Buttonwillow layout

[Jad]

I have now run BW once in race #1 (2005) and once in race #13 (2003). I personally prefer #13 I think. It is much easier on brakes and I like the big sweeper versus the Star Mazda hairpin. You may be 5-10 mph faster through the Esses with Star Mazda but the approach is straight, making the Esses easier which may counter the speed differential.

What do other people think?

[kary]

I like the clockwise star mazda configuration the best.

[pdy]

This was my first time at BWRP. Even though we only ran Sat,
I really loved the track. I would probably enjoy any of the many
track configurations.

But I do feel it would be best to keep the same configuration
for all Time Trials. Why? Because we get enough change with
our autocross and Qurph DEs, it is really nice to have some
consistent, regular tracks year after year that don't change.

OTOH, I do also enjoy variety (maybe why I have competed in
so many different Porsches). If we go to a track twice in a year
(like Streets), it's fun run a different configuration or direction.

Still, without having driven any of the other BWRP setups,
I vote we keep running the one we did.

BTW, with two drivers running the 911 with puny A calipers and
stock pads, we didn't have any brake problems. And I know I
was using them hard.

[gulf911]

geez Jad, again we agree...

I did like #13 better. Easier on brakes I think also.

pdy: If your brakes were fine I may ask what kind of car you were running? And what brake cooling you are using? I would suspect we may be carrying more speed into the corners, but I don't know. With Carrera fronts and M's in the rear with race pads, my brakes lasted about 4 laps and started to fade, until I installed the 993 deflectors then I was fine.

[MikeD]

Personally, I like #1 clockwise and #13 counter clockwise.

Would you guys be up for running BW twice in a season? Once as Race #1 clockwise, and once as Race #13 counter clockwise?

[Steve Grosekemper]

I like #1 CW the best by far but would love 2 events with two differnet tracks.

[Greg Phillips]

Personally, I like #1 clockwise and #13 counter clockwise.

Would you guys be up for running BW twice in a season? Once as Race #1 clockwise, and once as Race #13 counter clockwise?

Twice a year would be fine at that track.
Another option is to use different configurations on Saturday and then just one on Sunday before timed runs.
You could also have 2 different events with Saturday in 1 configuration and do run session times for timeing ala Fontana at the end of the day and then repeat in another configuration on Sunday.

Greg

[pdy]

You could also have 2 different events with Saturday in 1 configuration and do run session times for timeing ala Fontana at the end of the day and then repeat in another configuration on Sunday.

Greg


I like that idea - two events, two tracks... Gets my vote fersure.

[pdy]

Dan:

It's the 79 SC, class IS. 6-points (Torsion bars, sway bar, soft tires).

Stock engine with open exhaust, rated 172HP. Weighs 2800 lbs
with driver. Stock brakes, stock Frodo pads, no cooling other
than removed inner shields.

I was at 5100 in 5th before Star, and before #13, which is 110mph.
My times were 2:15s (Saturday only).

When the pads get thin, they transfer more heat, and the pedal
does get a bit softer. I plan on going to the Blew-Hock pads,
or maybe Porter-feeled later this year.

HTH,

Paul.

[MVZ944T]

I vote for track config #1 that we used. May be hard on the brakes, but it is also a good learning tool. Plus the esses are a must ! Good drive Jad!

If we want to use Buttonwillow twice a year, we had better get in line early. POC could not get a date there this year except for Mothers Day or Easter I think, so they passed. I was speaking with the guy that builds the Mazda spec cars. He told me the bike clubs are getting so big, and there are so many of them, that because of the large gate (300-500 bikes), the tracks are giving them preferential treatment. That kind of sucks.

[Tim Comeau]

I liked #1 CW, too, but #1 Counter clockwise is a bigger challenge.
The biggest diff is the offramp. It's still a 2nd gear turn, but the braking zone has a small rise in it and it becomes a decreasing radius. THAT is a challenge! Flying over Lost Hill the other way is different too. The esses are near flat out till the entrance of star mazda. How much throttle can you hold through the first part of Star Mazda and still have time to get the car slowed down enough to make the entrance onto the back straight? Riverside is flat out into the bus stop with barely enough track for a 944! Stops the ol' heart everytime! You know the car can do it again and again, but everytime the edge of the track comes up to meet your outside tires...........yeehaa!
Try it.
You might like it.
I suppose if we tried a config we didn't like at all, we could switch easily. Just move the corner workers.

[Doug]

First off, thanks for everyone's hard work at the time trial. Buttonwillow's my favorite track...lots of variety to the turns, never a dull moment.

Jad, I totally agree with you on the sweeper thing. B-Willow is already hard enough on brakes as it is, and the higher entrance speed into Star Mazda cooks them further. Plus, I like the challenge of getting the car to rotate as the sweeper pinches down at the end.

As it was, I could run about 2/3 of each session before the brakes needed a double-pump before each turn. Serves me right for only having Kragen's finest DOT 4 fluid in there! Luckily, Porterfield's is about 5 blocks away, so I'll stock up on the Motul or ATE.

I've run B-Willow in the CCW direction once, and what bugged me is the blind approach to Offramp. Sunrise is also a lot harder to judge in this direction.

Hey Bob Brand, did you ever get that bumper-cam video? I'd love to see it!

--Doug