Motorsports

Ending the Season at Sonoma

Ending the Season at Sonoma

This event marked our second attempt at the Sonoma 4-hour enduro, part of the NASA Western Endurance Racing Championship series (also known as WERC). Last year, we attempted to run this race with 2 cars (my ST4 Honda S2000 and Liam’s ST4 Honda Civic). Unfortunately, both cars had to retire early because of parts failures. I broke two differentials (my main and my spare) and Liam lost a gearbox.

Developing the new shop car

Developing the new shop car

If you follow us on social media, you know that we recently acquired a 2001 BMW 330i sedan. The car has already gone through some major transformation in the last couple of weeks. We're not sure where this car's origins are from exactly (it probably spent most of its life driving people to and from work, or the mall)…

Lotus Exige SpeedSF Challenge S2

Lotus Exige SpeedSF Challenge S2

Another SpeedSF Challenge time attack is in the books! The Exige returned to Laguna Seca on 6/17 to test the chassis changes, again competing in the S2 class. The winning time was a 1:39.7, besting a Porsche Cayman GT4 which took second place. Note that the lap shown is a 1:39.8 which could have been even faster if it were not for the need to pass an oversteering M3 just after the corkscrew.

1st and 6th in ST4 + 2nd in TT4: Round 5 of the 2018 NASA racing season

1st and 6th in ST4 + 2nd in TT4: Round 5 of the 2018 NASA racing season

July was a nice break month for us. With no racing on the calendar, we used that time to do a few things: Sourced (thanks, Graham) and began building another duplicate J32A2 engine with Supertech valve train (thanks, Martin), P2R fuel rails, and other performance goodies; Rebuilt a spare AP2 transmission with fresh OEM gears that we sent out for WPC coating treatment…

Lotus Exige Wins S2 Class, SpeedSF Challenge

Lotus Exige Wins S2 Class, SpeedSF Challenge

This past Saturday, the Exige returned to Sonoma Raceway for the SpeedSF Challenge time attack event in the "S2" class. The competition in this class includes cars such as the Porsche Cayman GT4, Chevy Corvette (C5 Z06 and C6 Z51), and highly modified Hondas and Subarus. This was the first outing with several changes to the Exige performed by Trackspec intended to help it be more competitive without compromising the ability to drive it on the street with a full interior and air conditioning.

Podium Finish and a new PB!

Podium Finish and a new PB!

This past weekend (May 19-20, 2018) marked the third round of racing scheduled for this year’s NASA Pro Racing Super Touring championship series here in Northern California. I was thrilled to return with the team to Sonoma, because it’s close to the shop and it also happens to be one of my favorite tracks to drive at (I love the complexity, the narrowness of the walls, and the overall rhythm).

Irene Re-Refresh: Round Two

Irene Re-Refresh: Round Two

We left off in March after having just picked up our new (to us) J32A2 engine, and as promised we've been busy getting it ready for the demanding rigors of race conditions. We were thrilled to receive high-performance valves, springs, and retainers from my partners at Supertech Performance in order to do just that. These awesome parts allow us to rev the J32A2 engine well beyond it's OEM redline limitations, but safely.