6/7/2003 - The SPC / GF Racing season continues, with more fast and furious SCCA Improved Touring racing at Blackhawk Farms Raceway in Rockton, IL.  The weekend's crew included Chris Berube, Jon Tapp, John LeTourneau, Kyle K and Chris B.

Friday's practice session was well worth the money, as Chris got a good first look at the track and the team hunted down a few minor mechanical gremlins.   Saturday's weather forecast was for scattered showers and we hoped they scattered away from the track.  Fortunately, the weather was perfect during both qualifying sessions as well as the race - sunny, and about 70 degrees.  After the first qualifying session Chris was 4th in the ITA field and battling an understeer problem in the car. In between sessions, chassis adjustments were made, and in the 2nd session Chris moved up a spot to qualify 3rd.  The understeer problem was better.  As the car rolled onto the grid for the start, the usual butterflies starting gathering in the stomach.  Chris got a good jump on the start and moved up to 2nd place in between 2 Honda CRX's.  As the race progressed the leader walked away into the distance as Chris and the 2 CRX's behind him battled for second. On lap 14, the first of the Honda's slid by and took over 2nd place.  Driving a great defensive race, Chris was able to hold onto 3rd for the checkered flag in spite of the pressure from the Honda that was breathing on his bumper.  After impound the car went up in the air and everything was looked over again to be sure the car was sound for Sunday.  John's sister Jackie and her entourage joined us for the day and were gracious enough to bring along a portable feast which was most welcome after a long day of wrenching and racing. Thanks to Jackie, Mark, Katlyn and Catherine for supporting the team!!

Saturday night and Sunday morning saw some very serious rainfall come through the area, soaking everything to the bone.  This brought up the big question of the day regarding setup. Should  the car's suspension be softened, and hope for rain or stiffen it to remove the last of the understeer that plagued us and hope for dry weather.  The 2 earlier race groups  were on full rain setups and they needed it.  It was pouring. As they made the 2nd call to grid for the race group, a decision was made and the dice were rolled. The crew bet on a dry setup, readjusted the rear sway bar and hurried the car to grid, making it just in time to get the tire pressures set and await the green flag.

Much to the team's delight the sun broke through the clouds just as the cars began their warm up lap and the track dried out almost immediately.  Chris took the green flag and held onto 2nd place in spite of some serious pressure.  The CRX in 3rd choose a full wet weather setup and quickly disappeared behind us.  Lap after lap went by with Chris having the advantage on half of the track and the CRX having the advantage on the other half. Chris couldn't quite get enough together for a pass and the CRX couldn't quite drive away with the lead.  It was nip and tuck until on lap 13, the CRX and the Nissan 280Z that Chris was chasing both spun while passing some lap traffic.

Chris seized the opportunity, put the hammer down and took the lead from the Honda. The rest of the race was fairly uneventful and Chris went into car conservation mode.  The checkered flag fell on Lap 18 and the SPC / GF Racing #50 SC2 had another first place finish.   This was the 2nd victory and 4th podium finish in 4 starts.

After undergoing a comprehensive winter buildup by members of the Saturn Performance Club, the car has become a top contender in the hotly contested SCCA Central Division points race.

The SPC would  like to thank all those who have volunteered their time to help prepare the car and crew for the weekend.

After 2 great race weekends to start the season we will be taking a bit of a break and doing some more extensive chassis work. Next time out the car will be even faster, much to the dismay of our fellow ITA competitors.  We'll keep you updated as to our upcoming race schedule. Stay tuned!