Newbie Introduction

[philip_240sx]

Hello!

Just wanted to say hi and introduce myself.

I currently own a '90 Nissan 240SX with basic suspension, engine mods, and brake upgrades. I use it as a daily driver and have taken it out on the track... well only once and it was a lapping event.

I've been attending various SOLO1 events with Adam Hutchinson over the past year. I'm also a member of Adam's shop: Ontario Race Fabrication.

I've met a few of you... Dave Pratte, Krispy, Geo and others at some of the events this year. Overall it was pretty fun... I guess I've been bitten by the racing bug and have decided to do SOLO1 next year.

Thanks.

[Dave]

cool...another 240SX guy to beat up on! Looking forward to seeing you out there on the track with us next year, Philip!

[ADAM]

welcome to solo 1 philip....you will find the people are great..and the racing fun..

[philip_240sx]

Thanks for the encouragement... I will be asking many questions over the winter prepping for next year... your help is appreciated.

[Dave]

I think one of the more important things a true novice can do when starting out is set realistic goals and focus on learning the tracks, developing as a driver (buildings skills and confidence/comfort level at speed), and generally having fun. I've seen more than a few rookies get really frustrated by being 3+ seconds slower than the class leading cars, which are generally driven by very experienced drivers with lots of track time and fairly optimized track set-ups on their cars. I know when I started Solo 1 I was way off the pace at first, which I found a bit shocking because I thought I was this GREAT driver, but I slowly but surely kept getting faster each event until I managed to pick up my frist class victory at the last event of my rookie season (I did 10 events plus quite a few lapping days that year, and man was the learning curve ever steep!). And I wouldn't have got that win without some last minute tire pressure advice from the fastest guy in the East, Tony McG.

Anyway, there's no reason to think you can't or won't be competitive in your novice season, but I think any true novice (excluding guys like Kenneth Lau and Brad Meise, who both have tons of track experience prior to ever doing a Solo 1 event) should expect there to be a steep learning curve at first, both in terms of driving and car set-up.

But hey, you've got guys like Adam who can help you get things sorted out much faster than if you were trying to do it alone, so who knows, maybe you'll be kicking my ass the first day out!

I can't wait for the 2004 season already!

[philip_240sx]

Honestly, I don't expect to be competitive in the first year. My time will be spent learning the tracks and my car. I guess I am sort of a realist...

The fun is the journey not the destination.

[Chris P]

bout time


hello