2024 Green Grand Prix: April 12 at Watkins Glen International

[brucepick]

Originally Posted by Gasoline Fumes

Based on recent temperature swings, I predict somewhere between 30 and 80 degrees on April 12th!

[UltArc]

It's almost here!! I haven't heard from Bob since the first email send out, I should check in with him.

[brucepick]

Originally Posted by UltArc

It's almost here!! I haven't heard from Bob since the first email send out, I should check in with him.

Hi, are you here for today’s run?
I’m in, with my brother Steve navigating.

[UltArc]

Great event!! Started off a bit rough for me, but turned out as well as it could. Unfortunately, I missed the award ceremony to hear how everyone did. Can't wait to see the performance list!!

[UltArc]

I always plan on doing a recap of the GGP, and pretty much never do. I get home and get back into the swing of things and that's that. Maybe since I'm sick and just laying around, I'm motivated this year.

Partner and I headed out Thursday morning, and the weather was all clear. Smooth sailing, and our normal two stops on the way. We stayed at a new accommodation, super great pricing for a beautiful stay. Garage, private drive, a country hillside. Internet was essentially two cups on a string, but depends what you value in a stay.

Apparently my entry did not go through this year. I printed my registration, but I don't like to mail checks. It just makes me uncomfortable putting my bank account into the world only protected by an 11 cent sheet of paper. Well thankfully I checked in with Bob Tuesday, because he never got my digital submission!! Autocross was full, but he could schedule me into the track time.

Since there's no dinner, and no autocross, and my partner always spends essentially their birthday weekend with me on a racecourse, I thought we would mix it up. After the track time, hit Pittsburgh for some events. But that's after the race. . .

Track day!! Even though sickness was really starting to set in, we were up early, fueled, and on the track by 0830. Uninstalled my front passenger seat, set up my kill switch, and cleared out the car. Checked everything over, all good to go, and turn the key. Nothing. Fuel pump isn't firing. Check everything, try again. No. Again, and nothing. I uninstalled the switch for the trip because I wasn't feeling well, and just in case. Well, something happened, and it wasn't working now. But on the plus side, after reinstalling the factory setup, the car was freaking out and now popped the check engine light and was in engine management mode operating like worst case scenario. Several restarts resolved nothing. Great.

We were pretty far back in the start grid, but had pretty clear roads. On a fresh lap I would key off (losing some mileage unfortunately) and coast from pit lane start (yellow bucket area) at about 44 MPH, reset phone timer (had sports chrono off because I needed the fuel read out over the track timer) at the start line, and EOC through turn one. I repeatedly had a NJ Rav4 hybrid and mismatched panel Corolla fly by me, then brake heavily before the turn, making me have to brake. Otherwise I would take turn one EOC whatever speed, and restart the engine at the end of the pit lane markings. There was still a lot of room to EOC, but I used this to get up to the 55-60 MPH range so I could bleed speed up the steep hill. If I didn't, I would lug and have to use a lot more fuel up the hill. Goal was enter the back straight at 44 MPH.

Cruise was set at 44/45 indicated CC for back straight, ground speed 43/44. Any less and the motor struggled and needed more fuel to hold the speed. Just before I crested the peak, kill the motor, and EOC. I would have loved to hold it longer, but traffic meant I had to bump start back on before a line of cars overtook me than braked in front of me at start line, then turn one. I held 45 MPH through the rest, until back of the pit stop.

This gave me a consistant 3:13 lap time, which was too fast. I had one lap by my numbers that hit time, but my worst fuel economy, because people kept freaking pulling in front and braking. The MX5 repeated would pull ahead, just to heavily brake in front of the start line, and ride brakes through turn one, but not as bad as the Toyotas mentioned before. Needing to conserve momentum, it was a balancing act of keeping enough distance that I didn't need to brake in turn one, and not getting passed in the main straight, for them to brake ahead of me.

I did violate the speed limit a little, up to 60 when this year they said we weren't to exceed 55. But I was repeatedly smoked by the Toyotas, a Fusion, a freaking sweet C30, a Rabbit Pickup. I didn't get lapped that many times by someone maxing at 55, yet doing 40 through turn one. With traffic at the end getting fuel numbers, I had a chance to ask about the MPG of that Rav4 and Corolla that were going to pass my again. 35.5, and 33 MPG, respectively. A newer Rav4 hybrid getting 35.5 MPG. . . Woof. But they had fun, and part of this challenge is operating with the other drivers on the course. If it was just me, maybe 50 would be within reach. This year, challenges aside, we did 42.6 MPG at the end, which I think is great given the circumstances. I really wanted to break 40, and we broke it and then some.

