Where do I begin? First off, I guess I have to say that the autox crowd is full of incredibly helpful folks. Everyone is willing to lend a tool, a hand, or a safe place to park. Some, will even offer a trailer or a tow to a comrade in need.

And was I ever in need! It was run 2 on the 19th — you know, the massive screamer SPDA course — and I was entering the final third of the course, starting to accelerate out of the right hand carousel turn, when there was a bang and a dragging, followed by smoke out of Ginger’s right front wheel well. My heart sank, but I thought… it’s a flat. I was right, but only partially…

Course Map

Turns out, one of the bolts holding the caliper mounting bracket had come loose and the other had sheared off, allowing the caliper to wedge itself into the rim, gouging and puncturing it, which caused the loss of pressure. Brake fluid was dripping and everything was very, very hot. Eventually, with the help of the marshalls and the SPDA organizer group, as well as a donated ziptie, we got the spare on, and Ginger drove off the course under her own power.

Back in the paddock, it seemed the situation could be resolved with a couple of new bolts, but alas, every shop from Belleville to Kingston could get all the callipers you could ever need on Monday. Rob, seeing I only had one complete run, let me take his sweet NA out. My head was messed, I spun twice, thanked him and said, “No more driving for me.”

So, Ginger spent the night at the airfield under the watchful eye of the security guards and we hatched a towing plan to get her back home. Ralf, the fantastic service manager at Carling Avenue Canadian Tire and amazing driver, was central to this plan. He was coming the next day with Bill R’s Toyota MR1.5 on Bill’s trailer. He immediately agreed to tow Ginger home if we could line-up a trailer.

U-Haul was the first try, but their hours of operation would wreck Ralf’s day of autox. That’s where the Brunner clan comes in: they had a big trailer and no car. That meant they could take Bill’s car and let Ralf and I use Bill’s trailer. This let me drive with a somewhat clear head, which was good as I was driving the MR1.5 and could barely reach the controls when at speed. Thank you, Bill. I’m sorry I wasn’t all there, but the chance to drive it was greatly appreciated.

The day wrapped up and we confronted the next challenge: get a low-clearance miata onto the very high trailer. Again, another autoxer came to the rescue with some extra long ramps. The drive home was smooth, interrupted by dinner and a coffee/gas stop, both of which were characterized by great conversations and laughs.

We eventually got to my place and used the slope in the road to unload Ginger with the standard short-ramps. Ralf drove her neatly into the garage so I could start work at my leisure and then took the trailer to a storage point before continuing his journey to Wendover. I call him Saint-Ralf now.

With me through it all, good ol’ condor888000.

Damage Assessment:
- 15×9 bronze rim – done, replacement ordered
- front caliper — survived
- uppper control arm — done, replacement to be installed
- SS brake line — survived

Luckily, my work agenda was free on Monday and I was able to take the day off, get the car assembled enough to go to Ralf at CT Carling and, with the use of my parents’ Vera Cruz, get Bill’s trailer to him in Gananoque.

Overall:
I love skiing, but I hate most skiers. I love autox and love most autoxers.