Drifting Pretty University in The Works!

After our meeting at the Hsu Family residence today, plans for the DPU event are going through the preliminary stages of planning. It’s going to consist of a workshop for women who want to get to know their cars better– not to necessarily race or be your own pit crew, but for the busy mom or the college girl who wants to learn basic maintenance and probably doesn’t want to be duped by a mechanic. Itinerary will include how to do oil changes, how to check fluid levels, and how to change a tire–other topics are still in discussion. It’s going to be a weekend in September and space will be limited. More details and sign-up as the plans get set in stone! If anyone is interested or knows someone who may be, please don’t hesitate to email me or comment on this post if I don’t reply in email.

We are also getting ready to host our very own drift event, Dori Puri, taking place at the Balcony at Willow Springs this June! So come on rotary boys and girls… let’s represent, of course with good behavior and class please! (I will make my first and likely sad attempt in my open diff NA……..) This is coming up very soon so I’ll have the registration link within the next week or two.

Here are two of our members, Jessica Wen (S13) and Debbie Meda (Corollllla!!), already pulling some cool moves :)

Big thanks to Pauline Pau today for cooking and preparing a fantastic lunch for our meeting…

Also got me some new business cards. Feeling like a boss thanks to Nadine letting me take the job and for Steven Nakamura’s awesome design. I must make myself as worthy as possible to hold these cards ;_;

Mazfest 2012 @ Willow Springs

I was checking into any updates for this year’s Mazfest and it looks like they’re stepping up their track game and hitting big Willow on September 29, 2012. I may not be able to make this one for time and budgeting reasons since it was in my backyard (Auto Club Speedway in Fontana) the past 2 years. There are lots of Mazda 3s, Miatas, and Rx8s– needs more Rx7s and sometimes an old school rotary shows up (last year R100!)…

It’s going to either be really hot (lots of sunscreen and grab a payong!) or so windy that your eyes will dry out with no exaggeration. Either way, Mazfest is always fun and what I like about it is that the track ridealongs give people exposure to being at speed on a race track. In years that I have attended, people who’ve never done any of this before don’t need to bring a helmet. Do expect however to have someone else’s sweat on your face…

Enjoy a video of my friend’s first gen at Mazfest 2011:

The raffle, though not as epic as the Sevenstock raffle, is still well worth the shot. Don’t forget that proceeds go to keeping the show going and not for anyone’s profit. I was selling tickets one time and it’s fun when you’re a chick– people tend to buy more and ask if a date is one of the prizes (“no sir, but you can go ahead and buy more tickets”). Last time, swag included sample bottles of Mother’s cleaning supplies and miscellaneous Mazda stuff. Don’t forget to grab an event t-shirt. There weren’t any ladies sizes at all :(

Last year also there were food trucks. Food was good but during the lunch time, the lines were almost excessively long. However that’s to be expected especially when you’re in the middle of nowhere with your car parked in show parking.

As for show parking, I have no idea how it’s going to be, but last year, anyone with a Mazda could get into the special spots. However, you were supposed to register online at the Mazfest site (or maybe on MOCC forums?) to get a number if you wanted to take part in the contest for show. I was rather bummed last year when EVERY Rx7 was lumped into one category– no distinguishing between generations. Ratty FC owners don’t stand a chance lol. Unless it’s for the dirtiest/crappiest car if they have that category.

One last thing is that for those that have never been out to Willow Springs, expect a beautiful drive in the morning hours. Winding freeway in the San Fernando mountains? Yes please!

http://www.mazfest.com/home.php

Sevenstock 15

As of this post, it looks like it’s going to be one of the last weekends of October this year. The venue is currently unknown but from what I’ve heard from organizers it is likely not going to be at Mazda HQ. Why? No official reason :|

Either way, looking forward to keeping the spirit going and seals from blowing.

I Got my Lasik Procedure!

Video courtesy my Mom at the Nvision Laser Eye Center in Fullerton, performed by Dr. Lusby (who apparently drives a supercharged E36 and was talking to me about him trying to learn heel and toe before my surgery…)

Thank you again to everyone, especially you Rx7 guys, Drifting Pretty, all of my SCCA instructors, and my family. My gratitude is understated. http://sarahbantay.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/nvision-lasik-winner

I am groggy from the medication. With the eye shields on right now, my view is obstructed but from the areas that I can see through, it’s very obvious that my vision is vastly improved, even a couple hours afterwards.

The Nvision Laser Eye Center was a very comfortable place, very calm, and geared towards keeping you from losing your mind and getting nervous. I was already walking into the place with food coma from all you can eat sushi with my mom. They discussed the procedure with me and post-op things and went on to give me a Xanax with the intention of making me feel relaxed.

