Pedro/Setup

[BobBreed]

Hey Pedro,

I just watched the last session of Setup. Sorry to see that you got the boot. However, you really did a good job. You should be proud of yourself!!!! You're my hero! I was an instructor may years ago for Mike Skeen. I had a hard time trying to find a nugget to pass on to him. Oh, I need to get some 02 content in here.... How's the 02 running?

Bob

[bmw1602.com]

Yes Skeen is fast driver,

here is the SETUP thread on bimmerforums

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=942076

Here is my recap of the last episode.....

So here my complete recap of that day.....should help explain alot.

The day before in the garage me and my crew chief and I were at bit at odds. He wanted to make some drastic changes to try to improve the setup. Me and him used to road race motorcycles together and he was always making lots of changes and with enough testing time he would end up with some good setups! My style is always to make small changes and concentrate on riding/driving. I usually don't make larger changes until I feel confident I know the current setup well enough to really feel and understand any further changes I make. That takes time unfortunately, which we did not have on this show.....I wanted to just leave it be for the most part as me and Chris had been rockin with the setup we had. We reached a compromised and basically took some castor out of the front and some camber out as well as I was hoping to have a flatter contact patch to improve my braking. We could not agree on a tire pressure that day.

The next day in practice at the HTM he wanted to try an extreme tire pressure setup that I knew would not work so I told him a number I wanted. He ran the more extreme number anyway against my wishes and the car just sucked so I came in and he added some pressure back in and a finished of the the last few mins of practice. Basically In my mind we wasted half of the practice session trying out something I knew I would not like and would not work really well. Ow well.....we figured we could use the first race of the day to learn if the new setup was any good.

Well the first race that day skeen took off in the lead Earnesto was in second and I was in third. I was all over Ernesto and he was slower than me pretty much everywhere. Then coming down the hill in lap 4-5 I see him run a bit wide on the run down the hill then when he changed directions to go thru the S turn in front of the crews/water tower he basically had to add more steering since he was wide and when he transitioned and changed directions there was alot of weight transfer and he probably got on the gas a bit too soon for the amount of steering he had in the car at the time and the car got a bit sideways exiting the front S turns and he started a high speed oscillation and eventually as he was running out of track he locked them up missed the camera mand by a foot and went sailing off the track thru 2 fences and almost hit a on coming van on the access road below! So red flag came out.

They had to call the few laps we did a race since the track owners would not allow a race to be held with a hole in the fencing. So I effectively ended the race in 2nd place. So we all went to lunch while the track maintenance crew went to work fixing the fence. Unfortunately this meant we barely had a chance to get the tires up to temp and check out the changes we made on the car.

It would all come down to race 2 for me then.

I had a horrible start and was struggling with the car right away. I did my best to keep the car on track to avoid any stop and go penalties and was basically trying to figure out the car. I was struggling with the uphill chicane alot. My drive out of there and up the hill just sucked. The car was under steering alot in the slow chicane and was a bit tail happy when I layed the power down. It all honesty also could of been just me! I was a bit frustrated with my driving that day to be honest. I was just a bit off my mental game. I can definitely learn a thing or two from mr cool, calm and collected M. Skeen!

I was doing my best to salvage my race and not get passed, when I hear my crew cheif saying "they just told the stanley car (Larry canzone) that he had to pass you in the next 2 laps or he going to be off the show!" So I knew he was coming. He was in my rearview soon after. I got a suck ass drive off the chicane again and he got a run on me into the haripin at the top of the hill. He went by me but I got a great drive of the corner and repassed him in the next corner. We were both fighting for our lives. He did get by me again and right as I was pushing to stay in his bumper I made a big mistake.

For the record, yes I did basically go wide entering the chicane. I did not "overshoot" it like they said last night. If I had overshot the corner I would of gone thru the cones tires locked like many did that day and the previous day sending cones flying everywhere.

I was pushing my braking point a bit to deep got all locked up and right before I was going to go straight thru the cones I got it gathered up and turned the car and never went thru the cones and completed the chicane normally! As I was turning away to go thru the chicane I knocked over 1 single cone

I was hoping not to get a stop and go since I hadn't "blown" the chicane and gone straight thru it

yet I still got a stop and go..... for basically making a mistake and simply going wide in the corner. I never went thru the cones and bypassed the chicane like many had done. I ended up driving thru the chicane like normal after my lock up.

I pulled in the pits completely mad about the situation. I took off like a bat out of hell since I knew that I was now in the last place car on the track. I was struggling with car now more than ever seamed like our tire pressure gamble was getting worse as the laps wore on. I started to click laps away and started to try to close in on the next competitor.

This part was not shown on TV,

Then I get a radio call from my crew cheif " They want you to come in to serve a stop and go" I was like WHAT??? For what I replied. He said" they saying that you laying up"

LAYING UP? you got to be kidding me! Why would I be laying up if I'm in last place??????

It made ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE.

I was SOO pissed. I followed ridiculous instructions and served a second stop and go penalty for basically doing NOTHING.

I came out of the pits and finished the few laps left in the race and I was completely dejected after. What BS. I have to say I was also disappointed I was not able to adapt to the new yet deficient setup on the car. As a driver if the setup is wrong it's up to you to make the most of it. I did fail at that.

We went home really bummed out. I still did not think I was going home since Technically speaking I was NOT last. Danon was.

Also accordingly to the rules we were given, if you cause an incident that causes the other car not to finish the race you are the one going home. Which would mean Mike Junior would be the one leaving. So we went to sleep with some hope of continuing on the show.

