Alex's Steamboat fun

[Alex Chernushin <achernushin@digitalglobe.com>]

Well, I attended the Steamboat weekend, and had a great time
also.  Since I had never done the track before, I had to take the
Bridgestone Winter Driving course on Saturday.  Learned a lot on
the track, but the conditions were not real ice driving, as the
ambient temperature was between 35 and 40 F, and it softened
up the snow berms.  Well, soft on Saturday meant hard on
Sunday, as the temperature was below freezing all day.  Ben
alluded to his various run ins with the berms, and Stott and Chris
(referred to as Mad Max by the instructors) will probably get better
gas mileage on their way back to NH, seeing as the car will be
considerably lighter after their forays onto and into berms.  One
of the instructors said that Mad Max actually made Ben look good
this year.

 I only hit the side once hard enough to cause any damage...ran
over a chunk of ice that Ned Ritchie in his 4000Q left in my wake. 
I had to swerve three times before I finally hit it.  Anyways, only a
minor crack in the '90 Coupe Quattro's fiberglass undertray,
should be easily repairable.  

Driving the course was extremely difficult because of the
changing conditions lap to lap.  What makes this different from a
pavement course is on a pavement course there is a definite
line, entry speed, exit speed, and apex, and if you put all those
together, you minimize you time.  On the ice track, its more
difficult to keep track of what you did right to get through the
corner, but easy to determine what you did wrong.  The Blizzacks
worked well, but its still a wierd feeling to be going backwards in
second gear at 4000 rpm.  Most memorable moment on the
track was when Scott Davis took an inside line, I took an outside
line, and watching him wave at me through the side window as
he was sliding forward and I was sliding sideways.

It was great to put some faces with names also, Scott J, Chris S,
Stott, Mike S, and probably others I've forgot.  Most of the marque
was well represented, although Prestige Audi failed to show up
with the rumoured A4 1.8 T manual.  Dave Lawson and I had a
blaze back to Boulder...Steamboat to my garage in 3:15, that with
encountering the I-70 traffic and Clear Creek canyon slow
downs.   

Everybody should get ready for Stapleton in May, $100 for two full
track days.

Alex Chernushin
'90 Coupe Quattro
achernushin@digitalglobe.com