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Ed i t or - i n - Chi e f / Pub l i s h e r Ian Rae EDI T ORIA L No r ma n Ne l s o n Enr i q u e McL e g g o n Br a d l e y Gr a v e t t Ia n Ra e

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PROFILES

06 Jonathan Vo - Lotus Exige/Honda

48 Head in the Clouds - Derek Boyd’s dream

12 Norman Nelson - Klassic Mini

56 Garage Built Wonder - Sami Sivonen’s R8

20 Zoom-Zoom, Brad Angevaare’s LS1 swap Miata

65 European Evolution - Phil’s EVO returns

28 Not an Option - Faizan Babar

78 Doing his Civic Duty - Evan Weider

36 Built to Spec - James Houghton’s K-Tuned TSX

78 Doing his Civic Duty - Evan Weider

44 Keep on Trucking - Kevin Phillips

78 Doing his Civic Duty - Evan Weider

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A

Profile o Jonathan V

Words by Enrique McLeggon, Images by Martin Buendia This profile is a bit different and isn’t really in-line with what I normally do here at KounterSteer Media but sometimes things don’t go how you’d expect them to, and you just have to go along for the ride and see what happens.

grew older he got a job at a shop that specialized in Lotus cars, the famed British manufacturer now owned by Geely (the Chinese multinational corporation which has Etika Automotive as an equity partner).

I had initially contacted Tom Tang to feature him in one of our KounterSteer Media profiles and he had agreed to participate, but later told me that he thought that it would be an even better idea if I covered his friend’s motorsport story instead-- and that’s what led to me featuring Jonathan Vo and his really cool Lotus.

Before he began working at this particular Lotus shop Jon knew nothing about the Lotus brand, but as time went by he started to understand and appreciate these unique vehicles for what they are - a race inspired road car. It was not long before Jon got promoted to Lead Technician because of his strong work ethic and expertise. The great thing about working at that shop was it also allowed for Jon to help build multiple customer cars which competed in the Lotus Cup USA race series. He even crewed for the drivers at various racetracks around the country, further broadening his experience in motorsport.

Jon, as he is more commonly known, lives in Fremont, CA and is 35 years old. In 2021, we will see him compete in his very first Time Attack event and he’s excited about the prospect of doing so. He grew up building Hondas in his parents’ garage with input from both his father and step-father. As he 6

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customer that was involved in a crash at the famed Laguna Seca racetrack. Jon rebuilt the car and it wasn’t long before he decided he wanted to race it in NASA’s Super Touring 4 (ST4) class at places like Sonoma Raceway, Thunderhill Raceway, and Buttonwillow Raceway.

In order to be more competitive, he soon swapped out the factory Toyota 2ZZ engine for a Honda K24 engine. He felt that putting a Honda engine in the Lotus would be a great way to bring together two of his all-time favorite manufacturers.

In 2014, Jon decided to become a master of his own destiny by opening up his own performance shop (Trackspec Autosports) in Fremont, CA. The decision quickly proved to be the right one, as many of the Lotus owners that he had formed relationships with followed him over because they know, value, and trust his work.

“Opening up a shop has always been a dream of mine and there’s nothing else I could see myself doing. The part I like best about working in this industry is that there are so many things that I can learn about to keep my interests going. Aside from wrenching on cars, I’ve been able to dabble in metal fabrication, composite fabrication, building wire harnesses, 3D design/printing, and the list goes on. My team is passionate about what they do and I think that plays a huge part in our day-to-day routine, as well as how we look to improve ourselves and the shop in the future.”

With so many Lotus customers, it made sense for Jon to eventually own one himself. In 2019, Jon bought the Exige that he now competes with from a 8

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“The Lotus philosophy is about ‘simplifying and adding lightness,’ which is what any person who loves to drive has thought about at some point or another. The Exige has all the traits of some of the highest performing vehicles-- it’s lightweight, has a flat underbody, and is mid-engine in layout. Honda engines are reliable, make great power, and have a ton of aftermarket support behind them. There’s a good reason they are so popular within the tuner community. It’s the perfect combination.”

The car was never originally built with Time Attack in mind, but Jon thought it would be a fun place to compete at and to show people how capable the Lotus with a K-series really is; even if it is heavily outgunned in its class (the car will be in Limited because of its 3-way dampers, a class that normally sees cars with forced induction engine setups making well over 600whp).

During the pandemic, Trackspec has become swamped with customers wanting the same swap for their Lotuses. In order to meet this demand, Jon doesn’t plan to do much racing himself this season.

“Next year, I plan to continue to improve the shop for the benefit of my employees and my customers.

I also want to start developing parts for doing these K swaps. Most importantly, I hope to spend more

and adding lightness

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‘

Lotus philosophy ‘ The is about simplifying

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time on the racetrack with my friends and with the Lotus community. I know we will continue to develop and improve the platform together; there’s just so much potential there.”

We are definitely excited to see what Jon is able to do with it at this year’s 2021 Global Time Attack & Super Lap Battle Finals.

For more info on Jon and Trackspec Auto www.facebook.com/trackspecautosports www.trackspecauto.com

Many thanks to our partners and supporters:

JRZ Suspension (FYI, Trackspec is the exclusive dealer and authorized installer for all JRZ Lotus products in the United States) Skepple Designs SFG Wraps Unit2 Fabrication OnGrid Tom Tang and Graham Downey for helping to develop the car

The Build List About the car: 2008 Lotus Exige S 240 Engine: - Honda K24A2 - Unit2 Fab Elite oil pan (Lotus K swap specific) - Canton Racing Accusump - K20 oil pump conversion - 50 degree VTC gear To be installed before SLB: - 4Piston TSX CNC head w/ RR3 cams - Supertech Valvetrain - RBC intake manifold w/ ZDX throttle body - RDX 410cc injectors Cooling: - Pro Alloy aluminum radiator Suspension: - JRZ RS PRO3 coilovers with remote canisters - Spherical control arm bearings – All upper and lower control arms - Upgraded stronger rear toe links

Brakes: - AP Radical 4-piston front calipers with 288mm rotors - Factory 2-piston front calipers moved to the rear to replace the stock sliding calipers - GLOC R12 brake pads - Stainless steel brake lines

Exterior/Aero: - Trackspec Autosports custom front splitter - Difflow 5 Element Railer rear diffuser - Voltex Type 2 GT Wing (1600mm) Misc.: - Tillett B6 Screamer XL seat - Safecraft fire suppression system - Custom cage – Built by Jon himself - AiM MXP dash - CoolShirt body and helmet system - SRC radio for driver/crew communication - Pro Alloy 60L high capacity baffled aluminum

fuel tank - Schroth window net and 6 point harness - Safecraft center net All Action, All The Time from MotorWerks Magazine

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Words and Images by Ian Rae 12

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Klassik Mini

The Mini you see here is one that our West Coast Editor, Norman Nelson never thought he would own, he first saw this 1963 Cooper S owned by

nowhere to put another Mini even though I loved the look of the car Shawn called Fireball. It was super low and with those Fortech arches looked as if it should have

Shawn Duntelly at the Mini Meet West at Columbia Gorge. Shawn thought his flamed Mini would be a great addition to the Nelson’s collection especially considering they had two other flamed cars. Norm explained, “I told him I had

been on the racetrack.”

Roll on to 2018 and the devestating fires that hit California. The Carr fire devasted 229,651 acres and unfortunately the Nelson household was amongst those to lose their home. As well as their home All Action, All The Time from MotorWerks Magazine

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two of their one of a kind Minis were totally destroyed with nothing salvagable.

Nelson went on, “We lost our salute to the Veterans, Mini Eagle and our short wheelbase Mini Chiquita that had just came back from being updated. It was a crazy time for us at Old Shasta, the positive for us was even though we lost the house, our garage where our other cars were stored survived without a scratch.

I don’t know if it was me feeling sorry for myself and

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needing to cheer myself up but I got on the phone to Shawn and after a bit of haggling I bought Fireball and Shawn threw in the enclosed trailer that is painted similar to the car itself.”

So what is the story behind Fireball?

Engine Spec 1310cc A-Series engine 1275 .040 Performance Piston Set Fortech center main caps strap Nitrided Performance Crankshaft for hot street or competition use.

Vandervell main, rod and cam bearings Elgin 268/278 Hot Street cam ARP racing rod bolts ARP racing head bolts 123 electronic billet distributor Pertronic coil Billet Golan’s billet fuel filter 11 LBS steel racing flywheel AP Racing clutch Mini Sport aluminum radiator Gearbox Spec 4 speed syncro box Straight cut drop gears Rod change kit fitted Quick Shift kit

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Fireball really gets its distinctive look from the Fortech GT Mini flares which are normally just seen on racetracks. Made famous by the Fortech Minis of Mike Kearney and driven by Doug Peterson these wide arches can accommodate large width wheels in many diameters. In Fireball’s case the wheels are 13” x 7” Sierra Pacific three-piece racing wheels 16

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currently fitted with 175/50-R13 Yokohama A048 tires. Fortech also provided one of their GT air dams to finish off the front end of Fireball perfectly for an aesthetic and aerodynamic solution.

A MOMO Nero steering wheel points the wheels in the proper direction as well as looking good. A

Maintaining the disc front end, drum rear set up, 8.4 inch rotors along with red four pot alloy calipers from Kent Auto Developments were fitted to the front end, while Superfin alloy drums are fitted to the rear. Braided brake hoses, pads and shoes along with upgraded brake fluid complete the brake package.

pair of Recaro seats matched with Sparco full harness belts locate both the driver and passenger.

The chassis was upgraded with Spax lowered suspension, a poly bush kit and brake updates.

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Beac use feLi s ’ o t Short Pl y it Co l! ot a

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While Fireball is set up to look like a race car it has some nice touches, a classic dash equipped with the typical gauges required for a Mini. The interior is finished with door panels that have flamed inserts and billet window winders as seen in the photo to the right.

For those of you for those of you who know Norm and I, you understand that while we work hard on the magazine, we also like to play hard. So, during the part of our trip we decided to build a faux advert using Norm’s new Mini, Fireball and the Louisiana produced cinnamon whisky of the same name.

The label on a bottle of Fireball whisky includes a fire breathing dragon and what better match for a product like that then a fire breathing and flamed Mini Cooper. Norm just happened to have at hand many miniatures and a few bottles of that amber coloured nectar lying around which helped us set up the shot. So where we imbibing while we were doing this, we’re not seeing anything on the grounds we may incriminate ourselves. But we had fun setting up the shoot.

Norm and Jesse’s new workshop lent itself

to a garage setting photos shoot especially with a British sports car on the lift behind Fireball. Because of the work setting we wanted to remind everybody about drinking responsibly and to that end Jesse just happen to have a black board that we could set up at the side of the shot to remind everybody how important that fact is.

And the image you see at the left is what we came up with. The speech baloon on the floor was edited to look like we had written in chalk on the floor. And how about the discrete things like the minatures on the table and Fireball Whisky flag hanging off the car lift. And yes we had fun, hic!

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I have always had an interest in cars because my father, Rob Angevaare, has always been a huge part of the automobile world.

He started out working for his father, Bert Angevaare, at Angevaare Mercedes Benz in Peterborough and worked his way up until he owned his own dealership, Angevaare Mazda with his brothers. Being the longest 20

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running family-owned Mazda dealership as well as one of the original car dealers in the Peterborough area, the name Angevaare has always been synonymous with autos.

Growing up I had always been a huge fan of the Mazda brand. My parents were always driving new models and I got a taste of

Brad Angevaare

’s LS1 swap Miat

a

Words and Images by Ian Rae All Action, All The Time from MotorWerks Magazine

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what they all had to offer but it wasn’t until I had driver’s license that I got to find out exactly how amazing of a car they were.

As the TV adverts frequently said, it was Zoom-Zoom and they sure did live up to that moniker. While working part-time at the Mazda dealership when I was in high school, I had the opportunity to get up close with all models and although I had always dreamed of owning an RX-7, I had grown very fond of the early models of the Miata. In the 22

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summer of 2014 right before leaving for university, my Dad bought a completely original silver 2001 Miata for my Mom. It was originally supposed to be a fun little summer car for the two of them to boot around in with the top down and have some fun. Shortly after buying the car, we put a nice set of black wheels on it with a cold air intake and a Magnaflow exhaust just to make it a little more exciting.

