Motorwerks Magazine Volume 4 Issue 1 by MotorWerks Media

THE ULTIMATE READING EXPERIENCE!

T S TE

N O C R U l o O o h c S R g n E v i r T D d N a e E h A s e l i M a Win

From the Editor’s Desk

THE ULTIM ATE READING EXPERIENC VOLUME 3 ISSUE

01 APRIL 2013

Published A division by TreeFree Publishing of Webtron ic Enterpris es

James Rea’s

BIGGun

Welcome to the first issue of 2014, it is another bumper issue with lots of racing coverage. We have coverage from all over North America. We have some new advertisers on board this issue and both MINI of Concord and BMW Concord have some great discounts available to our

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TECH - THE INITIAL COO PER RSR UPG GREAT GRA RADES ND-AM PIC TORIALS! FEATURED PHOTOGRAP HER - JOHN SCHROEDER MotorWerks

Magazine

- Online at www.motor

werksmag.c

om -

MOTORWERKS MAGAZINE (MWM)

readers. We are gathering parts for Cooper RSR and you will

is ‘The Ultimate Reading Experience’ and is dedicated to all BMW and MINI enthusiasts covering their cars and lifestyles.

be seeing some majors changes over the next few issues.

Volume 4 Issue 01 - JANUARY 2014

This issue sees the first article for MWM penned by noted racer and driver coach, Ross Bentley. Probably the most exciting thing about this issue is the great contest we dreamed up in conjunction with Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s only driving school, Miles Ahead. The winner will get to drive a brand new F56 Cooper S at the Brickyard. So read the rules and enter away!

Be part of MWM by sending in photos and data about your car. Wanting to make a point? Send a letter to the Editor and tell the World what you think! Go to our website, www. motorworksmag.com and click on Contact to view the contact info for Readers’ Rides and Letters to the Editor.

Editor - Ian Rae E-Mail - ianrae@motorwerksmag.com Phone - (905) 467-5148

CONTRIBUTORS

Ian Rae, Norman Nelson, Halston Pitman, Michael J. Deschamps, Chris Knox, Chris Green, John Venditti, Rich Simpson, Jake Galstad, Lyndon Handy, Adam Isman, Thom Rossi

CONTRIBUTIONS WELCOME

Photographic and Editorial contributions to MWM are welcomed. Photgraphs must be sent in hi-res format and can be .JPEG or .TIFF. Editorial contributions to be in Word format. Contributors must make every effort to ensure there is no infringement of copyright belonging to any other person or persons. MWM is not responsible for any such misrepresented contributions. Contact the Editor by e-mail to discuss any editorial concepts.

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Ian Rae, Janis Rae, Melissa Smith, Halston Pitman, John Scroeder, Jake Galstad, Norman Nelson, Justin Weekes, Dito Milian, www.gotbluemilk.com Various BMW & MINI images courtesy BMW Group Press Club

ADVERTISING

Advertising Manager - Janis Rae E-Mail - janrae@motorwerksmag.com

CREATIVE ADVISORS

Enjoy Editor, MotorWerks Magazine

Jim Weekes - J Graphics Scott Brown - Scott Brown Graphic Designs Mike Goodwin - MG Digital

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MOTORWERKS MAGAZINE (MWM) is published four times a

year by TreeFree Publishing, a division of Webtronic Enterprises. Contents may not be reprinted without express written permission of the Editor. The publishers do not accept any responsibility for the use of copyrighted material from unsolicited sources. The publishers also cannot be held responsible for any errors or ommisions in articles published by MWM. All brand names and logos are trademarks of their respective owners. The BMW and MINI names and logos are registered trademarks of BMW AG and their subsidaries. MWM is not directly affiliated with BMW, any of its distributors or dealers.

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This Month 22

Miles Ahead with MotorWerks Magazine - Big Contest!

Bully - A MINI Story

A Fitting Tribute - MINI fans come to thank RSR Motorsports.

The Bubble Does Not Burst - Isetta time!

Petit and Orens Endure Mid-Ohio - Enduro time

108

Experience The Rush - Canadian Tin-Tops

118

On the Road to the Green Hell - The ‘Ring

124

Nevada City Adventure - MINIs in Norcal

128

ALMS at CTMP -

134

Across the Racing Line - That man Rossi!

128

Adam Isman’s Blog - Laguna Seca and first Grand-Am event

138

A Landmark Event - Road America 2013

143

Saying Goodbye - ALMS finishes at Petit Le Mans

146

TedFest 2013 - Funtime

154

The Unknown Corner - Ross Bentley

158

California Dreamin’ - O-Fest out West

164

Bimmercruise - Rocks Mosport

176

MINI City - New show in Canada

190

SPEC E46 - Birth of a new class

Be Miles Ahead with MotorWerks Magazi about the Cooper design from every ot year?

ine - What was different ther car in the race that

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On The Grid

launch of the BMW Concept M4 Coupé, we are now laying the foundation for a new era, both on 2014 DTM season with the BMW M4 DTM the road and on the racetrack. The reactions to the Concept Car have so far been overwhelming. While the four BMW DTM teams are hard at work It is almost a matter of course to use it as the preparing for the seventh race of the season basis for a motorsport version. The DTM is at the Nürburgring, visitors to the automobile obviously the ideal platform for this step. All fans weekend in Pebble Beach, over 9,100 kilometres of BMW M and the DTM certainly have good from the “Green Hell”, were treated to an reason to start looking forward to 2014.” exciting glimpse of the future: it was there that So far, the BMW M3 has 48 DTM wins to its BMW M GmbH launched the BMW Concept M4 name. Harald Grohs scored the first victory in Coupé, an innovative high-performance sports Hockenheim in 1987. The latest success came car based on the new BMW 4 Series. This model courtesy of Bruno Spengler at this year’s race also provides the first taste of the BMW M4 DTM, in Spielberg. The BMW M3 has also picked up with which BMW Motorsport will compete in the victories in many other series and at racing popular touring car series next year. events around the world, earning its place as the “We are all really looking forward to the new most successful touring car of all time. BMW M4 DTM,” said BMW Motorsport Director BMW M3 DTM, three teams and six drivers. BMW Jens Marquardt. “The BMW Concept M4 Coupé promptly won five races and topped the driver, certainly looks fantastic. So will our DTM car for team and manufacturer standings at the end of next season – I can already promise all the fans the season. that much. The BMW M3 DTM won the title at the first attempt in 2012. We obviously want to Nani Roma wins the 2014 Dakar Rally follow on from this success with its successor. However, it will still be quite a while until we get Three MINI ALL4 Racing cars on the podium. to see our new DTM racing car for the first time.” Munich (DE). He has done it! Joan “Nani” Roma “A year ago we celebrated the 40th anniversary in the yellow MINI ALL4 Racing has won the of BMW M and the 25th birthday of the BMW 2014 Dakar Rally. The Monster Energy X-raid M3 in style, with Bruno Spengler winning the Team driver finished the toughest rally challenge DTM race,” said Dr. Friedrich Nitschke, President in the world just 5:32 minutes in front of his of BMW M GmbH, in Pebble Beach. “With the teammate Stéphane Peterhansel (FR) in the

black MINI ALL4 Racing. Nasser Al-Attiyah (QT) in the predominantly white MINI ALL4 Racing finished 3rd. The podium was firmly in hand of the MINI cars, which once again proved to be reliable and fast throughout the whole event. It was the first win for Nani Roma in a car at the Dakar Rally. The Spaniard had already won the event on a motorbike when it was still held in North Africa in 2004. “I’m so relieved and happy,” Roma said. “It was my big goal to win the Dakar not only on a motorbike but also in a car. A dream came true for me and I want to thank everybody at X-raid and MINI for their great work!” Roma, who has been leading the overall classification at this year’s event for nine days, winning two stages in total, continued: “The MINI ALL4 Racing is a brilliant car and was extremely reliable and quick throughout the whole rally. It was fun to drive! Also a big thank you to my co-driver Michel Périn, who was a great navigator again! A great result for MINI, now it’s time to celebrate!” The 2014 Dakar Rally was one of the

toughest of all time. The 9,374 km-long route led from Rosario across the Andes and the challenging Atacama desert to Valparaíso at the Pacific coast. The drivers had to face a lot of different weather conditions and soils. Gravel in the Andes and a lot of extremely fine sand in the hot Atacama desert. MINI mastered all the challenges and won 11 of the 13 stages. It was the third win in a row since MINI made its debut at the Dakar Rally in 2011.

The great reliability of the MINI ALL4 Racing, which is based on the MINI John Cooper Works Countryman, was underlined by the fact that all eleven cars that had started into the event crossed the finish line in Valparaíso. Seven of them finished in the top-ten, including the ones of Monster Energy X-raid Team Orlando A busy interior!

Terranova/Paulo Fiúza (AR/PT), who finished 5th overall, and Krzysztof Holowczyc/Konstantin Zhiltsov (PL/RU), who crossed the line 6th overall. MINI at the 2014 Dakar Rally. A total of eleven MINI ALL4 Racing compete in the 2014 Dakar. All are based on the MINI John Cooper Works Countryman, modified by the factory-supported X-raid Team to meet the high demands of the Dakar Rally which is today’s pinnacle of off-road motorsports. With a

combination of power, reliability and efficiency the MINI ALL4 Racing proved its competiveness right from its first Dakar start in 2011 while also winning the hearts of the fans from the word go. On only its second Dakar appearance, the MINI ALL4 Racing made the big breakthrough by winning the 2012 Dakar Rally. In 2013 the MINI brand proved that its Dakar success was no flash in the pan by defending its title at the first attempt. This year, the X-raid Team and the MINI brand are aiming at clinching their third consecutive Dakar title when the 2014 Dakar ends in Valparaiso, Chile, on 18th January. Coronel wins the 2013 BMW Sports Trophy, ROAL Motorsport takes inagural Team Championship. On 7th December 2013, BMW Motorsport honoured the most successful participants in the BMW Sports Trophy for the 52nd time on Saturday. BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt presented the most successful privateer BMW drivers with their trophies at the award ceremony in the Doppelkegel building at BMW Welt in Munich, ably assisted by longtime BMW driver Alessandro Zanardi. The best BMW privateer teams of the season were also recognised for the first time. First place in the Drivers’ Competition went to Tom Coronel who

won two races in the FIA World Touring Car Championship at the wheel of his BMW 320 TC. As a reward for his efforts, he received 30,000 Euros in prize money and the opportunity to test the BMW M3 DTM, which he did last Sunday in Jerez, Spain. “I would like to congratulate Tom Coronel on winning the 2013 BMW Sports Trophy,” said BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt. “He has been a popular and successful member of the BMW family for some years

to the very limit – particularly in quick corners. This challenge is far greater in a DTM car than in other cars.” Second and third place in the competition for privateer drivers went to Coronel’s WTCC colleagues Stefano D’Aste and Mehdi Bennani. They picked up 25,000 Euros and 21,000 Euros in prize money respectively for their efforts. In total, 259 BMW privateers from 26 different countries took part in the 2013 BMW Sports Trophy. They appeared as ambassadors for BMW in 48 racing series around the world. The prize purse of 250,000 is distributed among the top 25 drivers. The Team Competition made its debut in 2013. All BMW Sports Trophy teams were able to submit their results over the course of the season, in the hope that they would then be honoured at BMW Welt. Thirty six teams, active in 32 racing series, entered the new competition. First place, and with it a valuable parts package, went to ROAL Motorsport. The team led by former BMW DTM champion Roberto Ravaglia came out on top thanks to impressive now and has impressed in the World Touring results in the World Touring Car Championship Car Championship with consistently good and victory in the Team competition in the Italian performances. He has certainly more than GT Championship. Second place went to Team earned the winner’s trophy, prize money and his Engstler, with the Adrenalin Motorsport team laps in the BMW M3 DTM.” third. Coronel said: “It is a great feeling to know that “The new Team Competition was a great you have been the most successful privateer success in its first year and has been very well BMW driver in the world this season. I have been received by our privateers,” said Marquardt. driving for BMW for a long time now, and am “BMW Motorsport is well aware of the enormous obviously delighted that my performances have importance of its ambassadors all over the been recognised. To be the best among so many fantastic drivers in the BMW Sports Trophy is by no means something you take for granted.” Coronel was thrilled by his outing in the BMW M3 DTM: “It was a great experience – and a very special one. After so many years in the World Touring Car Championship, I was particularly pleased to be back in a car with so much downforce. I had the same feeling as I used to get during my time in single-seaters or in Le Mans. You can really push racing cars like that © www.MotorWerksMag.com

world. Therefore, it is important to us that we not only honour the drivers at the end of the 52nd year of the BMW Sports Trophy, but also the teams. Congratulations to Roberto Ravaglia and his team.” “That’s my 29th visit at BMW Motorsport’s season ending party, and I’m very proud of being here as Team Principal and receiving this award,” said Ravaglia. “This victory not only belongs to the whole team, but also to our drivers.” Turner Motorsport announces 2014 driver lineup and season plans With only days remaining until the Roar Before the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Turner Motorsport is anxious to announce its full plans and driver line-up for the 2014 season in both the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship and the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge. Turner Motorsport will campaign two GSclass BMW M3s for race-winning drivers Paul Dalla Lana and Michael Marsal. They will be accompanied by Bill Auberlen and Tom KimberSmith, respectively. The Turner drivers will return to the yellow and blue BMW M3s for another season in the competitive productionbased GS class. The familiar No. 96 and No. 97 cars aim to recapture another GS Championship (the last captured in 2011.) Tom Kimber-Smith will return to a Turner BMW

after co-driving with Michael Marsal last season in the last Rolex GT class race at Lime Rock Park. Kimber-Smith has enjoyed much success in sports car racing with 3 x 24 Hour of Le Mans career victories and several British Touring Car championship victories. “The season can’t come soon enough for me, I’ve been excited to get behind the wheel of the Turner Motorsport No 97 BMW M3 since the deal was done.” Said Tom Kimber-Smith. “I will be driving with my good friend Michael Marsal who has shown that he is one of the top drivers in the series. So the package is very strong and I can’t wait to showcase this all at the Roar. 2014 is going to be the toughest ever year for the Continental series and I am proud to be in the Yellow and Blue BMW.” The shuffling of classes and rules for the inagural TUDOR United SportsCar Championship forced Turner to reassess its current GT race program in order to find the most competitive racecar for 2014. Turner has acquired Z4 GT3 BMWs to compete in the GT-D class of the 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. Turner GT class veteran Paul Dalla Lana will be accompanied by the young up and coming Dane Cameron in the No. 94 Turner BMW Z4 GT-D car for the full 2014 season. Cameron is undoubtedly one of the most talented young drivers in the American sports car scene today, voted one of the Top Ten best drivers in the Rolex series scoring his first GT win in 2012. With a very strong background in open wheel racing, Cameron has had success in both ALMS and Grand-AM driving both prototype and GT cars. Most recently Cameron drove on a full time basis in the Rolex Series in a Daytona Prototype in 2013, qualifying on pole at Lime Rock Park in the last ever Rolex Series race.

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Foss driving, coaching in CTSCC Eric Foss is joining Murillo Racing and Mosing Motorcars as a driver and coach for the 2014 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. Foss will be co-driving the No. 56 BMW 328i in the ST category with longtime friend and coaching client Jeff Mosing. In addition, Eric also will be coaching team drivers Brent Mosing and Tim Probert who will be running the sister car, the No. 65 BMW. “I have been working with Eric since just before my leap into the Professional ranks of Road Racing,” said Jeff Mosing, CEO of Mosing Motorcars. “He and I actually raced together at the ARRC endurance race in 2008 in Spec Miata and won! It was my first win, and I was glad to share it with him. He is one of the most talented drivers out there and I couldn’t be happier to have him as my co-driver again.” The distinctive orange Mosing Motorcars BMW took a fourth-place finish in the ST class in 2013,

AUTHORIZED RACEPAK AND REPLAY XD DEALER 12

with the team having a few podium finishes throughout the season. “This is an exciting opportunity for me to join a top-notch team as a coach and driver and run with my friends,” Foss said. “Based on last year’s performance this is a solid team and I’m confident we will be a strong contender for the Championship.” The partnership between Mosing and Foss is an extension of their multi-year friendship, which kicked off after Foss began coaching Mosing in 2008. Foss already is familiar with the Murillo Racing, Mosing Motorcars team, having coached them for several races last season. For Foss, the partnership will mark the first time he will have raced the entire season in the

Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. He ran the series in 2011, driving a Mazdaspeed3, when the team brought Eric in after the season had already began. ST Champions, Burton Racing announces driver lineup for pair of BMWs After securing the 2013 IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Team and Driver Championships, Burton Racing is looking for another strong season as the team is set return to IMSA competition in 2014 with a two-car lineup. Terry Borcheller and Mike LaMarra will share the driving duties in the No. 23 Burton Racing

Greg Strelzoff. The duo raced together in CTSCC ST-Class competition last season, scoring three podium finishes behind the wheel of a BMW 328i. Burton Racing is steered by Keith Burton, who first started the team in 2007 after he worked his way up in the sport after first starting as a mechanic in the open-wheel ranks. The team will already have a head start on the 2014 season after completing a successful test last week at Road Atlanta, which will play host to the seasonending race in October. “When I started this team, I focused on having the right people in the right place to build a championship-winning organization,” said Keith Burton. “So it was very gratifying to have the results that we did last year. But now, we have a new challenge to come back as champions and deliver that same kind of performance. We are very excited about that challenge. Having Connor and Greg join us this year and Mike and Terry coming back again is a great opportunity for everyone involved.” Zanardi is back on the racetrack.

