Watkins Glen with Hooked on Driving

The return to The Glen was as fun as I imagined it would be. I don't do track days for competition, only to have fun, so a successful track day for me means checking three boxes and those are:

• Are you alive?
• Did you have fun?
• Is the car still in one piece?

This event checked all three, with the fun component fulfilled in spades.

Watkins Glen International - 10-18-2018

The day didn't start off too well though. The temperatures had dipped into the low 40s overnight and I woke up to a steady cold rain shower. Not exactly what you want returning to a historic track where the cost of a mistake often means smacking into a blue armco at speed.

Watkins Glen International - 10-18-2018

Although the first session was very wet, the sun did occasionally pop out and the wind allowed for drying conditions but we still had to be very careful on any of the painted surfaces as those seemed to refuse to dry at all. The event ran pretty smoothly. All the run groups ran on time and there were no incidents to speak of on the track which is pretty good for a track that's notorious for claiming a few cars each event. Unfortunately, I didn't run any session where I didn't hit some traffic but it was still pretty manageable. Not too bad considering my run group had around 40 or so cars. I managed a mere 2:25 on RE71Rs in these conditions. I suspect that's not a great time but since I never recorded times before at least I now have my baseline for the next time I come up here.

 Laps 6-8 of Session 3 - 2:25 on Lap 8
Watkins Glen - 10-18-2018

That ends the 2018 motorsports season for Bumblestook. I've got a new intake to install but in general, I will just be getting her ready to be tucked away for the winter. It's been an incredible year with her transformation and she's exceeded my expectations in every single way. She truly is the one S2000 to do it all for me.

Car setup notes to self:

• Increase front compression by 3 clicks to combat rear twitchiness under braking.
• Ran 30/28psi cold pressures.
• Car felt very neutral. I like this setup.
• Front toe might have slipped. Steering wheel slightly angled to the left now.