Bowanville, Ontario, Canada – Race #2 was held at Mosport International Raceway, located roughly 50 miles Northeast of Toronto. Once again, 29 young drivers were poised to run our 2009 turbo charged diesel Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup racecars. Coming off of a disappointing 20th, at VIRginia International Raceway, I was ready to prove I’m a front runner. An unfortunate rookie mistake at VIR dropped me from 8th place to 20th. Hopefully it was a lesson learned.
Friday – Track walk. Our mentor/coach, Jan Heylen (former Champ Car driver) loaded us onto golf carts and explained the track. On paper, the track looks fairly easy, but that’s far from the truth. The track begs to “push it” slightly more each lap, but with minimal run off, substantial elevation changes, and several off camber sections, “pushing it” over the limit spells serious trouble. It’s a fast track that requires technical discipline.
Saturday – Practice Wet and cold was the best way to describe the morning practice. Rain tires and windshield wipers were a necessity. Halfway through our 30min practice, I started to feel relatively comfortable with the track and the constant rain and spray from other cars. Virtually every corner had 3 to 4 foot wide strips of concrete (usually where you would want your outside loaded tire to be) that replaced asphalt which couldn’t withstand the constant abuse. This of course made corners extremely difficult as the concrete felt like ice. Most turns were taken particularly wide to avoid the concrete and ensure the car wouldn’t get loose. I finished 6th quickest in practice
Saturday – Qualifying With gloomy skies and dark clouds still nearby, the 29 car field took to the track on Michelin rain tires. The track was dry and I knew the tires would quickly overheat. I took about 4 familiarization laps and then blasted two hard laps, recording a 1:44.8. My time was good enough for 8th place, but because penalties were handed out by the SCCA for rule violation during race #1 at VIR, 5 drivers were moved back in the field and I landed in 3rd.
Sunday – Race Under very brisk upper 40 degree temperatures, and those same gloomy skies, we took to our warm up lap on race tires. While trying to build some heat, I was amazed at how slick and loose the car felt. The tires clearly didn’t like the cold weather. I made a mental note to be extra cautious the first lap and not over shoot turn 2’s down hill section.
When the starting lights turned off, I immediately had wheel spin and grabbed second gear. As I entered into turn 1, I was on the inside of the 2nd place car with my front bumper near his rear door. I had a discussion with him before the race and agreed that I would let him in line before we got to corner 2. As we got about half way through turn 1, I noticed him drifting down towards me and with a concrete wall to the right of me, I had no where to go. I lifted to create some space so he could slide in, got super loose, started a small tank swap, got hit in my rear bumper causing me to spin. I spun so I was looking at the field coming at me and then swung partially back around forward in mid-track and nearly came to a stop before getting slammed in my driver door/front fender. That quickly…race over.
By my accounts, the events unfolded they way I described. Things happened SO quickly that until I see the race on Speed Channel later this year, I won’t be 100% positive. To steal a few lines from an email my Dad sent: “I've already learned that there's a huge difference in autocrossing and road racing. In autocrossing, you control everything. In road racing you're only in control of a very small part of the game and you're always at the mercy of the actions of other drivers.” A very true statement indeed.
I want to thank my Dad for being at the race with me and making sure I understood he, my Mom, and my Sisters are still very proud of me. I have an amazing support group that I value. I also want to thank ChaseCam and Evolution Performance Driving School for their support. Despite two very disappointing races to start the year, my practice and qualifying times have proven I can run at the top, and with 6 races to go, I still have a great shot. I’m keeping my head up and determined to make everyone proud July 25-27 at Portland International Raceway.
More information on the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup and me, Ryan Buetzer, can be found at the following links.
-Ryan
P.S. Thanks to the people that have sent emails with questions or congratulating me on making the VW Jetta TDI Cup. Please feel free to contact me: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it