A day of REAL racing - Focaljet

**Hal** · 11-21-2005, 12:41 PM

8:00am Saturday, November 19, 2005 - the Ruppert Racing team arrives at Summit Point for the final enduro race of the EMRA season. We are in first place in the season points with a lead of 3 points. Not much considering there is a difference of 12 points from 1st to second and 8 points from second to third in this race.

Left to Right: jonmc(Driver), garyk(Car Owner), Egz(Mechanic/Gofer), Bri(Engineer/Chef), thetable(Pit Van/Gasman), seanmc(Driver), and taking the picture, Hal(Cameras/Radios/Fire Extinguisher)

The drama starts early. Gary's back is hurting so he will not be able to drive. That leaves us with two drivers one(Jon) who has never driven the car and one(Sean) who has never driven in a night race.

11:30am - Send Jon out to get some practice with the car. He finds that the ABS is not working and is locking up the right rear tire under braking.

That causes some interesting views thru the windshield.

Time to pull the rear hubs and replace the sensor rings and sensors.

12:30pm - Egz finishes up the work while Bri switches to his Chef role and prepares lunch. After testing the ABS is still not working so we just pull the fuse and will run without ABS. We are confident that our drivers can "drive around the problem".

3:15pm - Time to set up the pit.

The pit is setup ready to go and thetable has gotten dressed for his Gasman role. Gasman is required to wear at least 2 layers of Nomex, Helmet and Gloves while fueling.

3:30 - Race is started, we can't leave yet. The race starts on a handicap system. So ST7 cars(Sprigets, etc) start at 3:30, we have to wait for 19 min and the Trucks(last group) will start 10 min after us.

5:00 - Starting to get dark, driving lights have to be turned on.

The lighted building is Timing/Scoring and the two lights low on the right is Pit Out.

6:45pm - We make our third pit stop to gas up and change drivers. We made 4 pit stops total, one for gas, one for gas and driver change, and two to change tires(discovered the left front was "corded" on first gas stop). Driver must be out of the car when fueling so that takes a little longer.

Bri adds some oil then checks the tire pressure, Sean briefs Jon on track conditions, thetable puts in the gas, and Hal mans the fire extinguisher.

7:55 - Checkered Flag!

It got a bit darker from 5:00 to 7:55, good thing we had lots of lights on the car.

There were only two "Black Flag All" conditions so the four hour race actually took 4:25 to complete.

Rob(wreckerboy) and the EMRA crew did a great job of keeping the course clear with a minimum disruption to the racing.

We finished third in our class and second for the season(8 points out of first).

**slidemaster** · 11-21-2005, 12:49 PM

Neat stuff!! Great to see the group shot as many of us have never met you guys.

**DisrupTer911** · 11-21-2005, 01:21 PM

Congrats guys!!!

Looks like you all had one heck of a nite.

**thetable** · 11-21-2005, 01:25 PM

Quote:

I'm not as drunk as I look. And that was not the most effective finger I have given...

**rheacer** · 11-21-2005, 04:08 PM

Good job, guys!

**bri** · 11-21-2005, 06:42 PM

What a way to end the year, I wish all the races where 4 hours. It’s a blast talking to the driver on the radio, making changes to the car during pit stops, changing tires. This was the real deal when it comes to racing, it gave me a better appreciation for what pro teams do man they have it made I’d never get tired of do that for a living. Thanks letting us play race team for a weekend Gary, you’re the man.

**DaveSVT03** · 11-21-2005, 08:36 PM

Congrats all!

Thanks for sharing the pics too, Hal.

Can't imagine running at night even if it were just an HPDE

**Z63R** · 11-21-2005, 09:09 PM

Excellent narrative; thanks for the pics and the time it took to post this.

Great seeing the "real deal"... the guys that are a big part of the foundation of this particular forum.

Congrats on the teamwork, all the prep, maintenance work and effort throughout the year to earn your final points position.

Pretty freakin' cool.

**BadIdea** · 11-21-2005, 09:20 PM

Hey, at least you didn't spend 600million and end up in 2nd place like mcclaren.

I hope you guys are back at it next year. Keep it real.

**Ray** · 11-22-2005, 07:33 AM

kickass, guys!

**bri** · 11-22-2005, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Hey, at least you didn't spend 600million and end up in 2nd place like mcclaren.

I hope you guys are back at it next year. Keep it real.

