It’s another Porsche packed day of fun and adventure here at Utah Motorsports Campus. The Porsche Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy USA finished up their morning practice session. Here’s what it looked like:
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Steven Costello, long time friend of CAM, is now the series director for Porsche Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy North America! And he invited me to come out and shoot the event, which I am. Today is just a practice day, but the drivers are already hitting the curbs in the Attitudes like their lives depend on it. Here’s a gallery of that, and some less intense stuff.
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With a total time of 7:24.302, Max Dufford claimed a big TTC win. Having to drive three different tracks in one day, including one that nobody has driven on in a couple of years, is a test for anyone. Max rose to the occasion, and drove his Boxster to the limits set forth by the modifications allowed in the rulebook!
Taking home a shiny piece of silver neck wear was Rod Kujaczynski. Still rocking a RaceCo decal, but sans cowboy hat, Rod’s total time was an impressive 7:29.662!
Bringing home the bronze was Joe Evers, with a total time of 7:30.852. Three medals went to three people who drive German cars. Coincidence? I THINK NOT!
Trever “with an E” Pope managed a combined time of 7:53.343, not too bad for running around in a more practical Miata. Trever is one of the many drivers who helps out, and instructs the HPDE drivers. The young up and comers, or older up and comers, can learn some things from Trever. He may be alone in TTD, but he’s consistent and he doesn’t get caught up trying to run down someone in a faster class.
Piloting his trusty Mazderati, Tyler Nisonger threw down a total time of 7:41.375. As you can see in this photo, Tyler saves weight by only having one door mirror. These are the little things that separate the winners from the “also ran” crowd.
Erick Gerday also ran, but wasn’t an “also ran”. His combined time of 8:02.322, while not stellar, is nothing to sneeze at. Explore the limits of the rulebook a little bit, and get some more seat time, and Erick should start knocking seconds out of that time.
Darin Beaudoin, the goofy fella in the best Miata ever, took home the TTB gold. How? NO CLUE! But I do know he waved at me on one of his out laps. Did I get a picture of it? NOPE! Blame Andy Moench. He was ahead of Darin on track, and waved at me first. Quick PSA: If you’re going to wave at a photographer do it on an out lap, a pace lap, or a cool down lap. Don’t do it when you’re trying to set a flyer, or mid race. It’s one of those things that’s cool for the two of us, but will be infinitely embarassing if I have to write “and as they waved at me, the accidentally dropped two tires off track, which caused them to spin, which got them stuck in the sand trap”. Ok, with that out of the way we can move on.
Jan Gerday, running both TT and Spec Z, had a combined time of 7:32.775. Running six total session in the same car is quite the feat, and it’s validated when you get a medal at the end of the night.
Another Z getting a medal. The 350Z is a useful tool in a racing situation, if you know how to use it. And Justin Jones knows how to use it. His 7:38.607 was six seconds off the pace of the Spec Z driver Jan Gerday, but eight seconds ahead of fourth place finisher David Muskovitz.
James Pasquier was back, after some noticeable absences in the recent past. The lack of a doctor’s note notwithstanding, James’s combined time of 7:06.328 got him another gold medal to add to the sizable pile. I assume it’s a pile. What I’m trying to say is James wins a lot.
In a stunning upset, Mechanic Mike Bratsch beat out Andy Moench! This after Mike helped Andy fix his car between sessions. Sponsored by crippling instruments of debt, AMEX credit cards, Mike pounded out a 7:08.188. You can’t drive fast enough to out run your debts Mike. You just can’t. Sounds cryptic, but really is absolutely meaningless.
Andy Moench, with a car fixed by the skilled hands of Mechanic Mike, drove slower than Mechanic Mike. He did drive all of the sessions, and he wasn’t that much slower than Mike. His total time was 7:09.727.
Shawn Murphy continued to set records. He reset his record on the Outer Loop, and took over the East and Full track records. His car still has a full interior, and he drives it around on the streets. His total time was 6:37.029. It was the fastest of the TT drivers. His car, and how fast it is, hurts my brain. I don’t understand it, I never will understand it, and I’m ok with that.
