OnGrid Ridge Motorsports Park– March 11, 2023
Hello! If you’re reading this and wondering who I am, I don’t blame you. I’ve posted a few times on CorkSport’s 7th Gear page but never really introduced myself. My name is Quintin Gunn, one of the Development Engineers here at CorkSport, and I have a Mazda RX8 that I am building into the Time Attack weapon it was always meant to be. Follow along here and on social media as I record each track event and document the build process from stock to full-on race car.
Now, I’d like to introduce the real star of the show, Roxy:
Roxy – The Mazda RX-8 Car
Roxy is a 2005 GT Trim Mazda RX-8 that I bought in May of 2021. Why an RX8, you ask? I knew I wanted a robust RWD platform for building a racecar without it being a Miata (because I can barely fit in one). Naturally, working at CorkSport, Mazda was the obvious choice, which meant the best option in my price range was a Mazda RX-8. Having my first sports car purchase be a rotary was risky, but I have plans to address that in the future (more on that another time).
By far, the shining jewel of the Mazda RX-8 is how it drives. Mazda outdid themselves with the Chassis engineering on this car, and the handling is like nothing else for the price. Over the last couple of years, I have been slowly working up my (and Roxy’s) track confidence while modifying the car to extract as much out of the chassis as possible.
Current Mazda RX-8 Mods (March 2023)
- Tires: Falken Azenis RT660 265/35 R18
- Wheels: Bronze Enkei TS-V 18×9.5+38
- Brakes: CorkSport Big Brake Kit (Front and Rear). Motul RB660 fluid
- Front
- 6 piston Calipers. Hawk DTC60 pads
- 356x32mm slotted rotors
- Stainless steel brake lines
- Rear
- 4 piston Calipers. Hawk DTC50 pads
- 356x28mm slotted rotors
- Stainless steel brake lines
- Parking brake functionality retained
- Front
- Sway Bars: Progress Tech (F/R)
- Coilovers: BC Racing ER Double Adjustable. 10k spring front, 8k spring rear
- Aero: Nine Lives Racing Big Wang RX-8 Kit with V3 CFD endplates
- Exhaust: HKS Hi-power muffler with Racing Beat Dual-Res Midpipe
- Interior: mostly stripped
- Cockpit: Sparco EvoL driver’s seat
Round 1: Ridge Motorsports Park
@corksport Racing in the rain is just like that! #cartok #carsoftiktok #cars #carguy #carenthusiast #racing #rain #rx8 #lovehate #mazda #mazdausa #mazdarx8 #pnw ♬ original sound – CorkSport Mazda Performance
The first track event of 2023 took place at Ridge Motorsports Park, nestled in the southern shadows of the Olympic Mountain Range in Shelton, WA. This 2.47mi, 16-turn Race Track offers a unique challenge of car control and driving skill featuring crests, compressions, and blind corners – the perfect place then for a Time Attack showdown.
I was joined by Derrick Ambrose, CorkSport’s Motorsport Manager and Owner (…and Founder…and Mechanic…and Tuner…and Racecar driver…he wears all the hats). Anyway, he came armed with CorkSport’s TC America Mazda3 racecar, which served as one of the testbeds for our Skyactiv Turbo Kit. Freshly retired from professionally sanctioned race events, the car can now participate in Time Trials in OnGrid’s Touring Class, the same class I am building the RX8 to compete in. Derrick came looking to kick butt and take names with s2000s, BRZs, and Miatas locked firmly in his sights.
CorkSport-sponsored driver Phil Dandurand joined us in his stripped-out 4th Gen Mazda3 Turbo for his first track day! He was eager to get his feet wet (pun intended) and push the 4th gen platform to its limit. His car serves as one of the testbeds for all of our 4th Gen Turbo parts, including a full 80mm exhaust, downpipe, coilovers, and rear sway bar (among other things).
Sadly, I don’t yet qualify for the Time Attack group, so I was in the HPDE sessions for the day. Nevertheless, we were excited to get back out on-track for the first time since the end of September. Unfortunately, it wasn’t ideal conditions for laying down fast lap times…we all got our feet wet.
Rain. Lots of it
The thing about the Pacific Northwest that a naïve Southerner like me took a while to comprehend is the concept of seasons, specifically winter. See, where I’m from, there are no seasons – at least NOT like this. Winter was no more than a mild summer for most places. Winter meant highs of 68°F (20°C), sometimes low 70s, a cool breeze, and a light jacket. However, in Oregon, it means rain and highs of no more than 45°F (7°C). It means non-stop cold, rain, and clouds from November until May. The stereotypes about Northwest Rain are absolutely accurate. Today was no different, and this meant adjusting our expectations and driving styles to fit the conditions.
Session 1 started the morning with loads of standing water and rooster tails two or three times the car’s height. The track staff tried their best to sweep the rain off the track with a roller and big-fancy blowers, but it was useless. The rain kept coming. Derrick, being the madman he is, brought his Pirelli Racing Rain Tires, and even he struggled for grip.
Luckily I was starting the day in the 3rd session, meaning plenty of cars were on track before me, and a dry line was forming on the surface. While that does mean that it’s the grippiest part of the track, it also means it is the only grippy part of the track. So now, instead of a 40ft wide race track, it is only a car width. Deviate anywhere off this line, and you slow down or risk getting out of control. I learned this lesson quickly by driving up the hill at Turn 11 and hitting a patch of standing water, sending me off the dry line and mere millimeters away from the grass.
The BMW, a couple of cars in front of me, must’ve done the same thing, and it spooked him enough to slow to a crawl in the blind part of the crest, causing the car in front and myself to take evasive action. With the chaos and the track conditions, I chose to pull back into the pits and end my session early.
Knowing your limits and lessons learned
Normally, I wouldn’t mind racing in sub-optimal conditions. I think it’s a great opportunity to learn car control, situational awareness, and how to find and push to limits at a lower speed. Today, however, was different.
Contrary to what most people believe, racing is not giving 100% all of the time. Yes, “if in Contrary to what most people believe, racing is not giving 100% all the time. Yes, “if in doubt, throttle out,” but that’s easy to say when you have an unlimited racing budget with spare parts and even an extra car. Most of us don’t have that kind of support. So racing is methodical and all about finding the limit of your car, yourself, and dancing on that edge – trying to push it further. Sometimes though, edging closer to the limits isn’t worth the risk.
Over our lunch break, temperatures dropped, and the nonstop rain turned into ice. As we sat under the canopy trembling from the cold and watching the ice accumulate on the cars and our tents, we decided to cut our losses and head home. Nothing was to be gained by staying longer; there was everything to lose if we did. Our decision was confirmed by watching our paddock neighbor’s Porsche Boxster return from the track on the back of a flatbed with a crumpled fender and snapped lower control arm – the face of defeat and dejection worn by its owner said it all. Not wanting to meet the same fate, we promptly loaded up and headed home.
Annoyingly the entire 2-hour drive back home was bone dry, and the Portland/Vancouver metro area didn’t see a drop of rain all day…
As they all say: that’s racing folks.
Join us next time at Portland International Raceway as I try to set a new personal best and beat Derrick’s lap times in his Non-Turbo Mazda 3 SCCA T4 car. Follow CorkSport on social media and me @qg_autosports on Instagram for more updates.
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