Post by Niko L on Jun 5, 2018 17:26:43 GMT
On the last weekend of July it was time for West Coast Street Cup event at Pori Airport. There was supposed to be another WCSC race in Pori earlier in the summer, but unfortunately it had to be cancelled. We decided to go there and try to defend my win from last year, even though we both knew that it wouldn't be easy as there are lots of tough racers.
On Friday we drove to Pori and we slept the night at our relatives' place. This way we didn't have to start driving towards Pori very early on Saturday morning, instead we could just drive a few kilometers to the track. We made some changes to the car as we wanted to see what could be done to make it run better. So it was interesting to see the first time slip on Saturday...
Saturday:
There were lots of racers pre-registered theirselves to the race, so we went to the pits early to get a good spot and be able to go through the tech in time. We took the car out from the bus, passed the tech and prepared ourselves for the race. Our plan was to run three or four Qualifying runs before the Eliminations to get a good idea on what should be my dial in (as it can't be changed between rounds).
Qualifying:
Right after the drivers' meeting at the starting area we went to the staging lanes and at 11:11 AM was my first Qualifying Run. It was interesting to see how the car would run after the modifications. I took a good .008 RT on this run, so I knew I'd be pretty high in the Qualifying Results later that day. 60FT wasn't impressive as the carburetor bogged as usual, but despite that I ran 12.399 with 170.86 KM/H top speed. The best ET of the season, so I was happy!
Even though the 60FT wasn't good, we decided not to change our setup. That way I'd have a better idea on my dial in and there would be better chances on winning the race. Second run was about an hour later. This time I slept a bit at the tree, my RT was .149, but the car ran a bit better, 12.349 and 171.51 KM/H.
Third run wasn't that succesful, I got a decent .078 RT, but 60FT was slower and then I accidentally shifted from the 1st gear straight to the 3rd. So I ran only 12.487 & 168.15 KM/H top speed. Well, luckily this was Qualifying and not Eliminations...
Fourth run was a bit before they closed the lineup for making the Elimination Ladders. I took .087 RT and ran 12.350 with 172.17 KM/H top speed, the best run of the day. A good way to end Qualifying.
Eliminations:
In the ET Bracket class where I was driving, the Qualifying order is based on Reaction Times. I was happy to find out that I took the second place in the whole Qualifying! We had a 32 car ladder, but there were a few empty spots, so I was lucky to get a Bye run on the first round. I decided to put 12.33 as my dial in, so that I could run full throttle to the finish.
So on the first Elimination Round I had a solo run. And of course every time you have a solo run, you should test what the car will run so that it's easier to prepare yourself for the next round. I took a .039 RT on this run, and the car ran 12.351 & 171.59 KM/H. Pretty good for 12.33 dial in, and only .001 slower than on my last Qualifying run.
The second Elimination Round was against Jari Kaiponen in his red & black Chevy Vega. I left first, but I was a bit sleepy at the tree. My RT was only .124 and it was a very close run until the finishing line. I ran 12.353 on my 12.33 dial in. But then I found out that Jari had taken a small red light, so I continued to the next round.
On third Elimination Round I was running against a black '70 Chevelle, driven by a gentleman whose name I can't remember. Anyway, it was going to be another close race. I left with .032 RT, but my opponent bogged pretty bad at the starting line, so I lifted the throttle a bit before the finishing line so I wouldn't break out. Despite that I ran 12.353 again, so it was good that I lifted!
Next was the Semi Final Round. Now I was going to run against Ade's yellow Nitrous assisted Vega Wagon. I took better reactions, my RT was .049 but Ade ran closer to his dial in. I ran 12.406 on 12.33 dial in, so I was a bit off. It was a very close race, there was no way to tell who crossed the finishing line first before getting back to the pits where I was told that I'd go to the Finals. I had won the race by a couple of hundredths of a second.
Final Round was against the number 1 Qualifier, Mikko Ruusunen in his Chevy El Camino. We ran against each other last year in Semi Finals, so I knew this would be a tough race. I left with .034 RT and ran full throttle to the finishing line. My ET was 12.398 so I was again a bit off from my dial in. It was very close race, but when I was driving back to the pits there were people clapping their hands and showing thumbs up, so I won the whole race!! Mikko broke out a little at the Final Round.
It felt great to win for the second year in a row at Pori WCSC! It wasn't easy, and I had some very good races, so it was a fun day. There was no prize ceremony as the trophies hadn't arrived yet to the organizers, but they came in the Mail later on. Anyway, a Swedish motorbike racer was giving his local sausages to the winners and runner ups! I have to say that they were tasty! Thanks!
