MotorWerks Magazine - Volume 14, Issue 1

THE ULTIMATE READING

Tin Top Heaven - Worldwide

Featured in this Issue - Rene Koechli, Peter Richings, the 2023 PRI show. CSCS and CTAC year end wrap up.

Norman Nelson

Craig Nelson

Jesse Nelson

Damien Bradley West

Glenn Alcock

Max Ronchetto

Mark Collingwood

Enrique McLeggon

James Houghton

Max Ronchetto

Norman Nelson

Roald Rakers

Craig Nelson

Kevin Ehrlich

John Scroeder

Alicyn Drew Dito Milian

Tom Maxwell Janis Rae

Sam Moore

EVENTS

20 From a Young Age - Rene Koechi

32 PRI 2023

56 Flying Finn - But No Rallying for Tero

70 Recycled Racecar

80 May The FoRS be with You!

90 Time For A Revamp - Our Race Shop

106 A GReat wee car, Peter Richings Yaris

98 End of Term, CSCS

116 That’s Year One Done, CTAC

Featured Photographer - Joy Richings

Contact Point - See our advertisers

NEWProducts

Quaife Engineering partner with Cherry Tuning on Hyundai/Kia 7

Speed DCT ATB® differentials

Another new product day!

Cherry Tuning & Performance have commissioned Quaife Engineering to manufacture a batch of Quaife ATB® differentials for the Hyundai/Kia 7 Speed DCT gearbox! These gearboxes are found in the i30SR/N-Line + Cerato GT. If you are interested in pre-ordering, please drop them a message or send an email to support@cherrytuning.com.au.

Tillett Race Seats unveils the C1

FIA Homolagated seat at PRI

Tillett’s new halo seat was realesed in early 2023 and it homologated to the FIA8855-1999 spec making it competition legal World-wide. It’s ergonomic design provides optimal comfort and body support without back or base padding. This allows for increased driver feedback from the chassis and also provides a lower seating position with

increased legroom. The seat shell is super strong and rigid which is imperative to prevent the harness and FHR becoming loose in an impact. The C1 seat is fully compatible with harnesses and FHR devices and includes a 3 piece pad set made from impact absorbing foam which covers the head protection areas for extra protection. Base and back cushions sets are available to purchase separately if required. The C1 seat is available in two sizes, standard and XL both come with the option where the seat shell is made so that the outer edge can be either removed for narrow 41cm tubs or left on to create a continuous rolled edge around the whole perimeter of the seat (44cm wide). The XL size is 3cm wider than the standard version and like the standard seat it is available with the rolled edge (47cm wide) or with the edge removed (44cm wide). Torqued Distribution in Troy, MI is the sole U.S. distributor for the highly sought after and iconic Tillett Racing

brand and invite enquiries for new dealers. Contact lou@torqueddistribution.com if you are interested.

APR Performance GT-250 Swan Neck Adjustable Wing for Honda FK8 Civic Type R now available!

wing to work as designed. The swan neck design allows greater Angle-of-Attack (AOA) before stalling occurs, when compared to standard bottom-mount pedestal configurations. As with othe APR wings an attachable Gurney flap is included. The company

Chino CA. based composite manufacturer APR

Performance now has a GT-250 swan-neck wing available for purchase. The carbon fiber swan neck adjustable wing features a 2D airfoil shape that is designed to produce great downforce with minimal drag. Swan neck pedestals prevent downforce robbing flow separation commonly found in standard bottom-mount pedestals. Supporting the wing is two 10mm “aircraft grade” 6061 billet aluminum swan neck pedestals that come in a flat black powder coat finish. Each swan neck pedestal is also “knifeedged” at the trailing edge, to minimize the amount of “dirty” air that reaches the airfoil. The custom mounts on the car itself position both sizes of airfoil (61″ or 67″) in the optimum positition for the

also has two new carbon fiber products available for the 2024 Ford Mustang Dark Horse are available for purchase; a carbon fiber front splitter and carbon fiber replacement mirrors.

Fuelab Unveils New Products for 2024

For over a decade, Fuelab has pushed fuel system technology and innovation forward, manufacturing the most innovative products found anywhere in the World. At the center of this development, the Prodigy line of brushless fuel pumps was born. They were efficient, high-flow fuel pumps designed to handle multiple fuels and pressures, all while holding up to the toughest run conditions any racer can throw at the product.

Fuelab strives for perfection and results. Putting your trust in the company that introduced brushless fuel pump technology over 10 years ago and continues to lead the way only makes sense.

