Anyways, Burke was full of bittersweet. For example, I had some great opportunities to learn some of Howie's habits at the limit. The down side was that the limits were really low due to the wet road. But I am very thankful for getting some wet racing experience. On Saturday the day started with the road being soaked. It was wet enough that I used my "rain" tires. Which are really just my trailer tires, and I now know they are completely useless. On the front I had BFG Radial TA's, and the rear were some dirt track tires. The dirt tires stuck pretty well, thankfully they were quite soft. I actually think that they launched from start better than the slicks. That was probably due to the fact that start was mostly mud. My two runs on this tire configuration were 2:54.28 and 2:50.60.
Last run before lunch I decided to switch to slicks on the back and moved the dirt tires to the front. The road was drying out and it seamed like a good idea. Turns out I was right, I made two more runs with the new tire setup, a 2:44.75 and a 2:42.16. After my first post lunch run I switched to slicks all the way around and my time improved again with a 2:33.34 on the fifth run. The road was about 50% dry by this time as well so that helped a lot. I took it a little easier on my final run of the day, I was getting tired (all that tire changing) and didn't want to ball it up before Sunday. Its bad form to crash on practice day.
The tire changes and the times don't tell the whole story though. I had multiple moments where I thought I might be needing a tow, first was the crest of the hill at turn 6. My speed was probably around 75-80, and when I would crest the hill the back of the car would try to catch the front every time. It wasn't too hard to control but it sure made me pucker up every time. Besides that the only other trouble I had was almost taking out the #30 turn marker sign because I ran too wide on the exit of turn 29. All in all I was very thankful that I kept her between the trees all day on that wet road.
Sunday...... Sunday was definitely more on the bitter side of bittersweet. But before I get ahead of myself lets back up. Saturday night there was a wedding at the clearing by checkpoint 5. So naturally early the next morning the friendly maintenance crew were picking up. Turns out the truck they were using decided to spill diesel fuel on the road all the way from check 3 to check 5. One of the tank straps broke and I'm sure you can imagine the rest. If you have ever mixed diesel and water and then put it on asphalt which also happens to be a 20% grade, you'll know why we didn't end up racing on Sunday. It was so slippery that one racer, who went to check it out, reported that his E brake wasn't enough to hold the car in place. The owners of the mountain were very kind and did their best to try and make it right. They assured us that they could have it cleaned up by the next day if we wanted to stay. Too bad we all have day jobs.
The good new is there is going to be a Burke 2!!! The management of Burke Mountain were kind enough to work with the sponsoring club to make right what their truck ruined. I am not sure as to whether or not Burke 2 will be in the Moultroup Racing budget this year but we will try. It was a much easier course to learn than Ascutney. Mostly due to its 2.1 mile length versus Ascutneys 3.6 miles. It also helped that my fillings weren't being rattled out this time, much smoother. I'd love to be able to return and race it in the dry when I can really let it all hang out.
There is always more to write but its currently 2:30 AM so Ill have to save that for another day. Okemo 2 in August will be the next race so look for my next update then.