It wasn’t long until I convinced my Mom to let me take it to the track for open lapping. That’s where

The Build List Drivetrain: - - - - -

- -

5.7L LS1, 402whp 380wtq LS6 heads Holley mid rise intake manifold with custom intake Stage 2 Brian Tooley Racing Cam Kooks long tube headers 6speed T56 transmission Getrag rear differential.

Chassis: - - - - - - - - -

V8 Roadsters front subframe V8 Roadsters axle and driveshafts Fully custom 5bolt hub swap with 17x10 RPF1 wheels Fully custom Wilwood Brake setup APR Carbon Spoiler Custom front splitter and modified bumper Custom radiator setup Custom intake and exhaust Custom Sideskirts

I caught the bug for racing and it was all downhill for my Mom’s little Miata from there. That’s my the explanation for the “Sorry Mom” decal on the spoiler, I really felt bad about commandeering her pride and joy and doing all sorts of crazy things to it. (well not really).

The first iteration of the car was the culmination of individual upgrades that were all a learning curve for my Dad and I. It started with a low boost supercharger setup which let me understand how to to handle more power. That lead to some better tires and brake components which then allowed for All Action, All The Time from MotorWerks Magazine

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more power and so on, it really can be an evil circle.

Then it was on to the next upgrade that resulted in a custom supercharger setup that ran 221whp and 200wtq out of the factory 1.8L motor. The suspension was tweaked with HSD coilovers, an off the shelf Wilwood brake kit, 15x9 wheels and a carbon APR spoiler. That setup lasted two years running in CSCS Time Attack Street RWD class but in August of 2018 the supercharger failed from me pushing it past its limits and that’s when the V8 swap idea was bandied about and by the start of the 2019 season the V8 swap had been completed and we were ready for another season of CSCS Time Attack. All work on the car has been done in-house by my dad and I, some of it has been challenging, some relatively easy but it really is a great way of father – son bonding.

Home of the Wang Gang www.9livesracing.com

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Words by Enrique McLeggon, Images by Faizan Babar and Rob Wilkinson

A t o N

Faizan Baba

Another 28

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Profile

! n o i t p An O

ar never gives

up!

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Giving Up is Never an Option Faizan (informally known as Fez) is originally from Dallas, TX and also studied mechanical engineering at the University of Texas. He’s however currently living in Lexington KY, working in his dream job at Toyota. His journey into time attack however started back when bought the FRS. His FRS is technically his first car, which he had bought in 2015 while attending college with the help of his family. Before he had even gotten the car, he was introduced to autocross by a few of his friends who he used to run car meets with during their college years. He knew he really wanted to get into autocross at the time. He was excited for his first event but unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be as the car broke while he was on his way to the event.

In 2017, he had the opportunity to co-op at Toyota and one of his coworkers introduced him to HPDE and he competed at his first event.

He immediately knew that he would eventually want to get into time attack. He competed in a few HPDE events with the intention of getting into time attack but that dream had to be placed on hold as the job he got after graduating from college required him to travel a lot. Two years later, he got the job at Toyota, which allowed him to settle in one location and this allowed him to compete in his first HPDE event a MidOhio specifically last year, where he had the opportunity to meet DJ Alessandrini. DJ was his instructor and they were discussing Fez’s goals when he told DJ that he wanted to compete in time attack at Gridlife. DJ had motivated him and gave him the confidence he needed to finally jump into time attack.

His first ever time attack event with Gridlife was exhilarating. The people there were amazing and also quite talented, which made him want to push himself even more and it led to him being a better driver in the end. A few challenges also 30

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1420 Victoria St N, Kitchener, ON N2B 3E2 Tel: 1 519-589-7156

Race Car and Component Fabrication

The Unit 2 Fabrication K-Series Elite oil pans have been flying off the shelves! Developed with James Houghton and the one of a kind Time Attack Integra Type R our new Elite aluminum pan is data proven to reduce the oil surge that can kill an expensive race motor.

Also available as a steel pan.

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arose that weekend. A brake rotor cracked, which left him hunting for a replacement, which he managed to get a hold off and swap the rotor out, and at the end his coilovers were blown, which drastically impacted the handling of the car but overall he felt really comfortable behind the wheel. They were able to fix everything that went wrong the weekend without skipping a session which was also pretty awesome.

The main attraction in time attack for Fez is the level of competition, especially at Gridlife.

He also stated that at Mid-Ohio, there were so many of them as competitors that were within a 10th of a second of each other and that level of close competition is really hard to find.

“It gets the adrenaline going and pushes me to be better” he added, and also stated: “Gridlife has some of best drivers in the country and some of the nicest people too and that’s why I keep coming back.”

Fez unfortunately met in an accident at MidOhio during Gridlife’s Mid-Summer Meet and the car’s body took a bit of a beating.

Thankfully, both he and the car are okay and the damage is repairable. They were able to replace the tie rod and hammer the fender out so that he could compete in the final sessions on Sunday. He’s currently in the process of finding parts for the car.

About the car: Fez was always a fan of the BRZ/GT86 platform. He loved the fact that Toyota was coming out with a lightweight FR sports car.

As stated previously, he purchased the FRS as a freshman in college with the help of his family. Back then, it was his dream car and it felt so surreal to finally own one. He also loved the fact that the specific version of his

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car is so rare. He loves the yellow, the TRD lip kit etc.

The car means everything to him. He learned how to drive a manual with it, met people who are now really close friends through the car and competed in his first autocross with the car.

“I’ve have had a lot of firsts in this car, hence I was really hurt to see it get wrecked at MidOhio, but she’s a warrior and I know I’ll be back again very soon.”

The biggest weak point he’s found are the transmission and the engine. The engine in stock form is pretty underwhelming and doesn’t seem to come alive until after a few modifications, such as an unequal length header, E85 and a tune. The engine also has the tendency to overheat a lot so Fez has fitted an aftermarket oil cooler and changed the oil weight to a 5W40.

As far as the transmission goes, he’s currently on his second transmission and he thinks 5th gear might go out soon.

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His goal for the rest of the season is to get the car fixed and potentially head to Midwest Festival or Elkhart Classics (Road America) with Gridlife.

During the off-season, he wants to drop at least one hundred more pounds out of the car to better fit it the Club TR class rules because as the car sits, it is underpowered and overweight.

The Build List Engine: - JDL unequal length header - ST intake pipe - HKS front pipe - OTF (off The Shell) tune Cooling: - Jackson Racing oil cooler Drivetrain: - Factory drivetrain Suspension: - SPL endlinks - SPL rear lower control arms - Vorshlag camber plates - Whiteline sway bar - Swift springs

Interior: - Schroth harness - Sparco seats - IRP shifter Exterior: - Birch wood splitter - Professional Awesome splitter mounting accessories - 9 Lives Racing rear wing Wheels / Tires: - 17x9 TC105h and 17x9 Apex ARC8 - Falken RT660 245/40R17

Brakes: - StopTech C43 big brake kit All Action, All The Time from MotorWerks Magazine

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When James Houghton decided to go wheel to wheel racing it was not a decision he made lightly.

He had been thinking about it for quite a while and when Northern Speed purchased his Acura Integra Type R Time Attack car and still wanted to him to drive it opened up an avenue he had not previously considered. His original thoughts were to convert the Type R for Gridlife Touring Cup duty but now he could start with a clean sheet.

He had been looking for a clean Integra as he loved the look of the car. For sure whatever he got had to remain in the Honda/Acura family. “I’m a died in the wool Honda fan,” he said. “Then I came across a partially finished Acura TSX in Lexington,

also been crewing for us quite bit so the road trips offered up a bunch of time for discusions regarding the upcoming race car build.

The plan was to build the car to suit Gridlife’s Touring Cup rules where their Rules Committee’s goal was to create a quality balance of performance across a broad array of potential cars, without any tight restrictions on vehicle build and design while offering low cost options to the racers. It meant

KY. It had a lot of good parts on it, some I would use, others I could sell off and get good money for them, so it seemed a good deal. I put a deposit on the car but it would be three months before I actually headed out to bring it home.”

He went on, “This past year I have been using Mitch Hemmen at Unit 2 Fabrication more and more and in the meantime they moved into one of the units in our building, it just made sense for them to complete the build of the car. Mitch and Berto had

mixing weight with horsepower, tires and aero. We won’t go in to that here as it is pretty involved and can be found online at www.grid.life/gridlife-touringcup-gltc.

You may have noticed from the photo above that

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there is no wild aero like Jim’s Type R. With no front splitter the rear of the TSX only sports a NASCAR style spoiler, which gives him an advantage over those running splitters and wings due to the way the rules are written. Jim sourced the wider fenders from some obsure eBay to allow him to run wider wheels and tires on the front end.

Having had great success running Konig USA wheels on the Integra the TSX sports Konig Hypergram

18x11 +15ET front wheels and 18x9.5 +35ET rears. He is a firm believer in FWD running a staggered wheel/tire setup with narrower wheels on the rear, allowing the car to rotate. Now the tires he brought to COTA were a bit special, while everyone else had gone the Hoosier R7 route Houghton had chosen to go with 200TW Yokohama a052 295/30/18 fronts and 255/35/18 rears which would give him in the region of a

O T LT

I U B

C E

P S

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4 percent power to weight bonus or approx 10whp over those running slicks.

A lot of thought was put into the packaging under the hood, the team had learned a lot in the past years about cooling on the Acura Type R and that knowledge was transposed into the TSX. A MMRADUNI-RRR race radiator from Mishimoto was installed as it was the perfect size for the installation. The 15.28” X 29.92” dual pass 2-row aluminum was originally developed and used on Chris Rado’s famed front-wing Scion tC race car and is covered by the Mishimoto Lifetime Warranty.

The TSX is powered by a Jdm K24A motor fitted with Drag Cartel drop in cams, 50 degree VTC gear, in-line pro VTEC locking pins, K20a2 oil pump conversion, Unit 2 Fabrication budget steel oil pan that was developed for the TSX and is now available to the public. A cut and ported RBC intake manifold is fed from a K-Tuned 72mm throttle body and burnt gases are expelled through a PLM header. The fuel system consists of a K-Tuned fuel rail and AN fuel lines and fittings, a K-Tuned fuel pressure regulator, Acura RDX fuel injectors.

A K-Tuned valve cover tops off the motor where additional engine modifications were carried out by Unit 2 Fabrication. The custom titanium exhaust was also fabricated by Unit 2.

Transmitting the K24 Honda power to the ground is a Exedy Hyper single plate clutch, Momentum Motorsport in Ireland built a custom 3J Driveline NXG Performance plate type LSD that James raves about. A custom built gearbox with a mix of oem gears was built by TRE Transmissions using a Gear-X 5.8 final drive. Hasport engine mounts hold the complete package in plate within 38

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the TSX engine bay.

Chassis wise, the installed six point cage was updated to James and Mitch’s specifications. As Mitch is also going to run the car at Gridlife events a lot of thought was put into making the interior suit both drivers. A Sparco Pro ADV seat with OMP harness and an Oreca steering wheel works well in making both racers comfortable. Fire safety has not been overlooked and a plumbed-in mechanical SPA fire suppresion system has been installed.

Electrically wise an Antigravity battery supplies the power to a Haltech Elite 1500 ECU.

The Haltech talks through

Racepak’s proprietary

V-Net network to a

Racepak IQ3 logger dash

and all supplimentary

wiring is through

Racepak’s Smartwire

PDM. “It’s great

to use the shared

sensors from the

Haltech and

Racepak to control

outputs using

logic. Now we can

change the control of outputs simply by changing the control logic.

The TSX is using K-Tuned K2 pro circuit coilovers from his long-time supporters K-Tuned.

They also supplied K-Tuned spherical control arms, camber kits and suspension links for front and rear as well as front roll center adjusters. A ASR hollow 32mm rear sway bar completes the suspension package. Stoptech brake kits continue to be involved in James’s racing program with a STR40 big brake kit on the front end. G-LOC Brakes R16 pads are used up front

CFD aero design was completed by the same people designing the radical new Northern Speed Acura Type R, Stim Tech. Aero package was completed by Stim Tech and Unit 2 Fabrication,

including the NASCAR style rear spoiler we talked about earlier, a large front airdam with lower front rad opening, Stim Tech hood vents, Seibon Carbon fibre hood, eBay fender flares from Russia, a custom aluminum sunroof plug, lexan rear side windows as well as rear window.