Finishing in second place was Jenn Wolthoff in the Makes & Models Porsche 911 GT3. Her total time was 7:09.621. I understand that time, and how fast that car is. There is no witchcraft involved in it. Just good, clean, wholesome, pure, unadulterated speed.
TT1 had two drivers who drove in all three races AND all three TT sessions. And they did it in different cars. David Gilliland hopped out of his Spec Z and into his Viper T/A. His 6:58.015 was deserving of a gold medal at the barbecue. I agree with the decision to give him a gold medal.
David Bradshaw was a nother Spec Z driver who was jumping between cars all day. He would jump out of his Spec Z, get some feedback on his race, then hop into his 996 Cup car for a TT session. Then out of the Cup car, feedback, into the Z, and race. His game of musical cars didn’t hurt his times, as he ended up with a 7:03.08.
Mike Kresser got himself a gold medal, after playing musical cars like his Lyfe teammate David Bradshaw. Mike drove like a man possessed and posted a total time of 6:48.304. Not too bad for a guy with a bad back and another race car to drive.
Greg Warnock, and his widebody M3, came up just short against Mike’s 997 Cup car. His total time was 6:58.414. Again, not bad for someone who was pulling double duty all day. And if you’re someone who says “I hate flares!”, then you haven’t seen this car turning laps. It needs those flares to cover the massive slicks it uses to grip the tarmac. You don’t hate flares, you just hate useless and/or ugly flares.
Rounding out the top three is James “1000% not Jordan” Collier. Less than two seconds separated him from Greg. James’s total time in his Viper ACR was 7:00.335. Notice how a lot of the photos are with the headlights on? That’s because they got way behind schedule at some point. So far, in fact, that the final TT session got underway AFTER sunset. I made the most of it, and got some very cool pictures. The corner worker at Tooele Turn had a brief, but loud meltdown. We were all out of our comfort zone, corner worker. But we survived.
And there it is, at least for TT. Looking for Thunder and/or Lightning coverage? I’ve got them in separate posts.
It was the beginning of the best ten days on this year’s calendar. Acting as the meat in a sandwich where the delicious bread is a Salt City Drift event and Pirelli World Challenge, and the condiments are a NASA Utah weekend, was the annual Utah 6 Hour. Now a staple on the NASA Utah calendar, the Western Endurance Racing Championship stop provides a unique opportunity for the drivers and fans to drive into the night, and see nothing but lights piercing the dark Tooele night. And if you were out around turn 5 around 10:30-11, you would’ve seen me with a string of LED lights strewn about my torso. I was easily identifiable, for safety! Anywell, let’s talk about who took home a trophy!
Lyfe Motorsport was out with one of their own Spec Z’s (the Towne Storage Z) and supporting the #99 DLG Racing Z. Showing that 350Z is life, the Lyfe backed teams finished 1-2 in E0! The Towne Storage Z completed 147 laps in the 6 hours, with the DLG Z four laps behind them.
In E1, completing 153 laps in the allotted time, was the #65 E46 BMW of Strom Motorsports. It was the teams second win of the day, having taken the win in the GTS5 class during the Lightning sprint race earlier.
The Fit is fucking go! The #12 Honda Fit of Honda Performance Development completed 143 laps in 6:01:09.257, and probably had to stop for fuel once.
It was a battle of the Miatas in E3: the mighty and legendary Paul Mitchell versus the bug-eyed RJ Racing Miata. I mean bug-eyed in the nicest way. Look at those lights! Those lights lit the way for 147 laps, and lit their way to victory.
The ENP had one entrant, the Valkyrie Autosport Elan NP01. Despite the teams best efforst, the little prototype went behind the wall after 29 laps.
This was a battle: the TruSpeed Autosport 997 Cup car versus the Makes & Models Huracan Super Trofeo. A tried and true chassis versus a sprint race car. WERC class leaders one win away from clinching their championship versus a team with multiple regional championships under their belt? If you’ve been paying any attention to how these posts go, you know that by seeing the picture of the TruSpeed car that they won. Not only did they win the Utah 6 Hour, they locked up the ES Class championship. Congratulations to them!
