Ok, we all had live thru this. It is early on the party. The 
music started, then a couple moved to the dance floor. They 
are professionnal dancers, they looked great. Everybody 
stared at them.  During the next hour, nobody else want to 
dance because they would look silly in comparison.

Well, after Steve's performance (Thanks Steve, we are happy 
for you but also for ourselves, now we can tell people an 
X1/9 won a national title) is there some other racers willing 
to tell us how they manage to finish 45th? Why they were 
slower than the stock 3 cylinder Suzuki? 

So I will start again in hope to hear about every other X1/9 
racers until the end of the season.

In the province of Quebec we are using three Solo 2 
categories (Stock, Super Stock and Open). In each there is 
some classes with indexes (mostly base on SCCA rules).

Our schedule includes 7 events. The 5 bests are kept for 
each participants. At the end of the season the 2 best in 
each categories goes into the same car (supposed to be a 
brand new Miata this year) to see which one is the best 
driver in the province. 

With my X1/9 I'm in position to clinched the second place in 
Open, so I will probably be testing the Miata in two weeks. 

There is just one more race to go. In the Open category the 
best driver in a Porsche 911 just moved to the States so I will 
not compete for the championship. The guy to beat is 
driving a 1985 CRX. For myself I'm in a fight with my X1/9 
against a rwd Corolla with a MR2 supercharged engine. He 
have to beat me by more than a second at the last event to 
be in front of me. Two other guys are close with a VW GTi 
and a Mini-Moke.

In the beginning of the season, my X1/9 wasn't ready so 
Istarted with my stock 1992 MX3 V6. I removed the ABS 
fuse to move from Stock to Open to accumulate points. My 
problem is my Fiat is a lot more fun to drive but, even with a 
twin carb and a lowered suspension is no faster than my 
tired, totally stock MX3.  I'm still beaten by the same cars 
and in front of the same guys. I need more power. 

Have you ever tried a solo 2 while its really cold? On a dirty 
pavement its like ice racing. On my first try last week-end I 
collected 5 cones, stalled the car after a spin and finish 30 
seconds behind the regulars. But I wasn't alone. Everyone 
found it was really slippery.  On my second try I go with a 
more cautious approach, but I still manage to hit 3 cones 
and I kept them all under the car. They were so stucked we 
nearly had to jack the car to remove them. Third run was 
clean but conservative, overall I was 15th. I may have done 
better if I hadnt hit my window handle with my knee, 
removing the knob that goes directly under the gas pedal...  
Then on my last run I pushed a little more, besting my time 
by 2 second (31 seconds faster than my first run, must be a 
record!)  and ended up third in class, 1/10th of a second 
behind the second place.

So, everybody on this forum, let us know what is happening 
with you. No matter if you end-up first or last. 


Daniel Forest
1980 X1/9
Montreal, Canada

The best thing about my 98 season is that it was better than last 
year...

1st event: overheated oil and wrecked my rod bearings.  Changed 
them overnight and was able to nurse the car to a finish, despite 
some journal damage on the crankshaft.

2nd event: carb problems appear in morning practice before the 
race. A quick carb cleaning is all I have time for, and it isn't 
enough. I retire after 2 laps.

3rd event: transmission self destructs in qualifying, and miss 
race #1. Change it overnight and was able to finish race #2 the 
next day.

4th event: carb problems again.  I nurse the car through the race 
with a loose set up and a motor that only runs at wide open 
throttle (a real challenge in the corners).

5th event: I fix the carb and handling before the race.  Car is 
running at its best yet, and I'm having fun...for a few laps.  
Transmission siezes in a downshift, stalls the motor and shears 
an axle shaft.  I retire on lap 8.

So ends my 98 season.  I brought the car home and put a cover 
over it so I'm not tempted to torch it.  Gotta laugh cause it 
hurts too much to cry.

Paul

____________________________________________________________
http://www.erols.com/paul.stoltze/stoltzespeed.html
Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, USA

Paul Stoltze wrote:
: The best thing about my 98 season is that it was better 
than last year

Something is telling me that 1999 will be even better! Keep 
the Fhiat, oups, I mean Keep the Faith...



Daniel Forest
1980 X1/9
Montreal, Canada