As some of you know I have spent the last 2 years rebuilding an Anson Supervee that I acquired in a box. With lots of advice from folks here the time has come to put it on track. I am hoping to make it to a test session at Sonoma on Tuesday. I am extremely apprehensive. I believe that the car is sound. Both structurally and safety wise. I have upgraded all safety systems. Personally, I have never driven a formula car. 40 years of road racing karts. The last 10 in a Superkart. I don't question my ability to drive the car, I'm just unsure of what to expect.
Aside from running the car on the stands to verify they various systems I will not know until I unload it at the track what it will do. My intention is to unload, warm it up and putzz around the paddock a couple times to get a feel for the clutch and brakes down in that tiny foot box. Do a quick check of the suspension bolts and if that goes well line up for the next session and try to be the last car out at the end of the line. My plan is to be extremely conservative, keep the revs low, short shift, learn to shift without the clutch and left foot brake like my karts. I do not believe upshifts will be an issue. Downshifts scare me. Hurting the gearbox scares the hell out of me. I know I will figure it out but don't want to look stupid. I also don't want to be in the way. I have a zillion laps at Sonoma and know the track very well so that will not be an issue. I plan on about 2 or 3 laps just to get a feel before coming in and doing a thorough inspection of all the major systems and fasteners. Jot down some notes for later review and if all is well get ready again.
I want to try to add a few more laps each session and doing an inspection after each one. As for tuning, aside from checking the plugs on the engine I don't plan on much. I believe the learning curve will be big enough without changing a bunch of stuff. Maybe a little front wing adjustment to see what it does after getting comfortable. Other than that I don't see changing anything else. Just getting seat time.
Any suggestions on what I should look for, or look to accomplish? Things I may not expect?
Thanks