Category: motorsport

Categories
motorsport personal review thoughts

Thoughts on “Senna”

Autographed by Asif Kapadia and Chris Dinnage

I recently had the chance to see a special pre-release screening of the Senna movie and since people have constantly been asking me for my opinion of it I figured its time to put my thoughts down on paper. Since the movie was shot entirely using archival footage it is being classified as a documentary though since there are no talking heads and only period accurate is used it can also be called a movie and depending on your point of view it has very different reviews

As a Movie
As a movie it is absolutely brilliant especially if you have limited knowledge of Ayrton.… Read the rest

Categories
photos track days videos WCM Ultralite S2k

Buttonwillow Weekend


After going through many of the initial setup issues on the Seven and giving it a quick shakedown at Laguna Seca, I decided that it was time to take it on my first road trip. I drove it down to Buttonwillow Raceway Park to join a group of other Se7en owners for a track weekend. The fact that there were going to be other owners there made me feel more confident that there would be enough mechanical expertise to solve any mechanical issues that may crop up. Having been to Buttonwillow once before, I knew that the heat would be brutal and was glad to pitch in with the other folks to share a couple of garages with the other folks.… Read the rest

Categories
motorsport personal photos

Picked up some Lotus History

Piston from Lotus Cosworth DFV 339

The mailman just brought me this amazing piece of Lotus F1 history: a piston from the Cosworth DFV engine #339 used in the Lotus 81 Formula 1 car.

Piston from Lotus Cosworth DFV 339

In the 70s and 80s, Team Lotus was in the habit of keeping the pistons from rebuilds to use as VIP gifts. Each engines pistons were labeled and stored but not all were presented. With reference to the teams archives, Classic Team Lotus is able to identify the detailed competition history for the engines in which the pistons ran. A great deal of polishing, then mounting on a wooden plinth, complete with presentation plaque, makes a rather special item of memorabilia.… Read the rest

Categories
24 Hours of Lemons cars personal

Pink Pig turnkey LeMons car for Sale!

UPDATE: The car is sold!!!

In a bittersweet move, the Formula BMW team is officially retiring from Lemons racing and we are putting our “Pink Pig” lemons car for sale. After 3 years of successful racing the team is splitting up and the members are moving onto other pursuits including Spec Racing. As a result we are selling the Pink Pig as a fully setup turnkey LeMons car for teams who want to get into the series without going through the hassle of building their own car.

Pink Pig at Reno

Car info:

  • 1986 BMW 325 E (E30)
  • Class winner at Reno-Fernley 2009
  • 2 Top 5s and 2 Top 10s in the last 4 races
  • Excellent handling and fast lap times
  • Ultra reliable – no major breakdowns in last 5 races
  • Full safety gear
  • 6 TR-Motorsports wheels with Hankook tires (enough rubber for 2 races)
  • Fully stripped for maximum weight reduction
    • Lexan windshield
    • Sunroof and rear parcel shelf replaced with sheet aluminium
    • Door skins only
    • lightweight sealed battery
    • dashboard, excess wiring and interior completely removed
  • Updated brakes (new master cylinder, stainless steel brake lines, new Hawk race pads, Super Blue racing fluid)
  • Wired for in-car radio (4 radios and helmet mics included)
  • 2 gallon drinks system in place (separate 1 gallon bottles)
  • Cool suit mounting system (cool suit not included)
  • Numerous other safety, reliability and speed modifications – contact for full list
  • Never had any BS Penalties or tech issues
  • “Lemons Legend” on Jalopnik
  • Click here to follow the history of the car and its racing efforts

    • Car package includes all safety gear, radios, wheels, tires, drinks systems, fuel filler hoses, etc… – just add gas and race!… Read the rest

    Categories
    cars motorsport technology thoughts

    Recreating your track day laps in GT5

    Polyphony Digital has announced a new feature in Gran Turismo 5 which will allow you to upload data from an automotive data logger and recreate your laps within GT5. The technology currently requires the use of the CANBUS data along with a Denso GPS controller and will initially be built into the Toyota FT-86G. As the owner of a Race Technology DL1, I can only hope that one day we might be able to use this technology with existing track day dataloggers.

    In the meantime check out this video of a Lexus IS-F lapping the Fuji circuit with its virtual recreation side-by-side.… Read the rest