Well, unfortunately they say that racing luck has to end sometime, and my lucky streak of no major mechanical issues (since Texas in March of 2005) came to an end this weekend. Unfortunately we had a material failure in the engine that caused a 'dropped valve' and destroyed my engine while I had about a 6-8 second lead on the competition. Too bad - but "that's racing" - and at leat i got a few nice days with my wife in Tremblant!
It was a beautiful weekend in the Laurentian mountains of Quebec, with my wife in attendance. The car was running well and I qualified ahead of the only other Spec E36 car in attendance (co-driven by Fred deNapoli and John Cloutier). In the Friday "fun" race I was 2 seconds per lap ahead of Fred and won handily. Unfortunately, he also slipped in some oil at the end of turn 10 and hit the wall all by himself - just one of those "racing incidents".
John was in the other Spec E36 for Saturday's qualifying and race. I qualified about 2 seconds and 4 places faster than him, but by turn 4 he was right behind me and as I got a bit blocked by a slower car he was able to motor by me going into turn 7. He overcooked the turn though, and went off into the grass - he kept his foot in it and actually came back onto the track ahead of me since I had had to take a wide line and evasive action! Here’s a quick video of the first three laps of the Saturday feature sprint at Tremblant this weekend. I am the camera car and John Cloutier is in the white #214 Spec E36 car.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W810IV2btvo
In the first three laps you will see about 4 lead changes between us, one off-track excursion, one *lurid* slide over the hill at turns 1 & 2 (pucker factor!) and a ton of fun. This is what Spec E36 is all about – imagine what it will be like at the Glen with 6+ cars on the track at once!!
After John fell behind the KP and IS cars, I managed to pull out a gap of about a second per lap, until my motor let go with about a 6-8 second lead. I was able to finish the race on 5 cylinders but finished almost last as I had zero acceleration. Once we found out we had basically zero compression in the #4 cylinder, we packed up the car and headed home. I've already located a new engine and will have it back in the car for the Glen. Congrats to John on the wins - but I have the class record and will really look forward to racing him in the future!
Showing posts with label car build. Show all posts
Showing posts with label car build. Show all posts
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Calabogie Race Summary
Wow. All I can say is WOW - Calabogie Motorsports Park is amazing. It's a brand new track in Ontario, about 1.5 hours west of Ottawa, in the middle of nowhere. An incredible 3 mile track with 22 turns - it's very technical and FUN. Since it's hours from everywhere and about 3-4 hours from the American border, we decided not to run a RaceFAAN event. But I did well and even though I didn't have any in-class competition, I held up the Spec E36 banner and flew the RaceFAAN flag high.
Friday was a torrential rain storm - we're now 3 for 3 in rain events this year! Interestingly, it's a new track with a high-tech asphalt surface so it provided tons of wet grip - and the rain line is the same as the dry line! (for now...) Practice was good and i was able to pick up the track quickly, so that by the time race 1 came around I was ready to run. All weekend long the car ran beautifully, and I was able to feel how the car ran in different conditions. However, the Spec E36 tires were slippery and unpredictable, so I did a bit of off-roading at different times. More than 5 people came to me after the races and said "man, it looks like you're having fun out there!" And I was - just trying to keep it on the track. It turned out to be an almost incident-free weekend - as a racer I can tell you there's nothing better than rolling your car back onto the trailer after a race weekend with no damage.
So I came away from the weekend safe and sound with three (unopposed) class wins, but with a real desire to understand whether everyone in Spec E36 was having these issues or just me. Stay tuned!!
Many thnaks to Louis Payant from the Ottawa chapter who championed this race and made sure we could put on this event. Without him, it would never have happened. Also, thanks to the steards who volunteered their time!!
