Interestingly, the few weeks leading up to the race weekend was anything but. The entire BTM team, Brad, Andy and Ross, worked tirelessly to finish the new 19 car, with the old 91 just an afterthought. Thursday night both cars were still in pieces, and Friday meant loading up late to get to Infineon early the next morning.
Saturday morning involved just a few tweaks to get the new car running, and the 91 purred to life as usual.
But the Sonoma winter proved to have a few surprises for the entire field. While a Norcal record thirty-two Spec e30s lined up to grid, the day's steady rain turned into classic Sonoma weather that floods the Napa river, turns the valley into mush, and lays down enough water that grapes are still happily growing six months later. Any experienced driver at Infineon Raceway will tell you about the utter lack of grip in T2, the lake in T5, the river that spans the straightaway from 6 to 7, and the rising water that altogether removes T10 from view. Normal stuff. Saturday's weather was some order of magnitude worse.
And yet, Brad managed to place the 91 car on pole by a solid second and a half over Lauren T and the rest of the field. Stories of him drifting sideways throughout the entire track started to circulate in the paddock - crazy, skilled or both, the Brad and 91 car combo was really working well. Further back, Andy experienced the one minor failure in the new car - an unpowered transponder. Ironically, the BTM cars would be starting on opposite ends of the grid, pole position, and 31st.
And at the standing start, Brad launched, and was gone. A spin by Lauren T right in the middle of T1 undoubtedly made for good video as all 31 other cars filed around him before he could get the car pointing the right direction again and take up the chase. '10 champ Gary R challenged for the lead early on, and that characterized the race with he and Brad disappearing from the field in a misty blast, sometimes on, sometimes off the track. In the end, Brad finished second, but was awarded the top step when the NASA tech crew found an infraction on the reigning champ's car.
Andy, trying to break in the new motor gently, survive the blunt end of the field, and surf up through the field drove a more conservative race, but steadily moved up to 7th by the checkered flag, possibly setting some sort of record for a 24 place gain in a Spec e30 race.
Sunday was a bit more normal qualifying and race, Brad again set a blistering pole on pole and Andy a respectable 4th with the new car. Ever-bent on excitement and drama, the NASA crew inverted the top 10 places, leaving the BTM cars starting 6th and 10th. Once again, the standing start amazed fans and drivers alike, with several of the further-behind fast drivers getting excellent starts and making things very busy indeed at the front. It was Brad again who, amidst duels with Lauren T and Donnie E managed to motor to the front, and drift sideways to the top podium step again. Andy brought up the rear of the top six, holding position in spite of going easy on the new engine.
BTM Motorwerks will return with both cars April 16th and 17th for Round 3, this time at Thunderhill Raceway in beautiful Willows, CA. We'll see you all there!
-Andy
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