The rest of the weekend sucked, since Pittsburgh had record flooding, the traffic was mad, streets closed, zoo shutdown without power, botanical gardens and green areas closed down with graduation weekend, and we were bloody sick. But we still had a great time, somehow? Maybe it was just me.

Great to see Gasoline, Bruce, and Steve. Looking forward to next year!!

[Vman455]

Nice write-up, and nice mileage--that's in the 911? Fantastic numbers if so.

That's always the issue--dealing with other traffic. It seems like half the people every year have no idea what they're doing, flying through the straights, braking heavily in the corners, and getting horrible mileage. After trying last year to get consistent lap times and tanking my mileage, if I can go next year it's all about MPG.

[brucepick]

Congratulations to Steven (UltArc) for his best-in-class win, driving a 2014 Porsche 911, achieving 42.6 mpg on the track. The EPA "combined" estimate for 2014 911 is 21 and 22 mpg for various versions using a standard transmission. So either way, Steven more than doubled the EPA estimate. Steven, I hope you two are done being under the weather! Or, will be done very soon.

My brother Steve (navigating) and I achieved 75.9 mpg in my 2000 Honda Insight. That was a best-in-class, but as has happened before, we were iin a class of one. Hopefully, next year, Jonathan or Juha or somebody, anybody, will join us in the Modified Hybrid category!

Temperatures were warm enough (50s as I recall) that snow and ice were not part of the scene this year. We did have rain. Rain began the evening before and continued through about the first third of the track time. The track was dry for the second half of the track time, so we were able to take the turns a bit faster, as long as that was safe and within the rules (no passing in some areas, speed limits, etc). We used the short track this year, due to the wet start. The target average speed per lap was 45 mph.

My car had no new modifications for this year, beyond a suction cup windshield mount for the phone, and a charging cable that I'd threaded through under the dash, to keep it charged. So that avoided the pre-event stress of triple checking changes that might need tweaks. Of course, with no new mods, we also didn't expect any dramatic improvement in the Insight's mpg.

So far as I know, the new app-based transponder tool worked as intended. It needs no actual transponder; it detects when you cross the finish line using GPS data. Pretty amazing. It had some real benefits for the teams, and it looks like also very fast and clear scoring data for the organizers. The GGP posted the full results on Tuesday, which I believe is faster than iin previous years - so it appears to have served their needs well.

For the teams, we were able to see our final lap time on the phone screen as it clicked over to begin timing the new lap. The lap time didn't stay on the screen, so noting the time needed quick eyes. And after the event concluded, we were able to see our full list of lap times, noted down to thousands of a second. Also, we were able to see our current time for the current lap, at whatever marker points we wanted, along the course. So for example, if we passed the "bus stop" chicane earlier or later than usual, we'd know we were running the lap faster or slower, and could compensate.

I saw no real glitches in the app from our end. The final instructions for the app were handed out with the driver's packets - which meant the I, and probably many driver-navigator teams, did not read them. So we had to take an extra minute or two, to unregister our "test" registrations and re-register into the app for the actual competition. That didn't take long, but it seemed we frustrated the organizers by not reading the page of Transponder App instructions that we received around 8 or 8:30 am that day.

Another change this year, was to a simple Awards Meeting at 4:30, instead of an Awards Dinner. So the event concluded earlier than with a hot dinner being served. Many people headed home immediately. My brother and I both have long drives back home, so we stayed in the area one more night and enjoyed a nice breakfast before returning home on Saturday.

I give this event a huge thumbs up.
Thank you to Bob Gillespie and the GGP Board of Directors, and all the many volunteers, who made it happen.

[brucepick]

Originally Posted by Gasoline Fumes

Based on recent temperature swings, I predict somewhere between 30 and 80 degrees on April 12th!

Gasoline Fumes, your prediction turned out to be absolutely correct!

Do you have any photos of Steven's Porsche or my Insight, from the event?