9 minute read
Rule Britannia - Mari Miller's Diary
Mari Miller’s Diary
I was on the track with some of the ‘best Mini racers’ in the United States and Canada. I used their experience to learn the braking points, which was only two turns where I just tapped my brakes. The hardest was not touching my brakes through the ‘bus stop’… it’s full throttle all the way through! When I came into the paddock I was literally on cloud nine. It’s hard to even express the thrill that I felt on the track… it was definitely challenging, but WOW the thrill would continue to carry me through the weekend. We had two qualifiers on Friday. The first was an early one at eight o’clock in the morning… good thing I’m a morning person. It was another great session to continue to get comfortable with the track, but I was having a few mechanical issues. My tach decided to flash red lights during the whole session and was definitely a distraction, but I listened to the engine and watched my pressures until the checkered flag. In between our qualifiers we were honored with a special guest, none other than rally legend, Paddy Hopkirk. The time he spent with me and my fellow drivers was more than a Meet and Greet, Paddy wanted to know about you and your race car - literally he wanted to see the engine. He shared his own stories and the tweaks he had done with his own Mini, followed by autographing the official poster. Bridget and Paddy share a special connection… she has a Paddy Hopkirk gas pedal! Our second qualifier was more beneficial than the previous as I now had the track down in my memory. I could see the next turn and anticipate where I should be going, driving ahead as you are supposed to. The tach was now working until I hit the first turn, and poof - it stopped. I was also having some issues at high rpm’s… she was running really rich and flat through the back side of the track. This is a fast track so I was staying in third and fourth gear and really noticing power loss through some of the elevations, but I managed to get to the checkered flag finish without any further issues. One thing about Vintage Racing especially in the Mini family…. Everyone helps everyone! There were engine heads borrowed, tools shared and even our truck was borrowed to move a trailer. We are all friends except between the green and checkered flag- we are competitors then!
I’ve raced or taught on road tracks throughout the Eastern USA, but this would be my first experience on the track at Watkins Glen. I didn’t give it much thought until we pulled up to the main gate, and the awe and grandeur of the track became real. I now understood why it was known as the Mecca of North American road racing. Watkins Glen track has banking, and substantial elevation changes along it’s 3.4 mile course. I’ve raced courses that are the same size, but banking and the 57 foot elevation going up the Esses would be a challenge. I race a 1966 Mark 1 Mini Cooper S, “Bridget” as we call her is an all original Mini with the exception of the safety equipment added per the Vintage Racing regulations with a 1293 cc BMC engine (we are allowed to bore 20 over per regulations). She weighs in at her original weight of 1300 lbs, and can red-line at 9300 rpm. Bridget is definitely a beast on the track, and Watkins Glen would test her and my abilities. Thursday would be our first scheduled practice session, and I will admit I was a little nervous getting out on the track. First couple laps around I was learning braking points, apexes and the flow of the track. I was the newbie on the track, and had lots to learn. Fortunately
I have a great Crew Chief who just happens to be my husband Craig, he is doing a great job learning how to keep me and Bridget running strong. He knows muscle cars, but this little British engine is all new to him. Fortunately the other racers enjoy mentoring and jumped in with suggestions and even parts to help Bridget run her best. We changed out the fuel and air jets and had her running better than ever for her historic re-enactment run to downtown Watkins Glen, which follows the ‘Old Course’ around the village. Watching the excitement of over thirty thousand people lining the streets as Bridget and her fellow racers raced through the streets of
Watkins Glen was a rewarding experience. I’ve never had her on public streets, and was a little hesitant to participate especially since she is a wild beast, but the fans loved her and we had a
great time.
Race Day… the feeling should be the same as the qualifiers, but race day brings on a whole new level of pressure. I now know the track, and it feels great. The ‘bus stop’ and the ‘boot’ are the two most challenging sections, but they have become my favorite. I can anticipate every turn ahead of me, and the track that seemed like it would never end in the beginning is now fun and exciting. I have to remind myself that I am only racing myself…. This is only my second race, and although I and Bridget are capable of so much more, I have to force to myself into believing being consistent is more important especially to the other racers on the track. They have the experience I don’t and most have larger engine displacements than I do so them knowing what they can expect from me as a driver is important. We are doing speeds in excess of eighty-ninety miles per hour or faster down the straights and almost as fast through the turns there’s no room for errors. One of my mentors had given me the advice “you won’t always get your line so be prepared to race outside the line next to others”. Not that I wouldn’t have figured that out, but having it in my head during racing has been a huge benefit in my consistency. I’ve gone through the turns
three wide, and kept my line around with no issues. There’s no monetary gain to be had in Vintage Racing, it’s about bragging rights and getting to the checkered flag. I may not have placed first, but my win is getting through to the checkered flag, and the big bonus was I improved my times by 14 seconds
from practice to the first race. I have my own goals that I am reaching, and every race they get higher. As a car chick I have always loved the smell, sounds and power of cars, and I’m fulfilling a dream of racing I’ve had since I was young. I also have to give a big shout out to all the Bridget fans. I had no idea how big her fan base is - she is one loved race car! We were consistently busy with fans stopping by for photos, autographs and words of encouragement… each of you gave us the extra support to get the checkered flag five times! This is a first for us to finish every race to the checkered flag. Other races there were track issues or mechanical issues that caused us not to complete the race. Bridget and I started a tradition at VIR before we go on the track… I tell her every time ‘I won’t hurt her if she gets me to the checkered flag!’ It works, and we have a new appreciation for each other. I am finally getting comfortable racing in a classic- it’s much different than the BMW MINI so many of us drive. The Classic Mini apexes very late, and braking is not as aggressive- at least on this track, and driving on the right side of the car has never been an issue, in fact I’m so concentrated on the track I don’t even realize I’m on the right side. A few more races and we will be up there with the big guys- it’s about seat time! I have the taste of what Winner’s Circle is like, and the feeling of being there with so many great Mini racers was a check off my bucket list. I was one of only two women racers at Watkins Glen out of three hundreds racers, and was the only women in a Mini. I go into a race with only thoughts of racing, and doing what I teach others to do- hitting apexes, keeping my lines and stretching my abilities. What I didn’t expect was the way that my fellow racers treated me in the paddock, and on the track. I was a race car driver… it didn’t matter to them if I was a woman. We talked racing, cars and were true sportsman on the track. My experience at Watkins Glen will be hard to top… from the many Bridget fans that came by to wish us well to my fellow racers welcoming us into the racing community and let’s not forget the track itself! I will always treasure the memories made at Watkins Glen and will have a beautiful memento of the handmade shift knob made by Robert Beauchemin and medal presented to each driver as well as photos to relive the moments as I raced around Watkins Glen. I was glad I chose to come to the Mini Festival, running one that iconic Grand Prix track and meeting Paddy Hopkirk are memories that will be hard to forget.
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