Post by Niko L on Jul 28, 2014 14:19:04 GMT
The third race of West Coast Street Cup was held at Pori Airport just a week after the Summer Nationals at Kalajoki. We got our flat tire patched and we were ready to go. Now we had also another set of narrow tires that fit inside the trailer sidewalls. Thanks to Tero A for lending these!
On Friday afternoon we put the car on the trailer and headed to Pori. There I cleaned up the car, as it was really dirty. We slept at our relatives', and on Saturday morning we headed to the Airport. There were many racers and it was going to be a very hot day. We changed the rear tires and connected the battery charger before my first run. The drivers' meeting was just before the racing started, and after that I headed straight to the Line Up. A couple of modifications were done to the car, just to test what should we do on the next season. This means it was very interesting to do the first run, while I didn't know what ET the car could go. Anyways I was hoping for a low 12 second run.
Qualifying:
It was 11:46 AM when I was on the track for the first time. On the other lane, there was a very Nostalgic Finnish Drag Car, Hitler's Revenge VW Beetle that was racing already in the '70s. So actually there were two old Drag Cars from Finland on track at the same time, as the first time this Chevelle has been on Finnish track was 1989. I did a normal burnout (Instead of the short ones I did at Kalajoki) to test if my patched tire works. It worked nicely, so I staged normally. The car launched nicely and had no traction problems at all. Nice, smooth run and a good RT, too (.060). I ran 12.121 with 173.58 KM/H top speed, so I was very happy with that run.
My second run was at 12:38 PM. Probably I went to the Line Up a bit too fast, I should have let the engine cool down a bit longer, I guess. I was running against a new BMW and after the burnout I went to Pre Stage normally... I was waiting for the guy on the other lane to come to Pre Stage, too, but no one turned the Pre Stage lights on. My engine was getting pretty hot so I turned on the electric fan and went to Stage. It took some time and then the BMW Staged, too. I had a bit traction problems, the car drifted a bit towards the center line, but luckily I was able to keep it in control and I didn't have to lift the throttle at all. 12.217 with 173.41 KM/H top speed was okay, especially when the wheels spun a bit. My RT was .073 on that run.
Before the third run we let the engine cool down properly and recharged the battery. At 1:41 PM I drove my third and final Qualifying run before the organizers closed the Line Up and started making Elimination Ladders. On the other lane there was a '68-'72 Chevy Nova. For some reason I had problems to fire up the Chevelle, but finally after a couple of tries I made it and drove to the water box to do a burnout. I got a .048 RT on this run and the car ran 12.121 again, with the top speed of 174.08 KM/H.
I don't know the Qualifying Results, but if they get posted somewhere, I'll add them here, too. Now all I know is that in ET Bracket Mikko Niemi was the number one qualifier with his Toyota Corolla DX, powered by a Big Block Chevy. I was on the fifth place, and I'm really happy about that place.
Eliminations:
In West Coast Street Cup, your dial in time must be the same during the whole Eliminations. This time I decided to go with 12.15 which means that there was a bit room for slowing down to prevent from Breaking Out.
On the first Elimination Round, I was running against Toni Aunio in his Chevrolet Nova. I knew it would be a tough race, as Toni was pretty high on WCSC Points after the first two races. I got the right lane and I did a regular burnout. I left first with .041 RT and I saw from my mirrors that Toni was coming really fast from behind. I hit the brakes a little before finishing line, but I wasn't sure who won, because we crossed the finishing line exactly at the same time. When I got back to the pits, I was told that I had won the race! Both of us broke out, but I was closer to my dial in anyway by running 12.142 with 170.54 KM/H Top speed.
On the second round I was racing against Pasi Lehto in his Ford Fiesta. This was an interesting race, because it was the first time ever when my dial in was faster than the one on the other lane. So Pasi left first with his Fiesta and when my light went green, I lifted the Two Step and brakes. My RT was .067 and I caught my opponent before the finishing line, so I slowed down to prevent from breaking out. I ran 12.200 with 161.00 KM/H Top speed and I won the race (Even if I didn't know that I had won before I got the time slip).
The third round was against Mikko Niemi in his Toyota Corolla DX. I knew this would be a very tough race and at least now everything would need to be just right to win this race. I took a .069 RT and hammered the throttle. From the mirrors I saw that Mikko was coming very fast, but I had to slow down a little as I didn't want to break out. It was a very tight race and we were on the finishing line at the same time. When I came back to the pits, I heard that I broke out and Mikko Niemi continued to the Semi Finals. Well, when I got the time slip breaking out didn't matter me anymore... The car went 12.065 with 168.07 KM/H top speed even if I hit the brakes! I only wished that I would have ran full throttle, it would have been an 11 second ET if I had done that.
Anyway that was another double Break out, Mikko broke out, too, but he was closer to his dial in anyway. Later on he won the whole race, so Congratulations!
We put the car on the trailer and watched the Final Rounds. Then we drove back home...
Videos:
My runs:
And Jyrki Aukio behind the wheel of Nostalgic "Wheelie Valiant".
Here are Pictures from WCSC III at Pori.