BMW 128i machine as the duo look to stage a successful championship defense in 2014. Joining them to co-drive the No. 22 Burton Racing BMW 128i will be Connor Bloum and

He has been waiting for this moment for a long time: Alessandro Zanardi is back on the racetrack. The BMW works driver was at the “Adria Raceway” in Venice this week, where he completed a successful roll-out in the BMW

Z4 GT3, with which he will compete in the 2014 Blancpain Sprint Series. The car has been specially modified to meet the unique requirements of the 47-year-old. The first test in his new race car reunited Zanardi with a lot of familiar faces: the Italian drove for ROAL Motorsport in touring car series between 2003 and 2009. He will also contest his comeback season with Team Principal Roberto Ravaglia’s outfit. Three questions for … Alex Zanardi. Alex, how was your roll-out with the BMW Z4 GT3? “I don’t want to sound too excited, but it was at least as good as I could have dreamt it would be. I am very grateful to Roberto Ravaglia and Aldo Preo of ROAL Motorsport, to Jens Marquardt and to all the people at BMW Motorsport who made this possible. I have a new car that is so nice to drive, I am working with a team of old friends and I am really, really proud to wear the BMW Motorsport colours

as a works driver. The roll-out was a good start. For sure we need to further improve the modifications that were made for me. But we already know what changes we need to do. I also need to get a feeling with my “baby” and develop a relationship with it. But now it is only the end of January, we are already at the circuit, we will gain more and more experience and I am pretty confident we will be well prepared for the season.” Why did you decide to return to the cockpit, and what are your goals for the 2014 season? “What was driving me was a combination of passion and ambition. Of course, the passion has always been greater than my ambition. Otherwise I don’t think I would have got to where I am today. If you are only ambitious, this does not last very long. Of course I would be happier if down the road I can win a race. I would not be here otherwise. But overall I want to try to finish every weekend knowing that I have done with my team our best in order to achieve the best possible result. There are plenty of good drivers with strong cars and, with the personal problems I have, it would be illogical to believe that I can blow everybody away and win week in and week out. But we are going to try our best.” Will the fans still see you racing your handbike? “I can’t stop doing something that I love. Therefore I will carry on with handbikes. The motorsport calendar is well spread over the season and, therefore, it will leave me with plenty of time to do other things, one of which is certainly my activity as a hand cyclist. Of course, I have to accept that I have to make some compromises. But my aim is also to go to the games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. In that season I probably will have to make a choice either one thing or the other, because you cannot prepare for the Olympic Games while you are also competing in motorsport. But 2016 is in two years’ time. Let’s focus on what we have now. What really matters is what I am doing right now, and right now I am very, very happy and excited.”

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Product News

JCW CONCEPT AT NAIAS IN JANUARY

before. The car’s characteristic go-kart feeling is now enhanced with optimised ride comfort, The new edition of an original is the central adjustable dampers being offered as an optional focus of the MINI presentation at the North extra for the first time. More interior space, American International Auto Show (NAIAS) 2014 optimised functionality and detailed refinements in Detroit. The British premium brand presents in terms of material and finish likewise reflect the the new MINI - with a distinctive and carefully maturity of the latest generation. refined design, further increased driving fun and All four seats of the new MINI tangibly increase a range of innovative fittings that is unique in the freedom of movement and the luggage small car segment. As well as this latest addition, compartment has been expanded by 30 per the limelight in Detroit will also be on the six cent. A new display and operating concept, other members of the MINI family. All in all the innovative driver assistance systems and the diversity of the model program is greater than latest MINI Connected features also allow even ever before in the history of the brand. What is more intensive interaction between driver and more, MINI provides visitors to the NAIAS from MINI. And the new MINI is the first automobile January 18th - 26th 2014 with a look ahead to a in its class to be fitted with LED headlamps and a new form of extreme driving fun. The MINI John Head-Up Display. Cooper Works Concept sees its world premiere The new MINI is due to go on the market in in Detroit, instantly conveying a genuine passion the USA in spring 2014. There will be a choice for racing. of the models MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper More than 800,000 visitors are once again S at the market launch. Both can be fitted with expected to attend the 26th North American either the standard 6-speed manual transmission International Auto Show at Detroit’s Cobo Center or the optional 6-speed automatic transmission . Some 200 exhibitors from all over the world according to preference. The transmissions will be displaying their latest models, products and engines have both been newly developed. and technologies. The NAIAS is one of the The entire drivetrain technology along with world’s leading automobile trade fairs, and as it an extensively optimised suspension provides is traditionally the first of the year it typically points ahead to the future. The new MINI: more innovations, more space, more driving fun. The latest generation of the MINI is once again a pioneer of individual style, premium quality and high-end technology. The evolutionary refinement of its design, entirely new engines and innovative driver assistance systems make the new MINI more athletic, efficient, expressive and progressive than ever 16

the perfect basis for maximum driving fun in the small car segment. At the same time, the engines and transmissions, a weight-optimised design and improved aerodynamic properties along with extensive MINIMALISM technology all contribute to the enhanced efficiency of the new MINI. MINI model program: success based on diversity and individual style. The new MINI puts the British automobile manufacturer fully on track to continue its global success story. 12 years after the relaunch of the brand, MINI has become established in the USA, too, as the epitome of efficient driving fun, stylish individual flair and uncompromising quality. The consistently expanded model program is one aspect which has contributed to its ongoing growth in popularity. Over the past few years the MINI family has expanded to a current total of seven members. The hallmark brand qualities are to be found in the classic MINI concept as well as in the MINI Clubman, the MINI Coupé and also the two models designed for open air driving fun - the MINI Convertible and the MINI Roadster. And there are now two models representing the brand’s venture into a new market segment. The trailblazer here was the MINI Countryman, the first model of the brand to be fitted with four doors, a large tailgate and space for up to five occupants. This agile all-rounder is now joined

by the MINI Paceman, the world’s first ever Sports Activity Coupé in the premium compact segment. The all-wheel drive system ALL4 specially developed for MINI is also available for the MINI Countryman and the MINI Paceman. And making its World premiere in Detroit will be the MINI John Cooper Works Concept In the USA, too, the aspirations of especially performance-oriented MINI fans are addressed by the extremely sporty John Cooper Works models. At the NAIAS 2014 MINI gives the public a first impression of the future of this brand so deeply rooted in racing passion. The MINI John Cooper Works Concept premiered in Detroit represents the next generation of the small car segment’s fascinating top sports car. The model-specific features of the car’s exterior design are instantly recognisable, deriving directly from the technical requirement for optimised air ducting and precisely controllable handling in extremely sporty driving situations. Among other things, the MINI John Cooper Works Concept has very large air inlets in the front apron and a rear spoiler as well as distinctively designed side sills and rear apron. What is more, 18-inch John Cooper Works light alloy wheels, a sports brake system and a sports exhaust system reflect drivetrain and suspension technology developed with extensive race track expertise. © www.MotorWerksMag.com

CORSA OFFERS DIAMOND BLACK EXHAUST TIPS FOR LINE OF BMW SYSTEMS Stainless Steel Pro Series Tips with Diamond Black Finish Now Available BEREA, Ohio – CORSA Performance Exhausts has developed new Diamond Black exhaust tips for their line of BMW exhaust systems, which are now available through select retailers and distributors nationwide. The custom exhaust tips feature a Diamond Black finish on CORSA’s signature Pro Series Tips, which are manufactured from highquality, 304L polished stainless steel and laser etched with the CORSA logo. CORSA offers the Diamond Black tips on their premium stainless steel cat-back and axle-back exhaust systems available for various 1992-2011 BMW models including the M brand as well as the 1, 3 and 5 Series.

Installation hardware and an illustrated installation guide are included with the exhaust systems, which can be purchased through select retailers and distributors nationwide. As with all CORSA systems, these new additions will carry a

limited lifetime warranty. CORSA Performance Exhausts, a TMG Performance Products, LLC company headquartered in Berea, Ohio, is a leading manufacturer of premium performance exhaust systems for cars, trucks, SUVs and marine applications. Through its patented Reflective Sound Cancellation™ (RSC™) technology, CORSA Performance Exhausts provides the industry’s only guaranteed drone-free driving experience backed by premium performance and superior customer service. For more information, call 800.486.0999 or visit www.corsaperformance. com.

“We are continually investing in the design and engineering of our high-performance exhaust systems, which have successfully delivered our signature performance gains and bold M7 SPEED INTRODUCES FRONT BUMPER sound to the BMW market for many years,” ADF CANARDS FOR THE MINI COOPER said Craig R. Kohrs, VP and General Manager, TMG Performance Products. “The Black Diamond exhaust tips answer BMW enthusiasts’ preference for distinct, luxury car appearance.” The BMW exhaust line features CORSA’s patented Reflective Sound Cancellation™ (RSC™) technology, which specifically tunes each system to deliver a full-bodied race car inspired sound with increased power under throttle while maintaining a drone-free interior sound at cruising speeds. 18

M7 Speed, the ultimate MINI performance company, is excited to announce the release of their new Front Bumper ADF (Added Down Force) Canards for the R53 MINI Coopers. M7 Speed is well known throughout the MINI community for their innovative products, cutting edge design methods and the use of the latest high tech materials. The M7 Speed ADF Front Bumper Canards are designed to aerodynamically tune the front of the MINI for better handling. The canards add down force to the front of the MINI, which stabilizes the car under hard corning conditions while at the same time providing increased traction. The results are faster lap times. ADF Canards are made of lightweight carbon fiber for both durability and looks. The latest carbon fiber production methods are used to create a perfect product. The ADF Canards can be left in their beautiful natural carbon fiber finish or painted to match your vehicle. The kit of two canards; include all mounting hardware and instruction and are an easy DIY project for any MINI owner. MSRP: $229 a pair M7 Tuning can be found at 291 Cayuga Drive Unit E Mooresville North Carolina, 28117 www.m7tuning.com, sales@m7tuning.com 1 888-438-5767

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DRIVING IMPRESSIONS INTRODUCES MIR TEAM DI Balaclava RACEWEAR Another new product that Team DI has released Bob Zecca of Driving Impressions of Dover, is a low top HPDE show. Designed to give the NJ recently sent us a bunch of press releases driver the proper feel of the pedals these shoes regarding all the new products Team DI has to are extremely comfortable. Currently available in offer. He was especially pround of the fact that Team DI colors Zecca is waiting for a delivery of he is now the North American distributor for MIR BMW themed shoes using the M colors and has Racewearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fireproof line of suits. He is currently just announced that noted artist Randy Owens retailing made-to-measure three layer nomex is designing a Signature Edition for summer SFI/FIA suits with embroidery for $1500 USD. delivery. The shoes are not SFI tagged but there See a sample below. is a hi-top version with Nomex available for racers. The shoes come with a zipped nylon bag.

TEAM DI Balaclava

Can be found at 85 Franklin Rd, Those of you who know Bob are already aware Dover, NJ of his own brand of Racewear that sell under 07801, the name Team DI. Bob showed me his latest United States balaclava that has no internal seams to scratch or itch your face or head. Made of Nomex III it is +1 973-361-0508 +1 800-275-4667 lightweight and very comfortable. E-Mail: bob@teamdi.com www.teamdi.com Exclusive VAC damper from ATI Further back in the magazine you can read about Waylen Hunsucker going to ATI Performance Products and convincing that there was a market for an aftermarket dampers after the failure of the OEM model. Another switched on person like Waylen is VAC Motorsports head honcho, Tony Salloum. Tony has seen failures with BMW units and he went to ÂŠ www.MotorWerksMag.com

the sample people, ATI for a solution. Tony explained, “If you are breaking crankshafts and oil pumps, the cause may be a mystery to you as it has been to many of our customers. We know that controlling the harmonic resonance of the BMW 6 is highly important as RPMs rise, but the ideal configuration of the inline-6 motor makes even experienced engine builders overlook some fundamental principals of engine harmonics that can be destructive. FACT: harmonics CAN destroy these motors despite their ideal ‘inline six’ balance. Popular word on the street says the OEM units do not fail, but we have dozens of clients who have proven otherwise. Some racers would bring a few spare units to each event, but not any more. They simply fit their engines with the VAC damper and all their problems go away. They have restored confidence in the powertrain and can go racing without the worry they previously had.” He went on, “ATI Super Dampers eliminate

crankshaft harmonic vibration, allowing the engine to produce more horsepower and torque, while reducing internal engine wear at the same time. A trigger wheel comes standard on ATI’s Euro M3 Damper (Part # 917994TR) and when used with a VAC accessory pulley, is a direct replacement fit over the OEM balancer. Both dampers have a 7” outer diameter and include OEM style timing alignment tabs. BMW enthusiasts should know that all ATI Super Dampers exceed SFI 18.1 Safety Certification and are approved for competition. ATI now have developed a VAC exclusive damper for the S54 engine. They are available in overdrive, underdrive (for use with standard size pulleys) or standard diameter (for use with under driven accessories, or supercharged cars). Also, there are configurations available for use with our dry sump kits.”

Can be found at 2501 Snyder Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19145, United States Phone:+1 215-462-4666 www.vacmotorsports.com

The Canadian Motorsports Expo will return to the International Centre in Mississauga on Feb 7-9. Discount tickets can be downloaded here. http:// www.canadianmotorsportsexpo.com/?p=30 22

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otorWerks Magazine is pleased to announce an experience of a lifetime for one of their readers who will have the opportunity to drive the “New Original” 2014 F56 MINI Cooper S at the fabled Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2014. Working in conjunction with the Miles Ahead Motoring School, MWM is able to provide the lucky reader with the opportunity to share a 2014 Cooper S with our Editor, Ian Rae at a MINI Performance Motoring School event in the later half of 2014. Rae explained. “I received a press release from MINI USA that some of you may have seen in an earlier issue of the magazine that was promoting the MINI equipped school Miles Ahead was running at the Brickyard. I have shot the GrandAm events there in ‘12/’13 I thought it would be a great experience for a MINI owner to drive on a track that is famous all over the world as well as seeing how a MINI performs in an environment it thrives in. I had a meeting when I was in Indy for the PRI show to discuss what I believe to be the only MINI school I know of worldwide.” Ted Woerner, Stephen Simpson and former Indycar driver Stephan Gregoire are the three principals of the school. All have been involved in racing at various levels and their coaching staff are all professional race car drivers of the highest echelon with most of them well known to fans of Indycar racing. Woerner explained, “Our driving programs are designed to both educate

and entertain. Regardless of age or ability level participants will come away a more competent driver. MINI has been a fantastic partner of Miles Ahead. You really get to experience firsthand the go-kart like handling of the MINI on the IMS road course while driving at one of the most historic and famous motorsport venues in the world, all while being instructed by professional race car drivers. MINI is a car everybody can relate to as they can own one themselves.” “2014 will see us move to the brand new 2014 F56 MINI Cooper S, which is another plus for our participants,” says Woerner. “The winner of this joint MPMS/MWM promotion is going to have a blast. Driving at the famed Brickyard is an experience of a lifetime” The competition will start in this issue of the magazine and will run in two issues before the results are announced. Readers can compete twice but it is only the best results from one issue that count. More info on Miles Ahead can be found at www. bemilesahead.net or on Facebook.

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The Winner must have liked both MotorWerks Magazine and Miles Ahead Motoring School on Facebook to be eligible to win the prize. The Winner agrees to have his or her likeness published in MotorWerks Magazine in an article about their experience at the MPMS school and will recieve a commerorative plaque with the article once it has been published.

Miles Aheadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fleet of JCW MINI Hardtops will be updated to the new F56 Cooper S for 2014 To Enter: Read this and the next online versions of MotorWerks Magazine and answer the multiple Miles Ahead questions that are located throughout the magazine. Submit the answers along with your name, hometown and e-mail address to competitions@

motorwerksmag.com.

The questions will be placed throughout the magazine and it is the readers job to find them and correctly answer them. They will look like this: Be Miles Ahead with MotorWerks

Magazine - Answer all five questions to win!

The Winner will be the person with the most correct answers. In the event of numerous entrants with the same score; a drawing will take place at Miles Ahead in Indianapolis to select the winner along with five alternates. In the event of a winner not being able to match a satisfactory date that suits MotorWerks Magazine and Miles Ahead the prize will be offered to an alternate. Rules of the competition: All entrants must be over 18 years of age and have a valid driving license. It is the responsibility of the Winner to arrange transportation and accommodation as required when using the prize. 26

The Winner will be required to sign all waivers and releases required to participate in the Miles Ahead program as if a regular participant. The Winner shall indemnify all parties involved with this prize and hold them harmless from suits, actions, damages, liability and expense in connection with loss of life, bodily or personal injury or property damage arising from or out of the use or occupancy of the premises or any part thereof, or occasioned wholly, or in part by any act or omission of said parties, its agents, contractors, employees, servants, invitees or licensees.

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A Photo Pictorial by Jake Galstad ÂŠ www.MotorWerksMag.com

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Atlanta FIRST For GRAND-AM

GRAND-AM made its inaugural visit to Road Atlanta in 2013. The series got some nice local exposre at Turner Field, where driver Dane Cameron made a lap around the park in his Sahlen’s DP Riley Dinan BMW before the seventh inning of the Atlanta Braves and Kansas City Royals game. “It was really neat and must have made for some awesome photos,” said Cameron, a resident of Metro Atlanta and co-driver of the No. 42 Team Sahlen machine with Wayne Nonnamaker. “It was pretty wild being in front of the gate waiting to go on the field, I’ve never been that close on a Major League Baseball field like that before. Just having the car sitting there waiting to go out was very special, that doesn’t happen every day.”

Photos by Jake Galstad, Words by Ian R

Rae

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Chip Ganassi’s Riley BMW liked its first visit to Road Atlanta, the long straights and sweeping turns suited the Dinan BMW and that was proven when Rojas just drove away from the rest of the field field at the green flag. To say that Rojas and Pruett dominated was an understatement as the only time they were not at the top of the leader board was during pitstops. Their dominance was such that the second quickest race lap was more over half a second slower than the one recorded by the Ganassi Riley. Pruett told the press, “We were hooked up from the start. We were fastest in the opening test on Thursday, and fastest in Friday’s practice. I’m glad I was out front. I heard it was pretty crazy behind me near the end, and glad I wasn’t part of it.” Rojas was happy and said, “We were struggling a little the first day we were here. We obviously improved, so I’m happy with that. The tires went off a little towards the end of my stint. It was hard to drive, but it was still fast.”

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Be Miles Ahead with MotorWerks Magazine - Who was the Indy 500 winning driver who influenced John Cooper to enter the Indy 500?

