Yet another season begins… I am sure those are words that have been echoed by many a racer or racing team over the years. To the fans or casual observer the first race of the season appears to be just like any other race during the year, with perhaps the only difference being a bit more excitement and anticipation. To the individual racer or the team it represents the culmination of more work “behind the scenes” than can be quantified.
This is our second season as team Life’s Good Racing! TM and we are wrapping up our preparations for the new season. In our case the work has been substantial as evidenced by the pictures in the Gallery. The car experienced significant wear and tear this last year, its fourth year of being raced and was in dire need of a major facelift. As you can see, it received new paint inside and out and from top to bottom.
Additionally, the intensity of road racing wreaks havoc on many components, which result in their needing major rework, rebuild or even replacement. We rebuilt the transmission, repaired wiring and replaced exhaust and suspension components. Modifications needed to be made to accommodate 2010 rules changes. And, on top of all that, we implemented some improvements to such areas as brake ducting, gauge locations, and weight distribution. Also, consider the fact that each component change or modification needs to be individually tested or stressed, and then exercised as part of the entire system in order to have confidence in their performance under full racing load. This means both in-garage, as well as on-track, testing. I could go on and on.
It is hard to believe that it has been three months since our last race of our very successful 2009 season. It may seem long ago, however given the amount of work that has been accomplished during that time, it almost seems like yesterday. The pace has been fast and furious….just like we expect to achieve on track this new season!
So, when you are watching the first race of a new season–for any team–perhaps you will understand the significance of that event and appreciate all the work that went into preparing for the dropping of that first green flag of the season.
Time to finish this update and get back to work as our first green flag is only one week away…..
Karl Chicca, Campbell, CA