Unfortunately not... the calendar just didn't permit it this year.

-Bern

 

True, however they held off the Dison Porsche's and infact pulled away from them on the straits.

Overall a impressive performance for the BK team at Mosport. Good to see them turning things around.

 

I dont think the lap times are solely due to engine power. I do believe the engine is powerful enough to keep up. I think the Lola is not quite the handling car the Porsche is yet and I think they are still at a disadvantage with the Kumho rubber...as impressive as it has been so far, its still not quite a Michelin. I can only imagine what the car might be doing on Michelin rubber.

At the beginning of the race Jamie was being held up pretty significantly by Jon Field in the Intersport car. The P1 car would pull away from Jamie on the straight and hold him up through the turns. It made it really hard to get by and when he finally did, he pulled away from Field.

The car has the potential. Its not quite there yet and I dont think anyone is going to touch Penske for the most part. Not even the other Spyders on track seem to have what Penske has. However, with a bit of luck and things going their way, they showed they can finish respectably and I think they are there to contest the Dyson cars and the slower of the Acuras.

 

One thing I noticed about BK when they were in Houston was that they don't drive as agressively or take as many passing risks as the other teams do. I can only suspect this is due to a lower budget should they mess something up. The car itself seems competitive. The rest seems to be driving style.

 

I agree. In fact, one of the announcers on Speed even said that the B-K car has one of the strongest engines in the field (when it is working). I bet the tires are the weakest link.

I have big expectations for Detroit

 

This is a known quantity and is being worked on, but like Shooter says, the Kumhos are just not there yet... with equal rubber the Mazda would be a lot closer in race lap times then the current times. The positive is that the team is now coming to a point where the tires are now evident as an issue.

-Bern

 

There is another race coming this weekend, I am now looking forward to it. I havent followed the Mazda Lola for a while, however I tuned in the last race by accident. They did great and I hope they can continue.

Just my view on what I saw on TV, I think the engine power is on par if not above the leading porsches, they definitely have better low end with the turbo, all the other cars are NA, but they dont gain on the mazda on the straights either.

Going into a turn they'd lose a little time mostly due to rubber, drivers or safe driving (tight budget as RG mentioned) IMO, but they accelerate very quick out of the turn to make up for it.
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Dream live

 

Hey guys, I know it's been an up and down affair between us and the LMP2 car, but seeing as they had a good run last weekend, I thought I would pass along this link I just found. It's a general MAZDASPEED video, but it shows some nice shots of the B-K Lola (as well as some others, like the Grand Am cars)

http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/disp...mazdaSpeedMain

Anyone recognize the people in the video, are they actors... or actual drivers and techs?

michael

 

Yes, they are all Mazda team drivers and techs.

-Bern

 

The only one I recognized was Randy Pobst

 

haha, same here

friday practice finished for the BK/Mazda team, they're last in the P2 class and 4 seconds behind the fastest. Just giving an update, I know practice times don't mean much.

Anyways, about speedsource, i guess their season is over now?. Do any of you have news on how many customer cars they're building? and for whom. Although I don't expect news on this would surface before winter testing.

Also I really feel that Mazda should restart R+D and production of PP race motors. If they could develop a DI aluminum 3-rotor, it'd help SS (+ future customers) lower the weight of their cars as well. Or let MNAO do it, with the help of Speedsource.
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YELDING cam

 