Being at COTA for the first ever Grid Life Touring Cup event in conjunction with the second Superlap Battle USA was the team’s aim. It all came together with a few late nights from the team at Unit 2 Fabrication and remote tuning from Haltech’s Rick Nelson.

The Racepak IQ3 Logger dash has four pages it can display.

Below, Another trip to the COTA podium, 3 out of 4 race wins and overall champion.

No exotic intake manifold here.

It may have been a risky move taking a brand new car to an event so far away; 1570 plus miles was a long way to travel having only run the car up and down the parking lot in Kitchener. But Houghton had hedged his bets and set up a track test on the way to COTA at the NCM Motorsports Park that was only 647 miles from home. If things went to hell in a handbasket it would not be as depressing a trip

James gets a smile on his face every time he drives the TSX, “It is such a good car”, he says. Shown below in the COTA pitlane was a dream debut.

Houghton’s office is well laid out.

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home. The added bonus to testing at NCM was that Gridlife was going to be running there later in the year and Houghton had never been there before.

Even that far South in Kentucky the weather was only slightly warmer than Canada as the team arrived in early morning. It had rained overnight and

The Mishimoto radiator has AN fittings. puddles still littered the track but James headed out to give the K-Tuned supported TSX its shakedown run. Unit 2 had fabricated an exhaust out of titanium and the car sounded angry out there. So angry in fact, that the track staff recomended an exhaust mod before the team returned later in the year. It was not to much over the decibel limit but enough to cause concern.

So with only minor new car blues arising it was on the Austin and the Circuit Of The Americas.

Unlike last year where the Houghton Acura Type R was one of the stars of Time Attack the newly built Acura TSX was running in the support series.

However that did not limit the interest in the car.

If there is one thing that the Internet is good for it is getting news out there and Houghton and his Instagram posts fed the masses with info and tidbits from the PRI show right up until the team left for Texas.

As mentioned earlier in the article the descision was taken to run the car on 200TW tires and as the only racer on site to have gone that route there was huge interest in whether the choice would parlay into the advantage that Houghton had envisaged. Practice showed the TSX could run at the 40

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sharp end of the field but it would not be until the races that the head to head competition between tires would show which was going to be superior over the distance.

Qualifying placed Houghton second with a 2:29.880 to Todd Kaley in his S2000 with a 2:29.512.

And the races were something else!

Race 1

James Houghton | TSX

Todd Kaley | S2000

DJ Alessandrin / Derek Yarbrough | Miata 42

© MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Race 2 James Houghton | TSX Todd Kaley | S2000 DJ Alessandrini / Derek Yarbrough | Miata

Race 4 James Houghton | TSX Dysen Pham | S2000 Ryan Upham | M3

Race

3 Todd Kaley | S2000 DJ Alessandrini / Derek Yarbrough | Miata Dysen Pham | S2000

No Houghton on the podium in race 3 you noticed? That was because the new car blues finally hit. He limped up the pit

straight during the start and it looked as if

race three was over bar the shouting but

as the pit exit is uphill he managed to coast backwards downhill into the pits where Mitch Hemmen made an tweak to an electrical connector and the TSX was firing on all four again.

The points gained for a finish was all that was need for the overall win.

“What a debut!” Houghton exclaimed. “That car is unlike anything I have ever driven! Thanks to everyone who has been a part of it! Bring on the rest of 2020” All Action, All The Time from MotorWerks Magazine

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A

Profile

The photos used are owned by the following persons/organizations: - Global Time Attack - Snaps Studio - The Ridge Motorsports Park - Kevin Phillips Kevin Philips is 33 years and has always had a passion for cars and trucks, mostly the latter. His dad started an automotive repair shop 20 years ago and after graduating from high school, Kevin did a 2-year automotive program and he’s been a full-time mechanic for the past 13 years.

Four years ago, he got introduced to autocross and he thought it looked like a lot of fun. He didn’t have a car or anything sporty for that matter, just his 1991 Chevy S10 truck which had a lowering kit, wheels and tires. It was also his daily. His plan was to go to an autocross event first to see if he would like it but the year prior to that, he had swapped the factory engine and transmission out for a LS engine and T56 transmission, and most of the suspension was redone. He enjoyed that event, and also moved on to competing in bigger events like Holley LS Fest

driving on road courses. He got so much seat time and it was a lot of fun. He also competed in a SCCA Time Trials event and loved it. In 2020, Kevin preregistered for GTA and the rest is basically history.

His first event was nervous and intimidated to say the least; he was driving under a new sanctioning body after all. He was also diving among a group of drivers he’s never driven with before and it was also a new track for him – The Ridge. As the weekend progressed, he started getting faster and got more comfortable on track, as well as having a lot of fun with the laid back and relaxed vibe from the GTA crew. From that moment, he knew he would be back with them.

What keeps him coming back to time attack is the competitor in him that wants to be faster, and having the opportunity to do so in a fun environment

where they included a road course sessions and that’s where Kevin picked up on his true passion for

with great people at some amazing tracks. He still gets nervous at events and spends some time

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clearing his head prior to being on-track, but once he’s on track, everything disappears and it’s all fun for him from that moment onward.

About the truck: The story behind the truck is that the truck is pretty special to Kevin. He bought the truck from its first original owner who bought it new from the GM dealership that Kevin’s dad worked at when Kevin was a kid. When his dad moved on to opening his shop, the owner also followed him and Kevin’s dad continued servicing the truck until it broke a timing chain, which was about 7 years ago. At that point, the owner no longer wanted to fix it so Kevin bought

it from him and fixed it. He then turned it into his daily driver and kept it stock for several years, other than the lowering kit along with some wheels and tires. It all snowballed into what it is today after Kevin found autocross and LS swaps.

Getting a truck to turn and respond like a car has been a challenge and took some work. He’s still currently working on changing things in the front suspension department to improve the handling of the truck. Traction is also another issue with truck in general as they are front heavy and so Kevin started moving as much of the weight as rearward as possible, and he also found out in the beginning that he would need to run as large of a tire that he could fit under the fenders. He then ordered the wheels and tires that he wanted and then cut the fenders until they could fit.

Another thing that was obvious was that trucks are basically aerodynamic bricks but that was fine in Kevin’s eyes as he loves the truck, but if he wants to push the truck even further he’d definitely need to take that into account and some aero development would be in its future. Safety was another thing it lacked so he had his friend from Level 7 Motorsports

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NE W !

A ll-w eat her t r ac t ion & con v enience, 365 days a y ea r

GENER ALTIRE .C A

General Tire IS The official RACING tire

AND EXCLUSIVE TIRE SUPPLIER of THE Nascar Pinty’s Series

46

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in IL build a custom cage for the truck and he also worked with Nine Lives Racing to build a wing and front splitter for the truck. The truck is getting better and better as he continues to drive it and he sees the aero getting more attention and more aggressive in the future.

He competed in GTA at The Ridge last weekend and he’s currently unsure if he’ll make it the GTA finals as it’ll depend on the progress of his new engine build. Other than that he’ll try to squeeze in a few track days.

Engine:

The Build List Engine: 04 LM4 5.3l LS - Texas speed Cam - 243 cylinder heads - TBSS intake - Rear-mounted fuel cell Drivetrain: - Tick Performance stage 4 F body T56 transmission - Monster Clutch LTS-1 clutch disc - .5” aluminum driveshaft - Quick Performance Ford 9-inch with Wavetrac limited slip differential

Interior: - Custom cage designed and built by Level 7 Motorsports - Tilton pedal box assembly Exterior: - Front splitter and rear wing built by Nine Lives Racing Wheels / Tires: - Weld Racing S71 18x11.5 squared - Yokohama 315/30R18 A052 tires

Suspension/Handling: - SPC upper and lower front control arms - Ridetech HQ coilovers (front) - Speedway Engineering splined front sway bar - TCI torque arm w/ Ridetech TQ coilovers (rear) - Factory rear sway bar.

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47

eggan, L c k Boyd M e r e e u D iq , r hen

by En Larry C , Words e a R n s by Ia Image

Profile

ool fter-sch a n a t a e go ense, h rked as c o li w is e h h got e ere nce he When h ship wh O r . s le r a a e c d g rkin Audi rships and pa ring the e b at an y deale g h o b t j in o d h b s e a d un r, w time ced . as surro e porte introdu end his ic w p s v s k r a e e w r alership ld s e e u e d D o h , e w o p h s e t u g at lly y, h and ad Growin speople . He rea sn’t bus tments which h a r le ly r a a w le a s p il e e v e d y d h t t vice Gran ing; and y pret and ser Pontiac s of rac industr chanics 2 e m e r 7 an open m o iv 9 f t d 1 o ll n a a a m s o d n t a e e u nin issio ar w enjoy to the a get transm e whole is first c 0 ts and h r H 0 t o 4 , p ther to H 1 s e r F T g o , r, t ld o e t a o u c in o d m s g en ta , Na he w orke loved a 455ci C, Indy es that ey all w , but no R t h ik s T W b a

, e t l. s b ir s ia d t o as a few eren d on, motocr g. “It w ear diff borhoo y had a r in h il v ig o m e a m

f n r is n’t ca rs.” t his yards. H out was 6,000lb o winte oughou d d e r n a rek h h r u t t o lo f e o id kly ars, De it. or C ly r ic e u f t u y s n r q e a g w c u e n e l q h f o fre his str which After a practica 48 © MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

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s Peak e ik P ’s d y o B Derek

Dream

year. llowing o f e h t car is sold the y nd of h e h ie r T f . s a e d c pie k an ased interior th Dere o b , e y purch e g a e h t h ll it o e c r w ntly e hile in ro Z28 , efficie ess wh W s a in n m s io a u t C b c au all ls.

1996 hey surance et whee ted a sm r k it for a in r a t a d m s e parts. T m o d r r e f a e h r t t s t f a le y ld ll s ic o eou veh the nd s eventua recked et of hid vent at ehicle a w s e v a s dealer’s h s c d o a a r n e c a ia o v d t d k u e s le c a mb an ction g ba 6-spe car disasse hese au peted in o turnin t n m o s o t ’s small e a c y s iv r il w s it e e t t m e c r e a c la f e p a nd h He for his years a gained hile com ls and t d a w ia W h r e . f T e d e a h e lo o ook n th ard hich SCCA S ed in ching o e was h ast forw ense w n h F c e li ; r . t n w in compet io d o t d e p a a r y t e h o s a j p e h e n brak ale o ce h lso e from t with wholes ade sin ion and c Derek a s e , n d e sented im p a e r s s r t t s u p s k s la o s c c e a o t lm o et in s ss t he w ed th it was a ea: to y nt and upgrad from cla id e d v p d e a e il H h m s w u . s j d n a cro be etitio im to car an an auto ered to e comp owed h of id ll h s t a n y o o b c le ls urpose ad led Eag p h b n e le m a h o u which a t s t h h ill wha boug for the ional H quickly t r s a a

a c n r r w a e e r t t e o d uil it f s la ak In but h oX again b is friend building ikes Pe h P f f o e o h bishi Ev t m e y u a t e s m e a h it r o t s d g M s d in e a an 008 h th ved compet ale und a 2 WD wit short-li o

f A s d I a wholes d a S a w h T d le d m b is n a ia a H e v r . t Talon d er a rojec hill Climb that no long d the p e their the ak but n s e m ll a u P a f a w c s e o e t e t v b a Pik ney s it remo ar.

GSR th the mo and thu ged to e , a climb c t v n a n a e h m m ’t t s e v only didn in All Action, All The Time from MotorWerks Magazine

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Derek got into time attack by entering the pinnacle of time attack events in the US, the infamous Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Not exactly a beginnerfriendly event, but he had some track experience and was blessed with an acceptance to compete in 2014.