Friday was a torrential rain storm - we're now 3 for 3 in rain events this year! Interestingly, it's a new track with a high-tech asphalt surface so it provided tons of wet grip - and the rain line is the same as the dry line! (for now...) Practice was good and i was able to pick up the track quickly, so that by the time race 1 came around I was ready to run. All weekend long the car ran beautifully, and I was able to feel how the car ran in different conditions. However, the Spec E36 tires were slippery and unpredictable, so I did a bit of off-roading at different times. More than 5 people came to me after the races and said "man, it looks like you're having fun out there!" And I was - just trying to keep it on the track. It turned out to be an almost incident-free weekend - as a racer I can tell you there's nothing better than rolling your car back onto the trailer after a race weekend with no damage.
So I came away from the weekend safe and sound with three (unopposed) class wins, but with a real desire to understand whether everyone in Spec E36 was having these issues or just me. Stay tuned!!
Many thnaks to Louis Payant from the Ottawa chapter who championed this race and made sure we could put on this event. Without him, it would never have happened. Also, thanks to the steards who volunteered their time!!
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Lime Rock race summary
Wow - what an amazing experience. Not only was it a successful race weekend, but it was incredibly gratifying to have so many wonderful families come out for the race to cheer us on and contribute to FAAN. We had more than 50 people come to the event - a pretty incredible turnout! And all of the kids (28 or so of them) had a great time meeting the race drivers, seeing the races and actually getting rides in the race cars around the track. We also raised over $1500 for FAAN! Special thanks to HMS Motorsport, UUC Motorwerks, Turner Motorsport, VAC Motorsports and the TireRack for their generous prize contributions. I was very proud to fly the FAAN flag, that's for sure.
The race weekend was a success, with the #2 car coming away with all three class wins, and the fast lap of the weekend in Spec E36. There were three cars competing in class (30 in my race group), and in the torrential downpours on Monday I wasn't holding out a lot of hope. I raced "my race" and stayed ahead of one of my Spec E36 competitors (Tim Smith) while the other Spec E36 car (John Cloutier) checked out. Unfortunately for John, he got hit going into turn 1 and couldn't finish the race, so I held on to my position ahead of Tim and ended up first in class.
Tuesday morning dawned as a beautiful dry day, and in race 2 I turned around an 11th place starting position, emerging in 5th place overall after turn 1 and 4th place overall at the end of the first lap. I ended up finishing in 3rd overall, with a 1/2 second better lap time than John and a few seconds better than Tim. It was Tim's first time at Lime Rock though - next time he'll be faster.
Just when it looked like we'd get away with a nice day, the storm clouds rolled in about 1 hour before the afternoon feature race and it started pouring buckets with fierce rain. I'd guess that an inch of rain fell in about 30 minutes, and just as soon as it was there it was gone, leaving us with a drying track and iffy weather. I went out on a wet setup to be safe, but looking around the grid it was clear that almost everyone was on slicks. At the start, my treaded Yokohama tires performed amazingly, and I was in the overall race lead going into turn 1! By the time lap one was done I had about a 3-4 second gap on the field. I could absolutely hear and feel all of the kids and their families cheering for me each time I went past start-finish in the lead. However, as the track dried my tires overheated, and the field came back to me. After about 10 laps I was caught and couldn't do anything - I was sliding all over the place. As my friend Eric came up to try to pass me in his beautiful J-stock M3 painted in Gulf colors, he misjudged how slippery the inside passing line was and he hit me in the right rear corner, and we both pirouetted off the track. Luckily we both were able to drive through the mud and back on track, but it was a close call for sure. I finished in 4th overall, completing a class sweep for Spec E36 for the weekend. Muddy but safe.
When I came back into the pits with the car covered in mud, I was surrounded by all of the families that had come for the RaceFAAN event. We all had a nice time talking about safety and managing risk and food allergies, and the kids all had a chance to climb into the race car and make "vroom vroom" noises. Then one of the parents suggested that all of the kids help "wash off" the mud, so everyone grabbed a rag and made the car sparkle. We all took some nice pictures, and then it was time to have everyone get rides in the race cars. Lots of race drivers and instructors had volunteered to put in passenger seats to get rides for the kids. Everone who wanted a ride got one - it was amazing!! I will upload some great pictures - this was a really fun and gratifying portion of the event. At the end of the day, some kids even asked me and some of the other race drivers to sign their t-shirts - it was a fantastic experience.
