A very busy weekend as we are racing two cars. Yes, the return of the champion Honey Bee as well as our BMW 2002 known as Nazdar. It is always a treat to return to The Glen. I was here with my older brother in 1956 - hell some of you were not born by then. I took my drivers schools in 1963 and 1964 and have raced here a lot. Competing on the original course, on the short course and now on the full circuit and a few variations of each.
All the BARC and Jake's Stable people are either here or coming and it is always a terrific time to see everyone.
Mike Eaton brought Honey Bee up from Virginia late last night and we did not have time to be ready for the 8:20 practice. The BMW was able to practice Thursday afternoon and was suffering from the engine cutting out going through corners. Malcolm raised the float levels a bit and checked all the jets for obstruction, fuel pressure, you name it. This morning I went out and it was much better, but both yesterday and this morning our sessions were cut short by some serious accidents. Yesterday, an old racing friend, Rob Mocas was close to a BMW 325 when it blew its engine, spewed oil, spun and Rob spun with him. He avoided hitting any guard rails and was about to return to the track when a Porsche hit the oil on the track and slid down the hill slamming into Rob's Alfa. It was not pretty. Thankfully Rob is OK, he is bruised in a bunch of places and I guarantee he will be sore for a while. The car is badly hurt. This accident caused the session to be called after just 2 laps. This morning we only got in 3 laps as there was another incident when an Audi broke something and dumped oil causing him to spin and stall in the middle of the track. Pretty frustrating, but the engine cutting out was much better in this morning's session. For the afternoon session the darn motor problems returned. I was able to determine it only happens on left turns, but is pretty severe. The engine just starts skipping and stumbling until I back off, get the car straight and step on it. Any hope of accelerating is gone. As a result our qualifying time was not good.
The great news is that Honey Bee and I still have some magic left. I was very happy with how she ran. The motor was super strong. I did have a problem or two getting reaquainted with the rocket gearbox but it came back quickly. The only problem was the brake pedal was low. It was firm and stopped well, but it took a long push to get them working and made it difficult for me to hell & toe to match revs downshifting. Regardless - after the first qualifying we are the fastest group 1 car. What a treat. After a year of not running, with tires that felt like squares the first couple laps from sitting so long, the old warrior still had it.
Out Saturday morning with qualifying sessions for both cars and races for both in the afternoon. It will be busy, but so far the old man is holding up OK.
The Friday downtown festival was in full bloom. Thousands of spectators downtown and around the original 6.6 mile grand prix course and over 50 race cars parading. Heather Richards, the wife of Kevin was out in her race car, a very nice MG midget called Miriam. This is Heathers first real race weekend after drivers school and she is doing very well. I watched her pretty closely and the woman is going to be quick. I got a snap of her driving down Franklin Street with her Dad in the race car. Good going Heather.
Watkins Glen Vintage GP - Saturday
A full day of racing for us. The morning was taken up with the second qualifying sessions for both Honey Bee in group 1 and Nazdar in group 8. Neither session really happened. Because of all our engine problems we decided to go with very radical changes to see if we could improve the car. The safest bet was to go super rich on the fuel mixture to see if that would cure the misfires. It did not. The car was so bad on our out lap (that's when we leave the pits for the first time) I came in rather than try to set a time with a full lap. We went to change back to our original setting but by the time that was done, the checkered flag had flown. Zero laps.
30 minutes later we went out with Honey Bee. I went out behind Heather in her Midget. We had talked about a few of the more odd situations around the track and I stayed with her until we went through the infamous bus stop and then went by so we would go through the next two corners together. Just as we were finishing the opening lap out came a waving black flag. This flag is one all drivers hate - it means the entire field must return to the pits. What I found out as we all waited to return to the track was there had been an accident going up the hill. This hill is famous at Watkins Glen. It is exactly the same piece or race circuit that was designed for the 1956 opening of the track. It is steep and it is fast and it is unforgiving. Thankfully the driver was fine and the car, while damaged, was not destroyed. That incident meant a total of two out laps, and not one fast lap in two attempts. Hell, I could have slept until 11 and not missed a thing.
Malcolm was tearing his hair out. The BMW simply would not run. He tried this and that, A to Z, talked to everyone he could. He and Mark Scarano, one of the mechanics that built the car, put their heads together and made more changes, looked in every dark hole and found some cures.
Honey Bee was first to race, but the very next race on the schedule was for Nazdar. Meaning there was almost zero time between the two races. Our plan was for Malcolm to take the BMW to its proper starting grid position. After the group 1 race I would come back into the pits but not return to our parking spot. Jump out of the MG and Mike Eaton would take me to the BMW in a golf cart.
You may recall Honey Bee set the fastest group 1 time in qualifying so we started 15th overall and first in our class. What is most amazing is the car had not raced in one full year. I had not driven her in one full year. The tires on her had sat on her for one full year and were basically flat spotted. When the flag fell, we made a decent start. The first turn and all the way up the hill into the bus stop was crazy, I did take a bit of advantage and moved up putting a car between myself and the next two group 1 competitors. After that it was pretty easy. We clearly had the speed over any other car in our class and frankly were faster than most of the group 3 cars. The result? After the long layoff, Honey Bee was right back where she has been for the last 9 years. At the head of the field.
True to our plan, I pulled into victory circle, Kevin and Mike were there with the golf cart, Malcom was waiting. Out I popped, off we went and into Nazdar's cockpit to get ready. By the time I was strapped in and the window net secured, the one minute sign was posted. I had no idea what to expect. Would she run ragged? Was the problem fixed? Was it somewhere in between? Things went pretty well. The engine performance was greatly improved over the last two sessions but she was not her old self. I got into a battle with a V8 Fox Mustang and passed him and a bright yellow Alfa Duetto in the early laps. Then the stuttering started again coming out of turns and eventually both got past me. Worse, another 2002, who I usually have no trouble with went by. But it was good to get some time in the car and she did run much better. We ended up 5th in B sedan but way down in the overall standings.
All in all a very good day. A victory for our old warrior, and the newer car came home in one piece and running better. For Sunday, we will go back to competition with the BMW a little after 10am. I made the decision to not run in the group 1 race with Honey Bee to ensure we had a solid car for the all MG Collier Cup later in the afternoon. What I want to accomplish is to win another Bucher-Decker trophy. If we can do better overall, that would be a bonus but honestly, there are too many fast MGB's and Midgets to expect it. The weatherman is calling for an 80% chance of rain tomorrow. We'll go out no matter what, but I am hoping the forecast is wrong. Robert Kerr of DarkImagesPhoto gave us some wonderful photos to use. Enjoy the shots of the day.
DN