After three events in a row of co-driving other STS cars, I finally returned to my Integra RS for CKR's 6th points event on July 27th at EKU again. Two weekends in the RSX and one weekend in the Civic Si gave me some insight into the competition, and I hoped to use it to my advantage. Not only was this one of the rare occurances I've driven my own car this season, it also marked one of the first times that the entire Rzoops.com crew was racing. Here we are surrounding our new tent. Chris's WRX stayed at home so he could co-drive Bryce's S2000.

Speaking of the tent, it gives us a slightly shaded spot for changing tires or just taking cover from the hot weather we've been having. I thought Alex's car looked particularly nice underneath it, especially with the baller status Regamaster Evos anchoring the tent down. Here's Alex in the middle of mounting his 225/265 Kumho V710's for some BSP action.

Driving my own car again was nice enough, but it was particularly nice to relax in between runs. After having so many co-drives, I had almost forgotten what it was like to be able to spend quality time spraying down tires and having the opportunity to loiter through grid and watch the competition make their runs. It also gives me time to focus on my previous runs and which sections need more work on the next run.

With a freshened outlook on STS, I ended up in 3rd place out of 10 in a close battle between the usual crowd. I was off the pace for 2nd place by just a hair, but Eric drove the wheels off his Civic Si to win the class by almost 1.8 seconds, finish 4th in PAX, and end up with an amazing 10th place raw time finish. My times seemed to hit a brick wall at around 2 seconds slower than Eric's fastest. I know that a lot of my time is being lost in the braking zones, so I plan on practicing that in the upcoming weeks. The Azenis are also a limiting factor, but they certainly don't account for almost 2 seconds worth of time difference. But I realize there is much work to be done to the Integra to be truly competitive, and the next few events will determine whether or not I follow through with my plans to build a nationally competitive Integra RS.

I caught a video of my fastest run, but the point of view leaves a lot to be desired. For this weekend's event at Kil Kare with the Western Ohio Region, I plan on setting up the camera for a more appropriate view.