Certainly an eventful weekend! There were a lot of great stories, here are a few:

• John Fujii is back with his super fast DB-2. He wins on Saturday, and ends the weekend with the official lap record time of 1:54.784 as he finished second on Sunday.
• Michael Scully breaks his shifter on the first turn of Saturday's race, and figures out how to drive by directly manipulating the shift rod for 17 long laps to finish second.
• In testing, I broke a right-rear upper a-arm, spit out the half-shaft, and damaged the lower a-arm and push-rod. Eric Purcell FedEx'es me parts allowing me to make the race on Sunday.
• Jimmy Colombotos actually drives a Sports 2000 on the track (test day). Unfortunately a lack of fluids soon sent him back to the garage. Oh, he'll be back. The all black Lola looked good.
• Wayne Smith was looking very racy -- finishing just one spot away from getting an S2 Cup hat on Sunday.

Testdays: Thud

Tested for Thursday and Friday and was able to get the new aero/body package optimized, while wrestling with shocks and springs for a track layout which was particularly bumpy in a few key spots. Overall we made great progress over last year's baseline, although I managed to impolitely find the pit straight tirewall on Thursday's last session - the result of a "minor" wayward suspension component. Suspension failure for Ferg would sideline him until Saturday afternoon.

We both persevered.

Race 1: Dud

Qualified on pole at 1:53.8…3.5 seconds clear of Fujii, with Ostlund 3rd. My Goodyear 250s were perfect for the cool temps, although even the best tires in the world couldn't solve the traffic issues inherent to a 40+ entry run group on a track configuration where the longest "straight" is a 1 car wide parade line through the esses…a true clean lap flyer was not to be had, but the 1:53 would suffice.

The best laid plans...

As we came to the split start green for the race, the shifter broke off in my hand at the exact moment the green flew…snapped drag link rodend. Ostlund skillfully avoided my non-shifting sled in turn 1 as I tried to find a gear - any gear. He and Fujii ran off, while I managed to manipulate what was left of the shift linkage into 3rd gear…and so began my race: Lovely. Over the next few laps I came to be able to complete about 1/2 - 2/3 of my normal shifts, albeit slowly, by grappling with the shifter rod's clevice…basically grabbing the rod by craning my wrist sideways and backward to grab the rod/clevice with my knuckles. - paddle shifting be damned. I managed to close-up on Ostlund and apply pressure, although my shifts in a few essential passing areas were poor, and my timing was compromised. A couple full course cautions brought some knuckle relief, but the second restart was a mess, and I went off at Losthill with a botched shift…I rejoined well back in the field, although Ostlund soon retired with a loose wheel. - Joe Moran assumed second at this point. I repassed most of the positions I'd "lost" at Losthill (finally the name makes sense) and on the last lap I manage to nip under Joe in the second to last turn. - the finishing podium was Fujii, Scully, Moran, in one of the most bizarre races I've experienced. Admittedly it was frustrating not to be able to parlay my qualifying position/performance into a similar finish, but second place points should serve to offset the pain of my still-cramped claw.

Race 2: Fudd

Sunday, all parties back on track: me with a revamped shift linkage, Ferg with a new right corner…and bias ply tires.

Qualified on pole again at 154.1, with Fujii and Ferg in the 1:57s

Again with a split start, we took the green. Ferg came around me from the second row as if shot from a cannon and was first into turn one, which had a yellow flag displayed and a DSR parked just offline. Ferg, Myself and Fujii charged tightly through the esses and into the hairpin…where Ferg locked up and went just wide enough for me to get a nose inside. We ran side by side all the way to Losthill, over the hill, and through the ultra fast sweeper called Riverside. - we gave each other JUST enough room to run cleanly through the fastest portions of the course, and I've got to admit it was pretty damned exhilarating with the three of us in perfect lockstep. I was able to clear Ferg heading into the bus stop, where upon I intended to set sail, hoping he and Fujii would busy themselves. They did, but not for long, with minor contact in the new "A" turn resulting in a Ferg spin…perhaps a result of the backmarker traffic we'd already come into before the end of the first lap. This traffic would become the story of the race, as I could stretch out a 6 second lead for a few laps, only to see it vaporize in an instant of multiple backmarker high jinks. - Often times this benefited Fujii, other times he had his own dramas with 30+ slower FAs, FMs, FCs, CSRs, DSRs, etc...

Despite these complications, one thing became clear as the race wore on: Mr. Fujii, much like Elmer Fudd, likes a rabbit. As I negotiated the traffic laden course in the 1:55s and occasionally in the 1:54s, he managed to somehow discover those pesky 3 seconds which had eluded him in qualifying and was on a tear. He soon appeared not so distantly in my mirrors, and I had to concentrate fully on running quick laps in the closing stages of the race. Balancing that pace with the discretion required in late race traffic was hellish. In the end, I found the checkered first in relative comfort, followed by Fujii and Ostlund.

The podium saw an empty second step as JF (John Fudd) was having a heart to heart with the stewards regarding the Ferg incident. Regardless, with the pace he showed, John certainly earned the position, and served notice that there's yet another player in the championship hunt. - I welcome his skilled, meticulous, and ultra professional approach to the series…provided he follows Sunday's finishing order as opposed to Saturday's!