And then before I knew it, I was under the table getting numbing drops in my eyes. My surgeon calmly talked me through everything. Lots and lots of drops in my eyes the whole way through. A laser was placed over my eye ball which gave an impression of a suction cup clinging to my eye–somewhat uncomfortable but really quick, maybe 15 seconds long. That was over and then he carefully pulled the flap open, turned the other laser on, which smelled like burning hair once it contacted my cornea. He carefully placed the corneal flap back on (it was marked before the cutting to make sure that realignment was easier). And then done! Next eye, same procedure!

Thank you again everyone for making it happen. Because race car :D Already small things that I do every day are easy, like getting up in the morning and being able to read the time, being able to fall asleep watching TV, and once I’m a few more weeks along recovery, sliding the helmet on and not worrying about glasses or contacts dislodging from my eyes.

Busy Week in April

The FC’s clutch slave cylinder went out this week but quickly got that taken care of just in time for autocross this Sunday.

On Friday, I went to K1 Torrance to practice a little bit for the race with the Drifting Pretty girls on Saturday. I’m happy to say I made 1st place on this round. Most importantly, Nadine gave us a very enlightening talk about how to go about getting sponsorships for this fantastic and expensive hobby that is motorsport…

Autocross went super well and I couldn’t be happier to end the weekend with the feeling that I just may be ready to begin competition. “Participate and get the experience and rack it up on your racing resume,” is what I was told. This doesn’t even mention the fact that being officially in a competition has its own positive effects mentally. The new tires, Federal 595 RS-Rs, were amazing. I was very pleased to hold lateral g and not encounter the really terrible understeer I previously suffered from. I will definitely get these again if I can’t find something better for the price.

Low oil still comes on at high g despite a baffle plate and full oil… I talked to Yoshiya at Neptune Speed about this– he races his FC with the plate and indicates that it is not a problem as long as you always run full and that the buzzer will go off regardless. Hm… looking into this and not quite sure what to make of it just yet.

Preparing for a Month of No Racing

Since I’ll essentially be out of commission, I made sure to be super busy right before the surgery! I can’t race or do anything active for two weeks as per my surgeon. I also cannot fixate on TV or computer screens for too long so there goes playing GT5 or watching a BTCC or something. Other patients have been told to wait up to one month so I will err on the safer side as long as my patience holds out :)

• April 1 – Multiple dealership car show at Puente Hills, unplanned, just heard about it only a few days beforehand. Went down with the South Bay FD crew and we luckily gave the rotary a good representation amongst participants. Went to get ramen afterwards at Foo Foo Tei.
• April 2 – K1 Ontario supertrack, I got a call from my friend to try it out on Monday and, well, it went way better than I could have possibly expected. Got P1 on my first attempt (trying to not let it get to my head…) but I definitely can’t help the feeling of accomplishment.
• April 7 – install shocks on my friend’s AW11; get Federal RSRs for the FC
• April 13 – practice @ K1 Torrance
• April 14 – visit Kevin Madsen boothing at Long Beach GP if time permits; Drifting Pretty Karting Series @ K1 Torrance
• April 15 – CSCC Autox @ El Toro on fresh rubber!!
• April 19 – Surgery

Again thank you to everyone who helped me get lasik eye surgery. I still have a hard time believing that I’m really going to be getting it done for free by the Nvision Laser Eye Center in Fullerton. It couldn’t have happened without you all.

Once the one month is over, I will make my return to the Jim Hall Racing School–got to make up for lost time! Most importantly, I’ll be able to see without glasses or contacts!

http://nvisioncenters.com/lasik/lasik-faq/post-op-recovery/

Solo2 Autox 03-18-12

Finally got my autox bug taken care of after 4 months. I was hoping to have a wet driving experience this Sunday but the course dried up by the time my session rolled around. Regardless of that, a faster time is a faster time :) I got to drive an extensively long course (approx 100 second lap time) in drying conditions. FC did well and the new baffle plate in the oil pan adds confidence.

My focus this time was on throttle modulation and proper corner entry speed (I was pretty far away from cones this time around and a lot of my turns were rather late). The run looks tremendously slow– the majority of corners demanded low entry speed to allow for setup for the upcoming corners making the whole thing super technical.

I saw a large surface of water about 1/3 to 1/2 way through the course running right through the ending point of the braking line and start of a turn in– I said noooo way you will not affect me with your trickery! Not a good idea to do any braking in that section… Also there was a large area covered in dried mud and loose dirt– it was at a 180 degree turn so I had to really go slow in that section. I’m still working on improvement as usual!

Once again, big thanks to Jon and Leonard for the proper instruction. The only problem I had was that it was too cold!! I hope to make it out again next month :) I would really like some better tires for this!

Filmed with GoPro.
Photo by Bryan Sommerville (thanks to Kevin!)