The car has come a long way since then in terms of development but back then, the build was a bit simpler: A performance rebuilt engine making around 425hp on E85, a roll cage and no interior and a set of KW coilovers. Unfortunately, the wheel speed sensor was destroyed by the heat at its first HPDE event so they had no AYC, ABS, traction nor stability control. They had their fair share of hiccups along the way but they made it to race day and the summit, finishing mid-pack in both the Time Attack 1 division and overall. They were ready to go even faster the following year.

“It is difficult to describe the wild ride of adrenaline, fear and sleep deprivation that comes with Pikes Peak, but we were, and remain, addicted to the mountain.”

After a few years of only competing at PPIHC, he became aware of Global Time Attack and Gridlife and the fact that he could compete in both with his hill climb car.

Their first event outside of PPIHC was in California with Global Time Attack at the Fontana Roval. They had just completed a total rebuild of the car, from roll cage to the standalone ECU, and a long list of other changes. He was unfamiliar with the roval, and while somewhat nervous, he was excited to see how well the car would stack up against the competition.

Unfortunately, it just wasn’t their weekend and they’d only managed to complete one lap, which was their out lap. The car would make it out for an out lap and then halfway through a flying lap, the coolant temperature would spike to 270ºF, the engine would sputter and eventually stall. Once they tore the engine apart, they realized that the culprit was a cracked cylinder sleeve.

The main challenge he faced was the lack of preparedness in the early days. There wasn’t a tremendous knowledge base to draw from when All Action, All The Time from MotorWerks Magazine

51

they decided to push the platform to the limit. Race lessons are generally learned the hard way and is usually expensive.

He enjoys the format of time attack says it’s a blast to compete in; “doing your absolute best to hang it all out, to push yourself to the limit and the cars potential to the max. Then check how you stack against the rest and figure out how to improve.” He also stated that the community is filled with great people who are competitive and all want to win but also want to see everyone perform at their best.

About the car: As stated earlier, the Evo X was in Derek’s father’s possession and Derek decided to build it for Pikes Peak. Derek reckons that the Evo chose them. And not the other way around.

During the progression of the car’s development, they had managed to break just about everything.

Shift linkages melting, turbo blanket catching fire, OEM wiring harness melting due to being too close to the turbo and the wheel sensors melting, just to name a few. They moved to a Syvecs ECU, along

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with a custom wiring harness.

They also made the switch to using mechanical differentials and a sequential transmission. Pikes Peak also requires a larger turbocharger due to effect of the altitude on boost levels and shaft speeds being high. When something breaks, Cole usually builds a better version of it.

After every session or event, they usual take a look at whether they’re not going faster because of an issue with the driver, or if the limits are componentbased; maxed out corner speeds can be mended with wider tires, less weight, or more downforce. If the limit is top speed, then it can be fixed with more power, reducing drag or gearing.

The Build List

Engine: - Magnus Motorsports - 2.2l Stroker crate engine - Dry Sump Kit Intake/Exhaust: - Magnus Motorsports Intake Manifold - 4d Engineering intake and exhaust plumbing - 4d Engineering exhaust manifold Turbocharger setup: - Garrett 3584rs gen 2 turbocharger - Twin TurboSmart wastegate Fuel: - Magnus Motorsports fuel rail - Fuel Labs electronic fuel pumps - Injector Dynamics 2000cc or bigger (Derek doesn’t

remember the exact injector size) - Mechanical Fuel Pumps - ATL 22 gal fuel cell Cooling: - 4d Engineering V-mount radiator and intercooler - 4d Engineering swirl pot Electronics: - Syvecs S12 ECU w/Plex dash, tuned by Magnus Motorsports - Life Racing PDM

Drivetrain: - Geartronics paddle shift kit - X-Shift 6 speed transmission gearbox - Englewood Driveshaft custom driveshaft Suspension: - Feal Coilovers - Front and Rear tube subframes Brakes: - AP racing front and rear brake calipers Interior: - Fire suppression system (forgot brand) Exterior/Aero: - Carbon Fiber Doors and roof - Brypar Billet Uprights - Carbon Fiber Doors and roof - Zebulon MSC rear tripe element wing and 3d end

plates, and splitter end fences - Chargespeed widebody kit - 4d Engineering Full flat bottom and rear diffuser Wheels /Tires: - Ceramic wheel bearings - Konig Hypergram 18x11 wheels - Yokohama A40 (A005) tires

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W t l i u B e g a r a G

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I

! r e d Wo n

Words and Photos by Jyrki J. Repo

’ve been working on Audi cars for all of my adult life. In 2015 I had an opportunity to be a part of a dream project involving an Audi; of building a perfect track tool that would deliver in the region of 1000hp per ton and make a statement world-wide.

Sami Sivonen has been a competitor Time Attack racing since 2011. He has won the Finnish Championship in the Clubman class twice with an Audi TTRS (2011-2012) Won the European Time Attack Masters FWD class at Zandvoort with a Seat Leon, and once again a Finnish title running in the Time Attack Unlimited class in 2014.

After three seasons with the Leon, it was apparent to the team that a FWD car is not competitive enough against AWD and RWD cars on twisty tracks of the Scandanavian North. Hence Sami decided to build a car that would give no excuses and losing to anyone on the planet would not be the cars fault. An Audi TTRS was considered, so was an S5 and an RS4, but when he found an unregistered R8 from Germany, the plans changed very quickly.

The R8 powerplant is a 4.2 liter V8, with a dry sump lubrication system and typical for Audi, an over engineered driveline would give a good chance for 4-digit horsepower figures, which was Sami’s plan from day one. Even though nobody mentions it a lot, the fastest TA cars in Finland, Sweden, the UK not to mention WTAC are already closing to 1000hp mark. So to be competitive down the road the magical 1000 hp had to be our goal.

Taking it from a track toy to track weapon As we noted the car was unregistered, as it has been built as a track toy from new. This not only meant it had very low mileage, and it already had a rollcage installed, it was also affordable, being more than a third cheaper than second cheapest on the market. So after a bit if negotiating Sami became the proud owner of Scandanavia’s only Time Attack Unlimited class Audi R8.

In an effort to see what we had bought we All Action, All TheNews Timefrom fromMotorWerks MotorWerksMagazine Magazine Motorsport

57 71

took the car to the track as it was. We tested at Alastaro in September 2015. Immediately after that shakedown run Sami started to strip it down, and the proper build itself started in January 2016.

After long nights in Sami’s Garage, we rolled the car out, to dyno on 20th of July, and straight from rollers the team haeded to the Motopark Festival, in Pieksämäki.

Keeping in mind that this A8 build is not a professional project, but a project built and maintained by Yours Truly, a part time journalist and part time race engineer, Sami, a sausage salesman, Mervi, a barber, Kalle, a Harvester pilot, and Mikko, a measurement device specialist. We built it in Sami’s garage. Just the five of us. I took what Sami had bought and modified the overall design, and we built it together. Obviously some parts were outsourced and numerous experts were consulted, but it still was built in Sami’s shed.

Due to that, as one can imagine, the maiden voyage was not completely problem free, but the day was a raving success, when Sami cruised to the win and the chequered flag in 5 lap sprint race. Not bad considering he started from the back of the grid, and had only completed nine laps prior to the race.

Two original parts The build was rather comprehensive. Only two 72

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components stayed intact, those being the steering column and steering rack. Neither of those are still located in original location, but they have not been modified either.

Engine was swapped from 4.2 V8 to Lamborghini 5.0 V10 after a lucky coincidence with purchasing a second hand Holinger gearbox from Australia.

Turned out the price included an engine from Reiter – built Gallardo GT3 and it had already been rebuilt with forged internals by Developro in Australia. The 5.0 turned out to be very powerful engine, and it even allowed Sami to pull a wheelie in 3rd gear at 100mph, and accelerating from 124 to 154mph in 1.8 seconds. Formula 1 turbo era acceleration levels come to Time Attack!

In scheduled maintenance after the season’s end in 2016 we unfortunately found a crack in the block and some damage in the crankshaft, hence we had to decide whether to repair it or replace it with another type of engine. The 5.2 liter Huracan/ R8 engine is a lot beefier as a base, so we chose to purchase one of those, and rebuild it to spec required for our required power levels. As expected, the new engine turned out more reliable, and ran without a hiccup all of the 2017 season, including the extremes of testing in the chilly north, and a pre-race test day in 37 celsius in Sydney prior to the

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World Time Attack Challenge.

On to 1.5 Khp The old engine produced 1220whp, and bit over 1000lbft of torque on 20psi boost. We tried higher boost, but the car wouldn’t stay on the dyno rollers.

Looking at fuel consumption and acceleration rate, 1500 crank hp was a safe assumption. The new engine made the same on 1.2bar, and we ran on 1.45 on track. Many said it is pointless to have this much power. However, Sami says the car puts the power to the ground perfectly. It doesn’t wiggle or wobble, just slingshots itself to speeds unimaginable for a tin top car. For example from 120 to 150mph in less than 5 seconds.

In Sydney, we clocked 6.1 seconds from 124 to 188mph, from which first two seconds it is still held back by traction control, and at 170mph I dial 5psi boost off, to prevent it from going too fast on Brabham straight. However, Sami joined the exclusive +300kph club, shooting over the magical 60

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74 © MotorWerks Magazine The Ultimate Reading Experience!

number on every single session he was out with the

better.

car. Not bad for a garage built racecar!

Testing with The Pros In 2017 we had to reshape the suspension geometry to match the small spec tyres we had to use in WTAC. Car is originally been designed to run GT3 size slicks, which are significantly bigger. It was a bigger task than I had expected, so I hired a colleague of mine from BTCC times, Toby Phillips to help me out on that one. We also drafted Phil Keen as a coach and a test driver. After a brief run, Phil managed to break the Botniaring tin top track record on 2 years old endurance Avons, by almost 3.5 seconds, in his jeans and a T-shirt! After four days of testing and prepping Sami managed to break tin top track record at the Alastaro track as well, on Yokohama 050 semi slicks. Not a bad achievement either, when e.g. Carrera cup full pro racers are roughly half a second slower in qualifying, and nice 13.5 seconds faster than on full supersoft slicks in the condition it came from Germany two years earlier.

The Journey to Sydney So, after we had it all sorted, we shipped the car with by air freight to Sydney. As we live here in the far North, the season only really starts in mid-May. If shipped by container and sea, we would have been required to pack the car and send it in late June, which would have not allowed us, a bunch of five amateurs, to test and develop the car properly before the WTAC. Hence the decision to use DHL and fly the R8 to Oz. Luckily they sponsored us, so some members of the team still have both kidneys. The car arrived in Sydney in a crazy 9 days after shipping! After going through the Australian customs procedure and a 72 hour bio quarantine, we were ready to go testing.

Sami’s first full laps were around 1:36, which is 10 seconds off the pace. But no worries, John “Boz” Boston came to help, and with his expertise and coaching, they massaged almost 5 seconds off Sami’s lap times, and things started to look a lot

Most importantly the car ran perfect and we had no issues with it what so ever. Some of our competition were a bit more unfortunate with six out of the eleven cars in Pro-Am having technical failures of a level of not being able to clock a full lap. A pity. But WTAC week is cruel. To finish first, first you have to finish.

WTAC WTAC is the most esteemed and fastest time attack event in the world. By a gap of unimaginable distance. Hence Sami’s laptimes – although running track records in Finland, were five seconds off Rob Nguyen’s and Mighty Mouse’s times. With help of Boz, we managed to encourage Sami to push it below 1:30, clocking a very low 1:29 in the second session of Saturday. It had been a breathtaking game between Will Au-Yeung and Sami, where Sami took the lead on Friday morning, Will and Rob taking on the afternoon sessions of Friday, Sami taking the second place back on Saturday morning, and Will then reclaiming silver on last session before shootout.

Rob and his tiny CRX weigh a stunning 560kg less than our R8 which is indeed a huge difference. Not to mention Sami, being sausage salesman, and Rob being an ex F3 and F3000 pilot, there is a difference in experience behind the wheel as well. And from the blind spot, Canadian Will Au-Yeung drove by with his stunning Civic.

Steering a 1430kg (3150lb) R8 through turn one at well over 180mph is a big thing to ask a shopkeeper.

Also the Yokohama tyres we had to use did not like us. The last three corners of the lap, the tread temperature is above 125C, and the rubber turns to mush.

