Redline Time Attack Round #2 Results
Street RWD Class Nissan 370Z

This past weekend I competed in Round #2 of the 2009 Redline Time Attack series. The event was out on the big track at Willow Springs Raceway. If you read my last post, I was scheduled to drive the MFQ Motorsports Evo in Modified AWD. I am quickly finding out that it is incredibly hard to find a team willing to give you a shot behind the wheel of their car when you don't really have anything on your resume to prove on paper that you are good enough to get the job done. Unfortunately my search for someone willing to give me that first shot to prove myself contniues as the MFQ Motorsports team put a different driver behind the wheel of their Evo last minute so I was back to just driving the DoubleDownMotorsports.com Nissan 370Z in the Street RWD class.

This was the 370Z's second time on track and very little modifications were added to the car between Round #1 and Round #2 of the series. 2009 is a development year for the 370Z so our focus is a little different than most teams. The goal for this year is to methodically test and develop this car into a podium contender collecting valuable data for our sponsors and our team along the way. This year is not about winning races for us, this year is about building a capable car the right way, through testing. That being said, the parts of the car that performed well at Buttonwillow stayed on teh car and the parts that didn't do well were replaced and/or upgraded. Unfortunately some of the parts that worked well at Buttonwillow weren't up to the task at Willow Springs. We also un-covered some new issues with some of the stock parts on the 370Z. The good news is that some other parts we tested for the first time, including the Nitto NT05 tires worked excellent!

At the end of the weekend, we learned A TON about the car and its components and have a definite direction to head in to take the car to the next level of speed and reliability. So in that respect, we were very successful in our goals.

As far as the competition goes, my fastest lap of the weekend was a 1:37.286 which I am happy with considering the issues we were having and the track conditions. Unfortunately it was only good enough for 7th place in the Street RWD class, about three seconds off of finishing on the podium. Given the power/weight ratio of the 370Z vs. the competitors and the issues we were having, I still believe that this 370Z will be a threat to the competition as development of this car continues.

---Mike Bonanni