This will be a very quick and brief update, because I’ve been trying to catch up on work and other things after being out for 10 days. But BMWCCA Oktoberfest 2009 at Road Atlanta was a HUGE success for Anderson-Anderson Racing!! Out of three races, we had two class wins and a second! Here is the basic chronological story…….
The tow down on Tuesday 9/29 was uneventful and enjoyable (diesel dually’s just ROCK – they make long tows with a big trailer easy and smooth), and we got a good paddock spot with an electrical supply, etc. We slept in the trailer all week, which was great and actually more convenient than a hotel. We had AC, heat, lights, bathrooms nearby and hot showers. Whenever we can do that from now on we are going to go that route, because you can sleep in, and you don’t have to take time and hassle to secure and clean up your paddock area every night.
Wednesday 9/30 and Thursday 10/1 I instructed in BMWCCA Club Racing school. That was very enjoyable and not only allowed me to contribute back into the CR program in a wonderful way, but also gave me some good seat time at Road Atlanta. The car ran great, the ABS worked fine, and the only minor problem was a leaky left rear stainless steel brake line. We replaced it with a spare SS one and we were good to go. That was the only repair we had to do to the car all week/weekend!!
Friday 10/2 was the first actual race day, and was the feature sprint race, worth 200% in points. I qualified 12th on the grid, second in class behind Bill Heumann, who was 9th. I got a great start (I LOVE starts!!!), and got right behind Bill on lap one. A C-Mod car wrecked on lap one on turn three, and then in turn 5 on that first lap, I got a great run on Bill and got by him. I held that class lead for that lap and the next, and then at the end of lap 2 they threw a BFA (Black Flag All), and wanted everyone to come back into the pits so they could safely clean up the CM wreck in turn 3. So we went in and waited for a few min. That BFA has caused a large controversy, as the first few cars in the lead pack were already passed pit entrance when the BFA came out and were unable to make the pits, and received a 1-lap penalty. That issue is being sorted out, and that penalty may be repealed based on video evidence, but it didn’t affect I-Prepared at all, as Bill and I both came in, as did the rest of the field. Anyway, on the restart, I kept the lead, and pulled away a bit. Then Bill got bottled up behind a B-Mod car and allowed me to check out a bit, and I won by several seconds. So the #186 IP M3 took the IP win in the big Feature Race!!! We were obviously very excited, because it is the only 200% race of the year, and helped make up for our recent frustrations at Mid-Ohio, BeaveRun and Nelson Ledges.
Saturday 10/3 was a 150% points race, a 60-minute enduro. I would not have to fuel, so it was really just a long sprint race for us, with a 5-minute pit stop to grab a drink. But it actually did end up to be nothing more than a sprint, as I will describe. I again qualified 12th overall, as I would all three days/races (weird….), Bill was again 9th overall and first in IP. I got a decent, but not great, enduro start, and tried to work my way up to Bill. Not too far into the enduro, a mechanical problem (oil housing came apart or broke) on a car led to a massive oil dump at the end of the front straight and into turn 1. Because it was a very fast and dangerous part of the track, they decided to pull everyone into the pits for 15 minutes while they cleaned it up. So we all came in and took a break for 15 min while the track crew cleaned up. The restart went OK, but I was unable to make a move on Bill, and settled in to see what I could do. Bill pitted a few minutes later, and I stayed out and kept hammering away. I had clean track for several laps, and was able to run off several 1:36 laps, then pulled into the pits for my mandatory 5-min stop. We did a perfect stop, exactly at 5:00, and I got a good exit out of the pits. As I accelerated up the hill out of the pits, I came out from the blend line right on Bill’s rear bumper. On the clock, I still had 7-8 minutes left to try a pass for the lead, so I began to set up a strategy for a move. Traffic began to play a factor, and then coming up the hill out of turn 1, Bill put two wheels off driver’s left, but I was unable to pass him, but I closed up on him. I was pushing pretty hard on that lap, and then I made two minor bobbles on that lap (pushing too hard!!!), in turn 5 I got loose and had to lift a hair, then put two wheels off coming out of turn 7, and Bill pulled a little gap on me. I was closing up a little on him again at about the 55 minute mark, but amazingly the checkered flag flew and the race was over. I was obviously very upset that it had ended early, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. So I had to settle for second in class and 13th overall, about 1.2 seconds behind Bill. Saturday night was a great party by BimmerWorld (thanks guys!) with good beer and BBQ.
Sunday 10/4 was the final race of the weekend, a 150% points sprint. It was a 40 minute window, which meant that the green-to-checker race length would probably be at least 35 minutes. I again qualified 12th overall and second in class, but this time Bill was 7th on the overall grid, so I definitely had my work cut out for me. The start was uneventful, and I settled in to try to work on getting up to Bill. I spent the first 11 laps behind Bill, staying about 3-4 seconds behind him, hoping for a mistake, traffic, or something. Then on lap 12, Bill spun in turn 10a, and I came around to find him sideways on the driver’s left between 10a and 10b, and went by to take the class lead. I had clean track in front of me at that point and Bill was about 6-7 seconds back of me. Unlike BeaveRun, I kept hammering away this time, and was able to maintain the lead between 5-7 seconds. The last 8 laps of the race were uneventful, and it wasn’t until the very last lap, when Dad radioed in that the checker was out, that I backed off slightly to avoid a last-minute mistake. I cruised in that last lap, taking care not to make any errors, and let the class lead bleed down to about 3 seconds. But I was thrilled to grab the class win, especially when it seemed that I was going to have to be content with second.
So we ended the weekend with two class wins and a second, a great result. The car ran perfectly, other then the brake line the only other thing we had problems with was the power steering lines kept coming loose. But those are easy fixes, and overall the car was fantastic. We loaded up Sunday afternoon after the final sprint, and were on the road by 3:00 pm. The trip back was long but again uneventful, and we pulled into McB Autosport at about 1:45 am and unhitched.
Overall, a great weekend and a wonderful Oktoberfest! The weather all 5-6 days was sunny, pleasant and 75 degrees. We’re back in the points hunt now, even with the 20-point 2009 penalty from BeaveRun, so hopefully with a good event at Mid-Ohio we will have a shot to repeat in IP. I’ll post some pics and videos here this weekend when I have some time. Cheers!