Aftermath For us, this was a perfect campaign. We not only finished every single session with a timed lap, we had zero technical issues. This is a good place to start working on V2. Very little needs to be done for the car, except some weight loss. More work is on Motorsport News from MotorWerks Magazine All Action, All The Time from MotorWerks Magazine

75 61

Sami, and his driving. The future will tell how we

Audi R8 Coupe 2007

manage to challenge the lap record in WTAC, but Sami has already announced, he will be full on it,

5.2l V10 turbo Holinger LG6 – paddleshift gearbox

in 2019!

PS: Remember to check out our extremely

2 x Garrett GTX 3576 turbo Motec M1 engine/power management and

awesome mini video series “R8 1:1 Journey to Sydney” from Youtube

datalogging less than 1kg / hp 100-200kph 3,0 sec

Driver/owner: Sami Sivonen Race Engineer: Jyrki Repo 1st Tech: Kalle Tyrkkö

200-250kph 1,8 sec

Tech: Mervi Pirkkala CAD –designs and tech: Mikko Ahola Crew: Jesse Repo Antti “El Puerco” Lankinen Audi R8 1:1

The 2018 season opened in Botniaring, 9th of June. Botnia is the fastest track in the country, and the time attack drivers in general like the track a lot.

So does Sami, and as a result of the first warm up, he was 2.5 seconds faster than than the tin top track record, and over 1.5 seconds fastest overall, including the open wheelers. In the qualifying he made it official, and broke the overall track record by 1.2 seconds.

Off season upgrades cooled the engine intake down enough for the car to pack a bit more punch than last year, resulting numbers of e.g. 2.8 seconds 100-200km/h and 4.8 seconds from 120 to 250.

In the superlap, Sami was going for an easy win, but in the 220km/h chicane the car’s rear end got 62 76

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Experience!

loose and he ended up airborne, traveling backwards well over 200km/h.

A potentially dangerous situation took Sami and the car 148 meters off the track into a ditch. While

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More info: https://www.facebook.com/R8Sivonen/ Questions, comments: Jyrki.Peter.Repo (ät) gmail.com a few hundred pics of the build in my album: https://ylipaine.kuvat.fi/kuvat/R8/

the video, one can see the final crash against gravel bank, the speed was 30 km/h.

Car looked really sad, but in the initial inspection looks like suffered surprisingly minor damage.

While writing this, the engine and gearbox are still to be looking very serious, Sami had

removed from the vehicle to be examined, but if they suffered no

no injuries whatsoever, and the hardest impact didn’t result more

damage, the car will be back on track in Radalle.com Motopark

than 10G forces in to his body. In

Festival, 20-22 July, 2018

Motorsport All Action, All TheNews Timefrom fromMotorWerks MotorWerksMagazine Magazine

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Parking Only

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n a e p o Eur n o i t u l o Ev

Phil Rötheli is really proud of the Mitsibushi Evo you see here. The car has really lived up to the Evolution name as he bought it back in 2014 and since then with a lot of hard work by the Rötheli Racing crew it has evolved into what you see here. In fact over the

last five years more than 4000 man hours of labor have been put into the car and it shows with the quality of work.

He explained, “ We got the EVO from a guy who used it for Time Attack and completely messed it All Action, All The Time from MotorWerks Magazine

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up. It had run back in 2007 in the 24h at the Nurburgring, so the basic build of the car was pretty good and we reckoned it would be the perfect basis for our Time Attack build.

In 2015 we rebuilt the whole car in fourteen months and started racing it in different Time Attack Series across Europe. 2016 saw more of the same as we improved the car further with the emphasis on seriously updating the Aero.

2017 was a year we would rather forget when a broken fuel rail fitting caused a fire and the car nearly burned to the ground. We had to strip the car to a bare shell, dry ice blast it to get rid of the fire damage and repaint it. That continued into 2018 where we rebuilt the car from scratch and sorted out some of the issues we had with the car in the past.

2019 came around and we planned using it for test runs sorting the newly rebuilt out. The car is looking amazing as you can see from the photos.

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Sponsors: Timeattackapp MSRacing TCS Sektion beider Basel Vibrant Performance MT - Carbon

Weds Wheels Europe Hanshin-Imports peelablepaint.ch Götti Motoren GmbH East Racing Motorsport Pixel Panda

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Car Specs Weight: 1,100kg/2420 lbs Power: 735PS/860Nm or 724 WHP Engine: 2.3 litre built by Götti Motoren GmbH in

Saint Gallen, one of the oldest engine builders

in Switzerland. The were established in 1927.

Dry Sump System: Titan Motorsport Intake: Magnus Motorsports Turbo: Precision PT 6062 - Gen2 Intercooler: Rötheli Racing with Vibrant Perf Core ECU: Motec M400 Radiator: Rötheli Racing with Mishimoto core Fuel: E85 (85% Bioethanol) Fuel System: Fuel Injectors: Gearbox: Sequential 6-Speed KAPS LSD: LSD - 1.5 Way ATS Carbon Hybrid Front and a

1.5 Way Cusco rear Carbon Driveshaft Battery: Light Blox Electrics: Cartek PDM Dash: Motec C125 Wheels: Weds Sport 10.5” x 18” +12 ET Tire Size: 295/30/18 - 280/650/18 Uprights: SSB Designs Billet front, OEM rear Brakes front: Alcon 365x32mm Brakes rear - 4-Piston 300x28mm Brembo from a

Porsche 996 Turbo Suspension: Intrax 4-Way Black Titan XL Subframes: Magnus Motorsports front and rear Car Width: about 200cm Rear Wing: MT-Carbon - ‘RR special’ 200cm wide Aerodynamics: Front splitter with large sideplates matching up to the wheel arches.

Rear diffuser Carbon Fiber: Body parts by MSRacing Seat: Recaro PRO Racer SPA Fire System: OMP Platinum Collection

Custom made front control arms which are +20mm 68

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You can see the attention to aero detail in this shot. The huge splitter end plates direct the air down the side of the car. By running half a

driver’s door the A-Panel venting behind the wheel is enlarged inward. You can also see how far back the floor venting goes.

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Notice the extended nose section which allows for extra space for cooling both the radiator and engine heat exchanger. Note how both are angled to give better air flow.

You can also see the front splitter is not a Mega big size favored by some of the other Time Attack teams.

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Above Left: Proud to be Swiss Above Right: Phil believes he has the hardest working crew in Time Attack racing.

Left: The man himself, Phil Rötheli

The Rötheli Racing Crew Peter Rötheli - Tow vehicle driver and helping

hand all the time.

Cornelia Rötheli - my Mum who makes sure we

are all fed.

Alexandra Rötheli - My Wife who provides all

the mental support I need.

Michael Suter Fabian Lienert Mirco Luck Alex Butti Benj Bär Jannick Thalmann Michael Farcher Thanks guys I could not do it without you!

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HondaHouse.com Established 1977 Chatham, Ontario, Canada - Honda Cars, Trucks, Parts and Service

See us at Grand Bend Raceway Track Nights Follow The BEND “ Track Nights” on Facebook 74

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As Used By Gridlife Unlimited Champion Global Time Attack Overall Champion - - - James Houghton - - CSCS SSF Champion Super Lap Battle Limited FWD Champion - - - Chris Boersma - - Ultimate Track Challenge Production AWD Winner - - - John Freund - - Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge ST Winners, Daytona & Watkins Glen - - - LAP Motorsport - - -

The Rötheli Racing team are going to be using wheel ‘spats’ (Radabdeckung in German) as seen in the lefthand photo. Used by Group C endurance racers of the ‘80s and early ‘90s, wheel spats were designed to do two main jobs.

One was to reduce the amount of water and spray entering the wheel well and letting the tires spin easier. It also had the added benefit of allowing speeds around 200mph on the banking at Daytona and at Le Mans because of the better aero along the side of the racecar.

Global Time Attack Street FWD Winner - - - Chris Hofmann - - -

Notice in the photo above that the team have a wheel/tire image placed on the spat helping with the looks when the car is parked.

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Phil’s office!

Seated comfortably in his Recaro Pro Racer SPA seat the RRS carbon fiber steering wheel is perfectly positioned as does the Cartek Power Distribution Panel which combines a switch panel with a PDM. In front of the wheel is a Motec C125 datalogger dash with gear indicator mounted at the right-hand side. This photo was taken when paddle shifters were installed.

Currently Phil is shifting with a stick but believes they are close to going back to paddle shifting.

Our Sponsors Timeattackapp MSRacing TCS Sektion beider Basel Vibrant Performance MT - Carbon Weds Wheels Europe Hanshin-Imports peelablepaint.ch Götti Motoren GmbH East Racing Motorsport Pixel Panda Johler Design Love your neighbour Thanks to everyone that supports the team in our endeavours.

For more info follow the team on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ RoetheliRacing/ or on Instagram at www.instagram.com/roetheli_ racing/ All Action, All The Time from MotorWerks Magazine

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Evan Weider and his love for Civics and Time Attack Evan is aged 28 and attended the Michigan State University where he studied and obtained his Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. He’s currently working as a manufacturing engineer at a company in his hometown.

He personally believes himself to be shy and introverted but his friends don’t see him in that light. They see him as someone that is easy to get 78

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along with. He also has a keen attention to detail, pointing to the fact that he might have a bit of OCD in him.

His time attack journey started when he had his first car, a 1995 Honda Civic EX Coupe. At the age of 16, Evan knew nothing about working on cars for the most part. He knew he wanted something fun, especially with a manual and with the money he had, he bought that Civic. The car was a bit

Words by Enrique McLeggon, Images by Luke Munnell and Rob Wilkinson.

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rough and with the help of his dad, Evan was able to get a lot done to it. Without his dad’s knowledge of restoring cars, Evan stated that he wouldn’t be where he is today.

In 2010, Evan spectated an event called West Michigan Honda Meet (WMHM) with one of his friends. His interest was immediately sparked and the following year, he attended his first HPDE event at the same track. Once again, his interest grew,

Profile which led to him doing what the typical racer does – spend all his money on the car to make it better. In 2017, he sold the 1995 Civic and picked up a 1993 Honda Civic CX hatchback. He ended up swapping the entire drivetrain from his old Civic coupe into the hatchback and after a year of owning it, he bit the bullet and swapped the powertrain to a K24A2.

He also attended his very first Gridlife event in 2018 where he competed in the Track Battle Series.

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During his first qualifying session at the event, he accidently shifted from 5th to 2nd gear, which led to the flywheel bolts backing out and destroying the crankshaft flange. He now needed a new crankshaft but at the time, he could also get a K24A2 long block for a reasonable price and swap everything from the ole engine to the newer one, and that’s the route he opted to take. He also replaced the clutch and flywheel. He’s still running on the same engine, which is a testament to Honda’s reliability.

One of the challenges he faced when he made the switch from HPDE to time attack was trying to be a top contender in a very competitive environment. “When you switch from HPDE to time attack, your mindset changes. For me, HPDE was “relaxing”, I can work up to my own pace and what not, but in time attack, I’m constantly trying to push myself further into the braking zones, taking that corner a bit faster, all in an attempt to shave off a couple tenths of a second.”

Another challenge that he faced was trying to get comfortable with the increased power with the K24A2 over his high compression B18C1. Switching from the B18C1 to the K24A2, he gained about forty-seven wheel-horsepower and 54lb-ft more of torque.

Evan’s thoughts on Gridlife’s time attack format: “Gridlife’s time attack format is pretty awesome.

With the new Club TR class that was introduced last year, it makes my car a perfect contender for the class. Given that my car is typically used on the track, it is still legally registered and insured for the street. This is a requirement of the class as well. For 80

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the overall format of Gridlife’s time attack, it is pretty stout. Each class and their respectable competitors are so close to one another in times, which shows the high skill level and how well set up the car are.

One thing I could gripe about is the exception of no drivetrain subclasses. Gridlife used to run this format, but they got rid of it in 2019 I believe. When you get to classes such as Street or Street Mod, RWD and AWD usually dominate those classes. As for Club TR, it’s essentially anybody’s game. With how the class is set up, we have had a mixture of

RWD and FWD cars podium each event, and the best lap times between each competitor is so damn tight” About the car: It all started out with the first car he ever owned which was a 1995 Honda Civic EX Coupe. At the time, he knew he wanted a sporty car but didn’t realize how strong of an impact it would have on his life later on. Over the course of time, he got familiar with the platform and gained a lot of knowledge and skills with this particular chassis. He has owned three fifth gen Civics (1992-1995), one coupe and two hatchbacks. The coupe he ended up selling as a

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bare shell and the hatchback he owned prior to the one he has now was T-boned at the track in 2020 at Gridlife Spring Kickoff.

