d walker

Thats right racefans, we are bringing out the ole RX-8's to do battle once again. We will run two 30 minute sprint races back to back (yes, we will need fuel!) on Saturday April 28 and a 50minute "Main" on Sunday April 29.

Tommy Boileau, third generation SCCA National Champion will make his Pro Racing debut in the GRID-1 Motorsports Mazda RX8. I put Tommy in the car last weekend at a NASA event at PPIR and was very pleased with his performance.

JD Mobley, former Volkswagon Factory Driver in the Scirroco R Cup in Europe makes his stateside return to Pro Racing in the second GRID-1 Motorsports Mazda RX8. JD is an exceptional young driver and also ran one of my cars last weekend at PPIR.

I was so impressed by these two young men and their performance in my cars I made them a deal- come up with the expenses- tires, fuel, and entry fees and I would put them in the cars for Miller. Well they did what any motivated young red-blooded American youth would do- they worked their asses off to find the funding and with less than a week since the offer they are both in. Its going to be so awesome to see the 8's back on track and it makes it even better that these are two exceptional local drivers busting *** to make it happen. Both of these young men have what it takes to run and finish up front, so wish them well!

If your in the area, come on by and check out the race, otherwise you can watch it LIVE on the internet at world-challengetv.com

Almost forgot- new livery for 2012!

G_ man

iTrader: (2)

Very cool and good luck to you and your team.
Make us RX-8 lovers proud and please post your results

ULLLOSE

iTrader: (1)

I didn't know Tommy actually won the Runoffs... What class and year is he the Champion of?

d walker

Have to ask him or his Dad, I just saw National Champion on his jacket. I think he won in the S2000?

ULLLOSE

iTrader: (1)

Just looked it up... His dad won in with the S2K 2009. The year Tommy ran the S2K, 2010, he was 11th. Must have been wearing his dads jacket.

d walker

Looks like Tommy was National Points Champion in T3 with the S2000, and was favored in Sportscar to win the Runoffs but just had a crap race in the rain I guess. In FV he was moving up the pack when the third place car grenaded its engine and dumped its oil on the track, causing Tommy to end up in a tire barrier with a broken front beam. Tough luck I guess... Anyway, not bad for an 18 year old kid..

d walker

JD is 4th fastest in practice on very used tires. Tommy right behind him. Looking great for qualifying.

bose

iTrader: (5)

I'll be there in person, can't wait.

olddragger

iTrader: (3)

sweet--since I am prepping my car for the next w/e at Roebling Road--we will have 8 rx8's on track at the same time, --i wont be able to get to The Mitty at Road Atlanta. This will be a great substitute.
Thanks for the heads up and good luck to all. That was generous of you to do.

Spin9k

Sounds like a lot of fun - and work - good luck to all.

d walker

JD Qualified 5th. We had pole position for a good portion of the session, then got bumped midway through. We brought JD in and waited for the last 5 minutes to make a hot lap. Unfortunately just as JD went out the Honda of Shea Holbrook pulled off course and caused a local yellow, preventing us from putting in the fast lap we know the car had.
Tommy did not have a good qualifying session at all, but will do better in the race.

Cheers!

olddragger

iTrader: (3)

I like traffic anyway. It then becomes a thinking mans game. It aint about the qualifying time. Although that is nice.

d walker

Tough, tough weekendfor the GRID-1 crew at Miller Motorsports Park with J,D. Mobley and Tommy Boileau in the Mazda RX-8's. Things went well in the first practices with competitive times being turned in by both drivers. The troubles began during tech inspection after qualifying on Friday. JDs #97 RX-8 was on the scales and found that the exhaust was just barely low. Also, there was concern that as low as the fuel would have to be at the end of the race, we would be underweight. Saturday morning we added 50 lbs to the #97 car, scaled it and went out on the track for the first race. Since JD was late to grid we had to start him from the back of the field while Tommy started from his qualifying position. JD cut through traffic and made his way to fourth by race end, and tommy finished 9th. Since the RX-8 cannt make 60 race minutes on a tank of fuel, we had to add 6 gallons of fuel between races. Retaking the grid, JD started 4th and finished 5th. During the race he made a terrific last-lap pass on Shea Holbrook but on corner exit went to power a bit early and skated off the track. Four wheels in the dirt and back on, he continued on to the checkered. Unfortunately, that trip off-road caused the already barely legal exhaust to drop a bit too low, and we were DQ'ed at tech. Rats!
Spent the night and the next morning raising the cars and setting them both back up. Once again, because we were setting up JD's car we were late to grid and started from pit lane. JD launched out of the pit lane and passed all of the B-spec cars on the first lap. He was closing in on the touring cars quickly when the gearbox lost 3rd and 4th gears, and we were forced to retire. Tommy drove a great race and really did a great job for his first Pro weekend.
Just a tough weekend, but we will get it sorted out and be back stronger than ever!