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Y L L BUI Story 42

A MIN by Bill Hartner as told

Words by Bill Hartner, photos by Ian Rae

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k, I drive a 2005 MINI Cooper S, it’s an “ R53” which means (02-06) with the “S” package. It was completely stock when I bought it for $10,000. in May of 2010. It had 70,000 miles on it. Plane jane silver, pure silver BMW calls it, with a black top. I then joined the PDX MINI club in the Portland area the same month I bought the car. Not long after I attended my first back road twisty run with fellow MINIacs the following weekend. It was awesome! I noticed that all the MINI’s were a little unique each with a “theme” of sorts. After the run , I knew I wanted to make mine a “Race Car” theme . I got it striped and numbered at PDX Wraps here in Sherwood OR., but over the next 3 months many people asked “do you race this?” and I had to answer “no”. I heard about a Track Day at Portland International Raceway in nearby Portland where you could learn to drive your daily-driver at speed on the track. I signed up and just loved it! That was in August. I was sixty three in October and I spent the fall and winter tricking

out the suspension, cold air intake,cat-back exhaust,and the 15% smaller supercharger pulley. Oh ,and started changing every peace of grey trim, or chrome to carbon fiber. In February of 2011, I went to Stormin’ Norman’s MINI Thunder II at Thunderhill Raceway in California to see how it would stack up to the dozens of other MINI’S that attend the event. After training all morning with Bill the oldest instructor there, the seventythree year old certified me “SOLO”, meaning I was able to drive the rest of the day with out an instructor! Bill had raced all his life and he pushed me hard and hammered “smooth equals fast” into my head. I memorized the lines and tried to do all that he taught me. In the afternoon, I passed every car on the track, and by the end of the day I was lapping them all, I was totally hooked! I attended another Track Day at PIR, then three times at Oregon Raceway Park in Grass Vally OR. These were “Hooked on Driving”events. I liked the HOD events as they were very safety oriented and provided excellent instruction. Fall was on us and too cold and rainy to be on the track, so

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I decided since the odometer had turned over 100,000 miles that the winter would be a good time for me to up grade the power output. I found a Shrick cam on Craigslist, and six months and $19,000. later I had a fresh new motor, an AutoPower role bar, Sparco racing seats, Bilstein coilovers, a Orranje GP rear wing and a new front bumper from Auto Power complete with splitters with only three inches of track clearance Feb 2012 saw me heading back to Thunderhill to attend MINI Thunder III. I was itching to move up to the intermediate level class but first I had an appointment with Jan Bruegemman of Revolution MINI Works to have my DME tuned on the Dynojet dyno. The MINI tuning guru said he was only able to take it from 170 hp to 208 hp because with all the head work and mods to the intake that DPR did to it, the John Cooper Works fuel injectors were too small for the new Super Cooper head with its oversized valves and the ported and polished intake manifold. He didn’t dare rase its rev limiter to access the

rest of the hp potential or it would lean out at high RPMs and might blow up. He didn’t have the big 440’ injectors with him , so he temporarily stopped there. He said he’d tune it again in a month when I would meet him in Tacoma WA. He expected an output of up to 240 to 250 hp with the injector upgrade. I finally took the track after missing the three morning sessions. I could immediately feel the increased power especially from 4000 to 7000 rpm’s. The level of aggressive driving was much higher in the intermediate run group and the average speed was up substantially from the novice level. I was faster, but so were they. I wasn’t passing any cars, just staying with them. and since they all had the three morning sessions under there belt, some even passed me! It took some laps to get acquainted with my new motor, the OS Giken clutch and flywheel. As soon as I got off the track, I came back around to the pre grid to see if track worker in charge would let me make up my missed track time from the morning by alternating with the novice group.

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When I posed the question, he said, “yes you can alternate, not with the novice, but with the advanced drivers,” I said “really?!” he replied YES! really! I looked in my rear view mirror and saw a big black sinister looking Mustang parked behind me and a Corvette, then a Lotus to my left and a Porsche to my right, along with other high performance cars all with full roll cages, track tires and powerful sounding three, four and five liter engines! I was at the head of the advanced run group line in my 1.6 liter MINI ! When we hit the track I wound up to redline through third chirping the tires on each shift . I knew they would catch me soon, but I was determined to beat them through the first turn. I made it through turn three before they caught and started passing me. But by then I was driving WAY faster then I had ever driven on a track in my life ! I just kept thinking, “follow their line, they aren’t flying off the track so I won’t either.” I did four wheel drifts around every curve and corner, it was awesome! When I came back around to pre grid, the intermediate drivers were just lining up. I pulled into line my veins still coursing with adrenalin from hanging with the big boys. This time however, I passed several cars per lap, and by the end Bully and I had passed all the cars in my new group except for one! I know I improved a whole season in that one experience. Of course last year I didn’t have my new “Super Cooper” head from Dan Paramore Racing, but it might have taken a year to find out what it could really do if I hadn’t been pushed so hard so soon. With my confidence high and my ported and polished super charger screaming at 7,500 RPMs, I made it to every track day available in Oregon and Washington. It was a very rainy spring and early summer in the Pacific NW. in 2012 ,The water drenched tracks however turned out to be Bully’s favourite places to play. Since my Cooper is front wheel drive, combined with my new Quaife LSD, (limited slip differential ) and my Toyo 888 tires Bully was able to turn lap times in the rain nearly as fast as dry track times! When the bigger HP cars were hydroplaning and cautiously early-breaking , Bully was able 48

The steering wheel swings away with the door

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to maintain speed and control while streaking by them at near top speed actually lapping several powerful cars that on a dry track could lap us. The rest of the season we spent between Portland and a wonderful new track in Shelton WA. called “The Ridge”, a challenging yet very comfortable and fun track. After five more events at the Ridge, two at PIR,and one at ORP in Grass Valley OR. I was advanced to run group ”C” and I am now a member of the HOD staff. I help run the pre grid and black flag area . What a season! It is now February 15th 2013 and I’ve just returned from Mini Thunder IV where I finally got my 440 cc injectors installed, got a new dyno tune and was finally able to access all Bully’s potential. This time it all came together, all the experience driving last season with the HOD team, all the modifications new torsion bars and Koni coilover shocks, a new custom R56 type single exhaust pipe and muffler and a tiny but super powerful Odessey dry battery. Bully handled way smoother and ran faster than ever he had done before. Although the weather was in the high 70’s, my Defenders Of Speed pure copper intercooler and outside mounted oil cooler kept Bully running a cool 215 degrees,

even running between 7000 and 8000 RPMs! It was without a doubt the best Mini Thunder event I have attended yet. I can only thank Norm Nelson and Eric Diamond and all the volunteers and instructor that make the event the premier MINI HPDE event on the West Coast. I will be back. Photos Left: A carbon covered GP style wing from Orannje in the UK. Above: Underhood treatment includes a Dinan strut brace, Alta CAI, MSD coil and wires and a trick DOS intercooler. 50

Spec List Model: 2005 R53 Cooper S Body: Original with Autopower bumper Aero 1: Orannje GP style wing Aero 2: M7 Tuning diffusers Aero 3: Carbon front splitter Strut Brace: Dinan Engine mods: Dan Paramore, DPR Engine Tuning: Jan Bruegemann, RMW Intercooler: Defenders of Speed Ignition: MSD Intake: Alta CAI Clutch: OS Giken

LSD: Quaife Suspension: Koni coilover Seats: Sparco Belts: Sparco Roll bar: Autopower Wheels: Tires: Toyo R888 Battery: Odyssy lightweight Be Miles Ahead with MotorWerks Magazine What major magazine, that still exists today, featured an article on Cooperâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Indy 500 race car? ÂŠ www.MotorWerksMag.com

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WHEELS UP For

O I H O

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ny es for a h is n fi p top ste iamond Cellar o n e b eD uld here wo W teams in th 13. In the GS 0 M of the B t Mid-Ohio in 2 Paul Dalla Lana a d Classic l Auberlen an s to make the h r il is class, B nly BMW drive cond place fin . o e s e ght W M3 e th would b fter a hard fou t Northwest BM grid a r e podium rner Motorspo sixteen on th u m in the T a charged fro n Dalla La

T 56

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by assisted uel s a w o h and a f ner crewto close up the end ish. The n by the fi e Motorsport Lin he Fall- en and Bryan d Mark Bo / Fall-Line R BCKSTG finish fourth on o would

as k even OH c a r t e om le, as his h . The Centervil as s e s s la A home e and w Sellers c a track alls Atlanta, G e Buckeye stat lly strike c a he now ves racing in th luck might fin podium n e lo native ome hometow e the team th ious races. s v hoping -Tex car and giv close to in pre PIC/Murrilo E o im s e been the Tr he Rac osing fell to d t a d h e y fi e li finish th sse Combs qua he and Jeff M t In ST Je 28i on pole bu 3 nd Racing y race e b h t r u o f

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port r Motors ul e n r u T s erie s. Pa e Rolex s d in the GT clas M3 h t in r e en Ov #94 BMW eat week had a gr had qualified the to fifth before Dall Lana d had improved n. A perfectly n le in sixth a ver to Bill Auber n move up to o rle e g handin ow helped Aub le-sitter Robin ll o timed ye d chase down p maro. The battle n a a C second the Stevenson to Eric Curran Liddell in d then switched Corvette chasing a for the le 31 Marsh Racing uld get into # and the BMW. Curran wo e down th 60

. ps to go st la o w t r fi ith eyhole w eckered flag in ty-four K e h t t h c en na Auberle ontinued to the one minute tw the win c Curran t was penalized ntact handing the event o b place u for avoidable c t pair who won r it seconds rner Motorspo ing. htening t n u n T ig u a e r r t h r s t a y e o h t y a straig t thing b second for the ies did the righ were faster in orners. e r “The se erlen said. “W quicker in the c inside. If b u out.” A Eric was much kept taking the he track t line and were off; I just t someone off asier.” e a t s e All line ave to do it b go, that’s a lo good a h all you or two laps to knew we had r strategy e e u n with o er agreed, “W the fastest. O n t Will Tur new it was no k t car bu

y uffer an s t o n did W Riley but Yacaman M B x e , The Telmin the collision age and then re y n fi a m e a of as m got damag suspension d he car caught our t n o r f t h s in ana suffered At theat point ed. About an the f the pit aid off. Dalla L wing o t u o g . s t a d a p o e m ge was to e could and it awless stint all needed to crash as severely da ichael Valiante ven’t fl w M w cars as e car after his do what they t. Thanks and Rojas ran into n. “We just ha ve o n a io h later, out of t and the crew t MW to the fro winning for posit ently and we h e used d le t t a B l t b ’r e t il we two onsis both B 94 Northwes lama for a rac nning c ther back than u r # a n e S e h e t n b a.” fur Do get ew and ” starting . “It’s bad karm not r c n id e e d e h s b t e ! to Rojas Prototyp and strategy to,” said car and wered Daytona r. Memo Rojas in the e t BMW po ce to rememb r race to forge would a r have a ett had anothe MW Riley. They hind the u e Scott Pr Racing Dinan B , seven laps b with ll r i a Ganass enty-first over er get togethe gain. h finish tw ojas had anot an into Rojas a r R winner. Yacaman who Gustavo

Ain’t Over Till It’s Ove

Sellers Steals First! Words by Ian Rae, photos by John Schroeder and author 62

he major story of Watkins Glen was rain! Mind you that not an uncommon occurence, at the scenic New York track but when it rains at ‘The Glen’ you can be assured the racing will get interesting! The precipitation during qualifying and the forecast of rain for the Continental Tire 150 made for a busy paddoack area. Cars were being set up for the dry with slicks and before you knew it the crews were adjusting sway bars, softening the shocks and throwing wets on to make sure they had both wet and dry setups nailed! Strategy would play a huge part in the two and a half hour race. BMWs would feature in most of it but it was the Roush Mustangs that would feature with both Shelby Blackstock and Billy spending time leading the pack. THe Turner Motorsport BMW M3 that Paul Dalla Lana started also moved to the lead with Bill Auberlen at the controls but it was Matt Plumb who rebounded after a first lap accident to move through the field and take the top spot later in the going. The rain that had come down on and off during the race turned into a downpour with thirty-five minutes remaining. The track looked like a warzone with cars going off all over, including both Roush Mustangs. Aurberlen was involved as was a couple of the lead ST cars. Just when it looked as if it would be a procession to the checker under the yellow it was announced the track would go green for one last lap. Bryan Sellers had brought the Trim-Tex / BCKSTGR / Fall-Line Motorsports M3 up to second and knew he would have to bring his A game if he was to beat the #13 Rum Bum Racing Porsche of Nick Longhi and Matt Plumb. Sellers timing was superb, at the first wave of the green he was out of the barrel and into Turn One before Plumb had a chance to reply. He hit his marks at every corner and rounded the last corner to take the first win for the Fall-Line #46 as well as his first and team principal mark Boden’s first CTSCC win. © www.MotorWerksMag.com

What made the win even more impressive was the fact that the last lap pass was made on slicks not wets. It was not a hard decision to make considering it looked as if the race would finish under yellow but with no other option available that would still allow them duo to finish in the points, Sellers di what any pro driver does, he went for it. A happy Mark Boden exclaimed, â&#x20AC;&#x153;So often we roll the dice and you fall short. Sometimes you roll the dice and its pays off. Thus was a huge payoff. The team did a great job, great decision-making and Bryan did a phenomenal job bringing it in on the final lap.â&#x20AC;? Boden was even happier when he saw his #45 Eagle/ B+ Foundation/ Fall-Line Motorsports BMW M3 of Hugh Plumb and Al Carter made it to third and ecstatic with the fourth placed finish of the #48 Fall-Line Motorsports M3 of Charles Espenlaub and Charlie Putman. It was a good day for the Buffalo Grove, IL based team.

Above: Nobody loves the rain in New York!

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Words by Norman Nelson, photos by author, Ian Rae and Mike Borgwat

hen talking to Jean Patenaude of Redding CA. one thing is for sure, you will never burst his bubble when talking about cars. Jean is one of those automobile enthusiasts that has a love of being different and currently his car of choice is the BMW Isetta, or in other words the classic ‘Bubble Car’ Jean (pronounced John) is an avid car enthusiast. He has owned many collector cars, including Ferraris, Aston Martin, BMW Z8, Sunbeam Tiger, Ford Cobra, an Amphibious Car and many more. A large percentage of these were restored to showroom condition. His other hobbies include airplanes, helicopters, boats and ATV’s. What caught Jean’s interest in Isettas was his mother’s cousin drove one all the way from Montreal, Canada to Los Angeles when he was

just eight years old. He found that quite amazing and was fascinated by these little cars. He has owned several over the years. At the time of this article he owned two 1957 BMW Isetta Model 300s that were totally restored to original mint condition, one blue & white, the other red & white. The actual factory colors are Japan Red and Ivory and Bavarian Blue and Light Blue. The 300 models were built by BMW under license from Italian company Iso Spa from 19551962. 161,360 were built with 15,000 shipped to the US. Of the 15,000 an estimated 10% (1500) are still around. The Isetta was an Italian design, by Iso Spa who in the early 1950s were building refrigerators, motor scooters and small three-wheeled trucks and would go on to build supercars like the Grifo and Rivolta. Company owner, Renzo Rivolta, wanted to build a small car for mass distribution

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An iconic shape that was sold world-wide

The heart of the Isetta, an air co

ooled 298cc single cylinder

The steering wheel swings away with the door

Fancy pedal work is required around the steering column

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and in 1953 created the Isetta, which would become the first mass-produced automobile to break the three liters of gasoline per 100 kilometers. It would go on to become the top-selling single-cylinder car in the world, with 161,728 units sold in its lifetime. BMW was licensed in 1955 to produce their version with a BMW engine and it would have the longest production run of any of the four manufacturers. Estimated fuel consumption is 60 mpg. Jean says he counts on 50 mpg or less. There is no fuel gauge but a 2.5 to 3.0 gallon fuel tank has an estimated safe 100-mile range so having a gauge is not that important to him. Having no trunk or storage ensures Jean travels light but a luggage rack was optional even though it provided a very limited picnic basket size space. Although the two cars are virtually identical, the blue one has two windshield wipers and other has only one. When enquiring about the difference, Jean was told that the dual windshield wiper Isetta was built for California,

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as they required two wipers. The other was destined for the east coast and for some unknown reason only required one. Jean’s friend Mike Borgwat was in charge of the restoration of both Isettas. He did the “Frameup” teardown and restoration of the two shown here and is currently working on the latest one. These two were “mint” examples and Jean’s pride and joy, even though the Bavarian Blue version has since been sold. Never a pair to sit idle Jean and Mike acquired another and it is currently being restored. Jean explained, “We put a lot of hours into restoring these cars and it may seem crazy that we sell it after all that hard work but I just love bringing old cars back to life.” Mike took MWM Editor Ian Rae out for a spin in the red car when he was in NorCal for Sonoma’s WTCC event and he was impressed with the car. “It was impressive for a 13.5 horsepower car, it got up to 45 mph with two big guys squeezed into it. The car drove well; it tracked straight and did not bottom out even with the weight of Mike and I. Everywhere we went heads were turning, the car draws attention and would be a great car to take to car shows.”

Spec List BMW R29 298 cc / 18.63 cu inches single cylinder four-stroke air-cooled gasoline Hemi engine. Power Output: 13.5 HP at 5200 rpm Torque Output: 13.6 ft·lb at 4600 rpm Tire size: 4.80 X 10” Top Speed: 53mph/85 km/hr. Transmission: 4- Speed manual with reverse The following companies were involved in the restoration and Jean would like to thank them all and Mike Borgwat for all the help and hard work on the Isetta projects: Isettas R Us Isetta parts 771 Shallowford Rd. NE Kennesaw, GA 30144 770-924-8530 www.isettasrus.com Hobbs Auto Body Bodywork and Paint 1807 Cascade Blvd. Shasta Lake, CA 96019 530-275-8621 Walker’s Custom Chrome Chrome plating and polishing 2145 Grand Coulee Blvd. Shasta Lake, CA 96019 530-275-3634 Sanford’s Custom Upholstery Interior refurbish 6121 Oak St. Anderson, CA 96007 530-357-3507

A photo Pictorial by Ian and Janis Rae

Bryan Sellers and Mark Boden must have felt like they had come home when the checkered flag flew at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The pair had just won their second race in a row in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge.