He just loves the aesthetics of this particular chassis.

The body lines, the “bubble butt” rear end and how smoothly it flows almost effortlessly. He also jokingly

stated that his purchase was not influenced by the civic heist car scenes in The Fast and The Furious.

He’s never wanted to deviate from this chassis simply because it’s “home” to him. He feels that if he should start over with a new platform, he would be completely lost. He has spent so much time and

The Build List Engine: - K24A2 engine (MY2006-spec) - Hasport EGK2 engine mounts - Unit 2 Fab steel baffled oil pan Cylinder head: - A1 Technologies head studs - 50-degree VTC gear - Tractuff swirl pot - Tractuff coolant bypass adapter Intake: - Skunk2 Ultra Street intake manifold - LoveFab 4-inch intake - Skunk2 74mm throttle body - Acuity Instruments TPS

Cooling: - KoyoRad K swap Integra radiator - Tractuff thermostat housing Electronics: - Hondata Kpro v4 ECU - AIM Strada logger - AIM MXP Strada dash - AIM GPS04 module - AEM digital oil pressure gauge - PLX wideband O2 sensor - Wireworx Milspec harness

Drivetrain: - K20Z3 transmission - Acuity Instruments short shifter for a 10th gen Civic Exhaust: - Acuity Instruments K20C/L15B swap shifter - K swap megaphone 3-inch exit 4-1 header

adapter plate - Custom 3-inch 304 SS exhaust w/ Vibrant - OEM FK8 shifter cables

Performance ultra-quiet resonator - Acuity Instruments FK8 shifter bushings - Karcepts 36mm hubs Fuel: - Deatschwerks DW200 fuel pump Clutch: - Fuelab 10-micron fuel filter - Exedy stage 2 - RDX injectors - Exedy 8.9lb flywheel - JBTuned -6AN PTFE fuel lines - Acuity Instruments fuel pressure gauge Differential: - Acuity Instruments fuel rail - OS Giken 1.1-way LSD

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dedication into this era of civics for over ten years and he believes he’s finally developed a really fast, fun and beautiful piece of machinery.

He pretty much had issues with everything on the factory car when he decided to go racing with it. The powertrain and drivetrain was built for an econo-

Suspension: - Fortune Auto 510 - Springs: 16K front, 9K rear - OEM 24mm front sway bar, 24mm ASR rear sway bar - Kingpin Machine outlaw series rear lower control arms - Honed Developments adjustable tie rods, rear

camber arms, front upper control arms and

adjustable toe arms kit - ASR subframe brace - Carbing Type 2 front strut bar - Kingpin Machine outlaw series spherical front upper

control arm mounts - Kingpin Machine outlaw series spherical front lower

control arms - Kingpin Machine outlaw series compliance bearings - Honed Developments front and rear roll center

correction kit - Honed Developments trailing arm gusset plates - PCI spherical rear trailing arm kit

box, and as a result it didn’t make a lot of power. He placed it with the K24A2 engine and transmission that was mounted to a K20Z3 engine. Another drawback was the factory suspension. It just didn’t cut it for racing and to solve this issue, Evan opted to change all the parts to the full catalog of Kingpin

Interior: - Sparco Circuit and Sparco Sprint seats - PCI seat brackets - LoveFab roll cage build from Docol R8 tubing - Sabelt harnesses - Sparco Champion steering wheel - Acuity Instruments ESCO-t6 shift knob Exterior: - TrackLife Composites front fenders - DIY front splitter - Nine Lives Racing 66” rear wang and uprights - PCI 4” side skirts - LoveFab custom air extractor/hood vent - Professional Awesome vents/ air extractors - APR GT3 mirrors Wheels / Tires: - Konig Dekagram 15x9 +35 front - Konig Dekagram 15x7.5 +35 rear - Falken RT660 245/40R15 (f) 225/45R15 (r)

Brakes: - AFCO 11.75” slotted rotors front - Blank ceramic rotors rear - G-Loc R16 pads front, R6 rear - StopTech STR42 calipers front - OEM Honda Integra calipers rear - FastBrakes StopTech STR42 BBK - Honed Developments brake booster delete

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GET YOUR VEHICLE

READY FOR SUMMER

WE’RE YOUR TRUSTED RACE LIVERY AND PAINT PROTECTION EXPERTS 905. 597. 2178 hello@c17media.com c17media.com

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Machine, including spherical rear lower control arms and bearings. He also installed Fortune Auto 510 coilovers and Honed Developments adjustable control arms and suspension geometry kit.

When you increase power, you also need to be able to stop faster and safer due to highs speeds being achieved, and need to dissipate heat faster.

In order to accomplish this, Evan has fitted the car with StopTech STR42 caliper, furnished with 300mm 2-piece rotors put together by Fastbrakes.

His plans for the rest of the season to hopefully get to Gridlife Midwest Fest and then attend a SCCA Hill climb event that is local to him called the Empire Hill Climb.

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Profile

Words by Enrique McLaggan, Images by Dana Basinski and Dana Balinski Collection All Action, All The Time from MotorWerks Magazine

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Dana Basinki is 26 years old and has a background in go-kart racing. The Plover, Wisconsin native raced go-karts from age eight to eleven on a clay oval track. He never did as well as he wanted as a kid and he always wanted to get better at racing.

Fast forward a few years and at age 18 he thought autocross would be a good outlet for his competitive nature, so he took his first car; a 1995 Honda Civic Sedan with a 1.5L and an automatic transmission, to a local event to see how he could compete in cars at an entry-level.

It wasn’t by any means an exciting car and he finished almost last at his first autocross event, but that didn’t matter as much because he was now hooked. By the time he went to compete in his next autocross event, he had bought an Integra GSR and he continued to compete in autocross events with that car. He later moved on to a NA Miata and autocrossed it as well, which he felt was a good training wheel for when he eventually bought his S2000.

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Before he bought the Honda S2000, a few years went by and he occasionally competed in autocross events and started to make some friends, one of whom is Andy Smedegard who is located close to Dana’s home. Now Andy knows a thing or two about autocross and soon started helping Dana by coaching him on how to go faster, but also to be more consistent. When he really got into it, he bought the afore mentioned S2000 and started to be competitive in autocross locally and with that confidence he venturing into HPDE events.

He competed in his first HPDE event in 2015 and at the event, they had a high speed autocross session at the end which he also participated in, and that brought the sense of competition that he craved from a larger track. From that moment onwards, he’s been working hard to improve himself as driver, getting lots of seat time at HPDE and time attack events, and combining a lot of autocrossing in the mix.

With the prices of S2000s increasing, Dana

decided to stop competing with his S2000 that was in a good condition and went in search of another that he could use for track duty but even a S2000 shell was still very expensive, so he had to come up with a plan to replace it with a more prectical race car. Mind you he did put the S2000 to good use before retiring it from competition. He was at the track with girlfriend Emma Adams when he surprised her by using the rear of the car as a stationary billboard and asking her to marry him. She said yes by the way!

This season is his first ever season with Gridlife, with his first event being NCM back in April, and that was also his first event with the BRZ. He really likes the structure of Gridlife and he especially enjoys the media coverage that comes from Gridlife.

About the car:

Dana and the ASM team have had many challenges in finding the weak points of the car, but so far at every event they’ve made changes to the car, improving it and making it faster as they go along. They are not completely there yet but it’s

So after much soul searching he ended up buying a 2013 Subaru BRZ with the intention of swapping a Honda engine into it. He’s a Honda fan boi at heart so to him, it was the obvious move to ditch the Subaru engine and start gain, this time with a Honda K24 engine.

Not long after the decision was made, Gridlife introduced the Club TR class and Dana knew that it was the perfect fit for the car. Andy pushed for him to join Gridlife Time Attack and it didn’t take much convincing when Andy started helping him to make it a reality.

amazing that they’ve been able to accomplish in just eight months.

As stated before, the main reason behind the BRZ was cost. “The prices of S2000s were so high, meanwhile, BRZs can be had for dirt cheap.

So for the price of a really rough S2000 shell, I got a running and driving BRZ and figured that it would make a great candidate for a K-swap.”

They’ve been plagued with transmission shifting issues as they are using a BMW ZF 5 speed. The other issue was getting all the various electronics to work, which they’ve solved by using All Action, All The Time from MotorWerks Magazine

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a Haltech Elite 1500 ECU and making their own custom wiring harness.

The team has also been plagued with throttle body failures while using drive-by-wire (DBW) throttles but they have now opted to use a traditional cable throttle for the time being for simplicity but can

easily switch back to DBW in the future if the need arises.

His plans for the rest of the season is to try and get a ticket for Gridlife Midwest fest and also make it to Road America for Gridlife Elkhart Classic.

The Build List Engine: - JDM K24A engine - 50-degree RBC cam gear - RSX Type-S oil pump - TF Works swap mounts - KPower intake manifold - OEM S2000 header - Tuned on E85 by ASM Electronics: - Custom wiring done by ASM - Haltech Elite 1500 ECU Drivetrain: - ZF 5-speed transmission 90

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Suspension: - Reinharte R2 coilovers Brakes: - Factory calipers - Ferodo DS1.11 pads Wheels / Tires: - Konig Hypergram 17x9 - Falken RT660 255/40R17

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Take the hassle out of aftermarket engine management with a Link PlugIn ECU for Mini, Nissan, Toyota, Volkswagen and much more.

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g n i n n u R o N ! h t a e r b f o out

Rachele Somaschini was born in Milan, Italy, in 1994. The joy of her birth was tempered by a diagnosis of Cystic Fibrosis, a genetic disorder that affects the lungs and breathing. Many years ago it quite often meant newborns would rarely outlive their first year. There was a great possibility that this bright eyed little girl would not reach adulthood. But today, if you Google Rachele Somaschini you see plenty of results regarding her career in motorsports: not only she became national rally champion, but she is known as a relentless advocate of the fundraising project “Running for a Breath”, that is aimed at increasing awareness about her disease and collecting funds for the Italian Cystic Fibrosis Research Foundation (Fondazione Ricerca Fibrosi Cistica).

Thankfully medicine has advanced to a level where being diagnosed with CF is no longer the death sentence it used to be.

With her familiy’s support, Rachele sticks religiously to her treatments and All Action, All The Time from MotorWerks Magazine

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with impeccable responsibility, doing all she can to maintain healthy physical conditions and yet living life to the fullest. It was thanks to her father Luca that she learnt to love speed and racing, starting with motard and motocross before moving quickly to hill climb championships and then rally driving.

Being a female driver within an environment traditionally reserved for men was both a challenge and a great opportunity for Rachele, who chose to exploit all the curiosity and attention she was getting as a female driver to put Cystic Fibrosis, it’s research and it’s hunger for funds under the spotlight. Sustained by her high level performances, “Running for a Breath” has been very succesful and the impressive sum of 200.000 euros has been collected. Rachele has created a community both in her life, racing and medical struggles, she chooses her her advertising mediums carefully to finance the project and spread her cause.

She loves sharing her daily challenges with Cystic Fibrosis, from the food choices to talking about her travel bags full of medications and tools for therapies, with the thousands of followers who loyally support 96

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her, thankful for their reaching out and actively participating in the most important of all races to beat, Cystic Fibrosis thanks to ongoing scientific research.

One on One with Rachele IR: How old are you?

RS: I’m 26 IR: How long have you been in motorsport?

RS: It’s been a while, my father Luca gave me a passion for engines, I always prefered cars and everything with engines. I started in motard and motocross, sat my driving license at eighteen and

shortly gained a competiton license. In 2014 I debuted in the storic race “Coppa Intereuropea” at the Autodromo di Monza racetrack. 2015 saw me competing in hillclimbs. In 2016 raced at many famed Italian circuits, in the MINI Challenge. 2017 saw me win the Italian Hillclimb Championship.

