2 weeks ago, I visited Summit Point, WV to participate in a 2 day DE with TrackDaze. This is another great club to drive with and another great track to add to my cap of driving experiences. To date, this is my favorite track. TrackDaze offered (4) 30 minute sessions per day which is a great value. Summit Point offered a new challenge with both low and high speed turns. Throughout the 2 day event, I became more comfortable with the track, my car, and driving in close proximity to NASA racers who are much, much more experienced than me. This was my 6th track day, 3rd in the Mazda.

Day 1, Session 1
I used this is as an exploritory session. Where are the turns and braking points? Who are the quick guys? I was running in the black run group which is the same as advanced or HPDE3 in other clubs. I could see immediately there were others more familiar with the track and DE driving in general. Many were NASA or SCCA racers.

I started off slow using 2nd gear in turns 1 and 5. My car was suffering a bit showing water temps at 210. It was a bloody hot day at 95. A black flag came out for a stranded car just off the racing line so all came in to pit. I turned off the car (I don't have a fan) to prevent the car from overheating. Once started and back on track, the engine temps had hit 220 and were climbing. I tried to cool by running quick and getting out of line, but it continued to climb and make strange noises. I pulled in and nursed the car to the paddock. The water temp was at 240 when I shut it down. Fluid emerged from the overflow to release some of the pressure. I run water and water wetter, not coolant. After lifting the hood, I noticed the steering rack boot had melted. I thought that was quite strange.

After talking to my mechanic we determined it was a turbo exhaust leak. The gasket between the turbo and manifold had blown out. To keep it alive throughout the day, I drained some fluid, added coolant and tightend down the turbo the best I could. He also said "stop using 2nd gear and drive faster. If you drive faster, the car will keep cooler". Sounds like good advice to me.

Day 1, Session 2
The car sounded better and temps ran cooler throughout the first 10 minutes. Later, the exhaust leak returned and temps started to climb again. I backed down my shift point to 7000 RPM and broke out of line when following in straight sections. This stabilized the temps to 220, but the car sounded aweful. I thought to myself... "I'm just gonna drive the thing. I didn't drive 400 miles and take time off work to nurse this car around. I'm gonna drive the wheels off it and hope it holds together".

Day 1, Session 3
I followed my buddy Gabe in his 2004 Evo MR the entire session to get him on film. It's great to see the differences in the 2 cars. He has quite a bit more power than me, but I'm close to 1000lbs lighter. He could scoot away on corner exits with AWD power and I carried much more speed throughout the corner (entry, apex, and exit). Following closely though took a toll on the engine temps. Upon pulling into the paddock, I saw the lower radiator hose had burst. This is why I don't like to run coolant on track. If it burst on track, I (and others) would be sliding on the coolant. Luckily, it didn't burst till I parked it.

Day 1, Session 4
I relaxed. The car was broken.

Day 2, Session 1
With a paddock repair to the radiator hose, another cinching on the turbo bolts and a good nights rest, I was ready to go. It was even hotter today than it was yesterday. I looked at my timer to reveal 114 cockpit temp on my 2nd session. Throughout this session, I started to push just a little harder into the turns, a little deeper in brake zones and my lap times started to come down. This caused higher corner exit speeds and forced me to shift at different points and ultimately use higher gears in some turns. This created yet another new learning experience.
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Day 2, Session 2
I continued to push a bit harder by braking deeper and carrying more speed in the corners. About 10 minutes in, I find NASA racer Eric Wong dicing with an M3. Eric is one of the top drivers in GTS3 and GTS2 in the Mid-Atlantic region. Some kind of instinct kicked in that made me push even harder to try to keep pace with these guys. I ended up turning my fastest lap during this session, but it wasn't the smoothest bunch of laps. The last session was almost as quick, but much smoother. I did get fairly close, but I know Eric was in GTS2 setup and wasn't driving to his full potential. He later drove off into the sunset. One of these days, I'll run toe to toe with him.
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Later in the session I felt a stumble in the car. At first I thought it was another mechanical failure, but the next lap, I realized I was out of fuel. I don't have a fuel gage so I must learn how much gas this thing uses or get scales. I pulled in, added 10 gallons, but the session was over before I finished.

Day 2, Session 3
I followed my buddy Gabe in the Evo MR the first half of the session. After breaking way, I continued to explore braking points and corner speed. At 1 point, I carried too much corner entry speed at turn 5 and drifted the rear of the car throughout the corner. It was a bit of a moment, but I held onto it.
Session 3 slide video

Day 2, Session 4
I'm continuing to get quicker and more comfortable. I'm also getting tired at this point. 30 minute sessions take a lot out of you; especially in this heat. Others must be too. Numerous participants had left at this point so the Advanced and Instructor groups were combined. Towards the end of the session, I got the feeling like I'm starting to figure this thing out. The driving part that is. I ran out of gas again. 10 gallons doesn't last 1 hr.
Session 4 video

Day 2, Session 5
Bonus session with advanced and instructor groups combined. This was far and away my best session. I ran most of my laps in the 28, 29 range with my fastest @ 1:28.83. I got the opportunity to run in very close proximity to NASA racers (spec e30, H2 Integra, CMC Mustang, GTS3 M3, etc...) It was a great experience that I learned a lot from. These guys really drive quite a bit harder than I do. They brake very late in the brake zones and carry more speed in the turns than I expected. The Mustang and e30 were very tough to pass. I couldn't shake the Integra. I tried a bit too hard going into turn 5 to get a good run through the carosel. This was the tight, twisty part of the track where I was quick. I entered turn 5 too hot and looped it facing the wrong way. All the cars I worked to get by paraded on through. Wish I had it on film, but I ran out of memory.

Next event is Lime Rock Park with SCDA on 8/13. There will be some very nice cars there. I'll try to get some video of me passing a GT3 or Ferrari or something exotic like that. Somehow, I don't think it will measure up to running with NASA racers though.