sblethen

iTrader: (3)

I didn't get to watch live story to hear about the busy weekend! Are they going to drive for you again? You also mentioned they came up with the costs... Feel free to post a shameless plugs for any sponsers we can support! Any I'm car video? Let us know when the next event is!

Stephen

d walker

Sponsors for the drivers and cars this weekend were iTraycer, an app for use in the medical field ( http://www.itraycer.com ) Pikes Peak International Raceway ( PPIR.COM ), GOOPY Performance ( goopyperformance.com ), and a local water bottling company that I do not have the name of right offhand, but will post as soon as I have it.
For the #98 car I assembled a nice fresh Renny using GOOPY Apex Seals and it was installed installed the night before we left for the race. As always with the GOOPY Seals, break-in was almost instant and the car pulled hard all weekend. In fact, it was 2-3mph faster than the #97 car. If you have to freshen a Renny I highly recommend the GOOPY Seals and will be glad to perform reasonably priced rebuilds for anyone interested using GOOPY parts.

I also want to put a special shout-out to Racing Beat. The RB race flash we use is flawless and simply cannot be beat. The cars run perfectly with incredible throttle response and make absolutely predictable power. Working in perfect harmony with our custom exhaust and intakes, there is no need to constantly worry about the "tune" and allows us to concentrate on whats important- turning corners. Keep in mind that this weekend we ran two 30 minute races back to back and were not allowed to open the hood or touch anything beyond adding fuel. Neither car overheated or had any other issues we have noted from other teams and cars in the past. Racing beat doesnt pay me anything and I have never bought much from them beyond a few flanges and these flashes,, but I will tell you right now that if you are looking to track an RX-8 using the stock ECU forget the AP or any other "tuning" solution and just drop the RB flash in, get a proper header/exhaust/ and intake and go racing.

Edit- Also Stephen the races are available on-demand at world-challengetv.com.
Race 1&2 http://world-challengetv.com/#/races/457
Race 3- http://world-challengetv.com/#/races/455

sblethen

iTrader: (3)

We run the RB flash as well. No issues at all, and most that are racing them also agree that it is the best CONSISTANT and reliable thing going!

Are you guys going to Grand-Am in NJ? If so I would love to catch up. We are running in the SCCA support race that weekend.

I think you are located out of the South East ??

When you are racing up in the North East please PM me so I can try to attend an event!

Stephen

Spin9k

Watching the link above "races 1&2"

.... I'm not familiar with these series so can you fill me in on...

...how is the Civic Si beating a MS 3? (but it did win!!)
...how is the RX-8 not competitive with either?

rules? weight added? tires? is the 8 really that slow .. even with the RB Flash?

d walker

Well thats a lot to answer-

The Honda beats the MS3 because it is allowed to be very light (2750lbs) and has good power (240-260whp) and it has good drivers- Todd Lamb being one of them. The VW is much faster but they had not had the driver in one yet to show it. Jan Heylen came out on VW's dime for the weekend to help evaluate the car and showed the VW's speed, laying down a blistering 1:38, which was a full second fater than his nearest competitor.. The thing has just too much power and not enough weight. It is allowed 26psi of boost and makes better than 280whp. Its a rocket in a straight line but can hardly turn.

The MS3 lost the first race because he overdrove the car and burned the tires off. His crew put two new tires on for the second race, which is a major point of contention, and he was able to win the second race since everyone else was on old tires. This is a point of contention because we were told that we could not touch the cars at all other than tire pressures, give the driver some water, and get back in line. The only exceptions were our cars, as we were allowed to refuel the cars and get them back to grid. One thing about the MS3 is that I dont think they are particularly smart guys, because they consistently allow the car to run away from the field and show just how much faster it really is. This is going to give the other teams ammo to use when asking for the car to be slowed down. Even if you are really that fast, why show it? Just an observation.

