Lots of cool action in SoCal this weekend! Two of the best are Barrett-Jackson coming to the Orange County Fairgrounds and HSR West races at Auto Club Speedway.
Weather for both events should be great. Stories and pix to follow…
A Riverside Tribute to Datsun-Nissan Racing with John Morton:
Riverside Tribute Datsun-Nissan Honoring John Morton
With about 2:45 to go in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Audi #2 and #3 both crashed in separate incidents. The #2, driven by Allan McNish was in the lead at the time, and it crashed into the barriers when McNish attempted a pretty aggressive maneuver in the Porsche Curves. McNish’s crash promoted Audi #1 into the lead. Astonishingly, the Audi team was able to get the #2 back on the track so fast, they only went down one lap, so they were still in second place and still in the race – albeit with a long shot at this point. The Audi team was able to get the #3 back on track in short order as well. Simply amazing that the Audi teams could repair both of those cars simultaneously so quickly.
Final Le Mans Results:
LMP1:
LMP2:
GTE-Pro:
GTE-Am:
Well, unfortunately, the battle between Audi and Toyota was short lived: the #8 Toyota was taken out by a Ferrari GTE-Am car – bringing out an extended safety car period for barrier repairs – and on the first lap of the ensuing green, the #7 Toyota tangled with the Delta Wing car. The #7 sustained damage that seemed to bring on an endlessly cascading series of troubles until the team threw in the towel. Audis are currently running 1-2-3 overall and in LMP1: the #1 and #2 R18 e-trons first and second and the #4 R18 ultra third.
In LMP2, the #44 Starworks Motorsport HPD ARX 03b has a one lap lead over the #49 Oreca 03 Nissan of Pecom Racing.
In GTE-Pro, the Ferrari, Corvette, Aston Martin, Porsche battle has become Ferrari v. Aston Martin, as both Flying Lizard and Team Felbermayr-Proton are gone and the Corvettes are down to a single car that’s seven laps back. The #51 AF Corse Ferrari is currently in the lead, the #59 Luxury Racing Ferrari is second, and the #97 Aston Martin Racing Vantage V8 is third.
In GTE-Am, there is a tight battle ongoing between the #50 Larbre Competition Corvette and the #67 IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche.
Several interesting stories will be played out in the 24 Hours of Le Mans beginning 5:30 AM PT tomorrow:
LMP1 – Audi v. Toyota. The top three qualifying places are three different cars – two from Audi and one from Toyota. First of all, Toyota managed to qualify their brand new LMP1 TS030 Hybrid third on the grid at Le Mans within a year of launching the program. That alone is a fabulous achievement. The Toyota TS030 is a 3.4L V8 normally-aspirated petrol-powered hybrid prototype. The electric energy is stored in a massive capacitor which powers electric motors. Audi put its new R-18 e-tron quattro on pole with a lap time of 3:23.787 (driven by the same team that won last year’s race: Fassler/Lotterer/Treluyer.) The R-18 e-tron quattro is a 3.7L V6 turbo diesel hybrid prototype. The Audi stores its energy in an electric flywheel accumulator. So it’s Toyota v. Audi, petrol v. diesel, capacitor v. flywheel, massive underdog v. overwhelming favorite. A surprisingly nice story to replace the expected Audi v. Peugeot rematch that was dashed when Peugeot pulled out of the sport. Second on the grid is the Audi R-18 ultra, a car that is outwardly very similar to the 2011 Le Mans winner. The R-18 ultra is the latest version of the Audi turbo diesel LMP1 car. Spots four thru six on the grid are another Toyota TS030 Hybrid splitting another Audi R-18 e-tron and an R-18 ultra. I really hope the Toyotas demonstrate some remarkable reliability in their very first 24 hour race to make it interesting to the end.