In February 2017, I became a driving instructor, at driving schools focusing on safe driving and motorsports courses. 2018 was a good year where I was selected for the Hankook Young Project and took part to the entire Italian Rally – CIR Championship. In 2019 I continued with the RS Team’s Citroen DS3 R3T where I won the Ladies Trophy and the R3 class in the Italian Rally Championship. In 2020 stepped up to the ERC Junior Championship with the Peugeot 208 Rally4 and also raced in 3 events of WRC: Rallye Monte-Carlo, Rally Italia Sardegna and ACI Rally Monza.

IR: You ice race to stay sharp through the winter?

SC: I just discovered the ice races and I find them very entertaining and educational. I’ll be back in rallies gaining more experience and I hope it is useful to achieve my goals.

IR: What are the challenges of ice racing compared to rallying SC: The ice driving is very enjoyable but at the same time challenging, the gap between all the drivers are close. Ice driving allows you to become familiar with the dynamics of the cars, thanks to poor grip conditions. You learn the importance of the use of the car’s weights, and you can acquire great feelings and skills for rallying, especially on gravel rally.

IR: Is it the European Rally Championship you compete in?

SC: Yes, I compete in the ERC, last year, due to the Covid pandemic, I didn’t finish the program in the Junior championship but I really want to continue that beautiful experience for the future.

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Words by Enriq ue McLeggan, Images by Larr Jack Thomas, M y Chen, ichelle Maraj an d Luke Munnel l

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Profile

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Mr

Logical

Rav i

Mar aj’s

LS B

RZ

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The story of Ravi Maraj and The Logical Decisions That Led to His Time Attack Build Ravi is currently 28 years old and has been into cars for as long as he can remember. He spent most of his life in Dallas, Texas where he grew up and studied electrical engineering. He had bought the BRZ during his college years in 2013 after seeing all the fun his friends were having in their manual RWD sports cars. After eating ramen for a while, he was able to afford a BRZ he saw for sale in Austin and on his way back after picking up the car, he taught himself how to drive a manual only having driven automatics all his life. He was particularly pleased as he had even mastered rev-matching by the time he got back to Dallas. It was his first real sports car and he really enjoyed it to the point where he got a bit obsessive. He later modified it, drifted it everywhere for a bit.

However, his story starts a bit further back…

Ravi is from a family that aren’t car enthusiasts and so he got his muse mainly from video games. Since then, he’s been playing Sega GT, Forza, etc with his friends. His first car was a 1998 Toyota Corolla, which as a group of crazy 16-year olds, they would find some dirt road and tried to sustain an e-brake slide for as long as possible. The Corolla was what really got him into modifying and tinkering with cars and back then, he ripped the muffler off the car because he thought the exhaust sounded cool, or even adding air intakes from AutoZone because of horsepower.

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Later on he bought a RX-8, which his really his introduction to performance driving. It only took one free event (“Toys for Tots Fun Run”) at Eagles Canyon Raceway one year, which was just a two to three-lap lead and follow, for him to get hooked.

Ravi had left Dallas after graduating from college to work at Honda of America which is located in Ohio.

Ravi had the opportunity to work on a few cool projects such as the NSX, new Accord, etc. Working there really introduced him to some great people that were really passionate about cars. Ravi always thought he was a car person until he met these guys, as they showed him what being a car guy was all about. Working at Honda as an engineer also introduced him to technical concepts and gave him the confidence to apply them to the development of his cars. Along the same time, he started competing at HPDE events at Mid-Ohio and started driving deeper into learning how to set up and driving his car faster around the race track. As he grew fond of chasing the perfect lap, he knew time attack/time trial competition was in his future.

Unfortunately, the BRZ went through two FA20 engines in the process and by the time the second engine failed, Ravi was already looking into other options.

At that stage in his life, Ravi was already working longer hours, with frequent trips across the US, spending a lot of time away from home and the track. All of this, coupled with the car being decommissioned because of an engine failure made him realize that he had limited opportunities to be on track and it would be best for him to make the most of the time he had and build something crazy, so in 2017 he decided to do a LS3 swap by himself. He figured, “why not?”. He had the tools he needed and could learn while building the car. On paper, it was an easy 450whp (which is almost three times the stock output at the wheels) with only a maximum ninety pounds of extra weight – it seemed like the logical choice.

Ravi stated that the swap was a major ordeal and

can be a story on its own. Fast forward a year later, he had moved across the country to work for a different OEM and after a few months, the LS3 swapped BRZ was finally running. He had retained basically everything and it all worked like stock: power steering, ABS, TC, even smart entry. The post-swap BRZ was originally intended on being a street-track car however over time it went down the time attack rabbit hole of constantly being improved upon as Ravi started competing in local events with a few co-workers and got hooked.

The plethora of events in the West didn’t help either.

Every organization had its own challenge, time trial or time attack, and Ravi really enjoyed competing in those events.

The swap wasn’t a walk in the park for the most part though as Ravi was faced with a number of issues before he got the car to be as reliable as it is, especially as the time he had available to work on

the car got less and less because of work. “It’s been a slow process of getting past the teething issues after the swap, especially now since I have less time than ever. First it was cooling, then fueling, then building a DAQ, then some other gremlins. But I’m proud to say that minus the roll bar install, it’s been all built, triaged, and counter-measured in-house.”

On top of all that, he doesn’t consider himself to be a god-tier driver or anything, more like above average at best, but he’s always looking for ways to improve as he’s data-driven and learns fast. He’s just a guy that built a fast car in his garage.

His stated that his first ever time attack was really fun and that it was at SpeedSF Challenge at Buttonwillow Raceway CW13. There were only five competitors in his class that day and he had managed to finish 4th, beating a McLaren 650 but lost to a GT3 and well-prepped Corvettes. The car was a mess as it was constantly overheating and All Action, All The Time from MotorWerks Magazine

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A DECADE OF INNOVATION IN BRUSHLESS FUEL PUMP TECHNOLOGY

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sliding everywhere, and it was only his second time being at Buttonwillow. However, his “big” event was at Super Lap Battle earlier this year and it was very surreal.

He was very nervous during the weeks leading up to the Super Lap Battle. After having an idea of how fast the other cars were, he was afraid that he would either DNF or fall back in the standings with his home-brewed BRZ. He spent almost every night leading up to the event on the simulator, making sure that he knew the layout and memorized it.

He was also trying to ensure that the car would be reliable the entire weekend. He had never competed in a 3-day event nor at COTA before and so the pressure was on. He watches F1 religiously, so arriving at the track and settling in adjacent garages to his friends Nick Aegerter and Chris Mayfield and being able to use the same garages the F1 teams use was amazing.

He had modeled a version of his actual car in the sim and was able to complete a lap in a time of 2:23. During his practice lap he was able to do a 2:26, which wasn’t that far off and he thought to himself that he could definitely get there. The car was running like clockwork the whole weekend and Ravi was lucky enough to have awesome, supportive friends that helped him tackle the little issues that popped up from time to time and he’s very grateful.

“The only real issue I was running into was some air in my clutch line that just wouldn’t bleed out. It made my shift times insanely slow and frustrating.

My friends and I threw the sink at it, and after an adjustment to the clutch pedal travel, it felt much better Saturday night. Can’t thank them enough!”

By Sunday, he was in 4th place with a 2:22.6 and he felt really good and only had the Super Lap Battle Top 5 Shootout to contend with. In the shootout, he was braking later than ever in every brake zone.

By the time he was exiting T5, he realized that he was 0.5 seconds faster than he’s ever been. At that point, he’s screaming to himself “don’t screw it up” but unfortunately he made a crucial error at T7 and lost the position by a tenth of a second with

a 2:22.44. It didn’t matter as much because going into the event, he didn’t expect much of himself and the car. He had finished fifth while battling against some of the fastest and coolest time attack cars in America. He really loves GTA/SLB and would recommend it to anyone.

About the car: As was stated earlier, quite a bit went into the swap in terms of work and thought process.

First step was deciding what power plant to go with.

Ravi’s options were down to building and boosting a FA20, a K swap, or a LS swap.

Ironically, he loves Honda motors and hadn’t All Action, All The Time from MotorWerks Magazine

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The Build List

Engine: - GM 6.2L LS3 - OEM forged crankshaft, pistons, rods - Manley double roller timing chain - Comp cams chromoly pushrods - Straub trunnion bearings - Unknown-brand dual valve springs - EPS 228/240 .629”/.604” 113 +2 camshaft - Aviaid LS-C dry sump system - CX racing with Element Tuning spec engine mounts - Katech ported 90mm throttle body - Airraid DIY air intake Chris Mayfield spec - OEM intake manifold Cooling: - Northern triple pass radiator - Setrab 9 Series 25 row oil cooler - Mishimoto expansion tank - Derale radiator fan - DIY diverging duct setup Fuel: - 1x DW 300c fuel pump - 2x Aeromotive stealth fuel pumps

Exhaust: - CX racing 1 5/8” equal length headers - CX racing Y-pipe - Copious amounts of DEI titanium wrap - Magnaflow 3” x 36” long truck muffler (laguna spec) - 3” Perrin WRX Catback Electronics: - GM E38 ECU - Factory Subaru ECU - MRS CAN gateway unit - DIY “Carduino” microcontroller 104

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- Mishimoto radiator fan controller - Nexus 7 radio - AIM Solo2 - AEM AFR gauge - Innovate Oil temp/pressure gauge - DIY 3d-printed relay switch block Drivetrain: - Tremec T56 MagnumXL trans - ACT 6-puck sprung clutch - ACT 15lb flywheel - Element Tuning spec clutch master bracket - McLeod hydraulic throw-out bearing - Custom 3” driveshaft - Toyota 3.73 M85 differential housing - OS-Giken Superlock LSD - DSS 600hp axles - Whiteline solid diff inserts Suspension: - JRZ RS2s (custom valved) - Whiteline front swaybar - Eibach springs - SPL front lower control arm - SPL rear lower control arm - SPL rear traction arm - SPL rear toe arm - MCA traction mod - SPL endlinks - Whiteline subframe inserts Brakes: - Brembo Club Racer BBK 355x32 front - Brembo GT BBK 316x20 rear - CSG spec C2 pads front and rear

Interior: - OMP HTE-R - Schroth Enduro 6pt harness - TC Design fab roll bar

- TRD front fender garnish - Verus engineering rear diffuser - Verus engineering splitter air dam - Trackspec hood vents - Race Louvers fender vents

Aero: - Professional Awesome splitter quick releases - Professional Awesome splitter rods - JDL front bash bar - DIY bash bar attachment bracket - Zebulon MSC custom aero package: splitter with

diffusers and end fences, side skirts,

single element rear wing with 3D endplates

Wheels / Tires: - TWS T66-f 18x10 - Yokohama Advan A052 265/35/18

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VW - Audi - BMW - Subaru - Mitsubishi Lotus - MINI - Mazda - S2000 and more...

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really been into American engines or V8s. The thrill of hearing an I4 scream to a million rpm was everything he had ever wanted in life. He really wanted to do the K swap instead but the fact of support for such a swap at the time made it unfavorable. And lastly, the biggest issue was power. “A boosted 4cyl making around 450whp for track abuse is going to be stressed to within an inch of its life. Freshly coming off of two blown FA20s, reliability was a huge selling point for me. Combined with the fact that the LS3 weighs pretty much the same as an FA20, retains a relatively low COG due to the lack of DOHC, while having the headroom for easily making more power if needed, it was pretty 106

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clear which direction I wanted to go.”

The BRZ also has a wide track width to accommodate the FA20, which made fitting the LS in the chassis quite easy dimension and clearance wise. This all played in the favor of the LS. Additionally, Element Tuning had also build a LS swapped BRZ/86 for time attack and so Ravi had their car to use as a template.

Ravi found a used LS3 on eBay. It was pulled out of a C6 Corvette Grandsport, which meant that the engine had a dry-sump lubrication system and a forged steel crankshaft from the factory. The motor arrived with the original harness, ECU, pedal, and dry sump system.