So continuing that development Fuelab is bringing these new products to the marketplace in 2024.

Real-Time Trailer Wiring Fault Detection with Olsa

Find and fix shorting-out lights with this handy troubleshooting tool. When you wiggle an area of a wire with a fault, the unit will beep. It quickly identifies faults that otherwise would take hours to find. You save time, save fuses, and avoid any trial-and-error mistakes!

With instant feedback when you’ve found an area with a wiring fault, the Wiggle Tester’s audible beep and flashing light notifies you of a change in resistance when a wire is disturbed, which could indicate a wiring fault or short.

To find out more about the Wiggle Tester go https://olsatools.ca/products/trailer-wiring-wiggle-

Low Volume Lotus Type 66 Comes To Life

Lotus has brought history back to life with the world premiere of the Type 66; and confirmed the track-only car will go into production.

This unique project was unveiled at ‘The Quail, A Motorsport Gathering’ as part of Monterey Car Week in California. Truly exotic in its design execution, the Type 66 is a new, ultra-

exclusive, low-volume car from Lotus. It brings to life a ‘lost Lotus’ drawing board program from the brand’s world-renowned motorsport heritage, combining it with today’s state-of-the-art racing technology and components.

The Type 66 has been launched in Lotus’ 75th anniversary year and is testament to the brand’s desire to reimagine the best elements of its heritage, updating them in the most exhilarating way possible.

With his eyes on the high-profile and commercially lucrative Can-Am Series, Lotus founder Colin Chapman tasked Team Lotus draughtsman Geoff Ferris to launch the Type 66 project to evaluate how Lotus design principles could be applied to this exciting category. Chapman’s primary focus on Formula 1 meant the innovative project never went beyond technical drawings and scale models. In a fitting tribute to the brand’s illustrious racing pedigree and heritage, Lotus has proudly fulfilled the original vision 53 years after the designer first put pen to paper. Only 10 examples of this ‘rediscovered and reimagined’ Lotus V8 will be built. It’s a total selected to commemorate the number of races the Type 66 would have competed in during the 1970 season.

For more information, visit LotusCars.com.

Built for professionals, the S355MCS Mitering Chop Saw from Evolution Power Tools is the first 14” TCT industrial Chop Saw that allows you to produce accurate miter cuts without having to reposition the workpiece.

Designed to tackle heavy cuts in oversized metal pieces, the S355MCS Mitering Chop Saw features a precision adjustable miter table, 3-position saw head, and our unique, height adjustable front clamp rail assembly. It delivers precise and quick angle adjustment for easy set-up and a powerful clamping mechanism to ensure quality, repeatable cuts every time. It features a powerful 15A, 1450 rpm motor, easy ambidextrous controls and a Bench Dog compatible base plate with a tough knurled back fence. The S355MCS Mitering Chop Saw is easy to rely on for your toughest jobs and is perfectly suited to both professional and amateur motorsport fabricators. The cutting capacities of the S355MCS are impressive in more ways than one. The max thickness of mild steel plate it is able to cut is 1/2 inch with stainless steel plate reduced to 13/64 of an inch. Mild Steel square tube being cut at 90° cuts an impressive 4-3/4 x 4-3/4 inch reducing slightly when cut at 45° to 4 x 4 inches. Square tube cut at 45° miter is 1-3/4 x 1-3/4 in. Round tube being cut at 90° ø 4-3/4 in. reducing to ø 4 inch when cut at 45°. The minimum cut off piece length is 5/16 inch.

LINK Engine Design continue to innovate!

Our new LS Harness & ECU package is the quickest, tidiest and most cost effective way to connect a Link ECU to your LS engine... and it’s available now! All the hard work has been done, saving you many hours of labelling, soldering and crimping – this all-in-one ECU and harness delivers you Link’s renowned reliability, build quality and performance.

The Terminated LS Engine Harness is custommade, specifically to connect either Link’s StormX or XtremeX ECU to Gen 3 LS1/LS6 or Gen 4 LS2/LS3/ LS7* engines, whether they are stock or in a high-

EV1/JPT injector connectors which will fit the common LS1 injectors directly. Adapters will be required for early truck engines with the Multilec injector connector as well as the later LS3 style USCAR/EV6 injector (use injector adapter).

Support for factory 7 Pin Coil Harness Connector. Support for Link MAP Sensors (Use LS Map Adapter to support factory Gen 3 MAP Sensor).

Support for F Body Alternator (AC Delco PN 3351075).

