Phoenix - NT01 - Rain - 135i H-Stock - WIN!

[ralphwarren]

Over the years I’ve shared quite a few positive opinions of the Nitto NT01 tire. This weekend in Phoenix for the BMW CCA Club Races, the NT01 upped the anti once again as the best all-around track tire.

Scott Cary and I put a fresh set of NT01 tires on the 135i for the trip to Phoenix from Huntington Beach. As you may know, it is one of the few remaining BMW Club Race cars still driven to and from the track. Not just local tracks either, Scott has driven to and from Watkins Glen and Road Atlanta for O’fest in 2008 and 2009 respectively. This year he will drive it to and from the O’fest races at Road America as well. All of this cross-country driving has been on the same NT01 tires we wind up racing on for the weekend.

So we’re in Phoenix and we do pretty well on Saturday resetting the H-Stock track record for PIR and had an absolute blast racing tight with Rolando Saldana, Andrew Sanchez and Darryl Kwan.

For Sunday the true multi-purpose capabilities of the NT01 came into play… it was raining! We went out surrounded by blue cement walls and put the 135i on the pole for the afternoon’s race by 4 seconds.

As we gridded up for the race as the lunch hour is ending, it is absolutely pouring out – like cats and dogs don’t even bother with the windshield wipers. Just as we catch word that they might cancel the race, the rain stops and the sun starts to peek through the clouds. Tighten up your belts folks, we’re gonna race!

They send out the blower to get rid of some of the standing water and delay the start of our race. A corner worker’s radio fails and the start is delayed even more as they bring out a new one.

At this point I’m freaking out because I’ve got 40 lbs of air in the tires cold (I like high pressures in the rain) and a fire-breathing D-Mod car right next to me on grid. The more the track dries out the worse our high rain pressures will be for the race and the better off the D-Mod car will do – who is easily 5 seconds a lap faster than us in the dry.

As I feel the sun on my face I know a dry line is going to form for the race. Knowing I have way too much air in the tires I call over my crew chief to take air out of the tires. I decide to do this of course as we get the 1 min to go announcement from race control. He tells me the air pressure gauge is back in the pits so I have him just count to 6 seconds for each tire as he lets the air out with his fingernail – and to think we usually micro-tune our tire pressures to the tenth of a pound with a $300 Intercomp digital gauge.

As we head out for the two warm-up laps under yellow, I’m actually pleased to see puddles the size of ponds dotting the track. We might have a chance at this win yet.

For the green I use the turbo power of the 135i to keep us up front for the start. As the only car with perfect visibility due to the water spray behind us I was able to figure out a pretty good line right off the bat. I used the tall ride height of the 135i to straddle curbs that other cars could not and quickly built up an 8 second lead.

With excellent radio work from my crew chief & car owner Scott Cary, we built to 12 seconds and held it there. The risk/reward factor was not worth pushing the car any further.

One turn that was particularly insane was the left turn 4. To do it right you actually had to set up the car like you were going to plow right into the wall at the apex of the turn on the left. As you hit the huge puddle prior to the wall, the car would hydroplane bit and skip right about 10 feet so you would wind up missing the wall you were aiming for. For those of you that have driven NHIS in the rain, you do the same thing coming onto the front straight just missing the end of the pit wall.

We wind up winning the race and I’m so excited as I’m yelling on the radio I think I blow out the ears of Scott, Craig (other crew) and Rolando (driver of Scott’s other car - the E46 M3 SMG HP car). I believe the first time ever a Stock-Classed car took an overall race victory in BMW CCA Club Racing.

The Nitto NT01 tires were perfect for the conditions. Sure they hydroplaned a bit through the biggest of puddles but things were very predictable and they were great everywhere else on the track.

After the race, we packed up the 135i and on the same tires as the race, drove the 400 miles back to California.

…Just your typical weekend for Nitto NT01.

-Ralph Warren

[Novator]

Congratulations on the win Ralph. I love your car and I am glad to see a pole finish for the 135i. You just made history and this is only the beginning. Now go rack up some more

[adrean8j]

You mean this guy and his car?

(pics taken by me at O'fest '09)