Heck if we had 60k we would be running some Hoosiers and have 112octain tune, and with that we probably could get to 1st place.

**Penguini66** · 11-22-2005, 11:26 AM

Great job on the season guys!

Even though I couldn't make it, I wore my Ruppert Racing hoodie all day. I'm so damn jealous and hope to be able to help out more next year.

My cheesy Ruppert Racing store that I set up just so I could order myself a shirt.

**garyk** · 11-22-2005, 11:30 AM

it was a valiant effort...sucked i could not drive..just driving there practically killed me...but no way was squirt not racing....we kept waiting for mikes junkyard motor to go but....compared to the money they spend (had live telemetry set up), i felt good about the outcome...and the toyo's finally went away after how many races???? and eric the shirts are hysterical..ruppert is getting one

**BUR_ZX3** · 11-22-2005, 12:44 PM

Great job team! Sorry it fell short, but a good shot nonetheless.

Next year!!!!

**Wreckerboy** · 11-22-2005, 04:11 PM

Great pictures, and you guys put on a hell of a show out there with your "interesting' approach to braking techniques. Nice pit lights, by the way. And I see you've come to your senses about letting the owner drive. "Back trouble" - yeah, sure!

Due to a sudden infestation of Jell-O I lost track of where you finished for the night and the year. What was the result?

Don't feel too bad about the live telemetry set up "Team Ringer" had. The drivers are both computer geeks, and the set up wasn't much more than a GPS sensor and a cheapie laptop, if it was the one I saw in the car at WGI. It was neat, 'cause it showed each time Mike went off in the rain in great detail.

And my apologies to Joe for calling him Sean for a good part of the year. No shirt for me, but a Rupert Racing refrigerator magnet would be kewl.

----------------

victim of garyk

**garyk** · 11-22-2005, 05:09 PM

right rear kept locking up due to pad choice despite disconnecting abs..and we finished 8 points behind mike, 3rd in class at summit, 2nd for the year....all we went through in the race was 2 quarts of oil and finally killed one toyo slightly....throttle body nice for response...and i wanted jello shots but was too beat and went back to hotel...and rob isn't it nice that we did not bother you????i have never seen you so busy..slow down boy...was gonna run sprint sunday but barely could get through cage into car..absolutely killed me

**thetable** · 11-23-2005, 09:35 AM

Now if EMRA would just post results - lap times. I wanna know how badly I was beat by an EVO and a C5 in the new car. (And you thought the SVT was classified poorly classified.

I have STi's, EVO's, 84 and newer vettes, Ferrari, 8 & more cyl, Factory 5 Spec Racer, BMW M3 (E46, ’00 and up), et al that I am crassifried with...

**garyk** · 11-23-2005, 10:54 AM

dont you remember the one that showed up to race at one of the pocono enduros? stupid duh fast

**bri** · 11-23-2005, 10:59 AM

Quote:

dont you remember the one that showed up to race at one of the pocono enduros? stupid duh fast

Till it broke

**thetable** · 11-23-2005, 11:15 AM

Quote:

dont you remember the one that showed up to race at one of the pocono enduros? stupid duh fast

WTF is the old man babbling about?

**Wreckerboy** · 11-23-2005, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Now if EMRA would just post results - lap times. I wanna know how badly I was beat by an EVO and a C5 in the new car. (And you thought the SVT was classified poorly classified.

I have STi's, EVO's, 84 and newer vettes, Ferrari, 8 & more cyl, Factory 5 Spec Racer, BMW M3 (E46, ’00 and up), et al that I am crassifried with...

...and let the Official Whine Season Begin!

Maybe I should just put you in A/SR along with anything that gary drives, including that spiffy new truck of his.

Lap times will get posted as soon as the results get from Caroline to Paul and when Paul finds the time to put them up on the site.

-----------
victim of wreckerboy's car. if two cars make a class, can we have showroom spec rob's miata?

**Egz** · 11-23-2005, 11:26 AM

Quote:

Now if EMRA would just post results - lap times. I wanna know how badly I was beat by an EVO and a C5 in the new car. (And you thought the SVT was classified poorly classified.

I have STi's, EVO's, 84 and newer vettes, Ferrari, 8 & more cyl, Factory 5 Spec Racer, BMW M3 (E46, ’00 and up), et al that I am crassifried with...

Well, you did buy yourself a big boy toy.

**thetable** · 11-23-2005, 12:58 PM

Almost 3 months without track time, damn skippy I'm whining.

