My new blog - How I started racing in Spec Miata: Grassroots Motorsports forum: Classic Motorsports

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April 12, 2011 8:03 p.m. amg_rx7 HalfDork

So....

I recently started blogging about my experiences as a rookie racer and how I got started racing Spec Miata.

I spent the majority of 2010 reviving a tired old Miata that my childhood friend had given me. I have a bunch of content on the build that I will be putting up over the next few days. Fun build that chronicles a pretty thorough SM prepared Miata.

I also recently attended SCCA Driver School and just finished my first race with SCCA and got my regional license. The blog will focus on these racing and school experiences for now since I am learning a lot with each race and day at the track.

Feel free to visit and post any questions or feedback or lessons you may wish to share. The link is here: http://blog.miataracer.com/

Cheers
April 12, 2011 9:58 p.m. Teh E36 M3 HalfDork

Cool. I like reading it from your perspective. So many "experts" out there- your humility and honesty is refreshing. I also like how you're not dispensing advice- just telling it like you saw it.
April 13, 2011 12:27 a.m. amg_rx7 HalfDork

Thanks man. I have no advice to give. I'm just a regular guy following through on a long standing goal, dream etc and learning while I'm doing it.

I figure eventually it may be helpful to others wondering how to get started and what it feels like on a day by day basis as my adventure continues.
June 1, 2011 11:27 p.m. amg_rx7 HalfDork

Everybody loves race video right?

I recently installed a Contour GPS camera in my Spec Miata. I got some pretty good footage of my Spec Miata race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Memorial Day Weekend. Figured I'd share here.

This is the first video I have ever take and I'm still figuring out how to edit this stuff. Race starts around the 10 minute mark so you may wanna start there.

Hope you enjoy it! I did!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQQMTWZy_rs
June 2, 2011 2:33 a.m. Racer1ab Reader

Thank you sir, you just managed to kill about an hour of downtime for me at work.

Excellent write-ups!
June 3, 2011 7:14 a.m. cdyer77 New Reader

Good write up - It gives a good insight into the 1st year of a rookie's race season.

Good luck with the rest of the season!

PS - Did you build the SM car yourself from a street car? If so, you should try to capture some of the build on your blog

looking for another miata
June 3, 2011 8:00 a.m. Giant Purple Snorklewacker SuperDork

So... I was reading a bit... with regard to the diff oil. I run full synthetic Mobil 1 LS 75-90 in my E30 racecar because it is decent and I can get it at Walmart or Autozone.

I change it once a season (about 60 hrs). It comes out looking/smelling clean. My take is that the diff does not know its on a racetrack. If the oil is not breaking down due to heat then regular service intervals apply and at 60hrs I am wasting my money but I do all fluids before the 1st event as a ritual. It sees quite a bit more heat from torque and HP than a Miata and I have not had any failures using this logic in the last 10yrs.

Lord of drivel and harbinger of Floundering
June 3, 2011 8:28 a.m. chuckles Reader

Dang, I had some things I needed to get done this morning.
June 3, 2011 9:32 a.m. T.J. SuperDork

I like the blog - watching the video of Laguna Seca as I type.

"During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." George Orwell
June 3, 2011 12:21 p.m. amg_rx7 HalfDork

Glad you guys enjoyed the video and the blog.

If you are curious about how the bump that got me sideways going onto the main straight happened, watch this vid from the fast guys who I think finished 1& 2: http://vimeo.com/24508731

Regarding the blog, my wife and friends were sick of me babbling on about the build and racing so I started blogging. Hopefully others who are wondering what it is like to get started racing can get a preview by reading my experiences.

There is actually a really cool (IMO) story on the build. The car belonged to my child hood friend - child hood as in we played with match box cars and legos together. The car had been off the road for 7 or so years rusting away in his parent's driveway in NY. His parents decided to move back to the old country and he needed to get rid of the car so he gave it to me in exchange for a donation to his favorite charity - ikat.org.

Since then I totally rebuilt everything on the car in my garage. I have a build write up in the works but have been so busy with life and work that I haven't had much time to tell the story.

Next race at Laguna is in a couple of weeks! Now that I know the line, I expect to be a couple of seconds faster.
June 3, 2011 1:07 p.m. plance1 Dork

awesome, thanks for sharing, love the video!
June 3, 2011 2:28 p.m. keethrax HalfDork

Haven't gotten to the video yet, but it was a good read on my lunch break. Added it to my list of blogs to keep an eye on.

'08 Mazdaspeed3, '00 PontiacGrand Prix GT, '99 Metro, '96 Cherokee
June 4, 2011 8:30 p.m. dollraves Reader

Heh. My best friend started a year ago to get her racing license from NASA in her spec miata. Neat to contrast and compare. Her blog's at http://statelessimmigrant.blogspot.com/.

It's not about P3|\|15 or vag; it's about common sense, and let's face it, most people don't have it.
June 16, 2011 12:49 a.m. amg_rx7 HalfDork

GRM stickers have arrived just in time for the Spec Miata Festival at Laguna seca.

Installed them this evening:

Hopefully ye olde hot link worked...

Can't wait to get back to Laguna, apply what I learned about the track at the last race and hopefully make some progress up through the pack.
June 22, 2011 12:17 a.m. amg_rx7 HalfDork

More video from the San Francisco region SCCA Spec Miata Festival at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzoEEkKiesM

I was hoping that adding the GRM stickers would bring me closer to the front but they only resulted in a 3-4 second improvement in lap times from the prior race.

Very eventful race weekend. I'm working on editing my video from saturday's race. Will be updating the blog with lessons learned later in the week.

Enjoy!
June 30, 2011 5:50 p.m. lx5 None

Thanks for the linky, dollraves!

Good job on the stripes, amg_rx7 -- I am about to stripe my Miata too. The current stripe is painted on, so I decided to just stick some vinyl right over it.

Glad to hear that GRM stickers worked for you. I guess I should be investing in some, myself!

http://statelessimmigrant.blogspot.com
June 30, 2011 5:59 p.m. amg_rx7 HalfDork

GRM stickers make you faster!

I'm going to spend some time updating the blog this weekend from the Laguna races. My hard drive decided to die recently so my personal computing use at home has been compromised. A new computer will eat up racing budget so I'm going to figure something out soon. Thankfully, work is too busy to update the blog during working hours. :)
June 30, 2011 6:11 p.m. FlightService HalfDork

amg_rx7 wrote: Everybody loves race video right? I recently installed a Contour GPS camera in my Spec Miata. I got some pretty good footage of my Spec Miata race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Memorial Day Weekend. Figured I'd share here. This is the first video I have ever take and I'm still figuring out how to edit this stuff. Race starts around the 10 minute mark so you may wanna start there. Hope you enjoy it! I did! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQQMTWZy_rs

Just for reference Leaves pit lane at 7:40 for warm up lap Starts race at 10:45

Nice vid

If you knew what you were doing, I wouldn't be here.