I hope that all of the families came away with a great memory of the event. I got so many nice comments from then afterwards - one parent wrote:
"I am sure that you know as a parent of food allergic children, [my son] is always seperated from the other kids, he always has something different to eat than the others but this is the first time that [he] has been singled out in a positive way because of his food allergies. It was very meaningful to all of us, an we want you to know how very grateful we are that there are such good people out there looking out to brighten the lives of some kids who don't have it so easy."
I couldn't agree more and it felt so wonderful to be a part of this event. I am really looking forward to the Watkins Glen event - it should be fantastic!!
The race weekend was a success, with the #2 car coming away with all three class wins, and the fast lap of the weekend in Spec E36. There were three cars competing in class (30 in my race group), and in the torrential downpours on Monday I wasn't holding out a lot of hope. I raced "my race" and stayed ahead of one of my Spec E36 competitors (Tim Smith) while the other Spec E36 car (John Cloutier) checked out. Unfortunately for John, he got hit going into turn 1 and couldn't finish the race, so I held on to my position ahead of Tim and ended up first in class.
Tuesday morning dawned as a beautiful dry day, and in race 2 I turned around an 11th place starting position, emerging in 5th place overall after turn 1 and 4th place overall at the end of the first lap. I ended up finishing in 3rd overall, with a 1/2 second better lap time than John and a few seconds better than Tim. It was Tim's first time at Lime Rock though - next time he'll be faster.
Just when it looked like we'd get away with a nice day, the storm clouds rolled in about 1 hour before the afternoon feature race and it started pouring buckets with fierce rain. I'd guess that an inch of rain fell in about 30 minutes, and just as soon as it was there it was gone, leaving us with a drying track and iffy weather. I went out on a wet setup to be safe, but looking around the grid it was clear that almost everyone was on slicks. At the start, my treaded Yokohama tires performed amazingly, and I was in the overall race lead going into turn 1! By the time lap one was done I had about a 3-4 second gap on the field. I could absolutely hear and feel all of the kids and their families cheering for me each time I went past start-finish in the lead. However, as the track dried my tires overheated, and the field came back to me. After about 10 laps I was caught and couldn't do anything - I was sliding all over the place. As my friend Eric came up to try to pass me in his beautiful J-stock M3 painted in Gulf colors, he misjudged how slippery the inside passing line was and he hit me in the right rear corner, and we both pirouetted off the track. Luckily we both were able to drive through the mud and back on track, but it was a close call for sure. I finished in 4th overall, completing a class sweep for Spec E36 for the weekend. Muddy but safe.
When I came back into the pits with the car covered in mud, I was surrounded by all of the families that had come for the RaceFAAN event. We all had a nice time talking about safety and managing risk and food allergies, and the kids all had a chance to climb into the race car and make "vroom vroom" noises. Then one of the parents suggested that all of the kids help "wash off" the mud, so everyone grabbed a rag and made the car sparkle. We all took some nice pictures, and then it was time to have everyone get rides in the race cars. Lots of race drivers and instructors had volunteered to put in passenger seats to get rides for the kids. Everone who wanted a ride got one - it was amazing!! I will upload some great pictures - this was a really fun and gratifying portion of the event. At the end of the day, some kids even asked me and some of the other race drivers to sign their t-shirts - it was a fantastic experience.
I hope that all of the families came away with a great memory of the event. I got so many nice comments from then afterwards - one parent wrote:
"I am sure that you know as a parent of food allergic children, [my son] is always seperated from the other kids, he always has something different to eat than the others but this is the first time that [he] has been singled out in a positive way because of his food allergies. It was very meaningful to all of us, an we want you to know how very grateful we are that there are such good people out there looking out to brighten the lives of some kids who don't have it so easy."
