Seven weeks, 3000 miles, 225 track miles, two hay bales and a concrete wall.
Yes, that's an 8C in the background.
Yes, you can see what's under the hood now.
Cold tires and to much enthusiasm.
The start of the Alfa Time Trial event.
The green wall below the bleachers is what I hit the next day. The rear end stepped out and I went along for the ride.
I'm OK, a little stiff and sore, most of which is normal after a race weekend. The seat belt worked! It kept me in my seat and from slamming forward into the steering wheel. The air bag didn't go off, probably cause I was in Race Mode.
The root cause of the crash is simple: "cold tires" don't grip as good as warm tires. Overheated tires don't grip as well as warm tires. My tires were still cool and I was pushing it to hard. It was the third turn of the first lap of the final event of the weekend.
The car has 60% of the weight on the rear axle. The rear end steps out before the front gets loose. Not enough throttle and the rear end breaks loose. To much throttle and the rear end breaks loose. To much speed and the read end breaks loose.
The P-Zero tires don't have the grip of a true track tire. They do better than most "street" tires.
Brakes work quite well. The fronts seem to skid before the rear, which is best for a street car.
On Saturday I let my father and brother drive it as well as myself. They both have years of track time at Willow Springs. Our run groups were back to back, half an hour each run. The car never overheated. Clutch / transmission light never came on. I was up first and when they came off track (into pits) I could smell the hot brakes. Not that it seemed to be a problem. Tires never heat faded.
It's a lot of car. More car than I've ever driven and my first rear weighted car. Did I mention the rear tires loose grip before the fronts? I'm ready for real tires and real pads now. I definitely need a racing seat and harness. My wife thinks I should stick to the 240Z as the repairs to it cost less. I bet I can buy a fully race-prepped 240Z for the cost of the repairs to my 4C.
Well, somebody had to be the first to wad-up a 4C. I was hoping it would be somebody else and I was hoping it wouldn't be this soon.
The car is at the dealers so they can examine the carbon fiber tub. If that's undamaged, the rest is just bolt-on parts.
I was having problems with my GoPro. It turned off for no reason shortly before the crash
There was another 4C on the track with me. I should have good film (digital video) of him. I knew he was waiting on a car, but didn't know he had it yet. He has 500 miles on it and bought a second set of rims (17/18) and put on Pirelli Trfeo tires. His car seemed more composed than mine felt.
My brother took a few pictures of me on the track.
Looks like more body roll than I felt, actually, I never even noticed any body roll.
Both are at the same place, exiting turn three / entering turn four.
This was taken moments before I hit the wall.
Talked to my dealer today. They say the carbon fiber tub looks undamaged. That was my biggest concern. The wheel is bent and the lamp is cracked. Lamp is $900 dollars. Wheel is about $300. I asked if they can get the Euro fly-eyes since I have to replace the one. The preliminary estimate is $17k without paint. The new body panels will be primer and they tell me the side is scratched badly.
Tomorrow morning I have time to stop by and look at it. Will take some pictures. Some of the parts estimate is for parts that have small scratches that nobody will ever see. I'm concerned about structural things, not cosmetic things. If I can't see it from a normal viewing angle, I don't care. I can trim some of the 17k down.
Maybe I'll paint the car orange. I'm not going to try to color match it. Something that will go well with the red interior paint.