**garyk** · 11-23-2005, 01:29 PM

Quote:

dont you remember the one that showed up to race at one of the pocono enduros? stupid duh fast

WTF is the old man babbling about?

maybe that's the one you were not at...and bri, the next time he showed up he did not break and qualified on the pole...

**bri** · 11-23-2005, 04:45 PM

Quote:

dont you remember the one that showed up to race at one of the pocono enduros? stupid duh fast

WTF is the old man babbling about?

maybe that's the one you were not at...and bri, the next time he showed up he did not break and qualified on the pole...

it was wicked fast

11-21-2005, 12:41 PM	#1
Hal Senior TEAM Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Frederick, MD Posts: 1,571	A day of REAL racing 8:00am Saturday, November 19, 2005 - the Ruppert Racing team arrives at Summit Point for the final enduro race of the EMRA season. We are in first place in the season points with a lead of 3 points. Not much considering there is a difference of 12 points from 1st to second and 8 points from second to third in this race. Left to Right: jonmc(Driver), garyk(Car Owner), Egz(Mechanic/Gofer), Bri(Engineer/Chef), thetable(Pit Van/Gasman), seanmc(Driver), and taking the picture, Hal(Cameras/Radios/Fire Extinguisher) The drama starts early. Gary's back is hurting so he will not be able to drive. That leaves us with two drivers one(Jon) who has never driven the car and one(Sean) who has never driven in a night race. 11:30am - Send Jon out to get some practice with the car. He finds that the ABS is not working and is locking up the right rear tire under braking. That causes some interesting views thru the windshield. Time to pull the rear hubs and replace the sensor rings and sensors. 12:30pm - Egz finishes up the work while Bri switches to his Chef role and prepares lunch. After testing the ABS is still not working so we just pull the fuse and will run without ABS. We are confident that our drivers can "drive around the problem". 3:15pm - Time to set up the pit. The pit is setup ready to go and thetable has gotten dressed for his Gasman role. Gasman is required to wear at least 2 layers of Nomex, Helmet and Gloves while fueling. 3:30 - Race is started, we can't leave yet. The race starts on a handicap system. So ST7 cars(Sprigets, etc) start at 3:30, we have to wait for 19 min and the Trucks(last group) will start 10 min after us. 5:00 - Starting to get dark, driving lights have to be turned on. The lighted building is Timing/Scoring and the two lights low on the right is Pit Out. 6:45pm - We make our third pit stop to gas up and change drivers. We made 4 pit stops total, one for gas, one for gas and driver change, and two to change tires(discovered the left front was "corded" on first gas stop). Driver must be out of the car when fueling so that takes a little longer. Bri adds some oil then checks the tire pressure, Sean briefs Jon on track conditions, thetable puts in the gas, and Hal mans the fire extinguisher. 7:55 - Checkered Flag! It got a bit darker from 5:00 to 7:55, good thing we had lots of lights on the car. There were only two "Black Flag All" conditions so the four hour race actually took 4:25 to complete. Rob(wreckerboy) and the EMRA crew did a great job of keeping the course clear with a minimum disruption to the racing. We finished third in our class and second for the season(8 points out of first).

11-21-2005, 12:49 PM	#2
slidemaster Professor PowerSlide Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: steering backward through the mirror Posts: 7,903	Re: A day of REAL racing Neat stuff!! Great to see the group shot as many of us have never met you guys.

11-21-2005, 01:21 PM	#3
DisrupTer911 Moderator Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Bloomfield, New Jersey Posts: 14,971	Re: A day of REAL racing Congrats guys!!! Looks like you all had one heck of a nite.

11-21-2005, 04:08 PM	#5
rheacer Senior TEAM Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Rhea County-get it? RHEAcer... Posts: 4,245	Re: A day of REAL racing Good job, guys!

11-21-2005, 06:42 PM	#6
bri Senior TEAM Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Maryland Posts: 3,182	Re: A day of REAL racing What a way to end the year, I wish all the races where 4 hours. It’s a blast talking to the driver on the radio, making changes to the car during pit stops, changing tires. This was the real deal when it comes to racing, it gave me a better appreciation for what pro teams do man they have it made I’d never get tired of do that for a living. Thanks letting us play race team for a weekend Gary, you’re the man.

