build diary

October 14, 2007: Autocross time again!
Somehow, despite running my own autocross series all through the summer, I never got around to taking the Seven up after the big tire debacle of the first race. So it's been four months. It feels like a whole lot longer, honestly. I've spent so much time working on the development of the Targa Miata that the Seven has been sorely neglected. So I put out a little extra effort and managed to get both the Miata and the Seven out to the final autocross of the season, run by my friends at the Corvette club.

Driving over to the venue, I was reminded just how different the Seven feels than the door slammer. The chassis isn't as rigid (the Miata has a full cage) but the suspension is stiffer (the Miata is a rally car, remember). It's the immediacy that had dulled in my memory. I'd be concentrating more on the problems of late - poor tires, cooling fittings that were cracking and spewing - than the ability of the car.

I started off driving the Miata in the first group - you can read about it on the Targa page. This meant that when I rolled up to the start line, I had an idea of the course and a target. Target? Oh yes, the Fiat was in town.

We met up over two years ago and the Seven was vanquished by a 0.3 second margin. We've run against each other on the track a few times, but I have not had the chance to avenge my autocross defeat, as that's where the Fiat is at its best. I was on a mission. I've made a lot of improvements to the car since that time, but never had a chance to prove it until today.

On my first run, I was blown away. I'd forgotten how violent the Seven could be on an autocross course. Even though I'd put down the second fastest time of the day (to that point) in the Miata, the Seven was far ahead of me and I was just reacting to it. The first run was, shall we say, messy as I collected a couple of cones and spend a lot of time trying to keep the tail in line. The cold weather didn't help, but it was mostly just me trying to adjust to the ferocity of an uncaged Seven.

On the next couple of runs, I started to get on top of the car. My second run put me ahead of the Fiat, and I concentrated on cleaning things up. Finally, on my fourth run I put down a clean lap and figured I had my fast time. Then, on run five I tried a different line - one I'd spotted during the course walk but this time I exaggerated it and combined that with an even cleaner run. The result? Another 0.9 seconds off an already-impressive time. My last run was a DNF as I overcooked the entrance to the slalom, but I parked feeling pretty happy.

The Fiat had three runs to respond - it was an odd run grouping. He tried, but didn't manage to improve over his best time set earlier. The final margin? 3.231 seconds. This was FTD, and the Fiat was second-fastest with a well-driven C5 Z06 very close behind. I think I redeemed myself from the previous loss a couple of years ago. Now that's what I wanted. Not just a victory, but domination. Over 3 seconds on a sub-60 second course.

The Seven wasn't completely unscathed. Yet another cooling fitting let go - a little rubber cap on the back of the head split and started misting the scuttle with coolant. It's the exact same failure I had last time at the track, but this time at the rear instead of the front. Luckily, this is the last of those rubber caps so I should finally have this series of foolish little problems sorted out. I drove home with a big smile and little drips of coolant on my feet.

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