Now we arrive at the car I was most excited to see running. Toby Crawford, driver of the Pink Ribbon Racing/Makes & Models Subaru BRZ, told me that there was a Ginetta G57 at UMC and that it was racing in the enduro. It was the Ryno Racing team, sponsored by Design Masonry. The G57 is based on Ginetta’s LMP3 design, and is probably a lot the same.* The big difference is that the LMP3 spec Nissan engine, rated at 420bhp, has been replaced with a Chevrolet LS3, which makes 150 more horsepower than the LMP3 engine. I was excited to see and hear the 900kg prototype tearing through the night, but unfortunately the car was retired after just 72 laps.
And there it is, another six hour race in the books! I’m already looking forward to next year. A tremendous shout out to all the race officials, corner workers, and safety crew for sticking it out until midnight. A big thank you to the family, friends, and well wishers who came out and watched the race and cheered the teams on. And all of the congratulations to all of the drivers and crew members for racing in the longest race on the NASA Utah calendar! There were over thirty cars entered in the race, and they all took the green flag. It was, as always, an amazing experience.
We can’t wait for next year.
It was hot. Very hot. So hot, in fact, that some competitors ended up being less than competitive because of it. Andy Moench’s and Mike Bratsch’s TT3 cars were feeling the heat, as were some of the Spec Z cars. Greg Warnock’s E92 M3 racecar succumbed to overheating issues, but he just hopped into his Cayman GT4 Clubsport and got some more laps in. I mean, who doesn’t have a back up race car in this day and age? Speaking of Greg’s race…
That’s where we start our coverage. Surprisingly, it was pretty drama free. At least from where I was. We had one GTS3 competitor, and that was Mayor McCheese himself: Blake Troester!
Byron Smith was back! Unfortunately for him, Darrell Troester was still there. He finished a lap up on Byron, and claimed another GTS4 win.
Despite going spin cycle early in the race, Gerry Shear (who gets it) got everything straightened out and took home a GTS5 win.
NASA Utah’s own BFG, Bob Evans, took the Snickers Ford Fusion NASCAR Sprint Cup High Downforce Prototype to the top of the podium in ST1.
J.R. Smith, proving that good things can be made better with the addition of an LSx, claimed another ST2 win.
Benevolent Overlord Matt Guiver hopped in the Minion (or banana mobile) and out drove five of the Ford Performance Racing School Mustangs. Five! That’s a lot of Mustangs to beat out.
In the Super Unlimited class, Pirate Supreme Les Long threw down some blistering laps and took home the class win. Could he take home the overall win?
Well, no. Makes & Modesl had their Huracan Super Trofeo back on track, and Derek was a man on a mission. Despite rising temperatures setting off alarms, he managed to claim the GTSU win AND the overall race group win. Speaking of that white, German/Italian super-weapon…
Brendon Stewart hopped in the driver’s seat for the TT sessions and threw down a best time of 1:35.580 to take the TTU win.
TT1 saw a few Vipers. Definitely not a bad thing, especially given the news that FCA will be killing the big snake after 2017. Topping the podium was one of those snakes, the one driven by David Gilliland. He slithered around the East course of UMC in 1:41.8.44
Shawn Murphy wasn’t there that long on Saturday. He had a wedding to go to. I suggested someone Facetime him in, but that one didn’t fly. My brilliant idea didn’t fly, but Shawn did. And in the crowded combined session to boot. His best time in his “street car” was 1:40.988.
As mentioned earlier, Andy and Mike’s cars were feeling the effects of the heat. The heat didn’t seem to be a problem for James Pasquier, and his reliable as the sunrise 993 911. He set his best time in the last session of the day! Clearly we should all get 911’s, and be immune from heat.
