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ni1
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NMIRA ice races are ON for Sunday Feb. 24th!
NMIRA aims to hold a 3-hour endurance race for street studs this Sunday on New Meadows lake, Maine. Due to Friday's snow storm the lake would have to be plowed on Saturday, and that's probably when we'll have the final confirmation, but from what I've heard on Friday everyone is optimistic about the race happening. Screwed (our experimental) tires are not allowed on New Meadows but I don't know how Menards are classed. I plan on running my SL car with Blizzaks against the street studs.
Begin commercial:
I went to their Friday night's "derbyfest" race in my #49 SL Saturn. The derbyfest as I understand actually refers to ice fishing derby, not ice racing derby. Due to time constraints, mostly that I had to drive straight from work through a snow storm, I didn't have time to trailer my car and had to drive it there and back. I'm happy to report that I brought the car home without a scratch and under its own power. I thought someone tapped my bumper at the very beginning of the race, and that's something you should probably expect, but I couldn't find any dents (at least not in night-time lighting). When faster cars were about to pass me I gave them the inside lane and that pretty much took care of contact.
I ran with street studs, five cars total and finished fourth. The other class was screwed tires. We ran 10 minute heat races followed by 20 minute features for each class. In the heat race I wasn't doing so well, in particular I had absolutely no grip in one of the corners and was collecting the snow bank right after it on every lap, soon getting stuck. Eventually I got a handle on things though with the help of handbrake; once I realized it was there I glued my right hand to it for the remainder of the day and was a-ok. It was particularly useful for that icy no-grip corner - I would brake on the straight with foot brake and finish braking into the turn with the handbrake, using the latter primarily for braking while maintaining somewhat neutral steering response. I got some crazy drift angles in that turn, I really hope someone got a picture of them.
In the feature I got faster. During the 20 minutes only one car lapped me; I think that's pretty good. I don't suppose I could have won on Blizzaks versus studded tires, but perhaps someone with more skill could have. Once I found a good drive line I think I was fast enough to not look out of place.
There were no incidents that I know of in street studs, although halfway through the feature I discovered a car part on the course and I was wondering if it was from my car. Screws were a different matter: one car caught fire via transmission fluid with the help of a cone, one car's catalytic converter was glowing red and he was blackflagged, another car damaged an axle and a couple people had minor engine issues.
Organization was awesome too. I arrived two hours late with no helmet and 2 of the 4 racing tires in the trunk. I had the tires changed in like 10 seconds, was loaned a helmet, tire pressure gauge, and an air tank. Thanks Bob and everyone else who helped.
All in all I had a great time and I plan on driving up there again on Sunday for the endurance race, this time with the car in tow.
Alright, end commercial. 
Oleg #49 SL
Last edited by Mike Kamm, 2/23/2008, 10:22 am
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2/23/2008, 6:12 am
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Mike Kamm
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Re: NMIRA ice races
Thanks Oleg,
I emailed Bob last night and am awaiting his reply whether the race is on and where to stay overnight. I think they said they would bend the rules for a few of us out of towners and let us run 4WD in the endurance race. We accomodated them when they ran with us a few years ago. I'd bring my 4WD wagon up there. I don't plan to race for three hours anyway. I'd probably pull in after 30 minutes and take a break. Then go out again for another half hour later on.
Anyone else considering going?
---
Race Here, Race Now!
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2/23/2008, 8:08 am
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Mike Kamm
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Re: NMIRA ice races
I just got of of the phone with NMIRA President, Bob Koenig.
We're on for tomorrow on New Meadows River in West Bath Maine. The only got about 3 to 4 inches of light fluffy snow yesterday. Bob said he will plow a huge 1.5 to 2 mile road course today.
This will be a 3 hour endurance race for cars with street studs or Blizzaks, it's your choice. AWD cars are OK, as long as you are simply after some ice time and don't run to win the deal. I plan to actually start a few laps down as I will not be trying to win it. For those with 2WD cars it's $75 to win, $25 for second, and a trophy for third.
