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| Sebring 2005 |
Sebring, Florida, February 10-13, 2005
12th Annual PCA 48 Hours of Sebring:
?A Giant Killer and a Rookie?
By Frank Celenza, DDS
On the topic of legendary and historic race venues, names like Indianapolis, Monaco, LeMans and Monza are sure to come up. There is also an old deserted WWII airport in central Florida by the name of Sebring, and its history is just as rich in sports car circles. In fact, the very first US Grand Prix was held there. All the big factory teams and international drivers have made the annual spring pilgrimage to Sebring for the last 50 years, and although the event has teetered on the verge of extinction, it is now firmly one of the most important races of the year. I?ve always wanted to get to this track, but I never thought my first visit would be as a participant, in the Porsche Club of America?s own version of the big spring classic.
During the winter months, I swung a deal with one of the top Porsche race teams in my area, and it all came together from there. Rick DeMan, owner of DeMan Motorsports in Nyack, NY gave me a call to let me know that he had an opening that I would be interested in. I?d had my eye on his DP 924 tube frame race car for two years now, as he was winning races with it handily. The car is a two liter Riley and Scott chassis factory race car, with vintage history and pedigree, and he had it dialed in and developed into a package perfectly suited for my taste and budget. Although it runs in the 2.2 liter class, its combination of light weight and perfect weight distribution allows it to run right at the front, at least when under Rick?s talented guidance. The timing seemed right, so I seized the opportunity to grab the seat, and our partnership gelled immediately. The car was freshened over the winter and a week before the event we dynoed the motor at 175 rear wheel horsepower. Combined with a race-ready weight of only 1950 lbs, this was a tidy package, to be sure. Arrangements were made, and the team transporter set sail for Sebring, with three cars and all the support equipment that this experienced team knew was necessary. The rest of us, drivers, mechanics and manager flew in and caught up for a four day weekend of testing and racing.
Thursday Test and Tune
The track was rented on Thursday for eight hours of test and tune, and Rick encouraged me to participate, as it would be the perfect opportunity to learn the car, the track and get everything dialed in. Track time was open (no run groups), but limited to fifty entries. We arrived early and set up camp around our transporter. Our first plans were scuttled when we were told that I, as the entrant, was the only one allowed to drive the car. I was hoping to have Rick shake it down since its rebuild, owing to his familiarity with it, but such was not to be.
So, I strap in, warm it up, and head out, taking particular care not to stall the car on my first launch, as I take that as a bad omen. My first impression of the track was that the transitions from the famous expansive runways to the narrow access roads are quite a contrast and you?d better have the car properly positioned. You come storming down the concrete front straightaway, flat out in top gear, and make a very high speed left whereby the road funnels abruptly down to two lanes. The twisty sections were surprisingly tight, but as I established better lines the flow started to come to me. The bumps and vibration took some getting used to, this is a very physical circuit despite its total lack of elevation or camber. The saying goes that teams come from the 24 hours of Daytona, where most wear out their engines and drive trains, to compete in the 12 hours of Sebring, whereby you ruin the whole rest of the car! It?s not actually that bad, plus; we?re not running for 12 hours straight.
As for the car, it was immediately easy to drive, has a great sound and corners as flat and fast as anything I?ve ever driven. Actually, it was a lot like a kart, somewhat underpowered, but with adhesion limits and braking capacity that necessitate physical fitness to fully exploit. Also, it?s just as stiff, and some of the bumps that Sebring is famous for were really tossing me around. Still, the car was quite comfortable and always very predictable and forgiving. However, I had to learn that it is a very different car from the 911?s that I was racing against. If I bottled up behind them, they?d slow me down in the corners and then pull away on the straights. Rick was coaching me continuously, and pointing out that I needed to stay back and take a run on other cars, I could pass them easily in this way and then run away. It?s a momentum car, its 2 liter engine gives up some power in the 2.2 liter class, but it?s worth it. This car is known as a giant killer.