Darin Beaudoin barely escaped the day with a win in TTB. He had Stephen Martin hot on his heels. Stephen posted a best time of 1:47.795, which was so close to Darin’s time. Darin, in his Honda Miata, posted a 1:47.760.
For those keeping score at home, Porsches have claimed five wins on the day so far. After this, they will have claimed six. Max Dufford, in his Boxster, ran a 1:48.977 in TTC.
Todd Green, listed in the #60 which I don’t have a picture of nor even see, took home the win in TTE. He posted a best time of 1:47.335 in the second TT Storm session. I don’t have a photo of that car, but I do have a photo of the mythical beast that is L’oreal! I MEAN PAUL MITCHELL!!! Speaking of things that you could hear about later…
Things got a little spooky, then kinda violent. Some Spec Miata drivers got too close coming out of Release, and one spun. Later in the race: a couple of Spec Z drivers got together, sending one into the dirt. Aside from those events, and another Spec Z losing an engine over the course of the race which left the car stranded at pit in, the race was fairly straightforward. Let’s start with Spec Miata, where Chris Bond returned! He took home with win, and managed to stay clear of any sort of shenanigans.
Otto Silva wasn’t the only 944 Spec driver this weekend! He was still the winner, but he wasn’t alone!
We haven’t had any open wheel races this season, which has meant that the usual drivers have been doing other things to occupy their time. Apparently one of those “other things” for Troy Duffin is getting a hold of a Datsun 510 racer. He brought it out this weekend, and took home the win in PTE.
Here we see the GTS2, PTB, and Thunder Roadster winners, all at once! Tom Rogers got himself a win in GTS2, Nathan Rohner in his RX7 (which was originally built as an autocross car) got another PTB win, and JD Stull took the win in Thunder Roadster. This was JD’s first race, and it was great seeing him out in competition.
We had one, lone GTS1 competitor: Steve Burns. He and Chris Bond had a solid battle all race, which was great to watch.
And in Spec Z, we had the #42 DXDT car, driven by David Askew, atop the podium.
PHEW! What a day! On to some miscellaneous stuff:
And that is that! We’ll be back for Round 6, and the 6 Hour Enduro on August 6.
After a week of blistering heat, and the sun beating down upon those who dared venture out into its rays; the Saturday that followed was different. Not the opposite, as that would be cloudy, with freezing temperatures and frozen precipitation falling and accumulating everywhere. No, this was different. It was colder, but not cold. It was cloudy, but there were glimpses of blue sky. There wasn’t frozen precipitation gathering on the track, but there were “showers in the area.” At least that’s what my phone told me as I was trudging back to my car to get my rain gear, in the midst of a sudden, intense shower. But while I was playing chicken with the weather behind the armco, on the tarmac were drivers dueling the clock.
After months of being behind the wheel of Paul Mitchell, and in the garage working on his car, Todd Green finally got the blue car race ready. And it was quite the debut. He took home a pair of wins on the day, but for our purposes we’ll focus on the 1:45.34 lap time that secured his TTE win. I’m not sure what he’s done exhaust wise, but the car sounds rowdy! So much so that I was caught off guard when he came down the back straight.
Jeb Brown was out and about in his Miata, when he wasn’t instructing. Between imparting knowledge and trying to stay dry, Jeb managed to lay down a 1:54.032 in TTD. That was good enough to hand Trever Pope his second place finish in the last six race days.
I noticed a gorgeous, gray 911 as I was walking through the Day Garages. The golden class and number stickers leaped off the paint, and the car stood out amongst the BRZs and 3 Series that sought shelter in the garage with it. I knew I had to keep an eye out for the car when it was on track, and good thing I did. Joe Evers drove the widow maker to a win in TTC, laying down a best time of 1:49.2.
For the second time in… well ever, we had an Aerial Atom running competitive laps. Very competitive laps. Steve Marx came out of nowhere, and drove his high downforce jungle jim to a win in TTB. How fast can some tubing with a motor strapped to it move? His best lap on the sub-par day (weather wise) was 1:43.389. Not bad for something that is completely, and utterly insane.
