I chose the Grand Touring class for my first open road race. I installed a fire extinguisher and a racing harness. I also had Marc Thomas help me with my pre race inspection. All cars are required to pass a Tech Inspection before the race to help ensure a safe vehicle. I also had my timing belt adjusted before leaving the Bay Area (I had a new timing belt put in last month).

The Trip

I loaded the car Thursday morning and drove to DEVEK. There I met up with Marc, Susan, Brad, and Carla (Rich was there also, but left early). After finishing last minute checks and repairs we left at 2 PM. Brad, Marc, and I convoyed out of Belmont to Truckee. There we waited for Susan, then proceed on through the mountains to Nevada. 

Registration

We arrived in Battle Mountain at 10:30 that night and checked into to the Best Inn. The next morning I met Rich at Registration in the Super 8 Motel. There we signed in and got our stickers, shirts, hats, etc. I then drove to the Civic Center for the tech inspection. There I met up with Don who helped me put on my numbers (103) and other decals. After passing tech I attended the first timers class. 

Practice

Then it was off to practice. They had closed off a 5 mile section of Highway 305, about 40 miles from Battle Mountain on Friday (9-noon and 1-4 PM). I followed Jim (Emmett Connely) out most of the way out. 

Once I got there, I met up with Marc and Susan, Don and Marc, Brad and Carla, Rod and Stacy, and Rich. They were all out there to test their cars and experience the road at speed. For some of us it was the first time to get our cars above 120 mph. The section of road selected for the practice started with a straight section about 2 1/2 miles long, a 30 degree sweeping right, then another 2 1/2 mile straight up hill into a 20 - 30 mph wind. All first time drivers were to have an instructor ride with them at least once, to see if they (and/or the car) were able to handle the speed. I had Susan ride with me on my first run, and every thing seem to go well. The car had a little trouble accelerating over 120 mph going up hill and against the wind. But on the way back, I was able to exceed 140 without any problem. We were told not to exceed our tech speed by too much, or risk disqualification, so I didn't push it. I was able to make 3 runs in each direction. On the first run, I took the turn at 110 mph without any difficulty, so on the return trip I took it at 120 mph. I found that the car was able to handle the turn so well, that I didn't have to slow down on the rest of the runs and took the turn at 130-140 mph. This was when I realize that this part of the race would be a piece of cake in the 928 with only a 130 mph tech limit. The road out to the practice had straights and turns about the same as this stretch of road so I would be able to take the last 44 miles at full speed without slowing down for the turns.

Parade and Car Show

On Saturday, we were to meet at the Colonial Inn for a Parade and Car Show. So at 10 AM I drove down there and parked in the lot. While there Cheryl showed up with her 94 GTS. She had driven up on Friday night, so was pretty tired. The parade started about 10:30, we lined up behind a row of police on horseback, drove through town to the school yard. Jim was behind me during the parade, and we meet Chris when we got to the school. Rod was also there so we took some pictures.