May 2004 vintage racing article (Willow Springs)

[mark belrose]

Below is the text from my second submission for the Z Owners of NorCal newsletter. Read the Jan 2004 article first for a bit of background on the car.

Willow Springs Raceway is the oldest existing road course in California. It’s a fun course to drive but a hard course to get right. Cars in my class, C Production, average about 90 mph on it, but it seems like a lot faster. The track has everything from tight off-camber turns to big sweeping corners where you keep your foot on the throttle and hope the car doesn’t go shooting off the course.

The Vintage Auto Racing Association’s April 3-4 event was my third attempt at this track. I had high hopes for the weekend, having gone through every nut and bolt on the car, with everything seemingly looking good. I also had a new set of Hoosier S04 DOT tires that I was going to use for the final. Although I had a good time at my previous two races, my car had not held together, acting as a damper on those weekends. This weekend would prove to be a big improvement.

Saturday morning was the preliminary qualifying, where your best lap time places you accordingly on the grid for that afternoon’s qualifying race. I decided to put the new Hoosiers on and run a couple of laps during the morning session in order to “heat cycle” them in. Heat cycling involves getting the tires up to temperature, then pulling back into the pits and dismounting the tires for use the next day. This supposedly increases their durability for future races. My best of three laps at speed placed my 8th on the 26-car grid for that afternoon.

For Saturday afternoon’s race, my older Kumho tires went back on the car. Right behind my on the starting grid were three cars that I knew would pass me up if I made the slightest mistake. Through the first few corners I noticed that my car was very loose (the rear-end of the car wanting to slide out). With two laps to go the car’s handling had gotten really bad, and I was having extreme difficulty holding off the other three cars, which were trading places behind me trying to get around. Finally, a Porsche 914-6 dived inside of my on Willow Spring’s infamous turn 9, forcing me a bit wide. I put two wheels in the dirt, but luckily did not spin there as most cars do. The three cars went shooting on by, however.

After my off-course excursion, I noticed a strange vibration in the back of the car. Being that I am a bit gun-shy about things breaking, I pulled out of the qualifying race with one lap to go. Upon inspecting the car, I noticed that one of the two bolts holding the differential to the moustache bar had disappeared, hence the vibration. The threads were completely stripped out. With some JB weld and a prayer, in went another bolt. Also, my left rear tire was almost completely shredded. For some quirky reason, tires don’t handle well without tread.

If it wasn’t for another 240Z that had also pulled out of the qualifying race, I’d have started dead last for Sunday’s final. There were a lot of cars slower cars between us and the top of the grid. At the green flag, our 240Zs quickly made our way through the field, with the other Z right on my arse. As a matter of fact, he spent the entire race right behind me. I was a little faster in the straights but he handled a bit better. We both ended up passing eleven cars before the checkered flag. It made for a very fun race and a good showing by the Datsuns.

Mark Belrose

1970 240Z vintage road racer

[gogriz91]

So what kind of lap itmes were you running? I'm curious how a prepared Z could run against a newer car with "newer" technology and Willow Springs seems to be the yardstick for many "tuners".

[mark belrose]

So what kind of lap itmes were you running? I'm curious how a prepared Z could run against a newer car with "newer" technology and Willow Springs seems to be the yardstick for many "tuners".

I've run high 1:36's there, which is not bad. However, a friend of mine, John Wilkins who is the chief instructor for the Vintage Auto Racing Association, has run considerably faster in a similarly prepared 240Z. I believe 1:34's. Unfortunately there are a couple of highly prepared 911's and 914/6's that are now running within our class in the 1:32-1:33 range. They are prepared far beyond their original "vintage" specifications, weighing 1800-1900 lbs. compared to John and my 2150 range. It's a long story but something we are trying to deal with within VARA regarding preparation beyond the spirit of vintage racing.

Mark

[Chino 240Z]

Willow Springs is like a hidden race oasis just a couple hours from Los Angeles. It was our first track to adventure out onto and turned into one of our favorite places to spend a weekend. But no matter how many events we do at this track it seems to always give me a major case of the butterflies. Soon after the first session is behind you, the feeling turns into the most awesome euphoric feeling which should be illegal!

For most drivers Willow Springs is an easy track to learn and drive but one of the most difficult tracks to perfect and drive the perfect line lap after lap. We have found that as we have improved our driving ability over a couple years the faster modern day cars have been easier to catch and pass. It is always a treat to see a new Mustang, Corvette, or Tuner car give way to a 36 year old Z car. I don't have the HP Mark's car unleashes, but on a cold day with fresh tires a 1:36's has been my best and Mrs. Chino followed it up with some 1:38's. Most modern car drivers are happy to break 1:40's. It must be something else to get down to 32's & 33's. It is amazing how hard it can be to just gain even a fraction of a second knowing you just drove the best line and lap you ever have. For me gains are always so tiny.

Here is the track layout

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Early years photo from looking down from the Balcony

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Todays view from the top of the track

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One of the nice things about this track is you can just about view the entire track from just about anywhere from the pits and parking lots. This can also be embarrassing as your missed shift, spin or goof can be heard by everyone watching.

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As fun and exciting as this place can be, it also can be one of the worst days you will ever have if you ease your attention or overdrive your talent. This place you never want to loose respect for.

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This driver and instructor were fine but the car suffered the pain.

Found on the tracks web site, this is John Morton's view on a hot lap around Willow Springs.

http://www.willowspringsraceway.com/trackinformation/hotlap.asp

With a little patience and perseverance a prepared Z car can get around cars like these, but have to do everything you can to not get passed by the higher HP cars on the straights.

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Historic Trans Am and Nascar stock cars often see 150 to 165 MPH on the straights. We have even seen Borris Said come play with the clubs and put on a show waxing cars around the track!

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If you get a weekend to visit this place when a local club is running, stop by and have a look. Visitors are always welcome, and if you bring a helmet, there's a chance you could catch a session from an instructor or advance driver.

The first Z driver we ever met at this track was one of the friendliest. He and his family made us feel welcome on that icy cold morning after the storm the night before. They just happened to squeeze their RV and trailer in next to us and block the freezing wind from our rig. We still enjoy cheering for Mark Belrose and his car that you can spot a mile away.

Anyways thanks for the opportunity to expound a little about Willow Springs.

Cheers.

This coming weekend we are off to Buttonwillow near Bakersfield Ca. with SpeedVentures for a totally different type of track.