Nearing the end of the day, I was getting my lap times down to 2:35 range, still with plenty of room for more, but trying not to over step myself. This is, after all, a four day event. Rick radioed to bring the car in immediately, he apparently noticed something. When I got to pit lane and shut it down he asked me what the gauges were reading. The disappointment on his face was obvious when I admitted that I hadn?t been looking. Sure enough, a radiator fitting had come off and the fluid drained. I could have overheated or blown the motor, and he saved it. The crew fixed the problem and I was back out. I was getting a lot of seat time, but still off the pace. I came in for fuel, and set up a string of circumstances that would bite me again.
My personal feeling is that I?m good enough to overcome one or two unexpected factors without losing control, this is coming at you all the time. But the culmination of too many unknowns can catch me, like anyone else. So, when I pitted for fuel, after running hard, the situation was changing around me. First, taking on fuel changes the weight distribution of the car. Second, I?m not used to playing with a cockpit adjustable sway bar, and I left the rear on the full stiff setting (or was that full soft?). Third, the tires had a chance to cool down while I pitted. Now, all of this adds up in hindsight, but in the heat of the moment, it?s easy to overlook, especially when I?m being prompted to get down to 2:30 flat before the session ends. I head back out, for my first big spin ever in a race car. I outbreak a 968 into sunset bend and head down the front straight, nearly flat in fifth, set up wide, downshift to fourth and turn in a little too early. I head to the inside wall and then track out without realizing that I?m actually running out of road. Whether it was a bump or I just ran out of talent, I?m not sure, but the car went immediately into a snap spin that I had no chance to save. I put both feet in and held on as the car spun to the infield at about 90 mph. The guardrail is very close to the track there, so I braced for impact, but thankfully, it never came. The car did a complete 360 in the infield grass and sand and when I gathered it up I realized just how lucky I?d been. I headed for the pit lane to look the car over and called it a day.
In hindsight, Rick and I agreed that I had been very lucky and clearly overzealous for my first day in the car. I had dodged two bullets on that day, one; almost blowing the motor by assuming that everything was ok, and two; the big spin. I was very disappointed in myself for this out of character performance. At least I was still in it, though, with three days to go.
Fri Fun Races
A surprise awaited us first thing in the morning. The clutch wasn?t acting normal. I had been doing too much slipping on it when launching, and a racing clutch can?t withstand that. Now it wasn?t engaging. I had to start the car in gear, chugging away under starter power then get it fired. The hope was that we?d get some heat into it and it would come back to us. The hope was also that it would last the weekend. After a little while, it did come back, and with an adjustment, both to its freeplay and to my technique, we put it behind us.
As I was a rookie for this event, running under provisional status, I was required to participate in the fun race that afternoon. We were gridded according to practice times from the morning, and queued up behind the pace car for a rolling start. We?d race to the yellow flag at Cunningham Corner, reform a grid according to present position, do another rolling start at the stripe and repeat the process three times, then continue on a scheduled five lap race. It was a good way to get oriented to these mass starts where I initially gridded something like 68th and charged into turn one 5 or 6 wide! We had to expect that most of the other cars would exercise their horsepower advantage and outdrag me to turn one, but I was to hang in and take them deep to dive under or around them, exploiting my car?s superior handling. It promised to be interesting.
In fact, it was. However, fun race is a misnomer because it implies that we?re all going to be friends, which I soon realized wasn?t necessarily the case. It was cut and thrust, and the beautiful thing about Sebring, which was pointed out to us in the drivers? meeting, was that there are passing opportunities all over the place. Cornering a car at the limit door to door with others takes some getting used to, but that?s what racing is about, and I quickly recalled my motocross experience where we?d bang handlebars at speed regularly. However, the 13/13?s rule is in effect here, and contact is penalized. I made some great passes, fell prey to others, but stayed out of the carnage that was occurring all over the place. In the end, I brought it back to the trailer intact, 39th overall and 5th in class, the crew pulled the wheels off and I ponied up $900 for new set of Hoosiers to get us through the weekend of racing to come. You can add to that race fuel at $6.00 a gallon, which would go over $400 for the weekend. Double that for all the turbo cars, I?m sure.