The harness has connections for everything you’ll need such as injectors, coils, DBW, CAN Lambdas plus twelve spares for anything unique to your build. The harnesses use Link’s easy to work with AVSS automotive wiring and Link’s standard wiring colors. Each harness is tested for pinout, shorts, resistance of splices, insulation resistance and more before

And what we here at MotorWerks Magazine thought was the big news from PRI last month, was the announcement of LINK ECU DI Driver-4 for release next year. Having been at the LINK booth with our engine builder Jan Brueggemann of Revolution Motor Works we know there is going to be a revolution coming down especially for the R56 MINI because of this product!

Support for both cable operated (using LS Stepper Adapter) and Drive-by-Wire Throttle Bodies (using

A powered DTM4 CAN Connector compatible with Link CAN Accessories and Cables.

It is a cost-effective and integrated solution that partners with the G5 Voodoo Pro. Each DI Driver-4 can control four High Voltage P&H Direct Solenoid Injectors and one High Pressure Peak & Hold Fuel Pump. Modules are user configurable via USB and run high current (17A Peak, 5A Hold).

LATESTNews

Knockhill 50 Years Strong in 2024!

It’s a big year for Scotland’s only true remaining race circuit. The Knockhill circuit is going to see 50 years of racing this year and along with some special events there is a great book available, written by Stuart Gray with the foreward by none other than thirteen time Grand Prix winner David Coulthard. To mark this landmark, a coffee-tablesized hard back book has been which chronicles the development of Knockhill from the early 70s to today.

Copies can be pre-ordered now via www.Knockhill. com/events or phoning 01383 723337 at £35 plus p&p. The scheduled distribution date is November 23rd. Thereafter it will be in all good book shops and available at Knockhill too. All pre-orders made via Knockhill before November 23rd will be put in a draw with one lucky winner receiving two Gold Season Passes giving free entry to every event during our golden anniversary, 50th season of Knockhill.

More News from Knockhill

Alpine A110, Britain’s best handling car, adds a 5-star multi-award winning experience for Knockhill driving experience customers!

The team at Knockhill are thrilled to announce a partnership with French sports car manufacturer Alpine, with a fleet of multi-award-winning A110s becoming the main track experience cars for the start of the 2024 season.

Alpine have an incredible pedigree in motorsport which continues at the very pinnacle of motorsport, with their F1 cars driven by Pierre Gasly and Esteban

Ocon. Gordon Shedden, 3 times British Touring Car Champion, said “We always strive to provide the best for our driving experiences and the Alpine A110 ticks every box for us, and more! With their involvement in F1, Alpine is a brand on the rise and the A110 is the perfect track training car for us. It’s

rare that a car is so devoted to driver involvement: the A110 is quick, agile and provides enormous, accessible performance, handling and fun. Having driven it I can fully see why the world’s press has given it the full five stars - it will be perfect for our customers and they will take our experiences to a whole new level”.

The cars will arrive at Knockhill for the start of the 2024 season, supported by Specialist Cars Alpine Aberdeen and Arnold Clark Alpine Glasgow, and will be used as the instructor coaching car for the Formula Single Seater Experiences, Legends, Supercars and Performance Driving Courses. As a result, 1000s of customers a year will experience just why this special car has been awarded five stars, and significantly enhances the thrill of driving Knockhill, Scotland’s National Motorsport Centre.

Montreal Motorsport Group confirms full TCR driver line-ups!

Montréal, Québec, December 15, 2023 –Montreal Motorsport Group is delighted to announce Karl Wittmer and Daijiro “Dai” Yoshihara to pilot the #93 while Louis-Philippe Montour partners with Bryan Ortiz to pilot the #6 as full season driver pairings in the team’s two new Honda Civic Type R FL5’S.

Wittmer, Canadian Touring Car Champion, multiple IMSA TCR race winner, and Canadian professional racing driver, promises to deliver competitive drives in 2024 alongside Yoshihara, 2011 Formula Drift Champion, 2020 Pikes Peak Unlimited winner, and stunt driver under Pit+Paddock’s portfolio, who builds upon an impressive single year competing in TC America’s 2023 season.

“I’m incredibly excited to be driving with MMG in 2024 in the #93 FL5 Honda Civic Type R and to be joined by Dai Yoshihara. I can’t wait to get started in Daytona and compete for the IMSA TCR championship. This marks my 14th season driving a Honda product, and I couldn’t be happier about this ongoing relationship.” Karl Wittmer.

