory to "mighty Mog". Udo
"claims" he was trying hard to gather me up but methinks he was showing this
rookie some mercy!
I am very pleased to report that all three Morgans ran perfectly all weekend
and that in itself must be some sort of record! Track time was plentiful.
I put 200 miles on the car and I opted to not run one of my practice
sessions nor the enduro practice. Could've easily been 250+. Mother Nature
cooperated with a very nice day on Fri and glorious days on Sat and Sun.
So . . . . .check your schedules and calendars. Get to a VIR event soon.
Folks, this place is a keeper.
Cheers, Craig Seibert 1968 Morgan +8 car#611 "Duff Morgan Racing"
PS Just a plug for the "Official" grand reopening event on June 9-11.
This should be a "biggie". Check the VDCA and/or VIR websites for details.
Note this is a VIR event and your car does not have to be prepared to VDCA
specs. Check the regs. You'll love it!
PSS I know there are lotsa Morgans out there wearing racing numbers. Come
out for this event. It's a Morgan friendly track with Morgan friendly
people.
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