Motel info:
All of these motels are in nearby Brunswick, ME
Econo Lodge: (207)729-9991
Maine Line Motel: (207) 725-8761
Traveller's Inn: (207) 729-3364
Directions: http://www.nmira.com/directions.html
Bob's cell number if you have any other questions: (207) 252-6747
See you there!
Last edited by Mike Kamm, 2/25/2008, 10:55 am
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2/23/2008, 10:15 am
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snowphun
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Re: NMIRA ice races are ON for Sunday Feb. 24th!
This is very tempting, Oleg's report encourages me to think I could do this event with a relatively low chance of contact. Does an SL4 car meet the safety requirements? Is the enduro a mix on many (faster) classes?
I have the same goal as you Mike, lots of seat time.
Paul
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2/23/2008, 12:38 pm
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snowphun
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Re: NMIRA ice races are ON for Sunday Feb. 24th!
OK, I answered some of my own questions, but now have a few more.
quote:
Rules:
This event is limited to two wheel drive vehicles with a
maximum displacement of 4.3 liters and 112” wheel base.
Each participating team racing is required to bring one
volunteer to assist in various race activities (ie: corner
workers, crowd control, scoring, etc.)
Tire rule: Any DOT legal tire as delivered with a maximum of
13mm American road saver studs. No added studs.
Unstudded tires are allowed.
One class for all cars
Safety helmet, seat belt, fire extinguisher, working brakes,
battery hold down, nontoxic antifreeze and remove or tape all
lights, all required.
All cars must have car#'s in contrasting colors and large
enough for scorers to see. #'s on f+r windows upper right
corners recommended.
Maximum of 50 entrants.
Entry fees: $20.00 for members, $30.00 for nonmembers.
Starting positions drawn at 9:00am, race day at drivers
meeting.
Green flag drops at 9:30am SHARP !!!!
I don't have a volunteer, my team consists of me and AAA. Mike, did you get the impression that this would be an issue? Or the mx 50 entrants?
Thanks
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2/23/2008, 12:52 pm
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Mike Kamm
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Re: NMIRA ice races are ON for Sunday Feb. 24th!
quote:
snowphun wrote:I don't have a volunteer, my team consists of me and AAA. Mike, did you get the impression that this would be an issue? Or the mx 50 entrants?
Thanks
Paul,
I'll be your volunteer, and you'll be mine.
I am not worried about the car count. On a big track there should be lots of room. Like I mentioned earlier, I won't even take the start. That's where most of the problems usually occur. I'll just blend in when I feel comfortable.
The cars they run in these races are not all street cars. Picture menard class race cars with street studded tires on them. There will be some "raisin" cars out there with plenty of wrinkles. I'm not racing for the $75, so I'll just get off line when I see them coming and let them pass.
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2/23/2008, 1:12 pm
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snowphun
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Re: NMIRA ice races are ON for Sunday Feb. 24th!
That's sounds pretty good, and it sounds like there's very little snow so getting waaaay offline shouldn't be a problem. I'm still on the fence between this or the more relaxed pace of the BMWCCA event.
$40 rooms at the Econo Lodge.
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2/23/2008, 1:24 pm
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Multiades
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Re: NMIRA ice races are ON for Sunday Feb. 24th!
I was there and it was a blast. The snowmobile track "potholes" were really terrible; a degree of roughness I've never seen on ice before, and at least one of my suspension bushings loosened up as a result, but I don't regret it.
Three solid hours of uninterrupted racing was fantastic (ok, I pitted for 10-15 to investigate a scraping, which turned out to be a brake dust shield). The event was well-run and despite the typical condition of the racecars there -- every last body panel smashed or mangled -- there was little to no contact.
Oleg was beating up on studded cars. 
Lesson learned: just finishing an endurance race guarantees that you aren't dead last. A small handful of entries that were significantly faster than me broke.
---
Chris Wood
1994 Mazda Protege LX - #11SL
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2/24/2008, 11:48 pm
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