After a hiatus in 2001 to fulfill a promise to my wife that I wouldn’t race due to excessive travel (she conceded and let me run in September, though, after I begged and cried), I was finally feeling "alive" again when I showed up for the first day of practice at NHIS for the weekend’s COMSCC Time Trial event. Crisp, cold New England air – great for the Alfa but not so great for the tires (I’d need an extra lap to build heat). It was also good to see my racing friends again.

The configuration for this event was chicane-to-chicane, a wise choice for starting the season, since all of the drivers were eager to "overdrive" on the first practice session as if they’ll master everything again by the time they reach Turn 3.

This was the event with the highest attendance ever at COM, a sign that the club continues to draw members because of their good organization and prioritizing safety.

We managed to get five practice runs on Saturday, followed by three more sessions on Sunday prior to the Time Trial event. I considered this a good investment. At the start of the second session on Saturday, I put my car in front (to get a clean run) and the tires were so cold that I spun on Turn 2 (even at very low speed) and was suddenly facing a train of some 20 cars coming at me! No harm done. In fact, there were very few incidents – mostly spins and hurt egos.

Due to the number of cars on the track during practice, I concentrated mostly on improvement by running specific sections of the track at different instances. My best time for the day was 1’ 30.2" (track record for SSB Class in the chicane-chacane setup is 1’ 28.25") and, given the weather conditions, this was not bad. I learned later that I had the fastest practice time in the class. Not bad for a start of season, knowing that I could shave more time given a clean run and getting the tires to proper operating temperature.

Sunday was much of the same. Fewer cars this time (some students probably did not make it) and the call of the day was sunny but cold. I was again being consistent in the 1’ 30" - 1’ 31" range during practice and summed up two possible threats out of the 10 or so competitors in the SSB class (Showroom Stock – no modifications).

The Time Trials (il momento della veritá – the moment of truth): my plan was to go easy in the warm-up and first lap and gradually increment speed and limit to go all-out on the third (and final) lap. This way, the tires were properly heated, and the ‘line" on the track was properly rehearsed and tested over the entire weekend and the first two laps.

All said and done, I was lined up for the "race", fired up the Alfa and proceeded to turn in the laps, faster and faster. By the second lap, I had a 1’ 31" and knew that I could do better. Everything was absolutely impeccable until I began the final lap: I was coming out of Turn 2 and the Alfa began to sputter! Now it was my mind that was racing – through a checklist of symptoms: Gas? Fuel pump? No, I had gas and the pump was working; the signs were not that of starving, especially when I heard "bang" noises coming out of the exhaust. MALDITA IGNIZIONE! Something wrong in the ignition system: British spark plugs (arghhhh!)? Rotor? I had a new one installed just the week before! Flames were shooting out of the exhaust and I barely completed the lap before the car behind would "catch" me. I parked the Alfa and a crowd of people came over and, in equal disbelief, said, "I thought you were going to win this one; sounds like you had ignition problems." So I had shoulders to cry on (how nice). I waited a while and started the Alfa again, drove it around and everything is fine – MA CHE SUCCEDE???