When he first took the engine apart as he wanted to do a fresh rebuild; the engine had 56k miles on it. While pulling apart the engine, he found out that it had been modified. It had an aftermarket cam, chromoly pushrods, and dual valve springs, which was a huge win. He sent the block and heads off to the machine shop and in the meantime, he worked on the wiring harness. He took the original GM harness, stripped it completely and while looking at the schematics very closely, isolated the components and branches he’d need and soldered in the components and wiring

necessary to integrate power and CAN directly between the GM harness and the Subaru electronics.

After that, he started working on CAN bus integration. The goal was to create a CAN gateway unit between the Subaru ECU and the GM ECU. He first reverse-engineered a few key messages on the Subaru CAN bus and then spoofed them using a microcontroller. He had a few functions working such as bringing in Tachometer and coolant temp from the engine and displaying these signals to the Subaru display, but then a few companies beat him to it and had released products of their own doing exactly the same thing, albeit a bit better.

In the end, Ravi purchased an off-the shelf device for the GM-Subaru gateway but still use my DIY CAN gateway unit in the BRZ for a few functions such as the following: - a signal relay for my AIM solo to bring in any additional analog or digital channels he desired - a trigger that scans the bus for accelerator pedal position before turning on an auxiliary fuel pump relay, - as well as an emulator for any tech-stream commands such as the ‘pedal dance’.

He also opted to use the T56 MagnumXL transmission as the shifter location lined up directly with the OEM BRZ shifter.

He also uses an ACT clutch with a McLeod hydraulic throwout bearing. He also switched to a 3.73 M85 pumpkin from an IS300 coupled with a OS Giken Superlock LSD. The chassis needed a few modifications to fit the motor and trans. A brace had to be cut out and since Ravi was doing the entire swap on jack stands, this turned out to be a challenge. The mounts and headers he used were from CX Racing which had some supporting plates added by Element Tuning, but he’s currently in the process of trying to switch to Vorshlag mounts and long tubes.

The factory fuel system wouldn’t suffice and so Ravi upgraded to a bigger fuel pump but had retained the OEM lines and fuel pressure regulator. Later on, after competing at a few track days, he started having fuel starvation issues and opted for a few in-tank auxiliary lift pumps as a solution.

On the day that the engine was installed, Ravi had a few of his friends help him with the installation but they had an issue. The pilot bearing was stuck and wouldn’t come out but somehow Eric Kutil was able to remove it after some All Action, All The Time from MotorWerks Magazine

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mechanical wizardry. After the engine went in, Ravi had finished up the harness and then went on to deal with plumbing for the dry-sump system. He went with a Aviad 3-stage dry sump system over the factory GM unit because he wanted the external pressure-stage. He placed the tank behind the passenger’s seat, made all the AN lines and routed them through the firewall, then made an enclosure for the tank for safety reasons.

After almost a year after the FA20 was removed, the engine had finally fired up. He spent that entire afternoon cranking the engine, checking the electrical grounding and made sure that everything was plugged in and secured. After all of that, while eating dinner, he remembered that the anti-theft system needed fixing and so he rushed downstairs and re-flashed it, and the car started right up afterwards.

One issue he had was having enough grip. He to get the widest set of wheels and tires that could fit under the OEM fenders, which was almost impossible because there aren’t that many 18x10 wheels available in a 5x100 lug pattern, and he could only fit 275 wide tires under the fenders.

The wheels he ended up going with were Taneisya Wheel Supply (TSW) T-66F in 18x10 5x100 lug pattern. They only weighed 17.3lbs. He’s currently running 265 wide Yokohama A052 because it’s the spec tire was Global Time Attack and Super Lap Battle. He really wants to run 315s but that means that he would have to cut the OEM fenders, which he doesn’t want to do because he adores the stock body lines.

He also battled overheating. At his first track day after the swap, he has melted a spark plug lead and the car caught on fire. With the packaging being so tight, many of the critical components are near the exhaust manifold. Since that day, Ravi has been very thorough about which parts are getting hot and how hot. Since then the headers have been wrapped and all the components that need protection are shielded off.

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The car is also quite heavy (2,903lbs with roll bar) with a weight distribution of 56/44. There are a few more items that could be removed from the car including carpets, glass windows, HVAC, radio and speakers, and the exhaust. His goal is to get the car down to 2,850lbs.

His current plan is to push the car’s current setup to its limits for another season. He wants to set a benchmark for himself at all of the nearby tracks, and go sub 1:50 at CW13. He’s not sure how it will

play out yet in terms of finding the time between work and travel but he’s definitely craving to get back out there.

Id mainly like to thank my wife, Michelle. She is so supportive of my goals and always comes out to events to be there for me.

I’d like to thank every person that offered to turn a bolt in this project. Their help was crucial and the car would still be on jackstands without them.

I’d also like to thank the friends from my life that

shaped me into having the interests and abilities that I do now.

Also thanks to Enrique and Ian for taking time to publish my article!

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s ’ t l o b d a h S t t o c S

Words and Images by Ian Rae 110

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s Bavarian

Beauty

It’s a 2002 e46 BMW M3, it has its original paint and it is Scott Shadbolt’s weekend warrior. It is driven to the track, raced and driven home again. Is it competitive? Hell yes, Scott even has championship trophies to prove it!

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lt lives, breathes Forty year old Scott Shadbo cars, in other and works on and around siast. words he is a true car enthu Known for having the most

r at the events he meticulously clean track ca out Time Attack attends, he is passionate ab is the ultimate as a motorsport because it the platform (in his combination of optimizing BMW E36M3) and case, a supercharged 2002

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worry about some the driver. There is no real mpetitor into a banzai move by another co vision as far as he corner. It is almost tunnel is concerned. mpetitive Scott has combined his co

e and added spirit, problem solving natur le to make the equal parts of speed and sty arantees to have street-legal M3 one that gu goes. all eyes turning wherever it

BMWs too, he is Scott spends his days with consulatant with a business manager/sales n be found on the Toronto BMW where he ca erlooking the city third floor of the building ov it was here in front and the Don River. In fact torsport wall that of their newly installed Mo otoshoot. we carried out the static ph is a driven In all aspects of life, Scott

he applies dealing individual, the same focus

ronto is applied with customers at BMW To st be just so! to his racing. Everything mu like it does” he “That is why the car looks ve to look the said before going on, “I ha alership and part on the floor at the de car to look just there is no reason for the track.” as professional at the race ily Racing for Shadbolt is a fam

diate family, affair and it is not just imme a family event the FS Motorports family is rents Debbi and with wife Eloise and his pa The F of FS Mike at nearly every event. who runs a Motorsports is Farshad Sani with his family at Nissan GTR and shows up “racing family” events. Farshad and Scott’s their success have become a big part of come out to with friends who regularly er assistance. show their support and off has been Rocco at RMP Motors who

ibly skilled irreplaceable offering incred vast BMW and and detailed workmanship, ring the setup is racing knowledge and ensu

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always spot on. ESS Tuning who provided a great supercharger kit and are always on hand to help Raamy at 467 Auto Salon as he is always on hand to help with Scott’s PPF and Ceramic coating needs. Keeping a racecar this clean isn’t easy!

Matt at GT Exhaust in Pickering always makes

himself available for a quick weld and did a fantastic job building the single exit exhaust.

Ronny at O’Brian Motorsports built the best cage Scott could have hoped for. Scott’s mom, Debbi’s chocolate brownies: a track day must have, accompanied by a post-race Red Bull

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Scott’s Auto CV Age 16: Freshly licensed and started building cars in his parents garage. Aced auto shop class at school.

Age 17: First car he built was a 1989 Nissan 240sx with a fully built KA24 NA Age 18: Second car built was another S13, this time a 1991 with an SR swap which he ran at local auto cross events Age 19: Learnt that driving on the track was the place to go fast (not the highway) Age 24: After selling the 1991 S13, he bought yet another S13 to start a more track focused build focusing on light weight and response with a mildly built SR. Scott ran the S13 at many track events at TMP, Mosport DDT and Dunnville. There wasn’t much happening with Time Attack back then but he was hooked and eventually moved from the S13 platform into a R32 GTR, continuing to run as many track days as he could attend.

Age 27: Purchased the M3 with an epic 24 hr road trip back from Denver Colorado with his dad. At the time, Scott was tracking the GTR so intended to preserve the M3 as a nice, street car.

Age 29: Scott purchased his first home and this necessitated parting with either the GTR or the M3; it was the GTR was sold. However Staying away from the track proved impossible and Scott quickly found himself back, running the M3 in completely stock form. Impressed with how the car felt he quickly performed some basic mods to make the car more capable including a Tein coilover suspension setup, a square wheel setup and uprated brake pads.

Age 30: Scott participated in his first CSCS event and after running a few Time Attack events was quickly pulled in by some early success and podium finishes (keep in mind sub 1:20 at TMP was almost unheard of back then!). Successfully claimed the CSCS National Championship for 2011 in Super Street RWD. Since then the car has continued to evolve from a 116

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mild street car to what it is today, improving as he grows as a driver while trying to keep pace with the quickly evolving sport of Time Attack.

Scott’s Projects over the Years.

1989 Nissan 240sx with a fully built KA24 NA 1991 Nissan 240 with a SR swap 1992 Nissan 240 with SR swap 1990 R32 GTR 2002 BMW M3 1973 Datsun 240z (just acquired!)

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Scott’s Competition History Canadian Sport Compact Series Super Street RWD Class Has competed with the series every year since 2011.

Four-time National Championship Winner Speed Ring 2018 Ventured to Pontiac, Mi for his first Time Attack event on foreign soil.

Ontario Time Attack Series The OTA is the only Canadian series which competes on Canadian Tire Motorsport Park’s (Mosport) Grand Prix circuit.

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Car Specs Drivetrain: BMW S54B 3.2 liter 6-Speed manual transmission ESS VT2 575 supercharger kit ESS intake manifold ESS Air to Air Intercooler Custom 3.5 inch exhaust by GT Exhaust Header by Status Gruppe OEM LSD Stock Rear End Ratio Radium engineering surge tank Snow meth kit Suspension: JRZ RS dampers SLR front control arms Turner lower rear control arms Turner front and rear sway bars Brakes: Stoptech Trophy kit, six piston front calipers, four piston rear 355mm rotors front and rear 18x10 Apex ARC8 or Enkei NT03 wheels with 265/35/18 Trofeo R tires for CSCS competition Electrics: ESS tune flashed to factory DME Garmin Catalyst Performance Analyzer Body: BMW unibody Rollcage by O’Brien Motorsports Voltex Type 7 Rear carbon wing Self built front splitter Trackspec Hood Vents Interior: OMP HTE-R Seat Renown 130R Steering Wheel Floor mounted Fire Extinguisher

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So what’s next for you and the M3, Scott?

The next step with the M3 is not fully known at this time. The car is very reliable and a blast to drive, however Time Attack doesn’t stand still!

To remain at the top, both driver and car must be consistentlyimproving.

Since the car remains driven and not trailered to events, sacrificing drivability and reliability for performance is a tight rope act. There is a constant push from competitors that has helped develop the car and myself as a driver.

I mostly run with CSCS and occasionally compete with the Ontario Time Attack series.

Ontario is fortunate to be able to support three Time Attack series with a variety of accessible tracks. For sure I am looking forward to returning to Calabogie this summer and I am stoked that their track is on Assetto Corsa so I can refresh my memory of its many, many turns.

I would love to see more Time Attack events at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park GP circuit (CSCS are you listening?!) and speaking of legendary tracks, when will we see time attack at Watkins Glen International? After travelling there four years straight (pre COVID) for DE days I would love to compete in an event there. It’s an amazingly fast, challenging, but fun track to drive. It’s definitely a track worthy of respect. How about one ‘away’ event being included in the series? Many series do things like that. It may even bring more Americans up to race with us.

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Now on YouTube As you can see from the images at the left we now have Youtube channels for MotorWerks Magazine and Cooper RSR.

There are quite a few posted on the MotorWerks channel including some great racing videos with out friend James Houghton including one where he made the correct tire choice, ignoring the choice of wets by the rest of the field and took his maiden CASC win beating a TA2 Trans Am car into second place and take the GT1 and overall win.

The Cooper RSR channel will be featuring some videos of the tools we built to help with the sheet metal work we are doing on the car.

There will be lots of interesting things coming so sign up now!

Harmon Racing Cells 2891 Sampson Ave, Corona, CA 92879, United States ​Tel: 951-737-7220

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