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a success by all. The series was the brainchild of Patrick Spikes he BMW Club Racing Endurance series who in the spring of 2012 started playing around made its debut on Memorial Day weekend with the idea of running longer endurance 2013 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course events in the BMW CCA Club Racing Series. with the harvey Rogers Memorial 4 Hour Enduro. Enduros were becoming increasingly popular It was an event that was awaited with interest in other sanctioning bodies and he noticed and some trepidation by competitors and that more and more of the BMW racers were interested parties alike. The outcome? A big participating in them. He explained, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hoping to thumbs up all around. Both the organizers and regain the attention of our licensees I started competitors only had good things to say about to lay out what might be needed to put on it, sure there were a few hiccups which is only to such a series within the BMW CCA Club Racing be expected but after the event it was classed as arena. I thought of the impact it would have on

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Words and photos by Ian Rae

the chapter sponsoring the event, of field sizes and length of event needed to entice teams to the series. Potential costs and pricing were also considered at the same time. After putting together a proposal anticipating what questions may arise, I contacted Gary Davis to see what he had to say about it. He sounded interested but wanted to include the rules committee in the process. I then contacted the rules committee (Dean Croucher, Bruce Smith and Ron Checca) who were all on board with the idea. I then sent them an outline of how I saw the rules being drafted for the long races. Key selling point was no mandatory number of pit stops, which

allowed the lesser horsepower cars a chance at overall wins by needing less pit stops. Over the next few months I worked on some more of the details and contacted chapters who I thought might be interested in running an event. In the fall I continued to push for the rules committee to finalize the rules but was getting little feed back, it was almost like they did not believe that I was going to be able to pull everything off. It was about that time I announced to the board I had confirmed a date for Mid-O with the Northern Ohio Chapter and at NJMP with the Del-Val chapter. This became the moment when the Club Racing board went quiet, Patrick has pulled it off and this is really happening. On January 7th, 2013 Kish Galappatti sent me a message that Gary had asked him to help with the series, which of course came totally out of left field considering all the work I did. Within a day a message was circulating around announcing Kish as the endurance series director, reporting to the main Club Racing Board. It went on to announce Ron Checca was now a member of the endurance series committee and that I could make suggestions to them on running the series. You can imagine my dismay at all of these revelations and I have to admit I was not a happy camper. I almost quit the entire program but several racers implored me to stay so I did. Without those racers talking to me I would have walked. After a period, cooler heads prevailed and I have been working with the endurance series but it still stings the way that the announcements unfolded.â&#x20AC;? Helping make the endurance series possible was none other than noted BMW experts, Turner Motorsport who stepped up as title sponsor. Company head honcho Will Turner gave his reason for being involved, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Turner Motorsport has professionally raced in both sprint and endurance formats of racing - hands down I like the Endurance format better and hope that the Turner Motorsports support of the BMW CCA Club Racing Endurance Series helps racers get involved and have as much fun as we have had in Enduro events, where its not always the fastest car that wins but the combination of the ÂŠ www.MotorWerksMag.com

car, the team and a little luck!” Turner’s prediction was spot on; as the first race was not decided until the very last lap when the Johnstone Supply M3 of Harold Petit and Than Orens scrambled by for the win. It was not an easy win for the team as explained by team owner, Harold Petit. “Wow, the race started off with a flat rear tire on the second lap. My crew got it changed and got back us out in last. Now the fun really began!!! We were constantly calculating how to come back and win the race; we managed that with timing the fuel stops and the correct strategy. Passing for lead on last lap was quite something, but I love when a plan comes together. It was very rewarding, after all the hard work.” When asked for an opinion on the series, he went on, “We were thrilled when they announced the BMW Endurance Series. I greatly prefer long races to sprints and I made it my priority to be able to attend every event.” Petit who started and finished the race was joined in the Johnstone Supply machine by Than

Orens who did a great job of driving the middle stint on his first time behind the wheel of Petit’s M3. An excited Orens exclaimed, “Being asked to drive the #28 Johnstone C-Mod race car in the inaugural BMW Endurance series race at MidOhio was the opportunity of a lifetime. Driving a perfectly prepared, setup car was awesome, but the icing on the cake was driving to Harold’s plan and winning the race overall, even after falling to the back of the field. Being given the chance to compete against amateur and professionally prepared cars in the inaugural BMW Endurance series race was a once in a life time opportunity that I will forever be grateful to Harold Petit for. Helping him and the Johnstone Supply team win was the least I could do in return.” When asked about the series as a whole Orens said, “The extension of the BMW Club Racing series to include Endurance races of three and four hours has really rounded out the BMW Club Racing offering. The addition of generous contingency prizes was unexpected and greatly appreciated.

Everyone did a great job pulling this together, thank you all!” Not everybody showed up at Mid-Ohio knowing they were going to be competing in the endurance race. Stony Brook, NY resident Shaun McKenzie explained, ‘My son Dylan and I agreed to run the Mid-O Enduro after some not so gentle prodding from Kish Galappatti. We were there for the DE and to instruct that weekend. All I can remember about the race was putting fuel in the car - and lots of it! Team McKenzie came in ninth twelve laps down on the winner, but in endurance racing if you finish you are a winner. Our ‘lessons learned’ were, that we needed another driver, two more tires and extra front wheel bearings. We ended up changing the front wheel bearing on Saturday afternoon, midway through the driving school.” He went on, “The BMW CCA Endurance Series is a truly unique motorsport experience. What sets it apart from the Sprint series is the teamwork required to succeed. In this series, success can sometime mean finishing the race. Sharing

the driving responsibilities, pit duties and incar communications creates a powerful team alignment around the goal.” One racer who had plenty endurance experience going into the race was Scott Barton. “It was a good event, I’d like to see longer races but I think its good for BMW Club Racing as it makes it easier for sprint racers to get into endurance racing.” Barton who regularly competes in LeMons and Chumpcar events believes the experience he gained there is a huge advantage in the BMW series. He explained, “It was kinda cool having done so many LeMons/Chump events that a lot of teams were looking to me for advice. Basically in a 24-hour race, we do just as many pit stops/driver changes a BMW Enduro team will do in a season. In fact I would actually highly recommend any team wanting to get into endurance racing do a LeMons/ Chump event with a known front running team. You will see so much innovation from all of the teams its amazing. One of the good things about loose rules is ability to think outside the

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box. Also allows for some very budget friendly solutions. Some of these can be applied to the BMW series. When you prepare a car for sprint racing you want to every thing to be nice, neat and tucked away where you can’t see it. For an endurance car, you need everything to be more visible, labeled and stand out so you can quickly find and fix something without cutting or breaking something else. It may not look as nice as a sprint car, but you need to be more concerned with functionality. You never know who may be crewing for you and be jumping in to help. They need to be able to quickly find and understand what is going on in the car. Sitting in the pits will not win a race so off track time has to be minimized. I loved that the Redline Motorsports E36 almost won outright in the first race; it was leading right up till the last lap when Harold got by in Thunder Valley. That shows how huge a part strategy plays in endurance racing.” Barton was impressed by the fuel strategy that the Checca/ Wade E36 employed but it was also fuel strategy that helped the Petit/Orens team take the win, “The Johnstone Supply strategy was awesome. After hearing how they modified their strategy after the flat tire and figured out just how fast they need to run to win, but not any faster for fear of running out of gas, I was very impressed.” ACTion! Racing was really excited about the new series and committed to the first race Things however did not go to plan. Team principal Mike Akard explained, 92

“Upon receipt of the official rule book earlier this year, we began designing and building a purpose-built Enduro race car for the new series. However, we experienced some issues that prevented our new car from participating at MidOhio. Instead, we entered our brandnew (never before raced) H Sport E46 M3 sprint racing BMW in E2 class for the inaugural event since it’s very limited list of permitted modifications left it in a seemingly good position in E2. To compound the issues associated with racing a different car than was originally intended and that car being untested, the race was held on my wife’s birthday.... placing me soundly in doghouse territory! In the two weeks prior to the event, we experienced numerous electrical issues with the car and were very concerned that we might not make the event at all. Thankfully we were finally able to resolve the problems with the help of Epic Motorsports the day before we needed to depart for Mid-Ohio. Our first few laps of practice were interesting to say the least as our initial suspension setup missed the mark entirely with the handling being extremely “loose”. We made some wholesale suspension adjustment changes and then qualified the still ill handling racecar. In the short time between the qualifying session and the start of the race, we sought technical advice from several folks with more experience in racing E46 chassis (most of our team experience has been dealing with the vastly different E30 chassis). After much debate in an expedited timeframe, the (often discouraged) decision was made to perform some radical suspension modifications just prior to gridding for the start. The changes were a vast improvement, but the car was still loose and therefore overheating the rear tires in the race.

With the improved handling, we were able to pick up the pace and even lead a few laps (overall) in the early stages. After approximately thirty minutes of green flag racing, the engine started cutting-out and we incorrectly assumed this to be associated with the electrical problems we had witnessed the weeks leading up to the event. After wasting considerable time checking the ECU with a laptop computer during unscheduled green flag pit stop, we realized there was nothing wrong electrically. The issue was a failed fuel pump (that permitted the vehicle to “fuel starve” in corners) that forced us to short-pit the remainder of the race. With at least one team only taking fuel in one stop and most teams only adding fuel in two stops, ACTion! Racing had FOUR extended length fuel stops.... far removing our team from any contention for the podium. In our team’s very first attempt at endurance racing, we learned a LOT about our car as well as gathering a long list of things we needed to do to help improve our chances at having more success in future events.

Team crew chief Joe Shelton also gathered much needed working-on-the-fly experience that made for a very encouraging brainstorming session on the long tow back to the birthday celebration activities in Tennessee. After watching the incredible battle for the win between the two totally different philosophies of the Mod class racecar (speed) that won in the end and the Spec E36 classed car (fuel economy) that finished second, ACTion! Racing elected to make considerable changes to the yet to be debuted purpose-built endurance racing car for upcoming events as well as the long list of improvements needed on the H Sport E46 M3 we raced at Mid-Ohio. Discussions also included selfevaluations by our drivers and crew regarding how we might be more mentally and physically prepared for the longer stints than we had previously experienced. Basically, team ACTion! Racing got taken to school in our first Endurance Series event as our lack of pre-race planning/ preparation/practice cost us dearly despite the on-track lap times being fairly competitive. We

are determined to learn from our mistakes and do better moving forward. After it was all said and done, we all had a wonderfully great time and came away impressed with every aspect of the new series and how the event unfolded. Many thanks go out to the wonderful sponsors, staff and volunteers that made this inaugural event so special. We are seriously looking forward to participating in its growth as we believe its popularity will grow exponentially due to the obviously well thought out business plan. In a word: Impressive!” Taylor Handwerk was one of the racers who sat back and waited with interest to see how MidOhio would go, he told us, “Joining the BMW CCA Club Racing Endurance series was an easy decision for me. I have known Kish since the start of my HPDE career, he was my second ever instructor and I share my car with Peter Stephan, who was my very first instructor. It is really cool to be racing with guys who pretty much got me started in this sport four years ago. There is a great sense of camaraderie in the paddock and awesome competition on track. Everything is well orchestrated and very professional. Mid-Ohio proved that and joining the series then became a priority.” Than Orens mentioned earlier about how the sponsor involvement surprised him. South Orange, NJ’s Guten Parts + Service are one of the sponsors who signed up for the first season. Guten owner, Levent Erhamza explained his reasoning behind the decision, “There were several reasons we decided to become part of the series. First and foremost Guten recognizes the importance of racing and the impact it has on the BMW brand. Being a new series it offered an affordable sponsorship entry for a small company like us. It also provided worthy cross branding with the bigger sponsors. All that being said, it is also a solid demographic for our business. We find that racecar owners are savvy and appreciate the combination of competitive pricing with customer support. Since we also have a shop we further support part sales by having “brick and mortar” to have first hand experience with each product versus just 94

peddling parts we are not familiar with. Last but not the least is the leadership involved in the series. Often such groups are burdened with red tape and politics. This isn’t the case with the Enduro series. The individuals involved are decision makers and don’t get caught up in the BS. We all just want cars that go fast, the Enduro series is just the perfect fit for our company.” Another to see the positives of supporting the series was Driving Impressions owner, Bob

Zecca. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Ever since age seventeen, I have been involved in some capacity in the SCCA either as a worker, driver or politically. About seven years ago while on the board of the NNJR region I was asked to create a series that would help our ailing region out financially. I helped to create the TEAMDI PROIT SERIES, which was run in conjunction with local SCCA regional events. I was the main sponsor through my Driving Impressions store and our brand TEAMDI. I was also responsible for getting other sponsors

as well. This became financially successful not only for our region but any other region that hosted an event. My involvement ended about three years ago as a sponsor. Earlier this year, Kish Galappatti approached me about helping out the BMW CCA with their new Enduro series. From day one I said yes for a variety of reasons. For one I love endurance races because this involves a team of players, drivers, crew as well as strategy and teamwork so in my heart this is something I believed in. I became a premier ÂŠ www.MotorWerksMag.com

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The Akard/Angell M3 was not supposed to race at Mid-Ohio but was pressed into ACTion when the teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Enduro car had issues before heading to Ohio

The Fall-Line Motorsport M3 of XX/xx was fast but issues kept it bsck in fourth place overall and third in E0 class.

The BimmerWorks Racing 335i drove a steady race to only finish two laps off the lead. Be Miles Ahead with MotorWerks Magazine John Cooper once entered a car in the Indianapolis 500. What year was it? 98

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sponsor and in addition brought on board five other sponsors including Cross Pens, MOMO, MPT, Planted and Team Wrap Graphics. My idea for this series was to make it the best amateur racing series in America. Mig Aponte-Rios and Kish in turn brought on Turner Motorsport and other great companies that are really the heart and soul of the series. Some provided cash while other provide contingencies or gift certificates, everyone has a chance of taking something home. What we have done to date was create a competitive series which is not only fun for the racer but make the environment more professional looking by having a great looking podium, trophy girls, officials in Nomex suits with our sponsors logos and in time created a great Facebook page and website that had current photography and news on every event. My one major gripe with other amateur racing clubs is that after you spend a ton of money on your car and racing and you win an event…all you get is a trophy at the end of the day and there is NO CELEBRATION of your

CONTINGENCY

accomplishment! I hated this with a passion and told Mig and Kish that this was not going to be the case with our new series. We were going to celebrate the accomplishment of the racer with a grand podium event and regardless of win or lose everyone is present cheering on their fellow competitor and between the champagne, trophy girls, etc.…the event ends in a great party and everyone goes home happy. This is what it is all about and the reason for this success is due to a very talented and devoted crew of people putting on these events backed up by some great sponsors. Yes I am a sponsor but for me it is not just about business and making money it is about a passion for the sport and helping to make a difference and to have been given the opportunity to get in on the ground floor and help create something that people really enjoy and this is the driving force for me to being a sponsor and helping out at all events. I look forward to these weekends as do the racers and in the process I made many new friends and customers as well. I look forward to

PARTNERS

Autosport Labs

MPT Racing Oil

3D Racing Rentals

Bimmerworks.com

Planted Technology

Bent Splitter

ClubRacingRadios

Team Wrap Graphics

Bulldog Motorsports

Cross Pens

TrackPro Advisors

Crucial Motorsports

Guten Parts + Service

Michelin Ties

Drive Faster Now

iRacing

BF Goodrich

Drive Gear Racing

MOMO-USA 100

Fast-Lane Talent

Phil’s Tire Service

2014 and what it brings.” We leave this article with some words from Mig Aponte-Rios, the Marketing and Promotions Director for the series, “On behalf of the BMW CCA Endurance Series, I would like to give sincere thanks to Turner Motorsport for their commitment to making these events successful. The years of experience and knowledge that Turner Motorsport brings to the table are invaluable. They have had immense success with endurance racing, so it was natural for us to reach out to Will Turner as we began planning this series. Will has not only helped us develop sponsorship ideas, but also technical rules and racing formats. Their input throughout the initial process has been key to the successful launch of this series. Both KW Suspensions and Turner Motorsport agreed the best way to give back to the racers was in a monetary way. So, what better excuse to win a race! Another invaluable member and sponsor is Robert Zecca from Driving Impressions/Team DI, who has also brought in an incredible amount of

RESULTS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Johnstone Supply Redline Motorsports BimmerWorks Racing Fall-Line Racing Team Lochner BSR #2 Feldman & Moose Otto’s BMW ACTion Racing Team McKenzie Drive Gear Team Miata TrackPro Advisors Team Macanga Team Sri Lanka Duct Tape Motorsport

E0 E3 E0 E0 E2 E3 E2 E1 E2 E0 E3 E3 E0 E1 E3 E3

131 laps 131 laps 129 laps 128 laps 126 laps 126 laps 124 laps 124 laps 122 laps 119 laps 119 laps 110 laps 82 laps 55 laps 42 laps 31 laps

knowledge from sponsoring other events such as the SCCA Pro IT series for years. Driving Impressions is responsible for the custom made suits that the series officials are wearing. Which are not only great looking but available to drivers at a great cost. I feel that the series can only go on to greater heights.” So as an independent bystander what did I think? I thought it was awesome. When you look at the finishing order and see how close it was overall, how many cars were on the same lap, it is a formula that works. I never imagined it would be that close after four hours. The only concern I have is adding more and more events. At this time the events are new to racers but I would hate to see the extra costs involved in endurance racing have an impact down the road if too many events are added. Mid-Ohio was a special event. Keep the event numbers to a sensible number and all the events will be special. It was a shame the way that Patrick had his baby taken away from him BUT the series is blossoming, it will get bigger. Patrick does a great job of running the races and the banquets are just amazing. Kish and Mig have done a great job of bringing sponsors into a series where racers previously expected nothing other than a good time on the track. Working together the BMW CCA Racing has a great thing going here. Let’s keep it that way!

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OTHER OHIO HAPPENINGS Photos and Words by Ian Rae

hile most of the excitement at the MidOhio Sports Car Course surrounded the new Endurance series, the regular business of BMW CCA Club Racing and the Northern Ohio Chapter HPDE event went on. For me the highlights was again seeing Scott Hughes’ IMSA E36 M3 GTR Valvoline car plus TC Kline bringing out the Super Touring 320i he ran for Randy Pobst in 1997 North American Touring Car Championship, winning the Independents Championship. Previously run in Italy by CiBiEmme it was great seeing the silver Antera Wheels sponsored car that had not run for many years. Competitors and students not only came from

neighboring chapters but from as far afield as Canada and Florida. Robert Chang drove all the way from on his own and had a great weekend in CM and overall by winning all four races while being chased by Harold Petit. Chang summed up his weekend, “Mid Ohio is a very technical track but it’s not all about horsepower here. Some racers still have difficulty mastering this famous track even having raced here for years but fortunately it’s one of my favorites. Once I’m in a rhythm it’s a matter of allowing your senses to take over where every action isn’t thought of but automatic...Quickness comes from being precise, which then allows the other half of your concentration to focus on traffic. © www.MotorWerksMag.com

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I relate this track to a violinist’s bow being drawn across its strings...playing chords. For me Mid Ohio is sweet music! Other multiple class winners included Jeff Negus (IP), Ali Salih (IS) and Than Orens (Spec E36). Salih was particularly impressive considering how little race experieince he has. A smiling Salih told us, “I was really happy to be back at my home track for my third ever race. Having couple races under my belt now, I felt a little bit more confident, you get to know how the other guys race. I knew that my real race would be with my team mate Erik Maxwell since we both share Mid-Ohio as our home track and local knowledge sure helps here. Both cars have been set up by TC Kline Racing who are also local and it made a huge difference as could be seen by those watching the race. It turned out to be a great weekend for me, I was able to win all four races and sweep the weekend.”

