Thank you IRDC and Conference...what a great weekend at Pacific.....

Bill Bonsell

Bill Bonsell

Well-known member
This was really my first huge race weekend apart from a Conference Novice race and two SCCA races this year. It was an incredible experience and one I won't forget soon. I want to say thank you to everyone involved in putting on such a great event and allowing us very fortunate individuals a place to feed our passion.

The schedule ran flawlessly from what I could tell and the huge Group 5 and 2 grids made for intense racing even when at the back end. I learned a lot (like don't loose focus until you seen the checkered flag). I met new racers and reconnected with some old friends. And as a Porsche Club member, I was excited for the 944 Cup guys who I'm hoping maybe are finding a new home!

Again, thank you from a very appreciative first year racer:biggrin:
 
I second the big thank you to IRDC. It was my first Novice race and what a great way to start. All the questions that I had were answered and I now feel like part of the family. I hope to be out for the next race pending a diagnosis of the car. A huge thanks to Steve Clinton for letting me use his car this weekend and I hope we can get it ready for PIR.

Nick
 
This was without a doubt one of the best races for me in many years. The orgainization and workers cannot be thanked enough for all their hard work and dedication at both the Club and Conference level. Of course I seem to always avail myself of the tow services, (broken throttle cable) a special thanks to them. My the way I now carry a carabiner in my drivers suit pocket.

Lee and I had a great race and he did incredible in his first race in his new Stohr. Sometimes you need competition to provide for your own improvement and he provided it for me. Thanks Lee great clean racing. The 3 retirees in F had a lot of fun this weekend and Lee you also most got me at the finish line. Just wait until Dave gets his new motor from George then the fun will really start.
 
The 30 PRO3 drivers thank IRDC and the folks at Car Tender for good racing. This may have been the largest PRO3 grid to take the green for the race at Pacific Raceways. Though I will say that 50+ cars on track at one time has its pros and cons.
 
I know all of the 944 Cup guys had a great time as well. It was great to get them all out to a Conference event... and we had a blast playing with the Pro3 guys in both the GTCC race and Group 5. The GTCC race was awesome with no cars retired and no major incidents the whole race. It is fun to run in mixed traffic... really good practice for those who don't run mixed class enduros.

I do have to apologize for my blown oil line between T7 and T8 on Sunday morning. Got it off track as quick as possible (not that I had a choice... it just slid there!) and into the paddock but I know I laid down a decent amount of slippery stuff right on the line. Not like you can plan for that but... still sucks not only to put fluids down, but also to clean 6 quarts of oil off of everything in the engine bay! (Incident video at: http://vimeo.com/13825042)

We will definitely be back for more events in Conference when we make our 2011 944 Cup PNW schedule... hopefully we can make the GTCC race an annual affair!

Thanks to the IRDC, Car Tender, all track stewards and officials, and the volunteer workers for a very awesome weekend!
 
I see I wasn't the only one with problems in group 5.

Hats off to the IRDC. With 170 drivers and 268 entries this was a huge weekend. There were lots of spectators as well. It seems like there were plenty of people on the hills at 3a/b and T5a/b and as I came around T9 it looked like the grands stands had plenty of people.

In G5 I was leading Tucker and Jeff in ITA when I started to over heat. My radiator cap was only holding about 3lbs of pressure instead of 14. Thus is racing. I did my best to make up for it in G2 though!

It was good to see plenty of Canadians down here and also plenty of participants from the SCCA joining us. I can't wait to do it again!
 
What a great fun weekend. Hats off to IRDC, the workers, and Car Tender for all their help in making it happen. I am sure I speak for all participants when I say that we appreciate the effort you all extend in making this type of event happen. We know that it could not happen without you.
As for the the 944 cup guys and others that typically do not run with Conference, it was fun having you guys around - so please come on back. There is a particular car or two that I would like another crack at...... ;)
Speaking of which, here is some video from the begining of the the German Touring Car race. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tInpHN99QO8

Middle of the race here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n25S_...eature=channel

I will try to post the rest later (sorry about the glare - not sure what is causing it)
 
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mikemc said:
(sorry about the glare - not sure what is causing it)
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It's caused by all that white-hot speed you generate in that monster you call a "car". It's more like a weapon, really! Fun to watch...

Kudos as well to IRDC and everyone of the volunteers that had to handle the huge grids and out-of-Conference drivers who may not have been as familiar with ICSCC. From this driver's perspective, if there were problems, I never saw evidence of them! Nice work everyone!
 
It goes both ways!

I too would like to thank IRDC for putting on such a great race weekend, and for your contribution to my travel expenses – it is a kind gesture and very much appreciated.

I also want to thank the drivers for putting on one heck of a good show! It was SO much fun to watch, and for me personally, seeing a nice number of open wheelers out there gladdened my heart! The 50+ groups were awesome and kudos to all of you for keeping it as clean as you did.

