 |
| Brian Gets the BMW Tech Inspected at ZMax SCCA and NASA Specify How Large Your Numbers Need to be, and Brian SUPERSIZED Them! |
Last weekend the NMS squad piled into the 2011 BMW and fought for team bragging rights over two days of autocross competition in the Carolinas. When the dust settled on Sunday, we discovered that the 335is is a fun car to drive, has enough power to spin out if you get it wrong, and that somehow NMS-South was faster on both courses! Congrats to Brian for clearly being the faster driver, in his own car, so until we can get a rematch in the NMS-North FIAT, well, whatever!
 |
| Brian on the Starting Line SCCA Autocross National Champion Geoff Zimmer Says "GO" |
Saturday we were at ZMax in Charlotte, which is one of the larger parking lots we have autocrossed in the past seven years, so it was a good match up for the BMW. Right off the bat on my first run I knew I was in trouble, with a big 360 spin due to too much right foot power! However, I still managed to finish that run without a penalty, other than the incredibly slow 79 seconds it took to hit the finish line! By the end of the fourth run I’d gotten down to 66.994, which is a big improvement, but compared to Brian’s 62.784 it still wasn’t so hot! Brian was solidly in 2nd place for our class, while my time was just beaten out of 3rd by a yellow Porsche Cayman on his final run, by 0.283. Overall, a great way to spend a day, topped off with BBQ for dinner at Lil’ Pigs in Columbia!
LINK: CCR RESULTS
ZMAX: 196 drivers
Brian: 103 RAW and 108 PAX
Sunday had some rain in the forecast for Darlington, but we didn’t get any raindrops until AFTER we’d finished driving! On the way eastward on I-20 we survived some heavy fog and a bridge out to get to the track on time, and day two of the NMS battle for world supremacy. Surely, I could do better on the smaller and tighter course in South Carolina and salvage some bragging rights on the weekend. At least that’s what I though!
 |
| After Driving: Working on Course, of Course |
However, Brian once again emerged victorious, and the best I could do is 2nd place in STU class while Brian was fighting the best drivers in the Pro class. Second place sounds good, and it sounds better than “last” since there were only two cars in my class, so I’m going with 2nd! Brian also managed to complete all runs without hitting any cones both days, while I guess I “won” this category by hitting two cones on Sunday. After moving away from the South Carolina Region in 2014 it was fun to see some familiar faces and cars too.
LINK: SCR RESULTS
DARLINGTON: 72 drivers
Brian: 22 on RAW and 22 PAX
 |
| Probably the Coolest Car We Spotted, a Lancia at Darlington |
So, for me it was a really fun weekend in warmer-than-NY-weather, I ate some great BBQ at three different places, and driving the BMW was a blast. For my first autocross events of 2019, no great results, but plenty of good times. Out of 72 drivers on Sunday I managed exactly halfway by placing 36th on RAW time, and better than half with 34th place in PAX time. Brian was way ahead of me in those categories, but of course, if you’re driving your own car, well, you should be faster! Sounds like a good excuse to me anyway!
 |
| Darlington |
STU - 'Street Touring U' - Total Entries: 5 Trophies: 2
|
Car Color
|
Times
|
Total
| ||||||||
1Tm
|
57
|
Hamilton, Buck
|
1997 Chevrolet Corvette
|
Burgundy
|
61.407
|
60.202
|
59.164
|
59.283+1
|
59.164
| ||
529292
|
[-]3.620
| ||||||||||
2Tm
|
86
|
Nixon, Brian
|
2011 BMW 335is
|
Red
|
66.561
|
64.775
|
63.124
|
62.784
|
62.784
| ||
453851
|
Nixon Motor Sports
|
+3.620
| |||||||||
3 m
|
98
|
Kirby, Patrick
|
2005 Porsche Boxster S
|
Yellow
|
68.199
|
121.298+3
|
66.455
|
65.711
|
65.711
| ||
546984
|
+2.927
| ||||||||||
4 m
|
186
|
Nixon, Robert
|
2011 BMW 335is
|
red
|
79.455
|
69.482
|
68.600
|
65.994
|
65.994
| ||
454742
|
Nixon Motor Sports
|
+0.283
| |||||||||
5 m
|
26
|
BAIN, DEVON
|
2008 Nissan 350Z
|
Blurple
|
80.388
|
65.103+1
|
71.510+dnf
|
66.162
|
66.162
| ||
464509
|
Denver Auto Specialist
|
+0.168
| |||||||||
STU – ‘Street Touring U’
Total Entries: 2 |
Car Color
|
Run 1
|
Run 2
|
Run 3
|
Run 4
|
Run 5
|
Total
|
Diff.
| ||||
1T
|
stu
|
25
|
WILLIAM BULLARD
|
MITSUBUSHI EVOX
|
GREY
|
57.237
|
54.958
|
56.523+1
|
55.208
|
54.293+1
|
54.958
|
[-]2.195
|
2
|
stu
|
186
|
Robert Nixon
|
2011 BMW 335is
|
red
|
59.027
|
58.204+1
|
57.153
|
58.151
|
57.206+1
|
57.153
|
+2.195
|
p – ‘Pro Class’
Total Entries: 7 |
Car Color
|
Run 1
|
Run 2
|
Run 3
|
Run 4
|
Run 5
|
Total
|
Diff.
| ||||
1T
|
ssc
|
43
|
Jason Fetchko
|
2016 Scion FR-S
|
WHITE
|
54.929+1
|
54.785
|
54.095
|
53.617
|
53.470
|
42.829
|
[-]0.364
|
2T
|
es
|
95
|
Marty Bull
|
2005 Mazda Mazdaspeed MX-5
|
Mica Black
|
55.976
|
56.326
|
56.189
|
56.623
|
54.745
|
43.193
|
+0.364
|
3T
|
hs
|
16
|
Stephen Parrish
|
2018 Ford Fiesta ST
|
Magnetic
|
57.123
|
56.595
|
56.468
|
44.045
|
+0.852
| ||
4
|
esp
|
14
|
Kristopher Mahon
|
2008 Infiniti G37S
|
Blue
|
54.152
|
54.139
|
54.424
|
53.475
|
53.199
|
44.474
|
+0.429
|
5
|
stu
|
86
|
Brian Nixon
|
2011 BMW 335is
|
Red
|
57.394
|
56.244
|
55.591
|
55.934
|
55.572
|
46.013
|
+1.539
|
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