We purchased a HERO camera for recording the race and have found that with it installed on the regular camera mount there is too much light for the camera to adjust so we had to figure out a Plan B which adhered the mount to the dash. I was able to figure out how to edit Alice's 59 mile run on Pantherbranch Hollow page.  The fumbling with the stop watch was an indication that we should have practiced more with the gloves on.  We nailed everything with no gloves but didn't allow for the thickness of racing gloves.

We found at in rookie school that a minimum speed does not apply to corners although we found out we could take most curves at about 100-110 MPH.  We did legal speed limit runs five times before the actual race.  We stayed below the speed limit is because if there is ANY moving violation in either town or on the road you may be disqualified.   

And, if you think the racing suits are hot, yes they are.  We're discussed how to minimize the heat but we never figured out a solution.  Alice initially decided to wear a head sock but when Jim said they weren't required for our speed, she decided not to wear hers as well.  Now, she did look cute with blue tape holding her earphones in so her helmet wouldn't pull them out.   We should have taken photos of ears with blue masking tape on them.  The neck support remains is the biggest pain in the neck literally and thankfully we aren't required to wear them for our class.  

One critical area that we did not prepare for and we will work on starting this fall is wearing race gloves to practice hitting the stop watches.  Open Road Races are won in hundredths or thousandths of a second and the watches must be started and stopped exactly on time.  We used two watches and Jim missed starting one of the two due to the glove issue.  It would not have changed the outcome of the race this time but we will be better prepared for next year's racing season.

Next up will be checking the tire pressures with a very accurate tire gauge.  The $9.99 version just won't give the exact readings needed for high speed driving.  Different safety equipment is required for each level and we believe we are equipped for the GS category.  The decision has been made and we're going to move up to the 125 MPH within GT-3.  We want to work on our timing before we make a jump to the higher class.  We wish there were ORR's close enough to travel at least every other month.  

If you are planning to open road race, practice, practice, practice with gloves, helmets and test runs at legal speeds to see if you can set the timers, GPS, camera and whatever else correctly.   In the video you will see Jim having difficulty with the stop watches with racing gloves on.   There was no problem without gloves but only one watch was started with gloves.  We use Seiko stop watches and will use one for timing going and the other for countdown timing during the 2010 events.  We didn't practice with the stop watch functions enough prior to the race due to the limited time to prepare for the event.