September 30, 2011 - The two cars at the end of the race.
Both are in fine shape - more on that later - and didn't require the massive interventions required to get some of the other cars to the end. They sucked up everything we threw at them. Nancy, the 2006, is running all off-the-shelf parts from Flyin' Miata including the Stage 2 suspension kit. Even though he'd driven it quite a bit during development, Brandon was really impressed with how it held up and dealt with the poor road surfaces. The only adjustment he made was to stiffen up the shocks slightly to suit his taste.
The Targa Miata was a star. Many of the other drivers thought I was nuts trying to wrestle a V8 Miata through the race, assuming it would be a beast to control. Of course, it was nothing of the sort. The big engine was the most obvious change to the car when compared to 2008, but the changes in the chassis also meant that the car was more competent at the higher speeds. Big bumps in particular were handled very well, and the skid plates underneath meant that I had nothing to fear if we did ground out. What a great tool.
tags: post-race, ergonomics |
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