The RX-8 is still competetive for the most part. It would be nice if they allowed us a 50lb weight break etc. but honestly its not likely. With this the last year of production there is little incentive for changes to keep the car competitive and will be less backing from Mazda.

In race 1&2 we were not setup for cool track conditions and so were not able to run the pace we needed to until the end of the second race when the track etc. was finally warming. Our last three laps of the second race were our fastest, in the 1:39's for JD. This was Tommys first Pro race and was a learning weekend for him. He was also running a Formula F for the weekend and that did not help his concentration on the one car at all. He also had a major spin from exit onto the front straight almost half its length and spent some time working his way back from that.

The one thing about road racing at this level is precision in the setup and how the driver can work with it. This is exceptionally close racing, so the slightest disadvantage is a huge give-away. We were definitely setup for warmer temps in regard to tire pressures, shock settings, etc.

Regardless of all that however, realize that JD started 13th and finished 4th in a 30 minute sprint race. Thats just awesome and shows this young mans speed.

In the 3rd race he was very happy with the car and we were making major gains on the field when we lost 3rd and 4th, which happen to be the only two gears we actually use on that track.

d walker

Stephen we are in Denver. I doubt I will run any GA races this year as I have little to no interest in the series or replacing my car when a cash driver smashes into it after running out of talent. We have removed the GA fuel system completely and would have to refit the cars quite a bit. The exception is the Challenger, which we might run in GS if someone ponies up the cash.

Spin9k

I see. Ok, help me out here. Honda says the car has 201hp. What is allowed to get it to 240-260 RWH? That's a 20+% HP increase, not even accounting for the fact it's rear wheels HP, so in reality (RWH) that's a 40+% increase? WTH?

I didn't follow the VW, but 26psi boost? What's stocK boost?

For the RX-8 what tires were you running? And what were other faster running for 'cool' tires? What's the difference between, other than tires, for what you might have setup for for cool vs hot conditions?

I'm just asking because, besides my jaw dropping in disbelief, I'd like to know for my own setup. I'm just so in shock as I watched a Honda 'almost' win, and the MS3 thankfully break thru and be off to the final win. It took a while, but once he got past, over and out! I guess your car had a hard time coming back up thru the field, that sucks eggs, but at least he got by most of the field in a short race. Good experience, maybe fun, but no cigar. I agree 30 min is almost no time at all, just like a HPDE session. Wowsa!

d walker

The Honda uses a specific engine combination as the CAMA motor the 2012 Civic comes equipped with will not make sufficient power. You would have to check its VTS sheet for details but I believe they are allowed more or less a forged rotating assembly, a twin cam head, etc which allows them to make the power.

I believe stock boost is 12-14psi for the VW.

The biggest difference was the starting tire pressures. Tire pressure grows a specific amount based on heat etc. and we started too low. Other cool track settings might include changes to camber, toe, sway bars and shock compression/rebound settings. The 8's (at least my 8's) are sensitive to track temperature and will push on a cold day, so we have a specific setup for cool weather. Unfortunately, we setup for a warm day and the weather stayed cool.

The Honda was driven by Todd Lamb, who is a hell of a driver and fully capable of winning in pretty much anything he sits in. The MS3 driver is a newcomer who is talented but we will see as the season gets on. Honestly, the MS3 has so much power that if he doesnt win it is an embarrassment.

sblethen

iTrader: (3)

I would say that is a cigar!! I know D Walker didn't say it but going through the feild back up to 4th is as good if not better then a win (Just less money and no trophy) But honestly that is a Hell of a great drive!!! Remember these cars are set up by WC to be equal on track ( I know that isn't always perfect but that is the goal) Being able to catch and pass that many people in this level of racing means that the TEAM has a lot going for them... a good driver, and a good car with good prep/set-up.

I think 4th on its own is quite an accomplishment at that level let alone the challenges to get to 4th. congrats on what I would call a good weekend!

Stephen

PS: 30 min sprint races are awesome as a driver and spectator.