Sunday, 7/10/05

There are two races scheduled for today.
We decide to use them both as test sessions.

We check with the Chief Steward to make sure the officials do not have a problem with us starting from pit lane and running 1/2 power (300 amps). He warns us that if the car is too slow, he will give us the black flag and pull us off the track.

We wait in pit row for the start.
Another car (ICE) from our group pulls in behind us.
A track official comes over and warns me that the car behind me is fast and that I should not block him as he goes by.

I snort at this.
They have not seen the Imp in action.
Time to educate them.

There is a light rain falling. We love the wet!
The pack thunders by in a cloud of spray.
The flagman waves us out.
I leave the other car behind.

I quickly catch the pack tip-toeing through turn 3. I get a run out of turn 4 and try the inside dive on a Honda in turn 5. I am not enough alongside to claim the corner and the Honda reclaims its spot.

He makes a move on the Mazda ahead of him at the chicane. I get the Mazda at turn 10.

I spend the next two laps closing up on a Starlet and a Volkswagen Sirocco. They battle for position and end up going side by side through turn 10 leading onto the front straightaway. I draft by them both and beat them to the next corner.

Next up, a Mazda RX7. His full power is more than my half power. He pulls away on the straight but I catch him in the corners. He misses a shift out of turn 2 and I am by.

I have a clear lap after that. My times have stabilized at 1:55. This is 8 seconds slower than test day. Some of this can be attributed to the damp track. The rest is running 300 amps instead of 600. Our top speed has dropped from 120 to 106 mph.

A small chunk of time has been reclaimed by a better line through the chicane. I am consistently 7 mph faster than test day here.

Lap 6, the previously damaged cell #11 dies. I pull in. It is not possible to change it and recharge the pack before this afternoon's race. We are done.

We look over the data. The pack is a little cooler reaching 57 degrees C by the end of 6 laps. The motors stayed much cooler peaking at 108 degrees C