Robert Chang made the long haul from Florida worthwhile with four overall wins! Nicky Schardt showed just how fast a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;girlâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; can be behind the wheel of her road-going M3 in the Instructors group.

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T EXPERIENCE

THE RUSH

ANOTHER YEAR OF CLOSE CANADIAN TIN-TOP RACING

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he Canadian Touring Car Championship presented by by Continental Tire continues to bring excitement to Eastern Canadian racetracks and the fans of BMWs and MINIs continue to see both marques challenge for wins throughout the year. 2013 was another year for Alain Lauzière’s Octane Motorsport team where they got so close to winning another championship but it was not to be. Michel Sallenbach has showed in the past what a powerhouse he is behind the wheel of one of Lauzière’s supercharged R53 MINIs and 2013 proved to be no different he led and was hounded all the way to the last race of the year

at Calabogie Motorsports Park. Damon Sharpe took both the wins in the last two races and was crowned Touring Class Champion: ‘’I am relieved but surprised, I didn’t think I could do it because of the point difference between Sallenbach and I. He and his team have all worked very hard and I only won by one point. Towards the end of the race the tires were very slippery and he was catching up. I have mixed feelings right now as I am very happy to have won but sad at the same time for Michel’’ Sallenbach started his CTCC season with a bang, capturing two victories in the Touring class during The Victoria Day weekend at Canadian

Tire Motorsport Park, he led race number one from the second spot on the grid without any serious challenges as the others squabled over second place. Race two was a bit different with a fight between the top four contenders. Sallenbach made it two for two when he dove under the leading Honda going into corner one after a late race yellow. “We told everyone we would change our approach this year and that we would race for fun. There is nothing more fun than standing on the top position” proclaimed Sallenbach. “I would like to thank my crew-chief Marc-André Beaubien and all the members of the GENUINE MINI © www.MotorWerksMag.com

PARTS Team Octane, the car was awesome!” Éric Lacouture, made his Team Octane debut driving the #49 ARD/Gagné et Lacouture MINI had a great weekend with two fifth place finishes after qualifying in fourth position. Lacouture would adapt well to racing the MINI and finished the year in third place in the Touring class. CTCC sophomore racer Paul Gravel, after qualifying in seventh position retired from race one with a faulty sensor. He went on to finish race two in seventh position, driving the LDS Dyno #48 MINI Cooper S JCW. Gravel did not have the dream year of his rookie year with several issues not allowing the consistency he showed in 2012. He would finish seventh in the championship. Carlos Tesler-Mabe who came all the way from Vancouver, had a trying weekend as his main car had a technical issue in Friday testing. The team then set to and prepared the MINI Canada Targa Cooper S Challenge car as a back-up and he finish in seventh and eighth position in rounds one and two. During the rest of the year he did a good job to eventually finish up fourth in the championship give Octane Motorsport a 2,3,4 finish. The Grand-Prix de Trois-Rivières is an important event for Octane Motorsport and they brought their full complement of four MINI Cooper S John Cooper Works to the circuit that suits the handling and braking abilities of their Britishborn vehicles. Regular drivers Michel Sallenbach, Paul Gravel, Eric Lacouture and Carlos TeslerMabe were joined by team principal Alain Lauzière behind the wheel of a B-Spec MINI Cooper for the weekend. THe result? Nothing less than five podiums over the course of the weekend. Michel Sallenbach took one win and a second. Tesler-Mabe made it to the third step of the podium in the second race norrowly beating teamate Éric Lacouture and La Patron, Alain Lauzière rounded out his weekend with two third positions. The BMW contingent started off the year well with first and second row grid starts for 8 Legs Racing. Sergio Pasian quickly passed Scott Nicol’s Honda but threw the lead away when he spun 112

at corner nine. He charged back up to ninth but had to retire with mechanical issues. It was a busy year for 8 Legs Racing as they had no less than five drivers in their two cars over the course of the championship. That meant that no serious championship charge could be mounted. Youngster Nathan Blok was the highest placed 8 Legs Racing driver in thirteenth spot. Blok, a 19-year old, two-time Formula Tour Series Champion was another to have a good outing in Trois-Rivières. He did not seem intimidated by the concrete walls or the narrow track that snakes its way around this historic city midway between Montreal and Quebec City. GP3R is unique in that it has a night race and this would be Blok’s first ime in a BMW since the previous June. Qualifying was hot and humid in the afternoon and having three classes would © www.MotorWerksMag.com

not make getting a good lap easy. Blok struggled with an oversteering car but still claimed fifth in class and seventh overall. His qualifying session was cut short due to slight contact with a wall. The start was delayed by more than thirty minutes when two cars had engine problems. This moved Blok up to fifth on the grid for the start which was now at dusk. The excitement was not over when on lap nine the streetlights went out between Depailler and Villeneuve corners. Blok and the other four in the leading pack not only had to deal with the fading light but backmarkers. Now closing in on the leaders by a full-second per lap after managing the brakes and tires well Blok ran out of time

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and finished in fourth place. With 8 Legs Racing not concentrating on the championship that left Amico Racing as the flagbearer for BMW championship hopes. The successful Windsor based team of Justin Amicone had re-focused over the winter and had reverted back to a one car team, a tactic that was so successful for them back in 2011. There was a new butt in the seat but with a familiar surname. Josh Fantin had taken over the driving chores from his brother Dean and the team were encouraged with the changes made to the car in the off season. Although not really able to challenge for wins, Fantin did a workman-like job and stashed away the points at every event. By

mid-season he was still in the top five, but fell to finish eighth by the season’s end. The Labor Day event at CTMP saw two more BMW’s join the fray when the RMP Competizione E90s of Mike DellaDonne and Rocco Marciello return to CTCC action. Others to get behind the wheel of a BMW during the season were Marc-Andre Bergeron, Arek Wojciechowski, Eric Hochgeschurz and Dave Ciekiewicz. Below listed are the final positions and points acquired during the seaon by BMW and MINI drivers.

TOURING CLASS POINTS 2013 2nd 46 Michel Sallenbach Team Octane, Roxton Pond, QC MINI Cooper S JCW 1563 points 3rd #49 Eric Lacouture Team Octane, Ville de Lorraine,QC MINI Cooper S JCW 1422 points 4th #45 Carlos Tesler-Mabe Team Octane Vancouver,BC MINI Cooper S JCW 1364 points 7th #48 Paul Gravel Team Octane, St-Guillaume, QC MINI Cooper S JCW 639 points

SUPER CLASS POINTS 2013 8th #13 Josh Fantin Amico Racing, Amhurstberg, ON BMW 330i 645 points 13th #10 Nathan Blok 8Legs Racing, Beachburg,ON BMW 330i 403 points 14th #47 Marc-Andre Bergeron

Masif Performance, Trois-Rivieres,QC

BMW 330i 401 points

16th #10 Sergio Pasian 8Legs Racing, Québec, QC BMW 330i 349 points

B-SPEC POINTS 2013 3rd #44 Alain Lauziere Team Octane Vaudreuil-Dorion,QC MINI Cooper 419 points MANUFACTURERS POINTS 2013 Super Class 2nd BMW 470 points Touring Class 2nd MINI 635 points

18th #10 Arek Wojciechowski 8Legs Racing, Ottawa, ON BMW 330i 300 points 20th #11 Dave Ciekiewicz Donington Motorsports, Mississauga,ON BMW 330i 205 points 24th 18 Michael DelleDonne RMP Competizione, Toronto,ON BMW 330i 83 points 26th #81 Rocco Marciello RMP Competizione, Brampton, ON BMW 330i 74 points 27th #11 Eric Hochgeschurz 8Legs Racing, Carlton Place, ON BMW 330i 65 points © www.MotorWerksMag.com

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Michel Sallenbach’s take on 2014 When I look back on the season with two DNF (both mechanical) and 12 podiums ( 1x3rd, 6 x2nd, and 5 victories) all in 14 starts, it was quite a successful year. All that achieved with the very first R53 that Alain built for Octane Motorport. Technicaly, the car is very mature now and I think the driver has improved his skills also, so it was a good combination. The team was wonderful, my crew chief Marc-André

along with Vincent our data and tuning guy and everybody rallied around and did whatever was needed. We decided at the start of the season to race to have fun, which we achieved, but were still disapointed to fall short by just one point for the championship after having such good results. The highlight had to be the two poles with one victory and a second in Trois-Rivières.For next year, we are preparing the new COUPE, we are open to other series, like World Challenge, or take any other opportunities if they appear during the season.

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On the

Road to th Green Hel

Words by Ian Stewart and photos by author and Randy Sparre

t’s one of those trips that every car guy has on his bucket list. You might call it the Mecca of the Automotive world. It’s the Nurburgring and you’ve seen it in everything from GM commercials to Leh Keen’s epic helmet cam video in the pouring rain in the dead of night. Jackie Stewart once called it the ‘Green Hell’ but that still did not stop him from finishing four minutes ahead of second place in the 120

extremely wet and foggy 1968 German Grand Prix. While my illustrious namesake may have called it Hell, I can assure you this Mr. Stewart thought it was more like bliss! Recent rumors true or not, of the ‘Ring closing have cause many of us to plan trips there in a rush, ensuring we get that last chance at doing a lap before you can’t. Earlier this year I hatched a plan to do it, it involved purchasing a new vehicle

he ll on an overseas delivery program and finally getting to drive the ‘Ring on my terms in my car. This would make the eventual Nurburgring sticker on my trunk all that more meaningful. And in September I did it and in my own car! The biggest surprise came in the form of news that my wife also wanted to drive it. All while planning the trip our itinerary changed at least a hundred times, but one thing never changed.

On a certain Sunday we drive the Nurburgring! While I attempted to add a track day at Spa and some of the Swiss mountain passes that I seen on the original Top Gear, the only thing for certain was the ‘Ring. We flew into Gothenburg, Sweden on Thursday evening. After a very long day of travel we were much surprised by the sleeping arrangement that we later found out was going to be the same wherever we went in Europe. Two twin beds, side by side with two twin comforters and a fitted sheet were the order of the day. Being on East Coast time I laid awake the first night thinking about my new car and in only two days I’ll be on the Nurburgring. This isn’t uncommon as I rarely sleep before race weekends or nights before I drive a new track. But rarely do I come into a race weekend after traveling on various airplanes and airports for over twenty hours that started after a ten-hour workday. The following day we picked the car up at Gothenburg toured the factory and ate the free lunch they provided. The other customers taking overseas delivery seemed a little taken back at the rush we put on getting the car and setting the GPS for Adenau, Germany, seven hundred and fifty miles away. My plan was to arrive early enough Saturday night that I could possibly sneak a lap in before it closed at seven pm. The ‘Ring is open on tourist days most of which are between 5:30pm and 7:00pm in the evening. During these times anyone can drive the track. When I say Anyone, I mean anyone or thing, from tour buses and delivery vans to motorcycles and racecars. Sunday was one of the somewhat rare days during the year the track would be open as a tourist day for the full day. Being opened for a full day on a weekend I expected it to be very busy so it was a bit key to me to get there on Saturday night and knock out a lap to learn the track. Having run the One Lap of America multiple times and being raised as an Autocrosser I’m fairly quick at learning tracks. Even one as big as the ‘Ring I figured I’d have a pretty good grasp on it in one lap. What I greatly under estimated was how slow the autobahn travel would be. The grandeur of an infinite road © www.MotorWerksMag.com

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with unlimited speed limits was meant with the reality of construction zones, heavy traffic and an moving average on the GPS of only 41 mph for the first couple hundred miles. In fact annoyingly enough it took me nearly 120 miles before I found an open stretch with no traffic to hit the 135mph speed governor on the vehicle. With that said the German drivers behave far better on the road than American drivers. They appear to be far more aware of their environment and there are no egos when driving. If you want by, they happily move over with a wave instead of an obscene gesture. In fact most times they watch their mirrors and move over early enough that you rarely need to disengage the cruise control. That is something almost unheard of on the American roads! Realistically, once traffic cleared I could set the cruise between 100110 mph and rely on vehicles moving over in a reasonable time frame without disturbing my wife reading in the passenger seat. But running much faster than that often meant heavy braking and curse words as you rounded a corner at 130 to find a car in the left lane doing 80. This miss-calculation in average speed on the Autobahn caused us to arrive at the Nurburgring a 7:02pm. Just two minutes to late to crack a lap that night. Nonetheless, the drive in from Cologne was a road that rivaled the dragon and was packed with modified German and Italian Sports cars flying past us in the opposite direction. That was a good enough intro for my wife that night as I think she had just begun to realize what she was in for. That night we drove back into Adenau to find Dinner and a Hotel room. My wife had learned in the German book that Zimmer frei meant

vacancy and we found the very first restaurant we drove past had that written on the sign out front. I questioned how that could mean vacancy when clearly this was just a resturaunt with a house next door. So we stopped to investigate and after thirty minutes of us staring at a German book and the restaurant owner attempting to translate through restaurant guests we had the top floor of her personal house complete with kitchen, bathroom, living room and our own personal driveway for $50 for the evening with no check out time the following day. This was great because it meant we could leave all our stuff at the house instead of having it bounce around the trunk of the car on track.

What a deal! We decided to head into town and find a busy restuarant with Wi-Fi so could Facetime our daughter and maybe meet some people. We found a very busy Italian joint full of guests wearing Audi, Porsche, and BMW attire. The Town of Adenau was very neat, from the outside it appeared like every other small German town that we had driven through with one exception; every parking space in the town was occupied by a car I would like to own. GT3’s, M3’s , Ferrari’s and Lambo’s were parked everywhere. Plus nearly every business in this little town © www.MotorWerksMag.com

either fixed cars, rented racecars, built racecars or was there in one way or another to support the car hobby. I was looking for a real estate office. At dinner we met one of the many ‘Ring photographers and proceed to question him about the schedule of the ‘Ring the next day. We were able to find out that at the opening time for the ‘Ring (8am) the track should be very empty. He told us that most cars start getting there around 10am and that’s when it will get busy. We had a comical time chatting with him as he told us of his various trips to the US with ‘Various Boyfriends’. Later on that evening we met his wife and realized there must have been a translation error. The next morning we were up early and arrived in the paddock to the track at 8am sharp. I questioned if it was even open as there was no one around. One or two cars coming going on and coming off the track and that was it. I walked up to the counter and bought four laps for 97 Euro. Being a bone stock car with all season tires and only 786 miles on the odometer I wasn’t to sure how the brakes among other

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things would hold up so my plan was to do four laps and see how it went. I figured that would be around 40mins of track time and that would be more track time then I’ve had on some race weekends. Now in the rules for the tourist days at the Nurburgring it states that you are not allowed to have a camera in the vehicle. I noted before going that most people go through the entrance and pull over and attach the cameras in the cars before starting their laps. No way I was spending one second on the ‘Ring without some camera recording something so I attached one camera to the sunroof for the interior shot and after walking around the vehicle I determined it was fairly hard to notice. So the plan was to leave that one up all the time and stop after the entrance to the track and attach another to the windshield. My wife and I gave each other that hear we go look and drove out onto the track. The camera on the windshield never got attached. Fortunately the car I bought isn’t slow, and I tapped the speed limiter before entering the first corner, Goal #1 obtained. My second goal was to not drive my first lap like a wuss.

Like I said, I’ve never been known for learning a track slowly and I wasn’t about to make the ‘Ring the first track to attack slowly. I think it caught my wife a little by surprise that I attacked my first lap like a rally stage with no co-driver. The area’s where I was confident I knew from Forza. I drove the rest of the track at 100% relying on the view out of the windshield. This is the same approach I used when driving tracks blindly on the One Lap of America and I’ve had pretty good success with that and never damaged a car. The track was amazing to drive. If I had to relate it back to an American tracks I’d say take the best elements from VIR, and Thunder Hill and do that over and over again for en minutes. The track drove significantly tighter then it does in Forza but I only have a handful of laps at a friends house on Forza. The two major drops coming into right-handers on the backside of the course are real roller coaster type drops. Video and Video games do not do it justice. The scenery is amazing to and at multiple times I caught myself glancing off track to try to identify where in the countryside we were. Despite the track looking relatively empty I was catching and passing cars like they were standing still. This caused me to question if I had read the rules correctly for the tourist day as not one car appeared in my mirror. At the end of the first lap I noted a lot more cars in the paddock area when we pulled in. I jumped out to give the car a once over. Checked the brakes (which were smoking) checked the tires to make sure I hadn’t somehow corded one. Glanced under the vehicle to make sure nothing had come off. Popped the hood (which oddly I had not done yet since buying the car) and checked the oil. After my visual inspection I walked back around to get in the driver seat only to find my wife already in it with her sunglasses on attempting to find a seating position I had shown her many years ago. Head on the headrest with your arm extended over the steering wheel you want the top of the wheel to touch the bottom of your wrist. My turn she said, before the track gets busy. Now my wife has only autocrossed a couple times close to 10 years

ago. She has never driven on a race track and has only rode on a handful of laps with me and usually in very fast Porsche’s were I’m sure she was doing more holding on then actually paying attention to what was going on. I guessed now is as good a time as any. I explained to here the rules for what I could remember and that if she was to see a yellow that it means no passing and to proceed with caution. She pulled out on track and I attached the camera pointing back at us as I was certain I would be the one providing a video worthy worried face for most of the lap. She fired off onto the track with a subdued aggression touching 106mph before we got to the first corner. I tried to watch the mirrors the best I could to give her a heads up on faster cars coming through and she did an excellent job of staying right and letting people by. She let people by in the middle of corners without a hesitation like it wasn’t a big deal at all. Not many people can say their wife turned her first lap on a racetrack at the Nurburgring. I turned two more laps as the track got busy, passed a lot of cars and much to my surprise I only had one car pass me. But as the track got more packed I noted more and more caution flags as I drove around. The ‘Ring officials throw a caution even for gravel being dragged up on the track. Neither of my final two laps could be taken at a full pace due to the cautions. On my third lap I felt as if I was passing someone nearly every corner. This didn’t take any of the fun out of it as interacting with others on track is half the fun, but I could quickly see it was approaching the point in the day when I would have a hard time carrying a good pace due to traffic. The plan was to eat dinner that night on the Rhine at a winery so my morning at the ‘Ring was almost over as fast as it started. We found a café in town at the bottom of one of the areas where the ‘Ring went though town and enjoyed our coffee listening to the cars go by on the track above us. It was a surreal experience and as I drove off following a Yellow Lamborghini Aventador onto the autobahn I was already planning my return. © www.MotorWerksMag.com

n June 1st, 2013 more than one hundred shiny Minis and two hundred excited enthusiasts attended the Mini Mania 13th Annual Nevada City Adventure Car Show and Open House. It was our most well attended event since its inception in 2000! With live music, beautiful cars, friendly people and several event features, a fun and lively time was had by all! Here is a recap of the days happenings. Mini Mania team members arrived bright and early, working together to set up tables, popups and get all the Mini Mania cars ready. We had been planning the event for months so our excitement ran deep. Our number one goal was to exude our constant mission, providing excellent customer service. After all, customer appreciation is the very reason the Nevada City Adventure exists. At 8:00 a.m., on the dot, a caravan of honking, sparkling clean MINIs pulled into our driveway marking the beginning of an amazing day. A steady stream of classic Minis and MINI Coopers continued to fill up our huge parking lot. Enthusiasts strolled our beautiful grounds admiring cars, meeting new friends and sharing ideas and stories. The weather was perfect, with the sun just starting to peek over the tall pines surrounding our headquarters. The smell of flowers and exhaust permeated the air. We could tell it was going to be a blast! Our show room was open with Mini Mania sales team members ready to assist participants in finding parts and answering questions. Miniology was all set up ready to broadcast the dayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s festivities. Expression Graphix was on site to print on demand event t-shirts. Niello MINI had brought along a 2013 MINI Paceman to put on display. Our DYNO vendor, Driving Ambitions, was all set up and ready to make some noise. Richard Diablo, a columnist for MC2Mag and avid Mini model collector, had his impressive collection on display right next to his shiny blue full sized MINI. Norm Nelson was covering the event for MotorWerks Magazine and had brought along many of his friends from Shasta Minis. AJâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Superior Automotive from right here in Nevada County came down to perform free 126

Sprint Booster demos and answer any questions potential buyers might have about the product. Entertainment for the day was provided by Paige Anderson and the Fearless Kin who played a beautiful mix of bluegrass, country and folk music. Their sound perfectly captured the essence of Nevada County. Their group consists of Paige, 19, Aimee, 17 and Ethan, 14. They are part of Anderson Family Bluegrass, the other members being their little sister and mother and father. They are fantastically talented group of young people!

