This post is a few days late. It's taken time to recover from all the preparation, the two consecutive days at the track in Tsukuba and the race itself.
On Sunday I did 4 sessions on TC1000 including a dummy race. I was second on the grid in the dummy race and did a near perfect start to take first by the first corner. I led then pretty easily for 3 laps before I had brake problems on the first hairpin and shot off straight. This was explained later as ABS kicking in. Apparently the ABS is the roadster is not very clever and can lead to air in the brake lines if over used. I guess I was leaning on it a little hard. The ABS on the RX-8 was so much better. I never had any trouble with brakes. I'm having trouble every run now with brakes it seems. I'm trying desperately to perfect it but its hard as its really tough to tell when ABS is actually kicking in. There is little to no feedback in my opinion. Anyway, after running wide, I ended up third after the 5 laps. Good experience.
I changed my front pads that night and put on some fresh Mazdaspeed pads with the help of some mates. I also put gum tape over the wheel weights as required by the regulations.
Race day started early.. I woke up at 4am, downstairs by 4:30 and at was at the circuit by 5am. Some last minute prep and then I was signed up and the car was checked and weighed by the officials. Qualification was from 8am.
Qualification was really frustrating. 21 cars were each trying for their best times in the 10 minute time frame. I was running a little faster than most so found that I was always catching someone at a crucial moment in my fast lap. It was either that or I'd make a mistake such as not being able to engage 3rd gear for some reason or go a little wide. I did manage to kick off one fast lap though - a 1'10.777 which is a personal best in the roadster so far. When I got back to the pits, I was told I had done enough for position 2 on the grid!!! What the hell was I doing there??!!! I was so excited and happy. Izumi-san got 1st on the grid so that made me even happier. That's one and two to TCR2000 cars!
People kept telling me not to be nervous. I actually wasn't so nervous though and felt pretty relaxed. I took my girlfriend around on the parade lap and she kept telling me to go faster which was funny as she never actually wants me to drive that fast on the road. We kept it slow and waved to the crowds enjoying our little bit of celebrity.
After that I parked in P2 on the grid. Nobody in front of me, the first corner lurking. It seemed pretty easy. Only thing that bothered me was that the light was difficult to see as the side of my roll cage was in the way. Green flag came and I practiced a start. Got the revs wrong and burned rubber. Well at least that should make the real start easier...
Back on the grid again. Waiting for the 5 second board to show. Rev'd the engine to 4000 and stared at the light. I noticed my rev's climbing to 5000 so looked down at the crucial moment to put them back to 4000. But when I looked up the light was gone. Izumi-san was already away. Shit! I dropped the handbrake, popped the clutch and hit the throttle in panic trying to get going as quick as possible. Big mistake!!! Terrible wheels spin, revs banging off the limiter and I got it in 2nd gear. Two cars already shot by me and there was another on my inside already. By the time I reached the first corner, 5 cars had got by and I was down to 7th place.
I remember thinking to myself something like, well there goes all the hard work of qualifying, but also thinking to myself that now the pressure was off and I could just enjoy the race and try to pass someone.
At first, I was pretty shocked at how close we all were. I tried to pass on the 2nd hairpin but had to brake to avoid the car infront of the car I was trying to pass mid corner and lost my pass. 3 laps in I misjudged the brakes of the leaders again who were a little slow on the same corner and came close to diving up the inside into them. I'm not sure if they knew how close I'd got to hitting them. I honestly don't know how I managed to get around the corner except on instinct. That episode gave me the confidence to push hard after that and I was no longer afraid of hitting any one under brakes.
I ran a close race to the car infront of me. Tsukuba is so tight that I lost a lot of speed in places trying to avoid him on acceleration out of the corners. It was very frustrating. I was faster but couldn't pass. Lacking experience I guess. On the 7th lap I pushed a little too hard and lost the back on the exit which cost me some time trying to recover it and thus went my passing chance. Luckily there was nobody close behind to capitalize on it. I ran the last two laps trying to play catchup and came up a very happy 7th place.
I really enjoyed the race. I learned so much about myself, my driving and how important a good start is :-) I also learned how hard it is to pass at Tsukuba. I'll have to remember this well so that when I qualify 1st next time, I don't even have to bother looking in my mirrors to defend my place. I know I have the speed to win in Clubman 1 at least. I just gotta make it happen.
Special thanks to all that made the day happen for me. D-Tech for the great car; Juergen, Ako and Ishida-san for the great photos; Simon, Gill and Kaneda-san for their help in the pits; Richard for his handy soldering skills; Aki for all things clean and for those of you who came to watch on the day.