Delta Wing Nissan – The experimental Delta Wing Nissan qualified about 19 seconds slower than the pole sitting Audi at 3:42.612, putting it about 2/3 of the way thru the LMP2 cars. The Delta Wing is being run by the experienced and successful Highcroft Racing outfit, and it will be very interesting to see how it fares. Although I cannot say that I am excited by its looks in the least, opinions on the Delta Wing have been favorable for the most part. I can understand how the Delta Wing could set a fast qualifying time, but I am eager to see how it does in real racing conditions.
GTE – once again, the GTE classes look to be outstanding, competitive battles. In GTE-Pro, the top three qualifiers are the Luxury Racing Ferrari 458 Italia, the Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage V8, and the Corvette Racing Corvette C6 ZR1. SoCal’s Patrick Long’s Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche 911 RSR is seventh on the GTE-Pro grid. The Flying Lizard’s other Porsche 911 RSR car was the fastest GTE-Am qualifier. The Prospeed Competition Porsche 911 RSR is second, and the Aston Martin Racing Aston Martin Vantage V8 is third on the GTE-Am grid. So it’s Ferrari, Aston Martin, Corvette, and Porsche set to battle it out in the GTE classes.
Weather – Rain is forecast for Saturday, which adds another dimension to this grueling event. Man v. Nature.
Just two days until one of my top ‘bucket list’ events – the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It’s right up there with Belgian Grand Prix at Spa, and the Indy 500. Unfortunately Peugeot pulled out of sports car racing months ago, so the awaited re-re-match of Audi v Peugeot won’t happen, but it will be interesting to see how Toyota fares.
The GTE battles should be awesome once again. Corvette, Aston Martin, Ferrari, and Porsche all have competitive cars and teams.
For those looking to get up to speed on the pre-race situation – including class and team previews – head on over to Radio Le Mans and listen to some of their excellent podcasts. Also, the differences in driver classifications and how this relates to the GTE-Am and GTE-Pre classes can be a bit confusing. The folks at Radio Le Mans have posted a very clear and concise driver classification table here.
Like lots of folks, I drive to the track in the car I drive on the track. I do have a separate set of track wheels & tires that take various/separate routes to the track. Part of my late Sunday afternoon ritual is to swap my track wheels for my street wheels as soon and as quickly as possible – so I am not the last dude watching the sunset while still at the track. You know the routine: set the brake, throw wheel chocks down, break the torque on each wheel bolt on the opposite side of the car from the chocks, jack up the that side of the car, remove bolts and track wheel, replace with street wheel, tighten the bolts, move to the other wheel on that side and repeat, lower the car, swap sides, and repeat. Torque each bolt. Put all the gear in the car, and the track wheels in their mode of transport. Ugh. It makes me tired just to write it, and it’s much worse after a long, hard, track day. Enter the Milwaukee impact wrench! The Milwaukee 2663-22 18-Volt M18 1/2-Inch High Torque Impact Wrench with Friction Ring
Milwaukee 2663-22 18-Volt M18 1/2-Inch High Torque Impact Wrench Kit
Here briefly were my ‘must haves’:
Nice to haves:
So what did I find; what led me to the Milwaukee impact wrench? I quickly narrowed my choices to a couple of Milwaukee models, a Bosch, a Sears/Craftsman, and a DeWalt. I have had good experience with Craftsman tools including my trusty torque wrench, and I have a DeWalt cordless drill that I love, so I was a bit biased in those directions to start. However, I ruled out the Craftsman as it had a 200 FT-LB max. The DeWalt had 300 FT-LB, and it was less expensive than the Milwaukee, but it was larger and heavier. The Bosch was just a little bigger, and it was rated at 500 FT-LB, but it was also ~25% more expensive than the Milwaukee. Another consideration was the fact that the Milwaukee impact wrench was pretty much universally praised on the web by people who depended upon it professionally. The Milwaukee met all of my ‘must haves’ as well as all of my ‘nice to haves’. It also carries a 5 year warranty on both the tool itself and the batteries. Nice. I think I could have been happy with the DeWalt or the Bosch, but the Milwaukee impact wrench seemed like the best choice for me. Now the question was which Milwaukee impact wrench. Milwaukee makes two nearly identical models, the 2662-22 with a
