Due to the unfortunate cancellation of the Mt. Washington Hillclimb for 2002, Diane and Tim suddenly found themselves with a little more time to work on the two ITB Escorts. To date, wheel to wheel racing is the only form of SCCA racing neither had participated in, and it has been Diane's dream for many years. They had been building a car for her since 1997, bought a second one in 2000 and time trialed them both in 2001.

The 2001 season ended with Tim minus front struts, having blown them out on their first duel at Lime Rock in September. Diane ended her season in November with a big spin entering the esses, again at LRP. While this didn't do more than fill the car with dirt they decided to bite the bullet and order two custom-made suspensions from Leda.

The warm winter turned out to be a bonus in more ways than one. They were able to work on both cars (and sometimes the additional tow vehicle) either in the garage or out. Diane got her car through emissions and registered and spent over 2 months chasing gremlins in it. A different TPS, new O2 and a couple of fixed wires got it running like a champ.

Both cars had the Ledas installed, camber plates and new racing pads. They finished up minor details, the SCCA-mandated back braces and fuel testing ports, and made sure the cars were ready for their first log book inspection in March.

Early April found them at NHIS for a 2 day test and tune. This was Diane's first time on NHIS itself since her first COM School at Bryar (we won't mention how many years ago this was! ). This is only Tim's second time running the EGT. The two days were a total success, although not without problems. Tim's car developed a hesitant running problem that showed up after 8-10 laps by day 2. He'd come in, cool down and go back out again. Diane's ran great, good thing since she is still driving it to and from events. She did cord the two front tires she got with the car, and the track ate a full set of pads. They both scuffed in their new Kuhmos and got more track time than they thought possible. When they got back home, Tim's car got a new gas tank, pump and lines.

Two weeks later they were at the first SCCA school hosted by NER. A huge THANKS to all the people that made this event possible: instructors, workers, NER, our crew - everyone. This was an incredible weekend, words just can't describe it.

They both successfully completed their first school with very favorable comments from their instructors. They will be at Lime Rock Park on May 11^th for the second NEDiv school and the regional race the next day.

Pix courtesy of WIZARD Racing.net



May 4, 2002
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