It was a battle of the BRZs in TT3, as has been the norm for the majority of the season. Despite there being what would appear to be better cars in the class, it’s been Mike and Andy dueling for the top two spots all season. This day saw a third competitor cut into their dance. Despite his best efforts, James Pasquier couldn’t out run Andy, who put up a 1:39.227 in the ever changing conditions.
In his usual fashion, Alex managed to elude me all day. He eluded me everywhere, except when he was on track. Despite all of the witchcraft happening under the hood of the Focus of Doom, he could not escape my lens. I managed to catch him as he was on his way to a win in TT2. His best time of the day was a staggering 1:35.303. Amazing, considering that he’s in a home-brewed, front wheel drive, big turbo Focus. To put that into perspective: he was faster than a Noble, a Porsche Cayman GT4 Club Sport, several 911’s, and Wade Hall’s Mustang which puts down enough power to alter the Earth’s rotation.
Front wheel drive has certain advantages in adverse conditions. Having the weight of the engine over the driven wheels helps to keep the rubber on the tarmac, and not sliding across the water on top of it. It has some disadvantages too (understeer, having the driven wheels also doing the braking AND steering), but like Alex and his Focus, Zack Serna has tamed those disadvantages. He took his supercharged, K series powered Civic hatchback to brave new heights and set a time of 1:40.995. It held up to the rain, the wind, and the charging Noble of Kam Urquhart.
Speaking of Porsche Caymans, one was atop the TTU ladder. I say “one” because there were two running in the same group. Both sported prime numbers, and both were white. According to the results on My Laps (what I’m going off of, because that’s all I’ve got at the moment) the #11 car was the winner, laying down a 1:36.963. This is where things get tricky. Greg Warnock is on the list as the winner, driving the #11 car. As you can see in the photo above, Jeff Kearl drives the #11. Greg has the #07, and in a weird twist is also third in TTU (in the #07 car). Now, they could’ve very easily hopped in the other’s car. Or there could be some other mix up, I don’t know. Either way, one of them won and the other came in third, with Wade Hall sandwiched in the middle.
And there it is, a comprehensive and wordy review of Saturday’s TT action. We’ll be back with Thunder and Lightning coverage, and a gallery of some of the rooster tails that were kicked up as the rains were falling, later this week.
Now it’s time to take a look at the Time Trial standings. There aren’t nearly as many classes in TT, but there are plenty of close battles. Like TTE! Paul Mitchell, the most fabulous Miata of them all, sits atop the class with Tyler Nisonger 40 points behind. How is this going to shake out? Well, back in third is Ben Lamberson. He’s 70 points down, but definitely not out. It’s a long season, and that’s not an insurmountable gap.
Trevor Pope is sitting atop TTD, riding high on three straight wins.
TTC didn’t have a single competitor last weekend, so Tom Rogers is still leading the group.
New Miata owner, and fella with a jaunty last name, Darin Beaudoin is sitting atop TTB, with Adam Hurdman 100 point behind him in second place.
One of the BRZ/FRS drivers to step up to TT3 was Andy Moench, and he finds himself in first place. Another driver who made the jump is Mike Bratsch, who currently sits in second place.
Shawn Murphy and his “street car” are 45 points ahead of the Makes & Models 911 GT3. The 911 is tied with the Pink Ribbon Racing BRZ, which is getting some fresh new rubber. Shawn is throwing on some new sideskirts and fender flares for the next round, so this weekend is going to be interesting.
David Gilliland and his bright orange Viper are leading the way in TT1. Nice to see that bright, menacing thing running around and winning.
At the end of the rainbow is an Italian/German race car driven by a collection of talent that used to drive a German race car. That would be Makes & Models and their shiny new Huracan ST. They have a 20 point lead over Wade Hall in TTU. If you were to take in to account the wins Makes & Models scored when they took their old R8 LMS out for Round 1, they’d have a 220 point lead over Wade. Regardless, Makes & Models is still learning the car while Wade is sharpening his driving skills. This one could get interesting.
