Nov 12: Race Day

Woke up this morning, excited! It’s Race day today, its been awhile that Sepang has excited me. I guess thats what happens after 6 years of tracking monthly..

The afternoon is the Ignition.my trackday and also my a practice session for me as its my first time on the Sepang North Track. Tonight’s my first race with Saturday Night Fever (SNF).

Last night, I managed to catch some SNF Sepang North Track videos on youtube but most werent very clear and I had no idea what to expect out of the new Sepang Turn 7&8.

Tweaking my suspension damping setting to something I tried out the week before, I guess the tyre temperatures and pressure readings taken last week might not have been so accurate as the tyres were very ‘green’ the week before. This week they are ready!

Heres’ my team support crew. Think she’s playing a driving game too!

The difference between the Sepang North Track and the Sepang full track is the new Turn 7 & 8 which brings me back to the Sepang front straight again.

My first impressions are that it is actually tougher on the brakes because the car carries a higher speed through the new turn 7 & 8 compared to full track Turn 15, which in turn means a higher top speed along the front straight. Instead of redlining in 4th gear before braking into turn 1, now, I’ve gotta shift into 5th before braking.

My last practice outing, I thought I will try out a few different approaches into turn 7 & 8 and compare it on the laptop. I figured with the right line, I could be on throttle out of the corner very early.

Screenshot of the Racelogic Videovbox Lite data page… now where to find another 3 more seconds?

On my final practice run for the day, well I wont spoil the story, and I’ll let the video do the talking.

yup.. thats right.. I limped back to the pit garage… and tried to identify the problem.
Resigned, I called a tow truck and had the car towed to a friend’s place, EricT Racing to have the car checked out. I’m out of the race even before it started.

on a tow truck headed to EricT Racing in PJ, KL.

On the bright side, the mx5 has been incredibly reliable, lasting me 45 plus trackdays these past 4 years. In these 45 trackdays, this is the first time I had to call tow truck. a pretty good record.