I was in Edmonton last weekend for the Indy Car race, and we have our Children’s Charities Grand Prix up here in Mission next weekend, so I was going to have to reluctantly give Seattle a pass ... until I checked the entries on Motorsport.reg ... which changed my mind! And I’m so glad I went. The huge grids harkened back to the good’ol days, but then I looked around my corner, saw only Nick and I there instead of the 5 or 6 turnworkers we used to have on a corner, and that brought me crashing back to the present! (no pun intended :) ) Flagging while communicating is a bit tricky! And after the drive home, and the HOUR wait at the border (yuch), I crashed again, this time into bed, where I slept for 12 HOURS!!! Another sign “things” ain’t what they used to be ...

After 20 years, I continue to be very proud to be part of such a sterling bunch! So thank YOU to the drivers!!
 
I was very impressed at the flagging in the G3 race yesterday. With 2 Atlantics and a few Mazda's with us it was good to have those heads up while trying to run hard in our own battles. Every corner was 'up on their flags' and not once did I have any issues. Most of the guys in our group said the same thing, so thank you very much!
 
Thanks to all those who put on the races. We appreciate you guys handling all the issues that come up, from omissions from MSR to timing gremlins to gridding 50+ groups.

We had a great weekend with some good competitive racing in group 5, and good company in the paddock. It looks like 52 started in gp5, and from my view in the race there was alot of good driving and courtesy. It was alot of fun!
Having the Porsches there definitely added interest to the mix.

#99 yellow EIP Rx7
 
colin_koehler said:
I see I wasn't the only one with problems in group 5.

Hats off to the IRDC. With 170 drivers and 268 entries this was a huge weekend. There were lots of spectators as well. It seems like there were plenty of people on the hills at 3a/b and T5a/b and as I came around T9 it looked like the grands stands had plenty of people.

In G5 I was leading Tucker and Jeff in ITA when I started to over heat. My radiator cap was only holding about 3lbs of pressure instead of 14. Thus is racing. I did my best to make up for it in G2 though!

It was good to see plenty of Canadians down here and also plenty of participants from the SCCA joining us. I can't wait to do it again!
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It was nice meeting you Colin I was the guy working grid chatting with you about the Cool Suit. You had an excellent race in Group 2!!! It was awesome watching you elect to go back to the end of the pack because of your overheating problems and then pick your way through the field. It I am not mistaken it looked like you slid right past Jeff Clark for third place right at the start/finish line. Great driving and I look forward to getting more tips from you as a driver throughout the season.
 
nickrice20 said:
It was nice meeting you Colin I was the guy working grid chatting with you about the Cool Suit. You had an excellent race in Group 2!!! It was awesome watching you elect to go back to the end of the pack because of your overheating problems and then pick your way through the field. It I am not mistaken it looked like you slid right past Jeff Clark for third place right at the start/finish line. Great driving and I look forward to getting more tips from you as a driver throughout the season.
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Thank you very much. I did pass Jeff in T9 on the last lap and it felt gooooooooooood. There's always satisfaction in doing something that somebody else said couldn't be done.

I'm relatively new to this going fast thing so I do my best to offer good advice but there's lots of people in Conference with YEARS more experience than me. In 2004 I started racing and right after upgrading I totaled my car. I built another in 2007, upgraded in 2008 and won my first race in ITA in 2009. That is why I still feel like a rookie.

I think I will start a new thread about what people do to learn and progress and what techniques they use to go faster at what tracks.
 
I'd like to add my thanks as well.

I am really glad that I made the trip up North, it was a fun weekend with a lot of great racing, some huge fields, and some drivers were kind enough to coat me in dust while taking pics from the bank between turn 3a and 3b ;)

I'd especially like to express my thanks to IRDC Race Chair Frank DiMiceli, Scott (Race Control), and Thomas (Flag Chief) for their assistance.

Wonderful weekend, and @Bonnie, it was awesome to see you again!!

Doug Berger (www.dbpics.com
My IRDC July/Aug 2010 pics - http://photos.dbpics.com/irdc-aug-2010
 
Thanks Doug, good to see you too! Great pic's, just been browsing through them ... glad you didn't have to put your old turnworking skills to use while up on the Turn 3 berm, couple of close calls!
 
I just wanted to say THANKS as well. I know I am little late to the party but work has been insane this week. I finished my last novice race finally and got to play with the big kids some.

Debbie-Thanks for all your help in registration. I had a strange circumstance entering my first senior race that was 5 minutes after my last novice race. Then adding and subtracting me from classes on Sunday.

Randy-Thanks for working with me, and all your help so far this year.

Corner Workers-Thanks for spending your days looking over us and for all the heads up in the GTCC. My car was not well and I could barely stay out of my own way.

All the other volunteers and officials- I know you are there and how much work you do. Thanks to you as well. The race would never be as smooth as it is without you. ( I know there can be controlled chaos going through the headsets.)

All the racers-Thanks for the help and support.
 
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