Milwaukee Impact Wrench Friction Ring Close Up
pin detent anvil, and the 2663-22 with a friction ring anvil. More research. I read some reviews where people had difficulty in quickly switching sockets with the pin detent – a no-no for my track use. I was buying this impact wrench to primarily save time and make my whole routine simpler and easier. So my choice was the Milwaukee 2663-22. Well, how did I do? In short, spot on. The batteries charge quickly and last a long time. The impact wrench feels good in my hands, and it’s easy to use. The first couple of times I put a socket on the anvil I struggled a bit – you essentially have to compress a little ring that’s slightly larger than the anvil. I don’t know if there was a bit of a break in period or I just got more proficient at swapping sockets, but it’s a breeze now. The 450 FT-LB of torque quickly breaks free the lug bolts that have been torqued to 96 FT-LB. Two other pieces of kit that I bought are a good, deep, thin-walled 19mm impact socket
Torque Stick and Impact Socket
and a 90 FT-LB torque stick. The torque stick prevents over-torquing the lug bolts, and after a couple of uses, I have gotten pretty good at getting close to the 96 FT-LB. My pass with a torque wrench after using the impact wrench with the torque stick shows that I am routinely getting within a quarter turn of the lug bolts to 96 FT-LB. I give a hearty recommendation for the Milwaukee 2663-22 18-Volt 1/2-inch high torque impact wrench kit
Milwaukee 2663-22 18-Volt M18 1/2-Inch High Torque Impact Wrench
So far, I am 100% satisfied, and I got mine at Amazon: Milwaukee 2663-22 18-Volt M18 1/2-Inch High Torque Impact Wrench with Friction Ring
I also recommend a good impact socket (or set). You must use IMPACT sockets with this tool. I’m also very happy with the torque stick. I got both the torque stick and impact sock at Torque Stick. I’ll post an update after I’ve lived with this tool a little longer, and I’ll be happy to answer any comments or questions. Update 090512: After living with my Milwaukee impact wrench for a couple of months now, I have only good things to report. The battery life is excellent, and the friction ring has gotten easier to use – as I suspected, there was a bit of a break in period.
Richard Nauert brought one of his NuArt CanAm cars to the Porsche Owners Club
NuArt CanAM car
Tribute to Le Mans weekend event at Auto Club Speedway. In September 2011, the American Le Mans Series announced its association with the Unlimited Racing Championship (URC) as a ‘Heritage Series’ with races to be run on ALMS weekends at key events in 2012 and beyond. The affiliation with ALMS & IMSA is a massive accomplishment on its own. The URC will run identical NuArt CanAm cars that resemble the Can-Am cars of mid-1960s.
The NuArt car may look 1960s Can-Am, but it’s build in SoCal using advanced
Chaparral C2, Courtesy of Dieter Schambach
manufacturing and materials technologies worthy of aerospace applications and incorporating the latest safety capabilities. The car is powered by a big block V-8 engine that is easy to maintain, and it sounds great. Fly by wire engine controls and multiple power mappings and traction control selections facilitate a flexible and manageable learning curve. Drivers can start out with ‘low’ horsepower (still 400+ HP) and traction control engaged and build up to 700+ HP without traction control.
Look for the NuArt CanAM car and for this exciting series to kick off during the Petit Le Mans ALMS weekend in the fall.
NuArt CanAM car
A who’s who of SoCal Porsche Drivers converged at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana for the Porsche Owners Club 20th running of their signature Tribute to Le Mans weekend. The four-hour enduro running into a beautiful sunset was the highlight of the weekend – attracting well-know teams & organizations such as Competition Motorsports, TruSpeed, GMG, and Werks II and drivers with ALMS, World Challenge, and Grand-Am pedigree. Bob Faieta and Michael Avenatti of ALMS GTC fame took the overall top step of the podium handily turning fast lap after fast lap.
The weekend schedule: