The date: March 25, We arrived at Sonoma Raceway just north of San Francisco to do battle with our race prepared 1991 Volkswagen Vanagon endurance racer. This wasn't our first time out, we've actually successfully finished 3 prior events in this Vanagon.
Saturday was a bit unlucky for us due to traffic and the various skill levels of the other drivers on the track. Driver 1 ( Burley B. ) had an encounter with team #505's Toyota FX16. He was mid pass on the 505 when the driver decided to use the entire track making contact with our right rear. The love tap caused Burley to spin, and during the spin the 505 car again made contact with our front left corner. Both of having to report to the penalty box for an explanation of the incident.
Unlucky moment #2, was a solo spin entering turn 9 for driver 3 ( Andrew P. ) This was our 2nd black flag event for the day and we're only allowed 3 before being booted for the day.
Really unlucky moment #3 happened during my stint entering turn 9, the #405 Nissan Pulsar with butterfly wire sculpture on the roof, decided he wanted to dive across the front of the van. I T-boned him, pushing the little Nissan about 50 feet before he broke free. We only had 10 minutes to the checkered flag. It was our 3rd offense, so I knew our day was over. I made contact with the Nissan in the penalty box in front of all the judges. It was just a small tap : )
Later I confronted the driver to ask his side of the story, here's his account:
" Dude, I was following this BMW when he threw up two dirt clogs that hit both of my side mirrors folding both of them in. I didn't even see you."
I'm not making this up, this is exactly what he said.
Sunday was way better for us. I started the day to try and take back some laps that we lost on Saturday. Most of the teams stratagies are to put the slower drivers in first, and work their way to the faster drivers during the day. All of our drivers are fast, so game on!
No black flags for us on Sunday, and by the end of the day we finished 10th in our class, and 37th overall out of 155+.
A big thanks to all of our sponsors!