I couldn't agree more and it felt so wonderful to be a part of this event. I am really looking forward to the Watkins Glen event - it should be fantastic!!
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
More pictures from VIR!
Here are some action pictures from the VIR race...
Beautiful weather on Friday and Saturday....
Beautiful weather on Friday and Saturday....
And in the pouring rain on Sunday:
Thursday, February 15, 2007
About BMW CCA Club Racing and Spec E36
About BMW CCA Club Racing
The racing organization I compete in is called BMW CCA Club Racing. It is affiliated with the BMW Car Club of America (the BMW CCA). Since 1995, BMW CCA Club Racing has grown from only a few events per year to over 40 events held all over the country, with more than a dozen classes of cars to ensure that every BMW has a place to race. The club racing website is located at www.bmwccaclubracing.com - I have also been the webmaster for the last three years so please enjoy the website, and if you don't, be gentle!
One of the best things about BMW CCA Club Racing is that it operates under the "13/13 rule of vintage racing." This is a set of rules that severly discourage reckless racing behavior by placing severe penalties on anyone who causes damage to their car or others. BMW CCA Club Racing attracts the type of drivers who are competitive and enjoy racing, but who do not have a "win at all costs" attitude that causes so many racing wrecks to happen. I love this club racign organization because there's great, tough competition but you don't have to repair the bodywork after every race! The people are great and you will always find racers in the paddock helping other racers - even their closest competitors. At the end of the day it's really fun to race against good people, and to have some good food and beer as well.
BMW CCA Club Racing holds races all over the country, and BMW race cars from all different eras with different engines and speeds are competing on the track at the same time. There can be a real difference between the fastest and the slowest cars on the track -it's a lot of fun to watch. What that means is that you're really competing against the people in your "class" - there may be 60 cars in the race but you're only competing against the 5 others that are in the same class as you, with similarly prepared cars. There are many levels of preparation to choose from, with "stock" classes being the least changed from their street car origins, "prepared" cars allowed some more modifications, and "modified" cars that may be completely changed from their street car roots, inside and out. There are also "super modified" cars which were typically factory-built race cars that are now competing at the club level, and the new "Spec E36" class that I am entering.
About Spec E36
Spec E36 is a new class in BMW CCA Club Racing for 2007. A “Spec” series means that everyone has virtually the same car, so the driver becomes a much more important part of the competitive picture. Since everone has mostly the same car, tires, engine, suspension, brakes, etc., it becomes less of a "spend more go faster" class and more of a close competition with focus on the racecraft of the drivers. "E36" is the model designation for the BMW 3-series that was built between 1992 and 1998, so all of the cars will have the same basic chassis with only slight differences. I'm really looking forward to it and I think that this could become the biggest classes in club racing within the next few years.
- My donor car: 1993 BMW 325is
- HP / weight: Est. 200 hp / 2760 lbs (with driver)
- Engine modifications: No modifications allowed
- Suspension, brakes & tires: Defined spec for all cars in class – all cars have the same shocks, springs, swaybars, brakes and tires
- Interior: Gutted interior, Full 6-point roll cage, fire system
Specific rules for the race series and the Spec E36 class are located here, on the club racing website.
The racing organization I compete in is called BMW CCA Club Racing. It is affiliated with the BMW Car Club of America (the BMW CCA). Since 1995, BMW CCA Club Racing has grown from only a few events per year to over 40 events held all over the country, with more than a dozen classes of cars to ensure that every BMW has a place to race. The club racing website is located at www.bmwccaclubracing.com - I have also been the webmaster for the last three years so please enjoy the website, and if you don't, be gentle!