After that it was time to put the car back into the bus and drive back home.
Here is a video of my runs:
And here's another video as a friend finally got into the 9's with his Chevy Monza!
And here's a link to Full Picture Gallery.
On Friday we drove to Pori and we slept the night at our relatives' place. This way we didn't have to start driving towards Pori very early on Saturday morning, instead we could just drive a few kilometers to the track. We made some changes to the car as we wanted to see what could be done to make it run better. So it was interesting to see the first time slip on Saturday...
Saturday:
There were lots of racers pre-registered theirselves to the race, so we went to the pits early to get a good spot and be able to go through the tech in time. We took the car out from the bus, passed the tech and prepared ourselves for the race. Our plan was to run three or four Qualifying runs before the Eliminations to get a good idea on what should be my dial in (as it can't be changed between rounds).
Qualifying:
Right after the drivers' meeting at the starting area we went to the staging lanes and at 11:11 AM was my first Qualifying Run. It was interesting to see how the car would run after the modifications. I took a good .008 RT on this run, so I knew I'd be pretty high in the Qualifying Results later that day. 60FT wasn't impressive as the carburetor bogged as usual, but despite that I ran 12.399 with 170.86 KM/H top speed. The best ET of the season, so I was happy!
Even though the 60FT wasn't good, we decided not to change our setup. That way I'd have a better idea on my dial in and there would be better chances on winning the race. Second run was about an hour later. This time I slept a bit at the tree, my RT was .149, but the car ran a bit better, 12.349 and 171.51 KM/H.
Third run wasn't that succesful, I got a decent .078 RT, but 60FT was slower and then I accidentally shifted from the 1st gear straight to the 3rd. So I ran only 12.487 & 168.15 KM/H top speed. Well, luckily this was Qualifying and not Eliminations...
Fourth run was a bit before they closed the lineup for making the Elimination Ladders. I took .087 RT and ran 12.350 with 172.17 KM/H top speed, the best run of the day. A good way to end Qualifying.
Eliminations:
In the ET Bracket class where I was driving, the Qualifying order is based on Reaction Times. I was happy to find out that I took the second place in the whole Qualifying! We had a 32 car ladder, but there were a few empty spots, so I was lucky to get a Bye run on the first round. I decided to put 12.33 as my dial in, so that I could run full throttle to the finish.
So on the first Elimination Round I had a solo run. And of course every time you have a solo run, you should test what the car will run so that it's easier to prepare yourself for the next round. I took a .039 RT on this run, and the car ran 12.351 & 171.59 KM/H. Pretty good for 12.33 dial in, and only .001 slower than on my last Qualifying run.
The second Elimination Round was against Jari Kaiponen in his red & black Chevy Vega. I left first, but I was a bit sleepy at the tree. My RT was only .124 and it was a very close run until the finishing line. I ran 12.353 on my 12.33 dial in. But then I found out that Jari had taken a small red light, so I continued to the next round.
On third Elimination Round I was running against a black '70 Chevelle, driven by a gentleman whose name I can't remember. Anyway, it was going to be another close race. I left with .032 RT, but my opponent bogged pretty bad at the starting line, so I lifted the throttle a bit before the finishing line so I wouldn't break out. Despite that I ran 12.353 again, so it was good that I lifted!
Next was the Semi Final Round. Now I was going to run against Ade's yellow Nitrous assisted Vega Wagon. I took better reactions, my RT was .049 but Ade ran closer to his dial in. I ran 12.406 on 12.33 dial in, so I was a bit off. It was a very close race, there was no way to tell who crossed the finishing line first before getting back to the pits where I was told that I'd go to the Finals. I had won the race by a couple of hundredths of a second.
Final Round was against the number 1 Qualifier, Mikko Ruusunen in his Chevy El Camino. We ran against each other last year in Semi Finals, so I knew this would be a tough race. I left with .034 RT and ran full throttle to the finishing line. My ET was 12.398 so I was again a bit off from my dial in. It was very close race, but when I was driving back to the pits there were people clapping their hands and showing thumbs up, so I won the whole race!! Mikko broke out a little at the Final Round.
It felt great to win for the second year in a row at Pori WCSC! It wasn't easy, and I had some very good races, so it was a fun day. There was no prize ceremony as the trophies hadn't arrived yet to the organizers, but they came in the Mail later on. Anyway, a Swedish motorbike racer was giving his local sausages to the winners and runner ups! I have to say that they were tasty! Thanks!
After that it was time to put the car back into the bus and drive back home.
Here is a video of my runs:
And here's another video as a friend finally got into the 9's with his Chevy Monza!
And here's a link to Full Picture Gallery.