It was a great weekend. Now it is clear that next season we'll be running with this same setup as we did at this WCSC Race with a couple of other modifications that should make the car a bit faster. But now we must get back to the setup we had at Kalajoki and use that one at Finnish Championship Drag Race Series Finals at Motopark Raceway in a few weeks time... See you all there!
On Friday afternoon we put the car on the trailer and headed to Pori. There I cleaned up the car, as it was really dirty. We slept at our relatives', and on Saturday morning we headed to the Airport. There were many racers and it was going to be a very hot day. We changed the rear tires and connected the battery charger before my first run. The drivers' meeting was just before the racing started, and after that I headed straight to the Line Up. A couple of modifications were done to the car, just to test what should we do on the next season. This means it was very interesting to do the first run, while I didn't know what ET the car could go. Anyways I was hoping for a low 12 second run.
Qualifying:
It was 11:46 AM when I was on the track for the first time. On the other lane, there was a very Nostalgic Finnish Drag Car, Hitler's Revenge VW Beetle that was racing already in the '70s. So actually there were two old Drag Cars from Finland on track at the same time, as the first time this Chevelle has been on Finnish track was 1989. I did a normal burnout (Instead of the short ones I did at Kalajoki) to test if my patched tire works. It worked nicely, so I staged normally. The car launched nicely and had no traction problems at all. Nice, smooth run and a good RT, too (.060). I ran 12.121 with 173.58 KM/H top speed, so I was very happy with that run.
My second run was at 12:38 PM. Probably I went to the Line Up a bit too fast, I should have let the engine cool down a bit longer, I guess. I was running against a new BMW and after the burnout I went to Pre Stage normally... I was waiting for the guy on the other lane to come to Pre Stage, too, but no one turned the Pre Stage lights on. My engine was getting pretty hot so I turned on the electric fan and went to Stage. It took some time and then the BMW Staged, too. I had a bit traction problems, the car drifted a bit towards the center line, but luckily I was able to keep it in control and I didn't have to lift the throttle at all. 12.217 with 173.41 KM/H top speed was okay, especially when the wheels spun a bit. My RT was .073 on that run.
Before the third run we let the engine cool down properly and recharged the battery. At 1:41 PM I drove my third and final Qualifying run before the organizers closed the Line Up and started making Elimination Ladders. On the other lane there was a '68-'72 Chevy Nova. For some reason I had problems to fire up the Chevelle, but finally after a couple of tries I made it and drove to the water box to do a burnout. I got a .048 RT on this run and the car ran 12.121 again, with the top speed of 174.08 KM/H.
I don't know the Qualifying Results, but if they get posted somewhere, I'll add them here, too. Now all I know is that in ET Bracket Mikko Niemi was the number one qualifier with his Toyota Corolla DX, powered by a Big Block Chevy. I was on the fifth place, and I'm really happy about that place.
Eliminations:
In West Coast Street Cup, your dial in time must be the same during the whole Eliminations. This time I decided to go with 12.15 which means that there was a bit room for slowing down to prevent from Breaking Out.
On the first Elimination Round, I was running against Toni Aunio in his Chevrolet Nova. I knew it would be a tough race, as Toni was pretty high on WCSC Points after the first two races. I got the right lane and I did a regular burnout. I left first with .041 RT and I saw from my mirrors that Toni was coming really fast from behind. I hit the brakes a little before finishing line, but I wasn't sure who won, because we crossed the finishing line exactly at the same time. When I got back to the pits, I was told that I had won the race! Both of us broke out, but I was closer to my dial in anyway by running 12.142 with 170.54 KM/H Top speed.
On the second round I was racing against Pasi Lehto in his Ford Fiesta. This was an interesting race, because it was the first time ever when my dial in was faster than the one on the other lane. So Pasi left first with his Fiesta and when my light went green, I lifted the Two Step and brakes. My RT was .067 and I caught my opponent before the finishing line, so I slowed down to prevent from breaking out. I ran 12.200 with 161.00 KM/H Top speed and I won the race (Even if I didn't know that I had won before I got the time slip).
The third round was against Mikko Niemi in his Toyota Corolla DX. I knew this would be a very tough race and at least now everything would need to be just right to win this race. I took a .069 RT and hammered the throttle. From the mirrors I saw that Mikko was coming very fast, but I had to slow down a little as I didn't want to break out. It was a very tight race and we were on the finishing line at the same time. When I came back to the pits, I heard that I broke out and Mikko Niemi continued to the Semi Finals. Well, when I got the time slip breaking out didn't matter me anymore... The car went 12.065 with 168.07 KM/H top speed even if I hit the brakes! I only wished that I would have ran full throttle, it would have been an 11 second ET if I had done that.
Anyway that was another double Break out, Mikko broke out, too, but he was closer to his dial in anyway. Later on he won the whole race, so Congratulations!
We put the car on the trailer and watched the Final Rounds. Then we drove back home...
Videos:
My runs:
And Jyrki Aukio behind the wheel of Nostalgic "Wheelie Valiant".
Here are Pictures from WCSC III at Pori.
It was a great weekend. Now it is clear that next season we'll be running with this same setup as we did at this WCSC Race with a couple of other modifications that should make the car a bit faster. But now we must get back to the setup we had at Kalajoki and use that one at Finnish Championship Drag Race Series Finals at Motopark Raceway in a few weeks time... See you all there!