11-21-2005, 08:36 PM	#7
DaveSVT03 TEAM Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Charleston, SC Posts: 272	Re: A day of REAL racing Congrats all! Thanks for sharing the pics too, Hal. Can't imagine running at night even if it were just an HPDE

11-21-2005, 09:09 PM	#8
Z63R Official [FJ] Distinguished Advisor Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 20,204	Re: A day of REAL racing Excellent narrative; thanks for the pics and the time it took to post this. Great seeing the "real deal"... the guys that are a big part of the foundation of this particular forum. Congrats on the teamwork, all the prep, maintenance work and effort throughout the year to earn your final points position. Pretty freakin' cool.

11-21-2005, 09:20 PM	#9
BadIdea Senior TEAM Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Cleveland Posts: 2,277	Re: A day of REAL racing Hey, at least you didn't spend 600million and end up in 2nd place like mcclaren. I hope you guys are back at it next year. Keep it real.

11-22-2005, 07:33 AM	#10
Ray Driver > Car Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: CT Posts: 26,772	Re: A day of REAL racing kickass, guys!

11-22-2005, 11:26 AM	#12
Penguini66 [FJ] Specialist Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Home Posts: 7,987	Re: A day of REAL racing Great job on the season guys! Even though I couldn't make it, I wore my Ruppert Racing hoodie all day. I'm so damn jealous and hope to be able to help out more next year. My cheesy Ruppert Racing store that I set up just so I could order myself a shirt.

11-22-2005, 11:30 AM	#13
garyk The beer up here is the best! Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: tied to the apex of turn 10 Posts: 4,466	Re: A day of REAL racing it was a valiant effort...sucked i could not drive..just driving there practically killed me...but no way was squirt not racing....we kept waiting for mikes junkyard motor to go but....compared to the money they spend (had live telemetry set up), i felt good about the outcome...and the toyo's finally went away after how many races???? and eric the shirts are hysterical..ruppert is getting one

11-22-2005, 12:44 PM	#14
BUR_ZX3 [FJ] Addict Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Little Saint Clara, Isle of Queen Califia Posts: 35,735	Re: A day of REAL racing Great job team! Sorry it fell short, but a good shot nonetheless. Next year!!!!

11-22-2005, 04:11 PM	#15
Wreckerboy Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 94	Re: A day of REAL racing Great pictures, and you guys put on a hell of a show out there with your "interesting' approach to braking techniques. Nice pit lights, by the way. And I see you've come to your senses about letting the owner drive. "Back trouble" - yeah, sure! Due to a sudden infestation of Jell-O I lost track of where you finished for the night and the year. What was the result? Don't feel too bad about the live telemetry set up "Team Ringer" had. The drivers are both computer geeks, and the set up wasn't much more than a GPS sensor and a cheapie laptop, if it was the one I saw in the car at WGI. It was neat, 'cause it showed each time Mike went off in the rain in great detail. And my apologies to Joe for calling him Sean for a good part of the year. No shirt for me, but a Rupert Racing refrigerator magnet would be kewl. ---------------- victim of garyk

11-22-2005, 05:09 PM	#16
garyk The beer up here is the best! Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: tied to the apex of turn 10 Posts: 4,466	Re: A day of REAL racing right rear kept locking up due to pad choice despite disconnecting abs..and we finished 8 points behind mike, 3rd in class at summit, 2nd for the year....all we went through in the race was 2 quarts of oil and finally killed one toyo slightly....throttle body nice for response...and i wanted jello shots but was too beat and went back to hotel...and rob isn't it nice that we did not bother you????i have never seen you so busy..slow down boy...was gonna run sprint sunday but barely could get through cage into car..absolutely killed me

11-23-2005, 09:35 AM	#17
thetable Senior TEAM Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: In a van down by the river Posts: 3,179	Re: A day of REAL racing Now if EMRA would just post results - lap times. I wanna know how badly I was beat by an EVO and a C5 in the new car. (And you thought the SVT was classified poorly classified. I have STi's, EVO's, 84 and newer vettes, Ferrari, 8 & more cyl, Factory 5 Spec Racer, BMW M3 (E46, ’00 and up), et al that I am crassifried with...

11-23-2005, 10:54 AM	#18
garyk The beer up here is the best! Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: tied to the apex of turn 10 Posts: 4,466	Re: A day of REAL racing dont you remember the one that showed up to race at one of the pocono enduros? stupid duh fast

11-23-2005, 12:58 PM	#23
thetable Senior TEAM Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: In a van down by the river Posts: 3,179	Re: A day of REAL racing Almost 3 months without track time, damn skippy I'm whining.

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