Sat Sprints
Now the real racing begins. A practice session to set the grid for qualifying is first. I take Rick?s advice to be gentle with the car, feel it, nurse it, treat it like a woman, coax it, and it will do what you want. Not easy in a chaotic environment, but the trick is to establish order and precision. I?m slowing things down and going faster, now down to 2:34 or so. Then I smell something strange and see smoke coming into the cockpit. I radio in that it?s getting worse when I narrowly save a spin at the tower turn. I know that something is wrong, I figure it must be a leak that?s oiling my rear tires, but the gauges show that the oil pressure is normal. I pit and the car pukes its coolant in the pit lane. The same fitting, now on the other end is the culprit again. Once again, the crew knows exactly what to do and that?s the end of that. It seemed that we were having a lot of teething problems, but I?ve been around racing long enough to expect that. Watching how this crew functioned gave me great confidence in their knowledge and abilities.
Getting ready to qualify, I mention to Joe on the radio that this is important, that it?s time to go fast, right? His response was very calming; ?Frank, is any of this really important? Calm down.? OK, so I get with it and qualify the car at 2:33.6 and get ready to race. I?m 4th in class, out of 7. The good news is that the next car is only .8 sec ahead of me, so a podium might be within reach. The leader, however; is a full 6 sec ahead, at 2:27, so that seems out of reach, at least for now.
Everything in place, it?s time to race. I?m rolling the in-car video, with instructions on how to gain at the start. I?ll be way back overall, something like 48th, so I won?t see the starter, but Joe will tell me when it?s green and I am to go like hell to gain position. Not everyone has a radio. We roll around the last turn and everyone goes before me, the damn radio cut out just when I needed it! I?m swarmed down the front straight and lose 5 or 6 positions right off the bat. Put that behind, I get down to it and settle in. I?m running nose to tail, door to door when I decide to start getting aggressive. I pass a C4S on the inside at 16 and pull him down the airport straight, outbrake a 911 into Sunset bend and then drive under a 944 Turbo. They get next to me on the wide front straight but I go in deeper and outbrake them for good into one. I tail a 993 down to the hairpin and dive under him under braking as I heel-toe down the gearbox, 5,4,3,2 then back up the gears to Fangio chicane where two cars tangle and go off into the grass. It goes on like this for a few laps until I arrive at 16 under yellow and slow for a car that?s off in the grass. Shouldn?t have slowed so much, I lose 5 positions instantly when they gang up on me down the airport straight. Back to work, I outbrake the 993 again at the hairpin, but he closes down on me and there is light contact, my left front into his right rear wheel. ?You?re doing great!? comes over the radio, but I reply that ?I?m going to get a 13 for contact?. ?Stay on it, forget it unless they black flag you?. I?m moving up again, when I come upon a 914 with a 5S on the back, meaning this is for position in class. ?Pass that guy and I?ll buy you dinner? is Joe?s offer. Half a lap later and I order my porterhouse medium rare. ?No, you have to stay ahead of him,? according to Joe. Then there?s another 914 with a 5S on the back and I radio that I?m working on another pass for position. I get him in the fast switchback section (14-15) where my car is a joy to slide. The circuit goes full course yellow now and we queue up behind the pace car. I?m thinking that this was a pretty good run, I?ve moved up but can?t keep track as others have passed me and disappeared as well. I never saw Jim Hamblin, the class leader anyway. Joe comes on, ?Hamblin dropped out, that last pass might have been for the class lead!? The race ends under yellow and I bring it home in shear ecstacy, fist out the window, ranting over the radio. What a rush!
The crew cleans the rubber marks off my left front fender and I go to timing and scoring, cautiously optimistic of our result. Word comes down that the results will be delayed as multiple disqualifications are sorted out. Of course, I?m now worried that I?m one of them, for my contact at the hairpin. As I?m riding my bike through the paddock, I spot the 993 that I brushed, and approach its driver. He can tell that my interest is more than casual, as I photograph his right rear wheel, with my car?s yellow paint on it. I admit to him who I am, and he tells me that he won?t be protesting the contact, but his tire has a small cut in it and he?s done for the weekend. I offer to buy him a new one, in the spirit of good sportsmanship, and at first he refuses, but I press it and he accepts 2 Ben Franklins from me. Later on, we?re buddies, having a few beers and it turns out he?s a dentist as well. We?re looking good, and when the results come out, it?s official; I?d won my first PCA race!
