Michele Abbate's SCCA Western Conference Majors Win
 

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WCDOyhMFn8"]Michele Abbate - SCCA Western Conference Majors @ Pacific Raceways May 25th, 2015 - For The Win! - YouTube[/ame]

Good stuff! Glad to see the Dark Horse Pros campaign is paying off in spades!

Tons of terrific action in that vid. I got through the first 20 minutes and took some notes. Will watch and post the rest in a bit.

3:35 - First wheel to wheel action vs. Red mustang nemesis
6:40 - Michele's FR-S putting that race winning grip on display
6:50 - Michele's lines are better through this section
7:40 - Michele flat out drives around that 'stang
8:10 - Ovaries-out drag race into the braking zone. Gritty.
10:30 - Spins into the weeds, but recovers nicely
13:20 - Michele out brakes the 'Stang again.
13:55 - NASCAR level beat em up going on here. Hardcore.
14:20 - The 'Stang has the torque advantage in all the uphill areas, but Michele is out driving him every place else.
16:30 - Draft clinic here
17:55 - Major pucker moment
18:26 - Michele out brakes the 'Stang AGAIN, but this time is bumped hard into the weeds. Serious competition going on. "DAMNNNITT!!!"

Edit: Finished watching the vid. Man that was exciting!

20:45 - 21:15 - Battle with a Miata ends as expected ;D
21:15 - 22:10 - Michele reels in the 'Stang and...
22:25 - 22:30 - ... sets him up for a pass in the downhill section (negating his torque advantage while maximizing her cars better braking, grip and handling).
24:13 - Tango down
25:13 - Bumped by the 'Stang driver from the rear wtf?
26:43 - The Mustang gets by
26:52 - Michele gets alongside the Mustang on her favorite inside line, he nearly Pitts her to slam the door. This one was definitely on purpose. Desperate move by a desperate driver.
27:53 - Michele's FR-S and the Mustang slip inside two slower hatchbacks. In the words of Danny Trejo, she's all over him like a cheap suit.

FINAL LAP
31:30 - 32:20 - Michele drives her own line, ducks around a spec race machine, stays with and passes the Mustang.
33:06 - Finish Line with primal screams of pure glory. Abbate FTMFW!

Post Race
34:37 - Give that lady her checkered flag please.
35:00 - Victory parade to the pits
35:34 - Picks up her peeps, big thumbs up and lots of feelsgoodman.jpg
38:20 - "I gottem man! I **** GOTTEM! He was being a **** and I just said "you know what, you have to brake and I don't!"
38:50 - More of Michele's commentary about the race
43:25 - Michele walks around front of car, shows damage to front end. The Mustang driver wanted it, but didn't have the car or the skill this day. She's asked "Do you want to protest [the 'Stang's reckless racing]?" Michele answers "Naw we already beat him". Classy chick! ;D
47:52 - Michele A. "Our car is a little slow for its' class but we proved you can do it without a supercharger".

Man this was a great vid. Really shows what grassroots racing is all about. Michele gutted out this win. I highly recommend everyone watch this race and support Michele. She's out there doing it right and representing 86s to the fullest. Congrats @MicheleAbbate

WOW - that is one well set up machine......:w00t:

And the driver is easy on the eyes ..... :drool:

More about the car:

http://www.drivewaylabs.com/Michele.htm


humfrz

PS - I wonder how much power that engine puts out ..... ??

That was an intense pass at the end to take the win! Lots of good racing.

Man...this is what SpeedVision used to be! I was on pins and needles...and to come back from 3 mistakes and beat that GT - muuuhhaahahah, where's that "Trade my FRS for a Mustang" thread... normally aspirated FRS hangs with the GT in the straights and just is all over it trying not to hit it because its too slow in the turns... LOL

Last I heard she's tuned on e85 to ~ 200whp.

Congrats Michele!

Good grassroots SCCA racing action even with what sounded like uneven gear spacing for that track. Plus she credited her sponsors, very classy. She should be a shoe-in for the next Toyota Long Beach Pro-Celebrity IndyCar support race that runs TRD prepped FR-S's.

Maybe SCCA can learn from this and combine the archaic "Ladies" Solo run groups with everyone else.

I totally agree. No reason other than to try to get more women into motorsports by perpetuate the stereotype that the ladies need their own class. That thought process is like an infinite loop that keeps things the same. This is why the world needs as many @MicheleAbbate (s) as possible. I want my daughters (if I ever have them) to see women just like her living up to their full potential in any field they choose.

You guys are the best. Thanks so much for the continued support and being a part of my team. This past weekend was unreal and I am so very grateful for you guys and the support we've gotten. It's truly amazing to see how strong the ft86 community is and I am so proud to be a part of it. This was definitely one of the best races of my career, even with the couple mistakes I made from over driving turn 2. This was my first time at Pacific Raceways and it really is a pretty bad ass track. Lance Stewart was driving the mustang, he's got a ton of experience but I was kind of disappointed with his aggressive/unsportsmanlike/pretty much unsafe "tactics" but it felt so good to take that win and truly earn it.

:)

It made for a great race and a huge success for our team (including you guys), the chassis platform, and the proof of our NA machines.

PS- we have almost 200 whp with e85 but e85 is illegal in the scca series therefore we probably had an estimated 185 hp in this race. A great tune but we have a truly unbeatable chassis that is so incredibly well balanced from all our suspension partners. Happy to help anyone who is trying to dial theirs in :)

Cheers!

What did we learn today?

1. M1 can probably outdrive all of us.
2. Mustang drivers are bullies.
3. It feels awesome to support the family we have here as Twins owners.

http://i.imgur.com/E2Ul9N3.gif

#Lanceisadouchebag2015

help me trend this

Big ups Michele for breaking necks and smashin egos all over the place, honored to support and share in the journey

;) this is where we left our emblem.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y11...psvo6wpkf2.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y11...pssdqo0u3a.jpg

Hey, no grab-ass on the track! :thumbsup:

I was giddy with excitement, watching. Amazing!

In the words of R.Kelly:

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTXGL0xPyLA&feature=player_detailpage#t=32 "]R. Kelly - Bump and Grind - YouTube[/ame]