Words by Mini Mania and Norman Nelson, photos by Norm Nelson

The tour included a trip down to an old gold mining camp, originally known as Indiana Camp, (settled by miners from Indiana in 1849), it is now known as the town of Washington. For those that wanted to, we stopped at the Yuba River where they could try their hand at gold panning. The six acre Mini Mania compound was set right on the old tailings of the historic Sneath & Clay gold mine just across the street (a few buildings still stand!) The cars were surrounded by majestic pines, blue skies and spring-like

weather throughout the day making it perfect for a MINIac gathering. The support we had from our vendors was impressive, all of the following companies contributed to prizes or handouts. Quicksilver Exhausts, Borla Exhaust, Rennline, SPEC Clutches and Flywheels, Brembo, Sprint Booster, OS Giken, Redline Automotive, Camisasca Automotive Manufacturing, Go Badges by OXK, Covercraft, EBC Brakes, Forge Motorsport, Cravenspeed and Detailing Innovations. ÂŠ www.MotorWerksMag.com

Mark Your Calendars for 2014! We have set the date for Nevada City Adventure 2014! Come and join us on Sat. May 31, 2014 for our 14th Annual Open House and Car Show. 2014 also just so happens to be our 40 year anniversary. We are already planning an EXTRA special event! Updates on NVA 2014 and other Mini Mania news can be found on or website at www.minimania.com

It was a great turn out at the Mini Mania HQ. Check out the rows and rows of old and new Minis in the photos.

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The man himself, Don Racine sits in his office with assembled A-series engine and plenty of stock for all the eager MINIacs

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ALMS at

CTMP

Words and Photos by Ian Rae

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n the last issue of MWM Jake Galstad wrote an article called New Era, it was about the BMW Z4 GTE arriving in North America and becoming the weapon of choice for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in American Le Mans Series competition. When the ALMS arrived at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park I was ready for my first look at the new car. I liked the idea of each car having a different base color it makes my job as a phtographer so much easier. I have to admit the Z4 two seat sports car took a bit of getting used to after years of watching the M3s but if it is good enough for Corvette why not BMW? Having chatted with Bill Auberlen on Facebook in the week leading up to the race he was a bit concerned about the straight at CTMP. He explained, “The car is better handling but

slower in a straight line than the M3, at Sebring we struggled a bit on the straights and that is a long straight you have at CTMP so we may have a similar scenario there. The Z4 is a wicked handling machine. It’s by far the best handling GT car I’ve ever driven which says a lot considering the incredible cars I’ve driven. It just needs a bigger restrictor and we could be ok. We are a bit down on straight line speed. It’s strengths are it’s handling. It is the most precise gt car ever. You merely steer it with your thoughts and it goes. It only has one weakness but it’s a big one. We need the series to give us a bigger restrictor. We have one of the smallest engines with the smallest restrictor. Not exactly fair, but that’s racing.” When asked if BMW had learned from the first year with the Z4, he went on, “BMW is an incredible company. They

only know about getting to the top step of the podium. If weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not there yet they will engineer a way to get back up there. As a driver what more could you ask for.â&#x20AC;? It was not just the car that was changed for

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Auberlen, since his last visit North, CTMP has continued with improvements and most were to runnoff areas. No longer is there a fear of sliding down the grass on the outside of corner two into that unforgiving tire barrier. The whole area had been paved as had turn one and five. Trees had been cut back on the inside of five to help both racers and spectators a better view. Now Mr Auberlen may not appreciate the new paved walkway up to five along with a better viewing area but the spectators sure did. And it made life a lot easier for myself and fellow photographers. Bill will notice the other changes when he returns to CTMP in 2014, Messrs Fellows and Fidani have once again put the off season to good use and made even more changes. To find out what they are, just climb in your car and head there for the May 24 weekend. 2014 is going to be an amazing season at CTMP. Another first for me was seeing the DeltaWing for the first time. It sure takes a bit of getting used to and I for one welcome seeing it run with all the other cars. However,

a field of DeltaWings or similar would not work for me. True cars have a wheel at each corner and that is it! It would not be a good first time appearance for either the Z4 or the DeltaWing. Dirk Müller and Joey Hand were the best finishing BMW in fifth with Bill Auberlen and Maxime Martin sixth but a lap down on the first five finishers. Both BMW Z4 GTE cars held the lead at some point during the mistake-free race. Maxime Martin even set the fastest lap (1:15.907 minutes, on lap 102) in the closing minutes of the race. Unfortunately, the top speed deficit of the BMWs was evident on Mosport’s long straights and, while able to run a single quick lap, they were unable to stay in front of the larger displacement cars. Müller and Hand finish enabled Müller to retain the lead in the GT driver standings by five points. Müller started the race from third on the grid, after qualifying fourth and was moved up before the green flag after when the second place qualifier was moved to the rear of the grid. Hand took over just past the one-hour mark and ran a strong third before being demoted to fifth in the closing stages of the race. Bill Auberlen started in the #55 BMW Z4 GTE, moving up to start the race in fourth after qualifying fifth. The Californian ran a strong stint to hand over to Martin from fourth on lap 46, one hour into the race. Martin raced into the lead, but dropped back to sixth after his pit stop on lap 90 for fuel and new Michelin tyres. He was unable to improve his position in the final 45 minutes of the race. Gordon McDonnell (BMW NA Motorsport Manager) said, “Despite an excellent, mistakefree effort by BMW Team RLL we were denied a chance at the Mosport podium. The next circuits we face will not be any easier, so we will have to redouble our efforts to keep us in the hunt for the championship.” Andy Meyrick and Katherine Legge were even more disappointed with their outing as they only completed sixteen laps. The duo were stopped by low oil pressure when Meyrick was running in second place.

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Words by Thom Rossi, photos by author and Ian Rae

’m running a hot lap at Monticello Motorsports Club in a late season test and tune day in my BMW M3 C-Modified, my weapon of choice for BMW CCA Club Racing (the #726). It seems we have finally defeated the gremlins that plagued the car’s reliability in the 2013 campaign. More than that, we are starting on the next level of ECU programming, experimenting with traction control settings. It’s an absolute blast to hang out the rear end of the car as I exit from tight corners under full throttle, seeing just how far a given traction control map will let me go. Down the long back

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straight, the car is absolutely planted through the right hand kink as it climbs to 150 mph. Then hard on the brakes (experimenting here, too, with brake bias settings) and into the rightleft-right complex of turns (T13,14,15) going over a hill. As I put the power down out of T15 I can see that the left hand curbing is coming up a little sooner than it should. My line is off a bit. No worries, my tiny little over-confident brain tells me; you can put a wheel off here and just bring it back on later down the straight. I’m very relaxed as the front left wheel climbs the curbing, teeters on the edge, and drops off the

track. A split second later, I hear the noise that shredded carbon fiber makes as it rips its way through your checkbook. It turns out that the grass surface on the outside of the curbing is a fair drop off from the track level, resulting in the curbing having its way with my splitter, bumper cover, oil cooler and radiator. A quick flick of the kill switch saves the engine from running under low oil pressure for too long and I coast my car to a stop well clear of the track surface, safely out of the way in the grass. Looking through the rearview mirror confirms that the splitter and bumper did not survive this excursion. I wish I could tell you that is the first carbon fiber splitter I’ve left on the side of the track. Unfortunately not, I have enough experience in that area to have noticed a pattern. The splitter never survives more than a foot and a half of travel over the curbing. Hit gravel? Crack, splinter, boom… it’s gone! Hit curbing? Same thing. Heck, even getting the car on and off the trailer can lead to disaster. It took

quite a bit of experimentation with race ramps of various lengths and heights, wood planks, and rubber blocks before I managed to find a way to winch the car into the trailer with about two mm of clearance for the leading edge of the splitter – but only with proper tire inflation. Obviously, the way to avoid these costly repairs is to stay on the track, away from other cars, and well clear of trailer doors. But that would require skill. So I have to develop an alternative plan. My thinking at this time is to re-design the radiator/oil cooler assembly. As originally constructed, the oil cooler resides in the stock location hanging beneath the radiator, leaving very little room between the upper surface of the splitter and the oil cooler, and consequently, absolutely no room between the curbing at Monticello’s T15 exit and the oil cooler. This will be changed to an oil cooler placed in front of a thinner-cored, more-efficient and lighter radiator. I estimate I’ll reduce the weight of the entire assembly by about seven pounds. I’m also pretty tired of seeing a trail of carbon fiber left behind my car with every driver “indiscretion”. I’ll be investigating replacement of the CF

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splitter with one constructed of Tegris®, which is expected to be 50 times stronger but only slightly heavier than CF. These two changes will, I hope, be sufficient to buy me a little bit of accident forgiveness, thus adding to the likelihood that the #726 will complete more races in 2014 and allowing me to focus on car set up and driver improvement. My 2013 off-season begins now with me in my workshop with the #726 on a lift with the front end disassembled. I’m armed with a spray bottle of degreaser and a pile of rags, cleaning up all the oil that sprayed through the engine bay. Scattered throughout the workshop are the remnants of my old splitter and bumper cover along with boxes of new parts. I can already feel the optimism for next season starting to build in me with each passing hour spent in the workshop. And I can also feel the guiding presence of my late friend Geoff Atkinson, whose craftsmanship and engineering is evident everywhere on the car. This car is largely his creation, and I feel a deep sense of connection with him as I work on it. In 2014, she’ll be everything we intended her to be, and he’ll be with me in spirit through every lap.

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e v E K R A M D N A A LAM and ALMS together at Road America GRANDRoad America would see what truly was a landmark event. After all the talk of a merger, this was the first indication that it was actually going to happen. For the first time ever both series had cars on track on the same weekend. Not on track at te same time but interested parties had stopwatches in hand and many a comparison was made. Whether the comparisons really meant anything I doubt it. There will be a new ruleset developed to bring the Daytona Prototypes closer to the P2 class before everyone

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arrives at Daytona for the 2014 season. As it was the DP/P2 difference was less than three seconds whereas the GT cars which are going to be split into GTLM and GTD classes were further adrift at six and a half seconds.

ent

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! e y b d o o G g Sayin a new era n i s g n i r e c a r The final ALMS

The conclusion of the 2013 Petit Le Mans Powered by Mazda held at Road Atlanta brought an end to bitter era of two sportscar series racing in North America. Nobody liked the fact that funding and teams were split and that did not work well for either side. Just as we saw Indycar go back to the one series format it was down to the American Le Mans Series to close the book with the 16th annual Petit Le Mans. With Rebellion Racing winning the event it was probably apt that it was a European team who won the final event. I believe the Tudor United SportsCar Series will be even stronger than Indycar. THe crowds at the joint event at Road America proved people liked the idea of watching top notch sportscar racing. Will it be a seamless transition, I doubt it. As with all newborns there will be growing pains, I am sure there will be some egos on

both sides that will need to be massaged. There have been too many years of ‘this is the way we do it’ for that not to happen. But, the huge thing as I see it is the fact that all sides are re-united. The details will get worked out as we go along, I’m sure of that. Think of the package that the series is now bringing to the table. Daytona Prototypes and P2 cars, GT cars in both LeMans and Daytona spec. Hopefully this should encourage teams from both sides of the Atlantic to amke the trip for events Like Daytona, Sebring and Le Mans. The options are now there. The test days at Daytona before the Rolex 24 will be the test of the new organisation, as they try to equal the classes out. From there it is on to the big one and we will only know if it has been a success after the clock passes 2:10 pm on Sunday afternoon. © www.MotorWerksMag.com

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Photos and Words by Ian Rae

TedFest2013

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ur good friend Ted Kalman put on his magnificent Tedfest show for BMW lovers on July 5th, 2013. The venue was once again the Bradley Museum in Mississauga which is a perfect location for providing the family atmosphere that the event is famous for. Even the threat of rain could not keep the biggest crowd to attend the event from strolling through the trees and viewing some of the nicest BMWs in North America. TedFest has come along way from the day Ted and three companions sat around talking about BMWs in the first un-official event in 2003. 2004 saw twenty-five cars show up and that number has increased every year since. Attendees now come from further afield, eager to be part of the unique gathering that is Tedfest.

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This was the first time I had seen a Z1 Coupe in person. One of only two in Canada this one is a pristine unrestored version, ÂŠ www.MotorWerksMag.com

Two different ways to go Touring, you choose, V8 or I6?

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Above: Great looking 2002s!

Right: M3 Heaven

Above: Great surroundings!

Below: 8 FTW!

Below: Basic strut bar design

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This ainâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t no Bimmer motor!

A colorful 6

Cibie lights for that authentic European look!

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“H

ow do I estimate the speed and braking through a corner I have never been through before?” There’s a question every rally and autocross driver would love the “secret” answer to. Even road and oval track racers could use it, although it is not as important since they have the luxury of being able to go round and round until they figure it out – using trial and error. So, let’s take a look at what you face when faced with a corner you’ve never been through before, and see what we can do to discover that “secret.” Approaching an “unknown corner,” there are four interrelated factors that come into play: Speed Sensing: This is your ability to sense, determine and establish a particular speed. Obviously, this must be done at an intuitive level, not by looking at the speedometer. Traction Sensing: Your ability to feel or sense whether and how close your tires are to their limit. Data Base: You have a Words by Ross Bentley, photos by Ian Rae and Norman Nelson Data Base of information from the hundreds, thousands, or millions of corners you’ve driven in your life. Your Data Base is primarily made up of visual images of what corners look like, along with the resulting speed and traction sensing information. If your Speed Sensing and Traction Sensing skills are poor – a lack of sensory input – the Data Base will not be accurate or as useful

The UNKNOWN CORNER

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as it could be. Of course, you could say your Data Base is just experience – seat time – and you would be right to some extent. But why, then, do some drivers with little experience seem to have a larger Data Base? The better your Speed Sensing and Traction Sensing – sensory information being input to your brain – the better (richer) your Data Base will be. In other words, your Data Base is made up of tens, hundreds, thousands or millions of reference points – ones you see, ones you feel, and ones you hear. It’s as if the file of information on each corner is much thicker or deeper the more sensory information you have taken in. Car Control: Your ability to “dance” with the car, controlling the controls in such a way as to keep the car on your desired cornering line, while keeping the tires at or near their limit. So, heading into a corner your Speed Sensing skills sense the speed (obviously) you’re traveling at that instant, and your Traction Sensing says “we are ‘this’ close to the limit”; all the while your Data Base compares the visual image of the corner with others in its files, recalls one that most closely matches, and makes the best estimate of the speed required. Then, it relies on your Speed Sensing skills to manage the adjusting of speed (slowing down) to “that” speed. At that point your Traction Sensing skills begin to take over, sensing “how close to the

limit” you are. That is when your Car Control skills come in. If the speed estimate is too high, or your Speed Sensing didn’t do a good job of matching the estimate (too high), then you have to control and manage the extra speed as best possible. Of course, if the estimate was too low, or your Speed Sensing over-slowed you, then your Car Control skills will have to do what it takes to increase your speed. Once you’ve driven the corner once, it is added to your Data Base. Once it’s in the Data Base, you can begin to work with it using mental imagery. Using the info in your Data Base, along with Awareness, you can update the Data Base without necessarily driving. Ask yourself, “How close to the limit was I?”, “If I carried one MPH more into the corner, what would happen?”, “two MPH more?”, “three MPH more?” Close your eyes, relax, and visualize a mental image of that speed. But do more than just visualize it. Include more than just visual information. Also imagine how it feels and what it sounds like. That is true mental imagery, or what we refer to as actualization or mental programming. Then, the next time out, simply compare the two – your Mental Image with your Awareness of how close you are to that Mental Image of the ideal speed. This is using what I call the Learning Formula: MI + A = G, where MI represents Mental Image, A is Awareness, and G is the Goal you are trying to achieve. It is the simplest, quickest and most effective way of learning and © www.MotorWerksMag.com

improving that I know of. The stronger, more vivid your Mental Image, and the more Awareness you have, the more effective this will be – the easier it is to achieve your Goal. If I had to simplify all of what I just said into “the secret” it would be the following. Work at improving your Speed Sensing and Traction Sensing by practicing taking in more sensory input, from your vision, your kinesthetic sense (balance, feel, touch – the g-forces, vibrations, pitch and roll of the car, etc.), and your hearing. Practice listening to the car. What is the engine note saying? What are the sounds coming from the tires telling you? Does the tire noise continue to get louder and louder, or does it taper off after the tires reach their limit? Are

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they growling, howling, squealing, screeching, or screaming? What does that tell you about their grip levels? Practice feeling the dynamics of the car. Does the steering get heavier or lighter as the tires reach their limit? How much body roll is there before the tires begin to lose their grip? Remember, the tires are talking to you. Are you listening? Practice seeing more. Take in more visual information. Act like a sponge, soaking up sensory information. A basic law of performance driving is the more quality information you feed your brain, the better your output (driving) will be. Then, be aware. If you combine Awareness – sensory input – with a Mental Image of what you want to achieve, you will reach your Goal of

driving at or near the limit – even if it is the first time you’ve driven through the corner. And that’s the “secret” to knowing what speed to enter a corner you’ve never seen before. Use your Data Base, your Speed Sensing, your Traction Sensing, and then your Awareness as you do it so that you can add that to your Mental Image later. Of course, that adds to your Data Base, and the whole cycle continues, with you getting better and better each and every time you drive. And that is, really, the secret – improving every time out. For those of you who thought I was going to provide you with a secret like always slow down two MPH for each foot of turn radius, and always turn in 6.73 feet before the pylon, I apologize. It’s just not that simple (like you didn’t know that

already!). If you look at every run, every stage or every lap from this perspective - that you are soaking up information to add to your Data Base - my bet is that you will be immediately quicker. There are two reasons for this. First, when you give your brain more information to work with, it will produce a better result. And second, with this approach it is more likely that you will relax and drive more at the subconscious level, rather than “trying” to go fast. For more of Ross’ writing, along with articles by other famous and not-so-famous contributors, go to www.speedsecretsweekly.com he can be contacted at ross@speedsecretsweekly.com.