One of the best things about BMW CCA Club Racing is that it operates under the "13/13 rule of vintage racing." This is a set of rules that severly discourage reckless racing behavior by placing severe penalties on anyone who causes damage to their car or others. BMW CCA Club Racing attracts the type of drivers who are competitive and enjoy racing, but who do not have a "win at all costs" attitude that causes so many racing wrecks to happen. I love this club racign organization because there's great, tough competition but you don't have to repair the bodywork after every race! The people are great and you will always find racers in the paddock helping other racers - even their closest competitors. At the end of the day it's really fun to race against good people, and to have some good food and beer as well.
BMW CCA Club Racing holds races all over the country, and BMW race cars from all different eras with different engines and speeds are competing on the track at the same time. There can be a real difference between the fastest and the slowest cars on the track -it's a lot of fun to watch. What that means is that you're really competing against the people in your "class" - there may be 60 cars in the race but you're only competing against the 5 others that are in the same class as you, with similarly prepared cars. There are many levels of preparation to choose from, with "stock" classes being the least changed from their street car origins, "prepared" cars allowed some more modifications, and "modified" cars that may be completely changed from their street car roots, inside and out. There are also "super modified" cars which were typically factory-built race cars that are now competing at the club level, and the new "Spec E36" class that I am entering.
About Spec E36
Spec E36 is a new class in BMW CCA Club Racing for 2007. A “Spec” series means that everyone has virtually the same car, so the driver becomes a much more important part of the competitive picture. Since everone has mostly the same car, tires, engine, suspension, brakes, etc., it becomes less of a "spend more go faster" class and more of a close competition with focus on the racecraft of the drivers. "E36" is the model designation for the BMW 3-series that was built between 1992 and 1998, so all of the cars will have the same basic chassis with only slight differences. I'm really looking forward to it and I think that this could become the biggest classes in club racing within the next few years.
- My donor car: 1993 BMW 325is
- HP / weight: Est. 200 hp / 2760 lbs (with driver)
- Engine modifications: No modifications allowed
- Suspension, brakes & tires: Defined spec for all cars in class – all cars have the same shocks, springs, swaybars, brakes and tires
- Interior: Gutted interior, Full 6-point roll cage, fire system
Specific rules for the race series and the Spec E36 class are located here, on the club racing website.
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Captain America?
The car is painted!! Thank you to Phil Sansossio of Sansossio Auto Body in Natick, MA! It looks amazing and is ready to be towed over to Landshark Automotive to be built into a race car. Here are a couple of pictures as it's in Phil's yard. The reason that it looks so high off the ground is that it is so light - there is no engine, no interior or anything so the stock springs are lifting the car way off the ground. Once the Spec E36 racing suspension is on the car and the engine is back in, the car will be back to a normal racing ride height of about 6"-7" off the ground.
The last one is a picture of the car at Landshark, ready for assembly... We've got a lot of work to do! Thanks in advance to Lenny & Dimitri at Landshark - they do great work.
Thursday, November 2, 2006
Destruction
Here's a quick picture or two of the car being disassembled in my garage before getting sent to HMS Motorsport to have the roll cage installed. A pretty messy job! Luckily Phil from Sansossio Auto Body lent a hand, as did Peter Bergwall and Eric and Beth Heinrich. Great friends and the car was reduced to a messy shell and my garage was filled with parts that were once part of a proud BMW. After using a heat gun to remove the sound deadening and some PB Blaster to get rid of the remaining adhesive, the car was ready to go.
Wednesday, November 1, 2006
Spec E36 - Donor car is here!
Many thanks to Jeff Paulk at HMS Motorsport for agreeing to sell me his car for very short money. This is a great donor car, has never been in an accident with all original body panels.
Although you can see some rust on the front right fender, it's just cosmetic and a new fender will fix it. The important thing is the car is straight and in good running order. And you can't beat the price - thanks Jeff!!Now it's time to strip the car to the bare chassis and have Seb Rochon from www.Bimmerparts.ca install the roll cage and reinforce the subframes and other known failure points! I'll post pictures of that later.
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