Hey look! A pretty awesome new wallpaper for you. Enjoy!
It’s just not a NASA Utah season without at least one rainy day. Conveniently, Mother Nature decided to bring the rain for round two, and so the annual NASA Utah Regatta was under way. If you’ve been a loyal reader this week, or if you’re not blind, you’ll have come to the conclusion that this is the Thunder Group write up. These guys, in their high horsepower and high downforce cars, got lucky and qualified in the dry! But the photo above is from lap one of the race on Saturday, which is clearly not dry. A some of the field packed it in when the rain began falling at lunch time, which led to a total of ten entrants in the race. Let’s talk about those brave sailors, and how they finished.
Byron Smith was the lone GTS4 entrant, and completed 11 laps in the rain. He had a best lap of 2:00.717, and took home a gold medal for his troubles.
Russ Timmons made an appearance in his orange and chrome 997. Always enjoy seeing that car on track. Russ was alone in GTS5, so he could have completed less than the 7 he did and still would have taken home a medal.
We had a couple of rookies in ST3! Both Frank Gannett and James Harrell were both out in Boss 302RS’s from the Ford Performance Racing School. Frank, in the black #93 Mustang, didn’t do anything meme worthy on Saturday and took home the win.
ST2 was another solitary car field, and that man was J.R. Smith. He, and the nobles steed that is the E36 M3, ran 11 laps en-route to a class win.
So, I only heard that Air Power Racing had both of the former Effort Racing 911 GT3Rs, but I needed confirmation before saying something like “holy f&#king ass crackers! Air Power has both of the Effort cars!”. On Saturday I got that confirmation, because both cars were out for qualifying. David Donner went out in the #41 car as the lone Super Unlimited entrant, finished on the lead lap, and ran a 1:43.699! In the rain! In one of the widest 911s I’ve ever seen!
As mentioned earlier, wonder kid Madison Snow was out in the UIS Huracan. And since he has significantly more experience in said platform he dominated the GTSU field. He took the win by 18.603 seconds, and his fastest lap was near-as-makes-no-difference a full second faster than Derek Wolthoff’s in the second place Makes & Models Huracan.
The GTSU and SU competitors were ridiculously fast for being in the rain. The Thunder group races are going to be bleeding speed from every pore this season, and we can’t wait to see what happens when these guys are let loose on the Outer Loop of Full Track!
Not everything was run in the rain. A good chunk of the TT sessions were run in the dry, cool air which allowed the drivers to set some good lap times. Good times like the 1:39.675 James Pasquier laid down to take the win in the largest TT class of the day, TT3. He was the only TT3 driver to set a time in the 1:30’s.
TT1 saw the return of David Gilliland. Unfortunately I didn’t see that triumphant return, but I did see him in the Lightning race. He threw down a 1:38.821 in the first session of the day.
Shawn didn’t blown anything up, or set fire to anything! Hooray! He did rip a coupler on his intercooler piping, but that didn’t stop him from lapping the West Track in 1:36.742 and taking the win in TT2. By the way, he still calls his Subaru a “street car” because it has a full interior. It has a full rollcage that makes a lot of that interior useless ballast, but he seems to enjoy it.
David Bradshaw went out in the first session and threw down a 1:45.668, which held up all day and got him the TTB win. Again, missed that session but caught the Lightning race. Here ya go Dave.
TTD was a one man show. That man being Trevor Pope. He ran a 1:49.481 in the second session.
PAUL MITCHELL was atop the TTE ladder, with a 1:46.946 and Todd or Matt or Alex or whoever behind the wheel. The official results sheet says Todd Green, but in case that was wrong I have officially covered my bases!
And finally, in TTU, Brendon Stewart graduated to the Huracan and put down a very respectable 1:30.142! He was the highest placing Makes & Models driver on the day, but all of the Makes & Models drivers finished on the podium in their respective classes.
And there you have it for TT. Tomorrow we return with our final group: Thunder! Prepare for Thunderdome puns, clouds, and rain photos.
