"ADVENTURE '92"

Totally concentrating on the task at hand, everything was going smooth and I was doing great... "Yeee-Fucking-Haw" I muttered to myself and instantly my helmet's face shield clouded over...

Coming out of turn 4 I was closing fast on the orange number 9 car driven by Tom, he was going at speed but was being slowed by Kathy in the White 17 car. By the time I was out of 5 and standing on the brakes for the turn-in for 6 the right front tire on my Formula Ford racing car was locked and I was within a couple feet of number 9.  Both Kathy and Tom got the blue flag with an orange stripe - a faster car is behind you.

Coming out of the 90 degree turn 6 Kathy stayed high in the line heading for track-out and waved Tom by on the inside, and to my surprise she also saw me and motioned for me to pass. Screaming out of the turn in 2nd gear I was behind number 9 again in no time. Tom surveyed his mirrors and went high while motioning me to go on the inside of the sweeping right hander bank.

I dove low and was slowly creeping by, both cars under flat out throttle. I fast shifted to third and unwound it again, starting to pull away. I'm blowing by the spectators on the infield and I'm cheating the 5K rev-limit. 5200 rpm and I shift to 4th gear. By apex I'm 5K in fourth at over 100 mph. A quick glance over the gauges shows all is fine. I head straight for the wall and track-out. Thundering within a couple of feet of the wall and I'm cheating rev-limit again.  My head is being battered around by the wind and the noise and vibration are music to me. I look in my mirrors and I'm amazed that I'm so far ahead of the number 9 car already.

Flat out into then 45 degree turn 1, the car hits rough track and starts bouncing. Not long ago I was braking for this turn, but no more! Still flat out in fourth the car passes apex and heads for track-out. At track-out the open wheeler is straight again, 5 car lengths to a vicious 130 degree right hander on turn 2 and time to lift off throttle. Threshold brake and double-clutch down shift to third at the same time. The 1000lb car slows at a phenomenal rate.

I pull the wheel to the right at turn-in and trail-brake. The trail-braking induces forward weight-transfer, putting gripping power to the front tires and the car turns. The rear engine beast has lots of trailing weight... now transferred forward, it starts to slide as I head to the apex. Off the brake on the throttle, send the weight over the back and it settles back down. Past the apex and I squeeze to full throttle and plow out to track out, a puff of dirt as I touch the edge of the track - flat out.

I resist the urge to short shift back to fourth like I used to when there was a lower rev-limit before, but cheat the 5K rev-limit again as I bear  down on turn 3, another 130 degree'er. Just before 3 I check the mirrors and car 9 is just starting to appear - no more time for site-seeing I threshold brake and double-clutch down shift to second into turn 3, passing the standing instructor I go deep into the turn missing turn-in as I waited too late to brake. Almost off the track I pull hard to the left as I trail brake. The tires scream and the back starts getting way out of shape. As the back slides out the nose turns in, pointing me where I want to go, but it keeps going. In desperation I stand on the throttle to settle the back down and point the wheels to the right in the deep left-hander. I accidentally change the turn into a power-slide and pull it through, missing the apex but recovering in time to hit track-out. "Damn..." I mutter, knowing I scrubbed off valuable time and speed by sliding the car like that. A short straight has me on top of turn 4, the "U" turn.

Bad braking at the entrance into 3 got me out of shape and now I'm slow exiting 3 and slow going into 4, but going slow I don't have the brake I can just drive through it, under heavy throttle, tracking wide and setting up for a gentle 30 degree turn 5. 5 approaches and I'm at rev-limit in 3rd as I take it full out. At track-out I punch it in 3rd, no idea how high I sent the revs, but it was still below the 6K red-line and then in no time I'm at the guardrail, with more threshold braking and double-clutch down shifting I go to second and exit the 90 degree turn 6 onto the big sweeping right-hander bank 1 minute and 7 seconds after I was here before.

I stand tall to 5100 in each gear and roar past the spectators again. Review the gauges and check mirrors. 1 Lap and I'm about 5/8ths of the bank ahead of Tom in car 9, one of the best competition in my heat. Man I left him in the dust. Settling down again as I rumble by the wall I take a deep breath and dive hard at turn 1 again, careful not to yell out lest I fog my visor again.

I can only begin to describe what it was all like, the above being just a minute and a half of the 3 days I spent learning about and driving the Formula Ford racing car at the Skip Barber Racing School. What a vacation! This was "Adventure '92" organized by Dave Collier and Frank Legit. "Adventure '91" was a course using BMW M3s at Limerock, also with Skip Barber. This one, however, was special to me because for literally, the first time that I can remember, my brother, my father and I all did something together and loved it!

Dave was the fastest in his heat, and I was in the other heat.... but Oh did I wanna see how I could stack up against the 2nd best auto-cross racer in the east coast...

It was SOOO FUUNN!! Also along for the 'ride' were Ed Barron, Bob Gray and Bill Caloccia... I can't wait for "Adventure '93" !!!

Ron Collier 4/92