The next day in the shop we pretty much spent like 30mins standing around while the WOW crews got chewed up by scott about cheating. Eventually they told him to go home! Then he call me up and was like Pedro you were last your going home. Please leave. 3 secs. later he tells everyone to go back to work. They spent 30 mins. to eliminate the first crew and 3 second to send us home. I thought that was weird.

I didn't get a chance to voice my concerns about Danan and Mike situation and my displeasure with the second stop and go.

We had lunch then had our "exit interview". My crew chief admitted on camera to his fault regarding the setup on the car and that we should made less changes. I started to recap my race and as soon as I was about to begin to talk about the stop and go's and the Danan situation. Scott interrupted the interview and said "we don't want to hear about that so move on".

It was pretty clear to me that at this point in the show he wanted me off. There was nothing I could do about it. I guess my clean racing style didn't make for good tv. I wasn't cracking jokes or playing to the camera at all so I guess i do understand his decision from a director of a story point of view.

I don't like it but I get it. It's a TV show.

Me or Danan......I'd choose Danan. The guy is volatile, always having contact with someone and is kinda of a wild card. Me on the other hand just a a fast clean racer that kinda kept to myself and was not showboating like Piquet or making any drama like danan. So like I said, I understand his decision.

I do take responsibility for putting myself in a position (last across the line) to be sent home. In the end it was up to me to get the setup right and up to me to make it WORK! That specific day we were waaay off! On this show you can't have a bad day.

Your bad day is your last day on this show. In the real world it's a bit different. We have championship points so we can make up for a bad race.

What really makes me mad is that I never got a chance to race at Street of willow. HTM is challenging track, but it is a "constipated" track. You can never really get up to speed there and stretch the cars legs and you never get the chance to show your high speed talent. Streets is also wider and has rumble strips so passing is more doable.

On the other hand, I had a good run. I made it almost to the last episode and was able to hold my own and beat racers with much more experience than me. I was able to open gaps from racers with more experience from me and keep a fast race pace.

I did not make an ass of myself on national TV

I did not look like a rookie and total my car on national TV

I did not go out with my tail between my legs like Brian did.

I did not go out looking like fools like Ernesto and his crew cheif.

(Flying off the track is bad enough then not pulling the fire pin on the fire system is Ernesto AND his crew's fault. As a driver your safety is ultimately your responsibility)

I raced more than I had all year in just 3 weeks and it only cost me time off of work.

I gained some friends, meet some incredible people, gained an immense amount of experience from the driving and the off track situations. Not to mention being in front of a camera in a interview room with 4 cameras pointed in your face. I will never be nervous for a job interview again!

So all in all it was a good thing. I just wish I could of had a shot at showing my stuff at streets of willow and maybe been a position to capitalize and take the whole prize. I would of loved being able to give my crew chief Edward a nice check to for all his hard work.

I like to thank Scott, Elsa and all the crew for the opportunity of a lifetime.

I like to thank Reliable Carriers for getting us all there.

I like to thank my Crew chief Edward for making it possible and getting me in the game.

I like to thank my incredible team mate Chris Prey. I learned so much from you! He has a incredible talent and hope for the best for his racing future. Maybe some day we can share a race car again!

Finally I'd like to thank my Boss for giving the time off work and for not firing me during the show like so many bosses did. Thanks Todd!

Thats all folks!

Now I'm just a spectator on the couch just like the rest of you!

[InkaSteve]

Hey Pedro,

I just watched the last session of Setup. Sorry to see that you got the boot. However, you really did a good job. You should be proud of yourself!!!! You're my hero!

Ditto......standing ovation here, you did all us 02ers proud. It is great getting the "back story" from you. We all know that there is a lot more that we get to see. Now waiting to see how the Canzone bros manage to finish. Michael Skeen is "scary" good.

enjoyed your part in it, looking forward to the rest.

[Guest Anonymous]

Excellent story. You should see if one of the magazines would do an article.

So when will you be back racing with VARA? The C sedan class is really going strong. We're getting 20+ cars at every race and at least 1/2 are BMW 2002's. The next race is next weekend at Willow Springs (big track). After that we're at Buttonwillow the 1st weekend of May.

Check out the VARA website at www.vararacing.com

Jeff

[TonyHavana]

Sorry to see you get the boot from the show. From what I could tell, you seemed to be doing pretty good week to week. Kudos to you for keeping it together.

But if there is a silver lining in your departure, it is this:

I won't have to watch that lousy show anymore.

That was one of the most disorganized, poorly edited, fake drama, piece o' shit shows I have ever seen.

It was impossible to follow, they at least could have painted the cars different colours, or even just the roof, so that viewers could differentiate drivers. Tommy Kendall should be embarrassed to be part of it.

Can't believe it actually made it into a second season.

Just my humble opinion of course

[bmw1602.com]

Excellent story. You should see if one of the magazines would do an article.

So when will you be back racing with VARA? The C sedan class is really going strong. We're getting 20+ cars at every race and at least 1/2 are BMW 2002's. The next race is next weekend at Willow Springs (big track). After that we're at Buttonwillow the 1st weekend of May.

Check out the VARA website at www.vararacing.com

Jeff

Aw man.....I'll be back as soon as I can......trying to put the car back together!

I'll miss british extravaganza due to me having to work a booth at bimmerfest in santa barbara.......I'm hoping to make oktoberfest......