Connecticut Autocross and Rally Team Autocross # 7: The competition tightens up. by Kevin FitzMaurice

CART met for the seventh autocross of the 2007 season on Sunday, July 29. Eighty nine drivers, including twenty six novice, registered for the event at Rowley Spring in Bristol, Connecticut.

The course design was hampered during the layout process because a loaded car carrying truck was parked in the parking lot. The safety committee decided that if you hit the truck you would get a three second penalty, if you shook a car loose from the truck, it would be an additional three second penalty. However, any cars shook loose would then be available for fun runs. The safety committee, if nothing, else, has a sense of humor. Before this idea could be tested, the truck driver showed up and moved the truck. However, he hit a cone exiting the lot, so was charged with a two second penalty.

A large moveable object non withstanding, the course layout went smoothly. Bill Evans designed a course that ran faster than it walked. After a few modifications to avoid some obstacles, and to slow the finish, the course was finished. Since our regular novice leader, Paul Omichinski, was unavailable, Bob Doiron volunteered to step up to the challenge, and lead the novice herd around the lot. When the novice walk was done, the driver's meeting started, and then it was time to saddle up.

The course started with a very short straight going into a left right "S" combination. This combo ran slower than it looked because of the parking lot sealer, but coming out of the right, it was time to fly. Brake hard, and set up for another "S" but right left this time. You could make the left into a large sweeper and convert it from a 180 to a 270, or connect the two lefts via a short straight away. Either way worked fine, it was a matter of personal preference, and handling. A right hand offset gate kept the next section from being perfectly straight, but still ran fast. A 110 degree left was next followed by a optional, decreasing slalom. Bearing left at the start of the slalom was easier at the start, and gave you a better setup for the finish. Bearing right at the slalom start meant you had one less turn to deal with. I tried both ways, and they both had their advantages. My fastest run was done with a right turn at the slalom start, but the sealer was also hot and sticky at this point, so I'm not sure if that was the key. The finish was a narrow left turn. A full stop was required at the end of the course for safety reason, since you were heading for the timing trailer.

The competition keeps getting tighter as the season goes on. The smaller courses tend to group the competitors that must closely, and balance horsepower versus handling. First thru third were separated by less than a second in five groups. Tom Mak was bumped from B stock to A stock, but still pulled out a class win in his 350Z, beating Justin Lau's STI by less than four tenths of a second. Tom also was third on the FTD list this event. Zack Wolkoff won the all Miata C stock class by just over one tenth of a second, beating Michael Koloniaris. Todd Kean made a great run in G stock, winning by a second in his Impreza RS, with John Westerman's Cooper S in second. G stock was surprisingly large in this event, with only one HS car bumping up.

B street prepared was won by just under a second by Leo Ficks in an Evo. Leo also was second in the FTD run. Mark Kirves in an STI was second in this class. C street prepared was won by Chris DiFiore in a second generation MR2. Kevin FitzMaurice was second by less than a second in a Miata. Chris Fuhrmann won D street prepared in a Mirage, with a two second margin over Kevin Shindewolf.

Street Mod saw Robert Pielli Jr. taking his Cooper S to a win by seven tenths of a second over James Velgot's STI. Street Touring S, another large class was Honda battle, won by Mike Lodsin's 91 Civic, beating James Reinle's 04 Civic by less than two tenths of a second. Street Mod 2 was a blow out as Nick Fandacone beat Kevin Shea driving the same 350Z. Once again, Nick also scored the FTD with a blistering run of 30.375, It was probably the scarf that brought the speed, Nick.

A prepared had Brian Moran back to his winning ways in his Z06. John Santos towed his Factory Five Cobra from New Hampshire but ended up one second behind Brian. F prepared was situation normal, with Jay Bode coming out on top of Bob Doiron in the Fiero war. A Modified was won by Tom Duran in a Superformance 7, beating Gary Frankel in a Fiero. In the Novice classes, YN was won by Jeff Szymczyk, XN was won by Matthew Struski and ZN was won by Earle Hollings. Our next event is back at Rowley Spring on August 12. Stop on by and have some fun.