Hope this is not inappropriate, but I think it falls somewhat in the kill category....



The 2007 Open Road Racing season got off to a great start in Ft. Stockton, TX with the 10th Anniversary of the Big Bend Open Road Race on Highway 285. The Mazda Motorsports, RX for Your 7, (sponsors needed, your name could go here), RX-7 was finally ready to run after a rough ending to the 2006 season.



Objective: cover 118 miles in 54 minutes 27.6 seconds for an average speed of 130 mph (tech speed window 100mph-168mph)



Results: 54:26.9 @ 130.001 mph for 1st Place out of 12 cars in class (time variance of +.761 seconds) https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...1047683473.gif



The team that I captain, Team Invaders, also took 1st Place in the Team Challenge by laying some butt whoop on 8 other teams, including 5 corvette teams. https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...1047683827.gif



While there were no off-road incidents, there were plenty of DQ’s. Rain hit on parts of the course and caused some participants to go exceed their tech speed trying to make up time lost in the wet spots. As if wet spots weren’t enough, Deana and I also had other variables to deal with: Fastest speed we’ve ever run this course and new, unfamiliar tires.



Of course, we couldn’t hit the wet spots on straight-aways early in the course. Oh no, that’s no fun, let’s run into wet roads during the toughest turns on the course only 15 miles from the finish of the first leg. These are turns I worked hard at when we ran this event at 120 & 125 mph. Now it’s wet and I need to average 130 mph. Needless to say we were losing time faster than Ford losing money. At one point Deana tells me I’m 4 seconds slow, so I’m accelerating as hard as I can between turns (for the first time in 20 events, I actually had to hit the brakes before some turns). I’m totally focused on the roads and can’t watch my speedo but I think I’m doing ok, only to hear I’m now 10 seconds slow! https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...1047683664.gif Arrghh! It’s not panic time but I know if I don’t get under 10 seconds before 5 miles out, this leg is going to be way off. I tell Deana I’m going to drive as fast as I safely can until she’s tells me I’m close. After some harrowing, butt puckering turns, I finally hit target speed with only 2.93 miles left and we close the first leg only .5 seconds fast.



At this point I thought we had an interesting first leg. Well, a good friend of mine runs an old Winston Cup NASCAR in the Unlimited Class. He and his wife smacked a full grown buzzard at 170+ mph. It caught the upper corner of the passenger A-pillar. It literally peeled the metal back on the car at that corner. It didn’t break the windshield though, so they kept driving. Well, with their full face helmets, neck braces, and head supports they couldn’t see what really happened. When they crossed the finish line and slowed down, Marsha, the navigator, unfastened her window net and PLOP! Buzzard head in her lap! When they got to the grid area the car was a mess: buzzard head in the floor board and buzzard body and guts in the back of the car. Yuck!!! They got the car cleaned up, taped up the damaged metal, rinsed off their suits and finished the race though. In fact they set a new course record by averaging 172.584 mph with a high trap speed of 213 mph. https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...#>/bowdown.gif



We were hopeful the second leg would be a little easier. NOT! It was raining at the start line! About half way through the tough turns, which mercifully are near the beginning now, Deana informs me I’m not even on the page. In fact I’m 40 seconds slow. A big smile creeps across my face because I know when I get out of the last tough turn I’m going to need to drive very fast to make up 40 seconds. Oh darn. I fly out of the last turn at 150 mph grinning ear to ear. But wait; Is that a corvette I see up ahead?!?! Yes, it is! Well, if I need to drive fast to make up time, might as well drive faster and run down a corvette. Deana gives me permission to run him down but not to pass unless he acknowledges me. I punch the rotary up to 160 mph and set my sights on catching him before the next set of tricky turns. It was not to be though. I get to within 100 yards or so and Deana informs me that I’ve made up my time and tells me to back off to our target of 130 mph. Rats!!! (we discovered at the awards banquet that he never saw us coming)



Our next event is the Nevada Open Road Race on May 20th out of Ely Nevada. We hope this 1st Place showing is the first of several this season.

Regards,



Blue

Captain, Team Invaders Open Road Race Team

Lifetime #261, ’93 Mazda RX-7 (R1)

Street ported engine built by RX for Your 7

Bonez downpipe

Racing beat catback

Fluidyne aluminum radiator

Purple PFS computer

PFS intercooler

Custom built air intake

RSR Race Springs

Tokico Illumina adjustables

Kirk Rollbar

B&M short shifter

That is all

ORR links

www.openroadracing.com

www.sscc.us

www.bborr.com

www.rrorr.com

www.sorcrace.com

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My bad, this should have been posted in the Road Racing Forum.



My apologies to the Admin.



Blue

Great job, Blue! Too bad Lenny wasn't there to give you a run for your money.

Thanks for being the only rotary in the race.

Glenn

great job!!! sounds like a lot o fun