Finally, April arrived. The guys signed up with the NASA Rocky Mountain Region and ran their first day down in Fountain at PPIR. They couldn’t get seat-time with an instructor for Time Trials sign-off, but they had a great time on the oval. Jeff’s UUC exhaust roared and Jim’s Evo caught several in their HPDE class by surprise. Several folks dropped by, curious about the MW3 trailer and the cars running under our marquee.

Before we could blink, it was May. What a month for us! Jim and Jeff were in Pueblo the first weekend, looking for their Time Trials sign-off. Jim managed that, and more. We now have a NASA Instructor in our midst! Sunday the same weekend, Jeff also received sign-off for Time Trials.  Certainly a successful weekend for the team.  May got better though.

About the same time, I had the opportunity to sponge off a legend. Ross Bentley was in town hosting both a day of classroom time and trackside coaching. I signed up for both. To say the track day was fantastic is an understatement. My stomach was a bundle of nerves – this was my first stint on the track since October and Ross Bentley was there to witness what I was sure would be nothing short of a Hot Mess. Hours in front of Forza must’ve helped – it wasn’t as bad as I had feared and by lunch I’d polished off five solid sessions and a tank of gas. I was loving my new tires and Performance Friction brake pads. Also learning how the Ground Control suspension impacted both tire wear for the better (adjustable camber!) and handling through the corners (what body roll?).  A tank full of race gas and I cranked off six more sessions, including one with Ross Bentley riding passenger. Let’s pause there to let that sink in. In all, I did around 90 laps for the day and The Beast put down the fastest laps of the day with Ross Bentley’s butt in it. {blushing} What. A. Day. Epic!

It was just one day though. And we’re not the kind of team who stands still for long. The month of May had much more in store for us. Only a few weeks later and Jim was prepping for his first laps in Time Trials with NASA at HPR (I’ll leave those stories to him, though you should know he had a helluva run!). Teaser: Jeff ordered new suspension for his E36 M3.

Oh, Jeff & I went on a good old-fashioned Road Trip too. Through Wyoming… Utah… Nevada… California… The Beast was in tow and due for a treat – Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca! Back in February, while dreaming of sunny track days I learned of BMW CCA Golden Gate Chapter’s plans for a DE just before Memorial Day and signed up without hesitation – or any idea of the logistics involved. Nevertheless, we made it to Monterrey and enjoyed a few days of downtime before heading inland to savor the thrill of one of North America’s most beloved tracks. It took me both morning sessions and two lunchtime instructor ride-alongs before the bells and light bulbs went off. Then I couldn’t get enough – I’m sure you’re shocked to hear that tidbit. A bit of butt-feel feedback… The crest at turn 1: Stomach lurching, then exhilarating when done right. Turn 2: Eerily similar turn 1 at Pueblo, especially when done using the “class line”. Exiting 4 and heading into 5: Many passes executed here. Go! Go! Exit turn 5: Go more!! Turn 6: Hit the dip in the apex – it lets you know you did it right. Turn 7: That was a turn? And then. The Corkscrew: What a delight! I smiled every time. Followed by 9: Oh, the speed you can carry downhill while you slowly pull in for that apex. The only time I downshifted to second? Turn 11. Rinse. Repeat. My only regret? That I didn’t get to spend more time driving it. And so, sadly, May came to a close.

June is pretty low-key with NASA in Oklahoma. Jeff’s suspension is installed and we’ll be dialing it in at an open lapping day (HPR) later this month.

Then the July calendar hits and we’re back in full swing. We’ll be at PPIR with NASA again, where all three of us will take turns on the track. 24 Hours of LeMons comes to Colorado and HPR (we’re not driving, just admiring those defying the laws of physics lap after lap). Porche Ladies Day at HPR the weekend after that. The end of the month will find us in Hastings, NE with NASA. Whew!

We wouldn’t trade it for anything. Stay tuned for updates, photos and videos! We’ll do our best to keep you looped in on our latest escapades.

Back in January I wondered, what performance mod can I do that won’t break the bank? Turns out, the answer was simple: stainless steel brake lines. I want to make sure my E90 M3 can stop when & where I say it should. I’m a big believer that stopping is at least as important as going. There was a small snafu by the local installer (who shall remain nameless) where we learned it’s not as devastating as you might think to put brake fluid where the power steering fluid goes. (Don’t worry we had it flushed immediately. The Beast is fine.) In the end the rubber OEM lines were replaced and I’m confident this was a worthwhile upgrade.

A couple of weeks later new tires arrived. Driving on the Blizzaks was certainly cushy. Not what you would call exciting though. It was like Christmas Day all over again when I got home from work and saw the new Bridgestone RE-11’s sitting on the doorstep. I had done a fair amount of research and decided on the RE-11’s due to several reviews commenting on the stiffer sidewall (compared to the PS2’s I wore out in 2009). I stepped up the size a bit too: 255’s for the front and 285’s on the rear. It’s possible I started purring when I rolled them into the garage… True to form, mounting them was an adventure because of those sidewalls: they’re so stiff they broke the tire mounting machine. Once on the wheels though… I’ll just say there was some bargaining (begging?) going on every time the forecast was for sun. Blizzaks… RE-11s…

While temporarily satisfying, these little projects only whetted my appetite for one – just one! – day at the track. We tried to set up private instruction. It was as if Mother Nature had some sort of personal agenda. Each time: snow! Even last week was blizzarded out of contention. Like I said. Insufferable. Excruciating. Torturous.

No matter. I am an optimist. The Beast has a new set of shoes and the weather has to cooperate eventually!

- christina