Topic: CYBERFUKD Sonoma March 2022 Wrapup
CYBERFUKD Sonoma March 2022 Wrapup
We left Buttonwillow last year with a frame that had more bends than an Annie’s pretzel. A cutoff wheel, a metal glue machine, a donor truck, and some pry bars were all that was needed to attach a new front clip. We headed out for practice Friday and shockingly, everything worked…well most everything.
As some background we’ve had electrical issues every single race. We have never finished a race with the same alternator that showed up to the track, we’re 3 for 3. This week’s gremlin was a fuse hidden in the birds nest of a wiring harness that controlled the radiator fan. An excessive amount of locktite appears to have dripped into temp control unit. Considering this was the only fix needed after a massive wreck, we were pretty proud of ourselves.
Saturday started out crazy. Lots of yellows and a higher-than-normal number of teams trying to win the race in the first session. 45 minutes in, someone stood on the brakes exiting the esses (a full throttle area). Our driver punched the brakes and the truck immediately pitched sideways due to the new strip of asphalt his right side tires were on. The judge kicked our driver out of the car. It was overly harsh for 45 minutes into the day and avoiding a wreck. However, given the general dickishness of the driving on Saturday, we don’t blame ‘em. Next driver got dressed faster than when his high school girlfriend’s dad got home from work early. We finished out the day with 1 more black flag, this time we were at fault, downshifting on turn-in isn’t a great idea.
We lost our starter midway through the day but could push-start it without issue. We’ve spent a lot of time working on our pit stop strategy. With only 3 drivers, we wear lots of hats, but were able to crush a 2:45 pit stop with 18 gallons of fuel. We were pretty pumped and our quick stops made a big difference for us.
Sunday came around and it seems like most drivers shaped up. Lots of tight racing and we had a lot of fun out there. We made people earn their passes, but tried to be respectful of those significantly faster than us. Our long wheelbase gives some advantages in the high speed turns. Nothing like hanging it wide open through the esses with a miata on your hip! Shoutout to the number 15 who was hidden in our blind spot in the carousel mid-day Sunday. We never saw them and cut down on them. 8’ aluminum panels make excellent blind spots.
We did have a couple of moments on Sunday. The first with an RX-7 who lost it in the bus stop and tagged our rear end shredding the wooden fender and tacoing the wheel. We were able to continue on without changing the wheel, but it’s a damn miracle the bead held. Our driver forgot to relay the message about the wheel. Combine that taco’d wheel with our strong rear brake bias and we were wheel hopping the big braking zones. Trying to make a pass on the pink bug in 11 the rear jumped badly and we spun, thanks to the pink bug for giving lots of room. A tire pressure adjustment helped a lot and we finished out the day cleanly. Coming from 8th in C-Class to finish 2nd on the weekend. Our third 2nd place in a row and second consecutive loss to the Junk Runners. We even finished with the same alternator we started with.
Another weekend of great fun, minimal frustration, and new friends. See some of you at Thunderhill where we will again chase that coveted C-Class win.