An O-Fest adventure with the family and the chance to drive Laguna Seca, a dream come true. BY MELVIN DILLON

ach year, the BMW Car Club of America holds their annual pilgrimage to different locations in the US for a weeklong celebration of BMWs, friends and entertainment. And did I mention there is driving involved? It’s been almost ten years since the last migration of the BMW faithful to the left coast of North America. Once you have been to an O-Fest and drunk the Kool-Aid, it’s hard to ignore the urge to go again. This year I again succumbed to the temptation and made the migration to Oktoberfest 2013 in Monterey, California. What was special about this year’s event was the weekend before O-Fest happened to be the Festorics historic races at Laguna Seca and the Pebble Beach concours, so taking being able to taking in both events was a bonus for those who could manage it. A large number of BMW CCA members started their migration a week early to attend the historic races and the car shows at the track. The weather was perfect and the cars were amazing. I wish I could have been there and taken in the whole experience. Monday at O-Fest is a day of gatherings, 160

greetings, reunions and for some, cleaning miles of indescribable road debris off their car in preparation for the club concours that follows. So, cruising the parking lot and car wash area tends to reveal very interesting cars receiving the some tender ministrations by their owners in preparation for the week ahead. This being California, there was a nice selection of BMW 1600’s and 2002’s in the parking lot. Of course, throw in a mix of 80’s E30s, 90’s E36 M3’s and miscellaneous other examples of German engineering it was hard to walk across the parking lot without something diverting your attention from your intended path. For someone, from the Northeastern part of the U.S., this many shining examples of 70’s and 80’s cars of any brand can instill a sense of intoxication that only another car enthusiast will understand. As a side distraction, Monday was the clean up from the Pebble Beach and MECUM auto auctions packing the transporters with a random

selection of cars from the weekend’s auctions. I got to check out an almost perfect restoration of a four passenger Isetta and a Bugatti Veyron setting in front of our hotel. Throw in a random selection of Bentleys and Rolls Royces from the thirties on up and all in great condition and you are in car overload. A beautiful California Monday afternoon led us up to the official O-Fest activities getting underway with the Welcome reception in the evening. Since I did not bring a car this year, the family and I actually had two days to be tourists. As part of this year’s pilgrimage, we took a morning and went to the Monterey Aquarium. It is an amazing place, visually dumbfounding and entertaining. Some of the best time spent learning something. We also took the 17 Mile drive circuit around the peninsula. It was definitely worth the admission price. I have to admit that the thought crossed my mind shortly into the drive that I would really like to

have the MINI and an un-restricted speed limit. Wonderfully twisting roads, elevation changes combined with blind corners, lots of trees as guardrails and deep ravines to hide the more embarrassing driver mistakes from the general public’s view. Some of the best scenic views I’ve had the chance to see in a while. It’s too bad I missed seeing this when I was out here in 2000 and 2004. Normally, going to O-Fest involves driving there. Each year there is an award for the longest drive to the event. This year Benjamin Ho from Maine drove out for his first ever O-Fest. My hat’s off to you Benjamin, that is quite a haul. I am afraid I have become too enamored to crossing the country in a day by air to even contemplate the effort to drive all that way any more. If it’s O-Fest then there must be a track involved and this year it was Laguna Seca. What can I say? It’s one of the most legendary track names in North America. I surely was not going to pass © www.MotorWerksMag.com

this one up. When Laguna gets mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind is the Cork Screw turn at the top of the hill. Saying it is a turn actually is a dis-service as it is much more than one corner. In truth, all the praise is heaped on this one corner, the Corkscrew but there are ten more corners involved in making Laguna the awesome track it is. If I had to pick a corner that has more pucker factor, turn one at 5000 rpm plus in fifth gear really makes you doubt your sanity as the car gets light and that primate portion of your mind starts loudly questioning your ability to get the car settled and slowed for turn two. From there it’s a succession of great turns with little secrets hidden in each one. I was driving a perfectly set up 135 racecar and have not had that much fun in a long time. It was especially fun to get into a three lap dice with BMW 335d racecar. That car provided a living illustration that “if torque is good, more is better” as it would pull away on the uphill sections and I would catch up in the downhill sections. Great fun, throw in the 530 bhp Alpina B6 GT3 car that passed me at one point and the traffic was interesting. If you have not already driven it, add Laguna to your bucket list.

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The last driving part of O-Fest is the annual autocross competition. As much as the cars are babied, cleaned and waxed for the concours, come Thursday and Friday the gloves are off. Show cars on Tuesday are sideways with the tires smoking when the autocross arrives. This year since I took the Boeing to O-Fest but I had the pleasure of borrowing a Z4M roadster from Satch Carlson for the competition on Friday. A flashy ride with a unique color scheme draws a lot of attention. It also created a lot of confusion when passerby’s recognized the familiar car then did a double take when they saw a “stranger” behind the wheel. The course that was laid out by the San Diego chapter made good use of the paddock area. The layout was easy to learn, so those first timers to autocrossing did not get lost but it contained several technical challenges involving the correct line and dealing with multiple pavement changes during a run. My challenge was to learn to drive an unfamiliar car quickly in four runs. I have to say the first run was not one I’d like to have televised. The starting line was a 90 degree right as soon as you started rolling with a sweeping left following quickly.

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My first run got off to a good start and when I caught second gear the car leaped forward. I quickly found myself at the entrance of the left turn. No problem, just a little brake to settle the nose and back to the throttle. Ah, that is where my well laid plans went out the window as I caught my foot on the side of the brake pedal, missed the braking point, missed the turn in point and went agricultural to the outside line of cones. Not a move I would normally recommend for a quick time. Flustered, I finished the first run still getting a feel for the “roadster” thru the varying high speed and low speed sections. The second run was two seconds faster. It is amazing how well the car goes when your feet hit the pedals in the right order. From there, I trimmed a few tenths off the next two runs to finish with a last run of 50.2 seconds. And just as they started to hand me the slip the announcer adds “and a late cone call on car 38”. It could have been right at the finish. It was too bad and I had to settle for my 50.5 from the third run. My friend Scott Smed proceeded to put together a clean run in his 1M couple and knock me back to eighth overall in the standings for the day. Scott and I have held a friendly competition for years seeing who could best the other for a better time. It’s one of the things that makes the O-Fest a great event to attend.

Something new I tried is a lap timing setup for the autocross. New user blunders plagued me setting up the course but the data collected presented interesting observations. On my three good runs, throwing out the cleverly devised first run, demonstration of how not to be quick, as I had one sector on each pass that was the quickest and then a sector that was slowest. A feature of the app is that it will take each best sector and project a perfect lap time. I can see where consistency is something I need to work on as the perfect lap was one second faster than my fastest time. I also have sympathy for a professional driver that has to stare at the projected best lap and explain to the race engineer why they did not achieve that theoretical best time. Friday night’s closing banquet was a long affair with almost too much jammed into the evening’s program. We enjoyed an excellent meal, some speeches and the awards. My daughter’s picture won first place in the category of BMW’s in competition which was wonderful. She later presented the framed picture to the BMC CCA club president, as it was his car destroying the pylons that she had captured so well with her camera. Bruce seemed to be genuinely pleased to receive the mounted picture at the close of the evening’s events. Kyla sits for a caricature

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BimmerCruise’1 ! t r o p s o Rocks M

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ew at Bimmercruise andy Sparre and his cr again when great e had the Gods on his sid e attendees as d th weather again greete n Tire Motorsport ia they rolled into Cand ent Track for Canada’s Park’s Driver Developm e is year the BMWs wer largest BMW show. Th m Munich, the MINI. fro rn he et br r ei th by joined

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rage on other pages in You can view that cove uise t was hot at Bimmercr this magazine. So wha Matt, drab green, ‘13? Wraps are still in! and even BMW Art rk da e th in ow gl nt ce fluores ing own E46 M3 was look Car inspired. Randy’s r rple that show sponso awesome in a matt pu SekanSkin had applied.

BMW Art Car inspired! There was a great turnout on the vendors midway and the dyno was busy most of the day. The BMW CC Trillium chapter would again be running an autoslalom that was well subscribed and was watched with interest all day. Rich Simpson was happy at being able to let his first purpose built racecar loose on the straights of the DDT. he made a point of hauling me over and showing me that he too had a pair of MOMO seats only his had matching MOMO belts.

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Congratulations to the 2013 Trophy Winners BEST OF SHOW – Tom Uszynski BEST INTERIOR – Tito Toro BEST ENGINE – Kevin Nekouzad BEST EXTERIOR – Sally Moreira BEST I.C.E. – Derek Martindale BEST WHEELS – Anuk Bhandal BEST STANCE – Alex (green E46) RAREST RIDE – Ted Kalman DYNO KING – Ryan Obedan …………………………………. Z-SERIES 1st Place – Jay Chang Z-SERIES Runner Up – Paul Danila VINTAGE CLASS 1st Place – Ricardo Mendes VINTAGE CLASS Runner Up – John Murphy LUXURY OTHER CLASS 1st Place – Zain Habib LUXURY OTHER CLASS Runner Up – Adrian Lazarovitis E28 CLASS 1st Place – Sia Honarkhah E30 CLASS MILD 1st Place – David Dibiase E30 CLASS MILD Runner Up – Matthew Wiater E30 CLASS WILD 1st Place – John Dejan E30 CLASS WILD Runner Up – Martim Moreira E34 CLASS 1st Place – Ted Kalman E34 CLASS Runner Up – Steven Johnstone E36 CLASS 1st Place – Michael Poku E36 CLASS Runner Up – Rob Savard E36 M3 CLASS 1st Place – Alex Brook E36 M3 CLASS Runner Up – Richard Dummet E38 CLASS 1st Place – Sam Sandhu E38 CLASS Runner Up – Milan Matijevic E39 CLASS 1st Place – Derek Martindale E39 CLASS Runner Up – Filip Radomirsky E39 M5 CLASS 1st Place – John Ng E39 M5 CLASS Runner Up – Anuk Bhandal E46 CLASS 1st Place – Tom Uszynski E46 CLASS Runner Up – Kevin Nekouzad E46 M3 CLASS 1st Place – Slava Roval E46 M3 CLASS Runner Up – Tito Toro E60 CLASS 1st Place – Patrick Donohue E60 CLASS Runner Up – Mahdeep Pharwaha E8x CLASS 1st Place – Matt Sylwanowicz E8x CLASS Runner Up – Ashkon Zara E9x CLASS 1st Place – Liu Ziwie E9x CLASS Runner Up – Steve Gulab E9x M3 CLASS 1st Place – Jevon Crooks E9x M3 CLASS Runner Up – John Wyskiel

Above: Matt orange!

Right: M635

Above: Carbon flash!

Below: Redneck splitters

Below: Tricked out it is!

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Gitani Power!

A clean cab!

Super trick! Super clean!

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? w e N s ’ t a Wh S

o what is new with Cooper RSR? It is winter up here in Canada and normally everything that goes with winter is limited to us and the Northern States. This year has been different with snow, ice and freezing temperatures hitting almost all of the USA at one point in time. So many of you may be in the same boats as I am. Winter is tradionally work on the car time up here and components have been arriving now, we are into the planning phase as when to install what part, and if they should be added at the same time. We want to be able to give you as much information about the upgrades as we can. WMW ATI Super Damper Crank Pulley You may remember Ian Stewart suggesting that when choosing overdrive for our R53 supercharged car we should include an ATI damper with the Way Motor Works 2% upgrade. Waylen Hunsucker of WMW explained how the ATI pulley for the MINI came about. Over the years I have torn apart many MINI engines, they all looked different inside but one thing I noticed was those with lightweight crank pulleys 172

looked worse for wear. Some looked as if the bearings were thirty years old, in the odd one or two there was evidence of oil pump failure because of the bearings loosing their surfaces and the crap getting into the oil pump. I had a local customer who knew the guys at ATI Performance Products and we got to talking. I explained there was a market to fill due to the failures seen with the OEM damper. Originally we just looked at a standard OEM replacement but built with the quality ATI is known for in the racing world. Then we got talking about an overdrive solution to match the many overdrive pulleys that were coming to the market. A 2% overdrive was settled on, to be sold alongside the standard part. What is interesting is that the standard replacement actually has a bit of overdrive built into it due to the size of the ‘damper within a damper’ design that makes the ATI damper superior to other.” Having been involved with drag racing for many years I can attest to the product quality of ATI products, they are bulletproof in my eyes. You can see form the photos there is a lot of technology inside one of these. After Ian and Way’s recommendations I had no problem making my choice.

It had to be an ATI Super Damper! Protecting my engine internals and getting supercharger overdrive. It was a win win situation. Watch for more info in a future Cooper RSR Installs article. Available though Way Motor Works, Atlanta, GA Phone: USA 770-234-9965 INT 317-201-8670 www.waymotorworks.com ATI Performance Products, Baltimore, MD Phone: Order - 877-298-5039 Tech - 410-298-4343 www.atiracing.com MOMO Daytona EVO XL Seats Momo will have been around for fifty years in 2014 and their products have been race proven from the very start. When it came to choosing seats for Cooper RSR my biggest concern was safety and of course price. Our good friend former MINI Challenge Champion Chris Knox, once told me he will not get in a race or trackday car that does not have a halo seat. These type of seats can be very expensive but having seen an advert for the new MOMO Daytona I had to do a bit more digging for information. One thing I had never thought of was the physical size of the seat, MOMO advised me to check the measurments and verify that the seat would indeed fit in Cooper RSR, my calculation showed I should have a quarter of an inch to spare. Time will tell! It is a Hans® compatible, fiberglass seat which is the reason for the affordable price. That is not to saw it is inferior, it meets the FIA 88551999 spec and you don’t get that without having a good product. The seat shell is visible on the rear, with the front upholstered in MOMO’s exclusive Airnet technical material and Kinder Point on the seating area providing the best possible grip to locate the driver. A removable double leg cushion optimizes support and the split design allows for more comfort. The

halo shape of the headrest reduces lateral movements of the helmet and protects the driver’s head. The anatomical backseat cushions, are designed to give the maximum comfort and the best air flow, helping to reduce driver fatigue during long sessions. It comes with five seat belt openings and is located on side mounts. The standard version weighs 9,5 kgs (20.9 lbs) and the XL 9,9 kgs (21.78 lbs). I ne next issue of MWM we look at the options for fitting the seats and then install them. MOMO MOD 30 Steering Wheel I have long been a fan of MOMO steering wheels, I bought my first back in 1972 and I still have it. I wanted to have a removable steering wheel to make it easier to get out of the car once we cage it. The MOD 30 has a flat bottom to give the driver more room as well. It measures 320MM or 12.6 inches and comes with © www.MotorWerksMag.com

applications. In my case there are two buttons that connect to my Racepak IQ3 dash. They allow me to flip through any of the four pages and do things like program the sequential shift lights. MOMO USA Lake Forest, CA Phone: 949-380-7556 www.momousa.com an anatomic grip rim section that can be -top grain leather or suede. You can buy it with two thumb buttons for horn or other accessories Mounting is by a MOMO hub that I will attach the Rennline quick disconnect I bought from TC Kline Racing. MOMO Carbon Plate 4 The Carbon Plate 4 mounts between the steering wheel and the MOMO hub. It is designed to accomodate switches for all sorts of race

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CAE Ultra Shifter

Yes, it may be a shifter designed to make gear changes easier but it also is a work on art! It One of the most widely adopted modifications has a Germanic feel to it, precision exudes from in a MINI is adding a short shifter. If you are it and the billet aluminum in anodized black doing any competitive driving it is a huge asset just screams it is the proper tool for the job in for sure. So the question was, which one? hand. I was recently on the CAE website and I cannot remember how I heard about CAE I saw that Chris had a note against the MINI Shifting Technology but the first photo I saw of shifter. It talked about the reverse cable being the product grabbed my attention. Then I saw re-routed and making for an easier installation that Jan Brueggemann of Revolution MINI Works and it looking better. When i asked him about was doing a group buy, there were lots of people the update, he said, “The shifter has not really interested and so was I. That led to talking to changes from yours, we looking into re-routing the cable and managed to to do that. It saves a person from cutting up the console more than required, thus making the installation easier. We always look at ways to make a product better, that is what keeps us ahead of the opposition.

Mr CAE himself, Chris Au. Chris like many of us is a racer, and he got into the business of shifter building when he could not buy a product that worked as well as he needed on his own personal racecar. Chris told us, “The demand for high-quality racing accessories and innovative detail solutions, as well as various high-tech parts in small series currently indicates a growth trend. Today’s customer wants to adjust their vehicle to fit the personal needs of racing, they want to become more competitive or stand out from the crowd with their personized vehicle. By staying on top of the latest developments in the area of CNC machining, our innovation offers you a head start. Our goal is to offer something special and extraordinary for motor sports and especially to satisfy our customers with our products as well as our service.” Nothing prepares you for opening the package and viewing the shifter in person the first time.

