By Bryan Redeker
Wow, I forgot how busy it is to run 2 cars at an autocross! The morning started off rough with 2 out of the 4 Hoosier R6’s losing a couple pounds of air pressure an hour, and the other two having a slightly slower leak. Putting them in the sun allowed them to heat up enough for the bead to seal and get us through the day. In the end, Brandon and I decided that it was best to put them on the Mustang and see how the car preformed. After each run I would check the pressures to make sure we did not have a sudden loss of pressure.
After the drivers meeting, it was determined that the Fiesta would be running in the first heat. Brandon and I stage the car, double check air pressures, torque the wheels, and set the Sony Webbie to record from in-car. I would take the Fiesta out first for my 4 runs, and then turn it over to Brandon for his. My first run would be very slow as I tried to learn the somewhat complex course. With the rushed morning trying to figure out what to do with the Mustang, I did not get a good chance to really learn the course from walking it. Being in the first heat, I did not get a chance to watch others run. My first mistake on the run was forgetting to shift at the end of slalom. That may seem odd for me to say, but every car I have ever autocrossed has been equipped with a louder exhaust system. With my helmet on, I could not hear the engine, and could not tell I was near the rev limiter. I did not have shift light either, which is usually installed on my cars. A small oops, and an easy one to correct.
The second run would end with a DNF as I missed a gate and hit a few cones with the passenger door, and would happen again with my third run. It was now up to my last run to get a good lap time. Not wanting to miss another gate and finish with another DNF, I took it a little slower. I was very confident in the car, just not in myself knowing the course. My last run went ok, but I knew it was not very quick. Two DNF’s in a row can quickly make you slow down to avoid getting another one! Overall, I was very happy with the Fiesta on course. In the hands of a better driver, this car will be very competitive in HS.
The Fiesta was a lot of fun to drive on course, and in many regards, more fun than driving my Mustang. Every time the Mustang makes a strange sound, or has a slight vibration, I get paranoid something is wrong and start to lift. I started to think about the stresses on each of the parts on the sweepers, and then slow up some more. Did I torque that bolt? Hmm, better slow up some more. Soon, I am slowly going around the track and happy to be done. After having the front suspension break last year, I have become paranoid of driving it. Everything has been fixed, but it still takes time to regain confidence in the car. The Fiesta was confident as soon as the flag dropped! No strange noises, no funny vibrations, nothing to lead me to think anything was wrong. If I would have known the track better, I could have surely gone way faster! With a set of R-compounds, the Fiesta is going to bring some tough competition to HS.
I would watch Brandon’s runs from the side of the track, and record them with a video camera for analysis. Brandon was clearly quicker, and did not get lost on track. The lap times proved that he was indeed faster than I was, but not able to bring the fight to the leaders. We only get a chance to run one, possibly two, events a year. That makes it hard to compete against drivers who are running multiple events all summer. We also have a car that we have never autocrossed before, and have no idea what it handles like. Knowing the spare parts are in Europe also slows you down, because neither of us wants to break anything. Overall, I was very happy with the performance of the Fiesta. I know there were many spots on track that I could have gone much faster, but I am happy for my first time running in over a year.