I'm Back! And i just got back from the 2012 Rolex ALMS series's stop at Watkins Glen. This event took place June 28th-July 1st, and included a 150 Mile race in the Continental tire series, and a 45 Min. Sportsman Showcase event. I thought this was a very good race weekend. I started the weekend arriving at 6:30AM Friday. We waited in for 30 Minutes before the gates opened. we where the lucky ones. We were able to get in to the gate 30 Minutes before some people who had waited since 4:00 AM. We got REAL lucky. My condolences to whoever was a victim of this. We camped out in the heel of The "boot" section of the Watkins Glen circuit. As soon as we arrived, we my dad and i had too jump Into our TVR 2500M. (any questions about this vehicle or TVR as a company, please comment with your question.) We were going to The Lake to Lake Ramble Arranged by Watkins Glen's Stone Bridge Drivers program. We Met the group at the Internation Motor Racing Research Center (my kind of Library). The cars there included lots and lots of Mazda Miatas from every generation, Honda S2000 a Shelby Cobra, Lots of Mustangs, an Alfa Romeo Spider, MG B, MG Midget and even an E-type Jag. The first item on the agenda was a brunch at the Glen Club while the Rolex series practiced. Then the group did 3 laps of the new course. That was quite an experience, and with no power steering or anything, my dad really had to work at it. And you would not believe how much braking is required even when you are just "parading". After that we went straight on to a 120 mile ramble. we chose the Spirited Route, which includes tons of hairpins and tight sections. I got to be the navigator, which is harder than you think. All was well until we were kept waiting for 15 minutes at the gate entering the track even though 2 people were in front of us. The engine blew an antifreeze hose. (i had to tell my dad what was going on). We finally made it back to the campsite.
The Next day was the Continental Tire 150. My karting Instructor happened to be a driver in this series. He drove the #4 Mazda MX-5. Unfortunately his day was cut short due to rear end damage. (was not his fault). This race was very exiting and was led for the majority by the #14 Nissan Nismo 270z. To bad for him, because that cars day ended heading down into the boot when he collided with a lapped car head on. The race was ultimately won in the Grand Sport class and overall by my favorite car, the #13 Porsche sponsored by RumBum, and driven by Matt Plumb. I do not know who won the Street Tuner class, but i believe it was a Honda.
Sunday was the day of the Sahlens 6 Hours of the Glen. The DP class was led early by Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas in the #01 Telmex Car, but they ended up finishing 4th in class. GT was led for a long time by the Stevenson Camaro GT.Rs. Towards the end of the the race, The #70 Maxda RX-8 led, but was overtaken by the #59 Porsche driven by Leh Keen. The overall win and DP winner was the #9 Action Express car. The GT winner was Robin Liddell in a Stevenson Camaro.
A few notes:
Andy Lally's Porsche caught fire in the early stages of the race.
Those Stevenson Camaros sound VISCIOUS!
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