Edmonton Race Weekend - June 20/21

[Praemunitus]

I acted as pit crew for my Dad a few weekends ago (on vacation) at CFB Edmonton. He's running a Porsche 944 Turbo S with a Porsche LeMans widebody kit. Car is currently only running about 13psi of boost (we had a boost leak - now fixed) so roughly 300 hp, give or take. The car runs on a mix of C12 and pump gas (4:1 ratio), mainly because the car is running at over 20psi at full boost.

He finished fourth in the first race, third in the second, second in the third, then was running fourth in the final race when he appeared to blow something in the engine. We think it was a seal in or around the turbo but it could have been a headgasket. Nothing leaking from the top of the motor but we didn't want to tear it down at the track. Looks like the cam seal was also leaking, so we shut it down for the weekend.

I got to drive the car for about 12 laps and had a blast. Tons of grip, way more braking power than my S2000, and I was driving it at speeds I'd drive my S2000 at the track and was nowhere near the limit. I think I got the back end sliding slightly only once. Very neutral to drive overall. The 315mm wide rear slicks help!

Here are some shots of his car:

1. Last short straight before the final turn onto the main straight

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2428/3652287787_57900be6cb_b.jpg


2. Heading into the final turn

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2468/3652292179_33c9d736d1_b.jpg

There were a few other neat cars there.

3. Harold Schmidt's 911 GT2 class car. Capable of 800 hp at full boost (fully controllable from the cockpit) but requiring an engine rebuild after six hours at that power level. Costs $160 per lap to run it (roughly $5000 per race weekend)! Fastest "normal" car on the track, by about 3.5s per lap at race pace (5s per lap at qualifying pace).

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3103/3652288907_51e30ebb30_b.jpg

4. Oldschool 1970s BMW 2002 with slicks. Very quick, especially considering its age!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2432/3653092112_32bcd66eee_b.jpg

5. Sports Racer running slicks. Easily the fastest car on the track by about 8s per lap faster than Harold's 911 GT2 car.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3300/3653097456_601be6ee91_b.jpg

6. Coming into the pits

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3350/3652302081_0ee33d350c_b.jpg

7. Sunbeam with factory-installed Ford 302 V8

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2426/3652306605_af1f0ee1af_b.jpg

8. Tube-frame Nissan 300ZX with 600hp. $100,000 purchase price!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3345/3653096264_6d118b4f00_b.jpg

All pictures shot with my Canon XSi with 85mm f/1.8. I had to crop them moderately to get the cars decently large but they still came out sharp overall. A 135mm f/2 or 70-200mm f/2.8 or f/4 would have been fantastic.

Criticism and comments welcome!

[PhotosGuy]

I got to drive the car for about 12 laps and had a blast. Serious envy here! I like #6 best. Get the 70-200 & you'll never regret it. ;)

[Praemunitus]

I got lucky. In the first race the second morning (right after I took it out during an open session), he blew the head gasket.

70-200 is definitely my next lens. I'm just debating the 2.8 vs the 4.0. The former is way more expensive but really, I don't need a zoom that big indoors (and the larger aperture) very often so the 4.0 is probably the way to go... My 85mm will probably handle all but the worst indoor shooting.

[PhotosGuy]

70-200 is definitely my next lens. I'm just debating the 2.8 vs the 4.0. The former is way more expensive but really, I don't need a zoom that big indoors (and the larger aperture) very often so the 4.0 is probably the way to go... My 85mm will probably handle all but the worst indoor shooting. I had the f/4 & it was great. I got the f/2.8 so I could infrequently use the 2X TC, & it's not bad & saved buying a 100-400. I love the 85mm indoors!

[EvoIXMR]

Loving the Mitsu!