So Cal Sports Car Sway Bar I got pointed in the direction of So Car Sports Car by Octane Motorsport team principal Alain Lauziere. Alain has been using the So Cal sway bar on every MINI he has built. It is a true race type bar with splined ends to locate the billet arms that come with the kit. Instead of the normal three holes you see on other sway bars, the So Cal version has a slot with graduated marks to allow you to easily record where the drop links are located. There are two types of bars available, a 23.8mm and a 25mm, both are hollow, fabricated from aircraft quality 4130 chromemoly steel and heat treated for strenght © www.MotorWerksMag.com

and reliability. It is interesting to note that the 23.8mm bar is 60% of the weight of a solid bar yet provides the same stiffness.

A Cooper RSR Update

The aluminum arms, bearing blocks and drop links are all built from industry standard 6061-T6 because of its superior strength to weight ratio. Rod ends are top notch teflon lined versions with left and righthand threads for easy adjustments. Installation is a breeze with the straight bar design, but we will tell you that story another day.

So Cal Sports Car Rear Control Arms When browsing the So Cal website I saw they also built rear control arms. Knowing they would be of the same quality as the sway bar it only made sense to use tham as well. They come with stepped bushings that ensure the control arms will swing through their full travel without binding or causing any issues. 176

Show season has started and we are getting prepared to go to the Canadian Motorsports Expo on Feb 7-9. Come along and say hi! In the meantime check out the last photos from 2013.

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Words by Michael Deschamps, photos by author, Ian Rae and Christina Kroner

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ugust 25, 2013 saw the first ever “MINI CITY” event at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park Race Track (formerly Mosport) in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was held as part of Randy Sparre’s Bimmercruise 2013 event and we enjoyed the company of many MINIacs, some of whom had driven up to one hundred and fifty kilometers to be part of the first ever MINI City event and join us on this special day. The weather even cooperated with bright sunshine, blue skies and some white clouds throughout the event, just perfect for taking pictures. As a brand new motoring event, myself and MotorWerks Magazine Editor, Ian Rae were not really expecting huge numbers of attendees at our first MINI City but we did manage to attract twenty-three cars, most of whom said that they will be back in 2014. Located at the end of the Vendor Midway, MINI City grew throughout the day with new cars arriving as some others were leaving. A couple of Classics even made the trek

to be part of the event. When four o’clock rolled around the remaining MINIacs gathered around for the World debut of M7 Tuning’s new Tegris Ultimate splitter. This coincided with the splitter’s debut online on the M7 Facebook page. Once the unveiling was over it was time for the giveaways. Both Leaf Racewear and Forgeline Motorsports had provided gift certificates with substantial discounts for their products M7 Tuning supplied ten discount vouchers as well. I was able to

persuade MINI Canada into providing us with some very nice MINI give-a-ways that were most gratefully received by the MINI owners that attended and stayed on until the end of the event. With the event being held at the Mosport DDT (Driver Training Track), some of our diehard enthusiasts took full advantage of the location and took their cars out on the track for some enthusiastic driving. The morning was part of the BMW Clubs Canada Trillium Chapter Autoslalom championship and once the competition phase was over the track was opened up to entrants for lapping sessions. It was at this point we had hoped to see the MWM project, MINI Cooper RSR out on track but a pulled neck muscle and having to wear a helmet did not bode well for

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our Editor who was due to go on vacation the following week. The car was however unveiled in its new livery with decaling and partial wrap expertly done by MarketMyCar. com in Mississauga. The many spectators were able to take full advantage of all their senses, the smell of the hot tires, the pleasing exhaust note as the BMW and MINI owners went through the gears and the visual of cars getting thrown about. In fact, some participants got carried away and were using the grass as well as the asphalt to complete the lap. This of course this gave the group of avid photographers the opportunity to get some really nice pictures. The only drawback was that due to the track being a driver training centre, the use of crash helmets was mandatory and since most of the MINI members do not own one, they had sit on the sidelines and watch others having fun. I think before the 2014 event, there may be a rush by some members to buy helmets. I myself have driven on the much more challenging former Formula 1 track adjacent to the DDT for several years in the early 70’s (between events) when I used to volunteer for the Canadian Timing Association and I never once donned a helmet so I was quite surprised to find that they were mandatory on the DDT. However, it makes sense. It is a driver training facility after all and as such, wearing a helmet is and has to be part of the training. So, please make sure you mark MINI CITY at Bimmercruise on your calendar for 2014 and beyond. We would love to have you join us. “The more, the merrier”!

The date for MINI City at Bimmercruise 2014 has been set for June 14th once again at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park’s newly revamped Driver Development Track. © www.MotorWerksMag.com

My view by Christina Kroner, aka Lil Cooper

vegetarian option next time as a box of fries isn’t enough to keep you going on a hot day! All in This was the first year MINIs were invited to all it was a fantastic event and I know I am not participate in what was previously a day for the only one looking forward to next year’s MINI BMW’s only. MINI City’s inaugural event was met City! MINI City proved itself as a “must” to add with enthusiasm from club members because it to your yearly motoring events calendar! was a car show with a twist. MINIacs enjoyed a hybrid between a traditional show and shine and a track day. There was something for everybody at MINI City. Those who are performance-driven had an opportunity to test their MINI’s limits and participate in a timed autocross. The show and shine appealed to MINI owners who meticulously polish every inch of their MINIs exterior and are proud to show it off. There was an award category to celebrate nearly every model of MINI and fantastic prizes from sponsors. Ian Rae’s Cooper RSR MINI and trailer served as a beacon for the MINIs to find and assemble themselves together. For next time, it would be nice to have more activities during the day because there was a long length of time while the show and shine judging took place. Also, it was great that a food truck came to feed us, but please have a 182

A great Day Out! by Karin Germain aka Karin Motor Gal at Budds’ MINI Oakville. It was a beautiful day when I drove to Mosport. Ian had talked up the event and since I had just picked up my 2013 GP thought it be a good way to put a few km on “Dirk”. My 2009 Cooper S was tame compared to this bad Boy! Arriving early thinking the crowds would be BIG was surprised that only a few had shown up by 10am. We signed in, got our goodie bag and were directed to MINI City. Slowly people started to show up but it really was more of a BMW event based on who showed up. There was only a handful of MINI’s compared to BMWs. I watched many enthusiast race around the track and enjoyed watching the autocross. A classic MINI stole my heart as it zipped around the track that day. I was able to reconnect with other MINIacs that I have seen at other events or through Toronto & Southern Ontario MINI Club. Sadly I didn’t take my MINI on the track since this was the first track day I have attended and my MINI had only 300km and I was still getting use to its ways. Hope I get a chance to take it out on the next track day. Thanks again to Ian Rae and MotorWerks Magazine for the invite and I would be up for round two in 2014.

New Cars to See. Karin’s brand new GPII brought a lot of attention even from the BMW crowd. Steve Miric (left) brought along his new Paceman with minimal mods.

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Above: It was nice to have a couple of Classics

on hand to showcase Mini history.

Below: This was the first outing for Cooper RSR

since being fitted with the aero body kit from MINI of Concord and paint by Taylored by Mike

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AWARD WINNERS ................................... Mini Cooper R50 1st Place – Sanjay Muiralidar Mini Cooper S R53 1st Place – Chris Manias Mini Cooper R56 1st Place – Oskar Liejek Mini Cooper Conv R57 1st Place – Christina Kroner © www.MotorWerksMag.com

The great thing about MINI City at Bimmercruise was that MINI owners could get their competitive juices flowing by participating in the AutoSlalom being run by the BMW Clubs Canada Trillium Chapter on the CTMP Driver Development Track.

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Words and photos by Ian Rae

e have a couple of installs this month and both are from long time MINI vendor M7 Tuning. The company may be well established but in 2013 former NASCAR engineer Mark Catania purchased the company and moved it to the heart of NASCARland, Mooresville, North Carolina. This move is designed to allow the company to take advantage of the technology that abounds in the area and make developing new parts easier. MINI lovers can only get excited about that. The first job at hand was to install the strut tower brace. Normally you fit one of these to stiffen up the chassis at the front. Stopping the strut towers from moving inward means the strut geometry is not changing and the tire is staying planted where it is designed to work best. In a MINI the M7 brace performs a very important secondary function. MINIs have a tendancy to mushroom the top of the strut towers. With Cooper RSR being fitted with Hot Bits coilovers shortly, the towers will recieve even more pounding. M7 desgned the tower plates to be thick enough that they sandwich the tower tops between

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the strut and the tower plates and mushrooming cannot happen. So now onto the install. The strut tower brace comes unassembled and well packed as you see below. Job one is to take all the parts out and check them off against the component list in the Installation Guide. There are five major

components, two tower plates and three bars that are assembled into the center bar. A couple of Allen wrenches and all the required hardware completes the package. The next step is very important! You have to check whether your strut towers are mushroomed, after all there is no point fitting the brace if you already have issues. This is as simple as removing the nuts from the top of the strut and setting the proper M7 plate on top of the tower. Is the plate does not sit totally flush with the tower and you can rock it, you have

mushroomed towers. Bring out the hammer and a block of wood, jack the car up and loosen the three nuts on the strut until the top of the studs are just protruding through the nuts. This will give you space between the top of the strut and the tower, making it easier to pound the deformed metal back to the original shape. Hit the wood until the tower tops are flat, check again with the tower plate and once satisfied lower the car, remove the nuts and install both tower plates. Re-attach the nuts but only finger tight. Now this is where I altered the build procedure a lit from M7. When assembling the center bar make sure the notched outer bar goes to the drivers side where

it has to clear the cold air intake. Ensure the M7 on the center section is facing forward and bolt all three bar sections together. M7 recommends leaving the bolts loose but I believe the countersunk screws used can ONLY locate in the matching countersink in the bar so tightening them up to the recommended 35 LB FT at this point is the only true way to ensure they are properly seated.The assembled center bar is

then set in between the tower plates and cap screws and washers inserted to hold it in place. This is where you now center up the tower plates if there is any play on the strut studs. You can you tighten the nuts to 25 LB FT (the car HAS to be on the ground so you do not damage the stud or nut threads) Once both tower plates have been torqued in place you can now center the bar and tighten the cap screws to 35 LB FT.And viola the job is done. I talked to Mark about my straying away from the guidlines and he agreed with my procedure. “I inherited some anomolies like this from the previous owners and that is something we are working on. If we can make improvements in the guidelines or components we will do it, continious improvement is the name of the game here at M7 Tuning. it’s the customer who wins out in the end.”

The creation of a new racing class

ow often is a person involved with the creation of something magnificent? For most people that is the day their firstborn comes into the world but what about us gearheads? Building a new racecar? Maybe, but it is not a life changing moment for you or your fellow racers. Building a new racetrack would be up there but the shear cost is something that not many people can fund. For two East Coast racers their moment is close. They got involved with the creation of a new class, one that will quickly become very popular and will run for many years to come. In late 2012, after several years of racing Spec E30 in the highly competitive Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions, Jason Tower decided to sell his racecar and focus on other aspects of motorsport, as well as the purchase of a new house. Around the same time, his friend and fellow Spec E30 racer Evan Levine followed suit and sold his car as well, choosing to temporarily focus on something even more expensive than racing like having a baby. Relaxing in the wake of selling his Spec E30 racecar (debatable, as he still owns two ChumpCar teams) Jason began contemplating what to do next. What could be created, if he could start from scratch with a blank drawing board? He started by asking himself, what is the single best all around track car of the last twenty years? The answer was obvious to him, the BMW E36 M3, without a doubt. You can’t swing a dead cat at a track day without hitting a few of them. So why isn’t there a Spec race series based on the platform? As it turns out there was one, www.specm3.com, but it is confined to a single region and the rule set was not perceived 192

as being particularly strong. Undetered, Jason went on to pitch the Spec E36 M3 idea to Evan, who loved the concept but wasn’t sure about the car. He suggested the E46 330 might be a better choice – it is a newer platform with a better chassis, cheaper donors, more donors, similar power/weight, and to top it off there were already two E36 (non-M) classes for the e36, Spec 3 with NASA and Spec E36 with BMWCCA, while the E46 had none. Tower agreed, and the idea of Spec E46 was born. The E46 provided a clean slate - a fresh platform, ripe for the creation of a more advanced Spec racing series. They decided early on that Spec E46 was going to be a bit different from other spec series, which tend to focus more on cost containment than vehicle performance. Many racers polled wanted the level playing field and close competition of Spec racing, but found the vehicles themselves disappointing when racing. Low-end suspension combined with relatively high weight, and lack of adjustability tends to define most current spec classes. This leaves racers with no middle ground, the next level up is NASA GTS or BMWCCA Prepared classes, where the rules are much more open but sacrifice affordability and vehicle parity. There is a substantial gap between the two, which provides an opportunity for Spec E46 to combine the best aspects of both approaches in a single, highly competitive series. The primary goals of Spec E46 are high performance, cost containment, platform durability, and vehicle equality. Every choice made in creating the rules has been weighed against these factors to ensure the proper balance. The cars may be almost completely gutted of non-essential components, a reasonably priced yet high quality adjustable suspension is mandated, lighter/stronger flywheel and clutch is permitted, and most smaller, less critical parts such as shifter and bushings are unrestricted so the driver can choose what they feel best meets their needs. There is also an emphasis on low weight which pays off in many ways. Lighter weight means better performance, less wear on consumables,

less stress on the car, etc. Jason’s motto of “less mass kicks ass” is well represented here. With technical guidance from BimmerWorld’s James Clay, Jason and Evan put together a formal ruleset detailing the vehicle requirements along with the series philosophy and safety regulations. Numerous other details also needed to be taken care of as well: registering the domain and creating a website, setting up forum and Facebook pages, creation of an official logo, reaching out to potential sponsors, getting feedback from early adopters, incorporating good suggestions into the rules, working with race officials to lay the necessary groundwork, etc. It turns out that creating a new race series is a lot of work. So far the response to Spec E46 has been very enthusiastic and has exceeded both Jason’s and Evan’s expectations. There are currently ten or so builds underway all across the country with many other people actively shopping for donor cars. Interest has been particularly strong in

A SPEC E46 build taking place at BimmerWorld

the Pacific Northwest where the E30-based Pro3 class dominates, many people see Spec E46 as the logical next step to carry them into the next decade and beyond. Others are looking to Spec E46 as having excellent crossover potential between NASA and BMWCCA so cars could race competitively in both organizations with little to no changes. As cars are built and developed during the coming months 2014 is shaping up to be a very exciting time for this new series, check out the website, forum and Facebook page for more information. www.spece46.com www.forum.e46fanatics.com/forumdisplay. php?f=123”http://forum.e46fanatics.com/ forumdisplay.php?f=123 www.facebook.com/groups/spece46 Watch MotorWerks Magazine for a more in depth update in a future issue.

Featured Photographer Jake Galstad, Lake Mills, WI My name is Jake Galstad, and I’m the one behind the lens. You may know me from MotorSportMedia, with fellow photographer Halston Pitman, MotorWerks Magazine, or from Sideline Sports Photography, whom I currently work for. When I was 12, I attended one of my first road races. It was the the June Sprints weekend at Road America, and from the moment I saw cars zooming around the track I was hooked. There is something about race tracks, that cars guys will tell you is quite addicting. It’s the speed, the smell of burning rubber, gasoline, and bratwurst, and watching people push their cars to the absolute limit. Sometimes too far. I picked up my first DSLR in 2008, I was 15, and didn’t know ANYTHING about photography. But that did not deter me one bit. I played and plinked with the old Nikon D90, not understanding exposure, shutter speed, or aperture. Mostly staying on priority modes until I would get a tack sharp image, or something I would like. From there, I asked myself, “How do I make it appear that the cars are moving, while still achieving a sharp image?” This is where google, as well as befriending professionals in the industry completely changed the game for me. I started experimenting, I learned photography terminology, and started to understand how changing a setting would affect the the final image. I started creating art. After graduating high school, I attended University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire for two years, starting out with engineering, and then switching to photojournalism / fine arts. Eventually I transferred to an Art School in Madison WI, where I went for my Digital Art & Design degree. Now, at 21, I often think about ways to improve, and create more compelling images, that draw in the observer. The coolest thing about photography for me, is knowing that no 194

one has the same image you do. You have the opportunity to create unique art every time you press the shutter, it’s something that is therapeutic for me, and I happen to be lucky enough to travel around the country and be outside while making a living, while working with some of the best action photographers in the world.

If any of you would like to see more of my work, check out www.jacobgalstad.com

Above: This Audi shot is one of my favorites. The composition and color, and subject create something spectacular. This was during the 2013 12 Hours of Sebring (Audi’s last race with their P1 cars). This shot in particular was about an hour and a half into the race, light was quite harsh, so fellow photographer Eric Tillotson ventured outside of Sebring’s famous T10. There used to be a giant willow tree there, that has since been cut down, anyways, we decided to plink around, and I wanted to put the 1DX through it’s paces. We played around for a bit, shooting side pans, and I said to Eric, “I wonder how slow I have to shoot to get this shot to work

out.” Well, the answer is apparently 1/10 of a second. EXIF Camera: Canon 1DX Lens: Canon 70-200 f/2.8 @70mm Exposure: 1/10 sec Aperture: f/20 ISO 100 Be Miles Ahead with MotorWerks Magazine Who was the driver of the Cooper Indy Car and what major racing accomplishments had he recently achieved before coming to Indy? © www.MotorWerksMag.com

My first time shooting Formula Drift was at Road Atlanta. Here we have eventual Champion Michael Essa in the GSR Motorsport BMW boiling the hides! EXIF Camera: Canon 1D MK II N Lens: Canon 400 f/5.6Â Exposure: 1/2500 sec Aperture: f/5.6 ISO 200 196

Static Evil! Turner Motorsportâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Z4 GTD before all the decals were applied. EXIF Camera: Nikon D800 Lens: Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 VR @200mm Exposure: 1/2500 sec Aperture: f/4 ISO 320

Both of the RLL BMW Z4 GTE cars were shot with the same EXIF Camera: Nikon D800 Lens: Nikon 200-400 f/4 Exposure: 1/1000 sec Aperture: f/4 ISO 200

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Ashley Freiberg | Fall-Line BMW M3 CTSCC Nikon D800 Nikon 500 f/4 VR II f/4 @ 1/640 sec ISO 64

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