7 seconds begind the fastest lmp2

Friday's qualifying results
1. Sascha Maassen, Germany; Ryan Briscoe, Australia; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:13.357, 104.28
2. Romain Dumas, France; Timo Bernhard, Germany; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:13.603, 103.94
3. Marino Franchitti, Scotland; Bryan Herta, Valencia, CA; Acura/ARX-01a (P2), 1:13.768, 103.70
4. Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Guy Smith, England; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:13.983, 103.40
5. Stefan Johansson, Sweden; David Brabham, Australia; Acura/ARX-01a (P2), 1:14.010, 103.36
6. Luis Diaz, Mexico; Adrian Fernandez, Mexico; Lola/B06-43/Acura (P2), 1:14.450, 102.75
7. Dindo Capello, Italy; Allan McNish, Scotland; Audi AG/R10/TDI (P1), 1:15.320, 101.57
8. Emanuele Pirro, Italy; Marco Werner, Germany; Audi AG/R10/TDI (P1), 1:15.370, 101.50
9. Andy Wallace, England; Butch Leitzinger, State College, PA; Porsche RS Spyder (P2), 1:15.639, 101.14
10. Greg Pickett, Alamo, CA; Klaus Graf, Germany; Lola B06/10 AER (P1), 1:18.016, 98.06
11. Jamie Bach, Saukville, WI; Ben Devlin, England; Lola/B07-40/Mazda (P2), 1:20.669, 94.83
12. Johnny O'Connell, Flowery Branch, GA; Jan Magnussen, Denmark; Corvette C6.R (GT1), 1:21.057, 94.38
13. Oliver Gavin, England; Olivier Beretta, Monaco; Corvette C6.R (GT1), 1:21.389, 93.99
14. Jon Field, Dublin, OH; Clint Field, Dublin, OH; Richard Berry, Evergreen, CO; Creation/CA06H/Judd (P1), 1:22.713, 92.49
15. Eric Helary, France; Gianmaria Bruni, Italy; Ferrari 430GT Berlinetta (GT2), 1:24.586, 90.44
16. Mika Salo, Finland; Jaime Melo, Brazil; Ferrari 430GT Berlinetta (GT2), 1:24.601, 90.42
17. Dirk Mueller, Germany; Peter Dumbreck, Scotland; Ferrari 430GT (GT2), 1:25.030, 89.97
18. Darren Law, Phoenix, AZ; Patrick Long, Oak Park, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:25.370, 89.61
19. Dominik Farnbacher, Germany; Jim Tafel, Alpharetta, GA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:25.428, 89.55
20. Jorg Bergmeister, Germany; Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:26.060, 88.89
21. Tom Milner, Leesburg, VA; Ralf Kelleners, Germany; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), 1:26.528, 88.41
22. Joey Hand, Sacramento, CA; Bill Auberlen, Hermosa Beach, CA; Panoz Esperante GTLM (GT2), 1:28.999, 85.96
23. Wolf Henzler, Germany; Robin Liddell, Scotland; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), No Time
24. David Robertson, Ray, MI; Andrea Robertson, Ray, MI; David Murry, Cumming, GA; Panoz Esperante GTLM Elan (GT2), No Time
25. Tim Pappas, Boston, MA; Terry Borcheller, Vero Beach, FL; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (GT2), No Time
26. Joel Feinberg, Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Chapman Ducote, Miami, FL; Dodge Viper (GT2), No Time.

 

hope they catch some luck during the race. I'm recording this.
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Colorado marijuana dispensaries

 

hope so too, im recording it also, but with theyr performance so far I wont get my hopes up

 

3 races left for ALMS

1 race left for Grand-Am GT
then winter comes...=/
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Live Sex

 

Another RX-8 for Gran Am: http://www.grand-am.com/News/Article.asp?ID=9052

 

McRotary?...sorry couldn't resist

 

thanks RC
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Roll blunts

 

They might even field two cars next season. This team should have the financial backing to run for the entire season.

GT entries for the Sept 15 race includes 2 Nissan 350Zs and 1 Corsa Ferrari F430 !!
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LIVE SEX WEBSHOWS

 

So what happened this weekend? I wasn't able to watch the race and haven't seen anything about our little lola....

 

6th in class 10th overall

 

Thursday is the first practice of the final race for the Speedsource RX-8.

3 RX-8s in total this race =)
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Web Shows

 

alongside 2 Nissan 350Zs and a Ferrari 430
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SunnyEveline live

 

I just saw this article about the whole team practicing at Road Atlanta (the best track in the country in my opinion).

http://www.americanlemans.com/News/Article.aspx?ID=3626


B-K Motorsports tested the new surface at Road Atlanta late last week in preparation for Petit Le Mans.
B-K Motorsports got a bit of a head-start on Petit Le Mans preparations last week at Road Atlanta. The team brought its Lola-Mazda MZR-R to the circuit Thursday for a day of testing for the American Le Mans Series' cornerstone event.

"I think that'll be it before the race," said driver Jamie Bach, who will partner with Ben Devlin and Raphael Matos in the No. 8 entry in LMP2. "Things went pretty good. We got the car dialed in decently and it was handling pretty well. We were getting a baseline setup to get the gears straight and work on the shocks and springs packages."

Both Bach and Devlin took turns in the Lola following a sixth-place showing in class at Detroit and fourth-place finish at Mosport. The team and the car both found favor with the repaved surface at Road Atlanta that was completed in the spring. The new asphalt has produced improved grip, Bach said, which was amplified by the Lola.


Both Jamie Bach and Ben Devlin tested the Lola-Mazda at Road Atlanta.
"There's still a pretty big bump on the straight but can you carry a lot more speed throughout the circuit," Bach said. The track was pretty green but it did have slightly more grip this year. It felt pretty grippy for a track that hasn't had that many cars on it.

"The Lola has a lot more front downforce, especially on high-speed corners," he added. "It's a good combination to have and it's a substantial difference. We were fighting a big push with the Courage. We have a pretty good balance now."

The next round of the American Le Mans Series is the 10th running of Petit Le Mans, the annual 1,000-mile/10-hour endurance classic at Road Atlanta. The start is scheduled for 11:15 a.m. ET on Saturday, October 6. SPEED will provide live coverage from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and again from 6:30 to 10 p.m. American Le Mans Radio and IMSA's Live Timing and Scoring will be available at americanlemans.com.

 

Lets hope all the mechanical gremlins have been worked out and no crashes and we might see a good finish for the team.