The time has come for me to jump into the pool and start club racing. For me, the easiest way to get started was with EMRA. EMRA is a club similar to NASA, but is quite a bit smaller and is found on the east coast only. I decided to start with EMRA because my car classes well and the fields are generally smaller than NASA. This combined with lower costs make it a no brainer for a rookie like me.

My first race was at NJMP on the Thunderbolt circuit. I did a DE at Lightning earlier this year, but have never driven Thunderbolt. There was a lot to absorb (new track, new experience wheel to wheel racing, new club, etc...).

Day 1:
There were 8 students in the competition school. During the 1st classroom session, I was surprised to see I had more experience than most in the room. All those DE's and time trials seemed like they would be paying off. The key topics for the classroom were flags, car control, safety, etc...

There were 2 practice sessions that day with an instructor in a lead follow scenario. The goal was to get the students comfortable passing other cars in a safe manner. Right away I could see the experience gained from sim racing would be very valuable. I felt comfortable right away passing and being passed. This session was very similar to an experience I had at Summit Point earlier this year with TrackDaze. That club allows passing at any point on track (including turns) in the advanced group.

Following the 2 practice sessions was a student race. There were 8 student drivers and 4 instructors on track. Instructors were out there to mix it up and ensure the students drove safely. The start order was not determined by qualifing, but instead, by who got to the pre-grid first. I lined up 3rd. In front was a C5 ZO6 (ST1), a Mustang Cobra (ST2). Behind me was a couple of spec Miatas and an ST1 BMW e36 (amazingly fast car). I was classed in ST3. The BMW flew by all at the start and took the lead into T1. I followed the vette and mustang closely through the first 2 turns. Turn 3, the vette over cooks it into turn 3 and shortcuts the bus-stop. The mustang and I see what is going on and slow in case the vette makes an aggressive move back onto the track. Good thing we did because he made a very unsafe re-entry on track. The vette driver finished the race in 2nd place, but was not invited to the sprint race (all drivers) afterwards. My goal was to take the green and checkerd flags and be safe. I succeeded, but had 1 bobble. That damn decreasing radius turn caught me. I entered too shallow with too much speed and looped it 180 degrees. I almost caught it. No harm, no foul. I waited till the cobra passed by (yes i was quicker than the cobra dude) and carried on. At the end of the race, I was permitted to race with the rest of the group, but had to start from the back.

Sat sprint race:
I started 7th in class and somewhere near 11th overall. The students were instructed to start from the back of the field. I really didn't know what to expect from this race. My goal was to take the green and checkerd flags and not hit anyone. If I could gain some positions along the way that would be a bonus. I was quite surprised at my pace compared to others once the green flag flew. Again, my sim racing experience helped to make me feel comfortable. At no point was I nervous. It really was quite easy actually. My car was well prepared, well classed and I felt comfortable. I passed a bunch of cars in the first two laps and was slowly closing on 2nd the first half of the race. I backed off a bit when I got very loose in the decreasing radius right (thinking of how I lost 3rd in the rookie race). I also lost time when navigating lapped traffic. Overall I was very pleased with my performance. I finished 3rd and didn't make any major mistakes.

Area's of improvement include, but not limited to:
- fix poor entry in T1. I'm entering too early
- track out a bit more and carry more speed into decreasing radius right
- be more authoritive when passing lapped traffic

NJMP Thunderbolt 10/24/08 from Mike Miller on Vimeo

Day 2:
I went to bed Saturday night feeling sick. I only got 2 hours sleep so Sunday morning I felt like a train wreck. To complicate matters, it was already raining with rain forecasted the entire day. Practice was ok. I didn't set the track on fire, but I wasn't the slowest in the wet either. Quali was a different story. It started out with steady rain, but then changed to a monsoon. I qualified 2nd to last. Only 1 car had tires worse than mine. The top 5 were on Hoosier wets. I'm feeling more and more sick throughout the day. I tried to eat some cheese fries, but they didn't stay down. I felt best driving the car, but was a bit nervous that I might throw up in my helmet.

While waiting for the race, I realized I forgot to change the shock settings for wet conditions. I softened both front and rear. The weather also looked to be clearing a bit so I dropped 4lbs front and rear just before getting to grid. Once on grid, the heavens opened up and it started raining again. When the green flag flew, I jumped out of line and grabbed two spots (spec Miatas). By the exit of turn 1, I grabbed 2 more using a rim shot around the outside. The shock settings and tire pressure changes must have helped. The outside moves were a bit bold, but I just had a feeling everyone else was tip-toeing too much. I had positioned myself into 2nd place by the end of 3 laps. At this point, the rain has stopped. There was no more standing water with just a drizzle at this point. The track continued to improve throughout the race. A dry line never formed though. By half way, I was on top of the 1st place car (Porsche 944 with Hoosier wets) challenging for the lead. I made many attempts for the lead, but didn't have enough traction to safely make a pass. I couldn't get enough traction to come out of the tight left leading to the bridge and the front straight, but I was quicker in other parts of the track. In the end, 1st through 3rd were covered by a blanket at the finish. I would have loved to win the race, but I still very happy with my performance. My goal was to take all the flags and get through the day without incident. Mission accomplished.

Next up is sprint races with EMRA at Summit Point Nov 15th & 16th. I have driven this track before and have seen lap times from my rivals. I'm a whole 2 seconds slower than the top driver in class, but I'm quicker than most. I expect to do well.