Sunday Enduro
The fourth and final day would be the 1 ½ hour endurance race. I would team with Rick and make the driver change during the required 5 minute pit stop. We skipped the morning practice session, both to save the car, and so as not to further aggravate my hangover from last night?s celebration. I sent Rick out to qualify the car, and I would start the race. I heard him say ?Hello, old friend? as he belted in. He was obviously down to business immediately, but was complaining on the radio that he couldn?t get a clear lap, there was too much traffic. We reviewed the video after and saw a hair-raising incident when a 911 spun in front of him at the tower turn, and he avoided hitting him nose to nose by a coat of paint. By the end of the session he turned a 2:31.9, the fastest the car has gone all weekend, and we all know he can find more.
The plan is for me to start the race, and Rick tells me to stay out as long as I like, we?ll make the switch whenever. It?s advantageous to do it under a yellow flag, for obvious reasons, so I make it clear that I?ll likely pit after the halfway point under yellow. I bring the car to the staging area, and they slot me 9th, overall! Thanks a lot, Rick, now I?m sitting among the heavy hitters. Joe scouts the grid and the second place car in GT5 isn?t even in sight. This race is mine to lose, but a sweep is a very distinct possibility. I point out that I?m not going to try anything aggressive at the start and will find a comfortable place to slot in, probably letting some faster cars go.
We form up the 2 x 2 grid and run a pace lap behind the Boxster Pace Car and for the first time in my career, I can actually see the thing, I?m on the 5th row! I was advised to hang back around four car lengths coming into the last turn, and as we round the curve to jump on it, the green would wave and I?d get a run. However, you don?t want to come up too soon and have to back out of it, that?s when the green will fall and you?ll be engulfed. I tried it, and of course I was just a little too early and got devoured. No big deal, we head off and settle in.
I?m running hard but steady 1:33-1:34?s, if anyone comes up fast I let them go, but I?m pretty much holding position and way in front of my class. I do about 5 laps under very heavy pressure from a red 911 that is matching my pace, but neither of us needs to take any unnecessary risks, as we?re in different classes. Great racing, nonetheless, and Joe is offering great encouragement on the radio. As we start lapping backmarkers, I?m really enjoying carving through the back of the field. It?s mid-day, and I?m really working up a sweat, but it?s one of the greatest drives on record. Halfway comes and goes and then there?s a full-course yellow to remove some stray cars. I radio that I?m coming in, make sure Rick is ready and we?ll be one of the first in, which might help track position behind the pace car.
I hit the pit lane and the crew starts the clock to time our mandatory 5 minute stop. Climb out, hatch open, 5 gallons of race fuel goes in, and Rick belts up. The crew holds him until it?s time and out he goes, still under yellow. We did it in 5:08, nearly perfect. It was a very long yellow, and the pace car couldn?t pick up the leader properly. At one point we were fourth on the road, with the overall leader right there, but by the end we wound up a little further back. Most importantly, we gained nearly an entire lap on the second place car in class, so it was just about in the bag.
The course goes green and Rick steps into it, like the charger he?s well known to be. I know that he?s a very controlled and calculated driver, so there?s no real worry, but he sure is passing a lot of cars! The video would later show that he was just tearing through traffic, actually going for the overall which a very fast GT3 was holding down since the start. I tell Joe to instruct Rick to stroke it to the finish, no need to wod the car up now. When I hear Joe repeating himself two or three times, I know that Rick is pretending that the radio isn?t working. ?You?re not going to slow him down, he lives for this stuff? was Joe?s advice, so I sit on the pit wall as the time ticks down. Funny thing is, he?s going faster and faster, eventually hitting a 2:30 flat just before the checker!
We win our class easily, but a top 5 overall also seems likely. No time to wait around for trophies though, we?ve got a flight out of Orlando in the evening. The truck is packed, our race cars tucked away and we head off, as one happy team. Mission accomplished, and a lot more! We later find out that we were first in class, and third overall. A giant killer, indeed, and a sweep for this rookie?s first PCA weekend! God, I love this sport.
FastFranz
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