“2023 was my first full season of professional road racing. I love the wheel-to-wheel competition, and I look forward to my debut in the IMSA series alongside an experienced team and back in a Honda. Karl has been an integral part of easing me into this form of racing, and I’m excited to continue our partnership in 2024 and a new challenge.” Dai Yoshihara

Canadian racer Montour, a TA2 Southern Cup Champion, current Nascar Pinty’s Series driver and experienced TCR driver with multiple regional and North American race starts and wins, is joined by Puerto Rican native Ortiz, who was selected as one of the drivers for the Nascar driver diversity program from 2011 to 2013 as well as a Mazda Global MX-5 Cup and Lamborghini Super Trofeo Pro-Am and World Finals champion. Both will drive the #6

Lombardi Honda Civic Type R under MMG’s flag and are well-equipped to run fast times in this fiercely competitive series.

“After 12 years as a race car driver in various racing series in Canada and the United States, I can finally confirm that I will be participating in the IMPC series. The establishment of this team and program happened quite swiftly & I did not hesitate at all to fully commit to this new adventure when the opportunity was presented to me. This will be an inaugural year for Team MMG. It’s a new team but filled with professionals that I’ve had the privilege of working with for several years. With Team MMG, its pilots, and the organization that has been put in place for our IMSA program, I am very confident that we will achieve good results with the Honda Civic FL5 TCR and am looking forward to the 2024 season.” Louis-Philippe Montour

“I am very excited for this opportunity with MMG in 2024 because I feel we will be very strong in Daytona and all season. I’ve had the privilege to work with this top-notch group of guys this year, making it extremely positive to go back, work

together and help them build this new team to a top team very quickly. I can’t thank Ben, Nick, Sabrina and Eric enough for their trust in me and for believing in what I can do for their team. Really looking forward to getting behind the wheel of the new MMG Honda Civic FL5 Type R next month!”

Bryan Ortiz

“I’m beyond thrilled about this new partnership with Pit+Paddock and Honda Racing Company. I’m also extremely grateful for my ongoing 15-year relationship with Tony Lombardi, President of Lombardi Honda Montreal, the city’s leading Honda dealership servicing the community for over 50 years. We are looking forward to turning our preparation and hard work into reality and are confident that our Civic Type R’s will be competitive throughout the 2024 IMPC season with our four determined drivers. Benjamin Distaulo, Team Manager and Co-Owner.

Both Honda Civic FL5 Type R TCR’s are currently being prepared for IMSA Michelin Pilot Series’ first event taking place at Daytona International Speedway in January 2024.

Great News from Dale Jr. Foundation

The Dale Jr. Foundation, the charitable organization founded by former NASCAR Cup Series driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., raised $1.3 million in 2023, the organization announced.

Nearly 70 groups, organizations and charities benefited directly from those funds, the Mooresville, North Carolina-based foundation said, while an additional 59 organizations received in-kind support.

The Foundation’s year-end giving program included many charities that fit its mission statement, which is giving underprivileged individuals, with a focus on youth, the resources to improve their confidence and education and the opportunity to achieve extraordinary goals, foundation representatives said.

HPD is now Honda Racing Corporation U.S.A

Honda Performance Development (HPD), Honda’s United States-based motorsports arm, has officially changed its name to Honda Racing Corporation U.S.A. (HRC US) to reflect its new role in Honda’s global racing efforts.

With the change, HRC US will take on an increased role in Honda’s global motorsports activities, including the company’s Formula 1 power unit development program.

Collaborating as one global entity, these two independent racing arms of Honda -- HRC Japan and HRC US -- will combine expertise and resources to strengthen Honda’s overall motorsports capabilities,

the company said.

Starting in 2026, HRC will partner with the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 team as the team’s official engine supplier. HRC US will also be involved in Formula One power unit development and race support starting in 2026.

Performance Racing PAC raises nearly $20,000 to support the future of racing!

The Performance Racing PAC is thrilled to share the incredible success of the political action committee’s event held inside Lucas Oil Stadium during the eKarting Classic at the PRI Show. Your enthusiasm and support truly made it a night to remember.

With more than 100 passionate attendees, the event was a gathering of racing enthusiasts, industry professionals and racers, all committed to securing our beloved industry’s future. Thanks to your generosity, we raised nearly $20,000 for the Performance Racing PAC.

Where does this money go? PRI is prohibited from using association funds to directly support political candidates aligned with the industry’s goals. Voluntary contributions from PRI members, however, can be used. These funds will go directly to supporting lawmakers, candidates and legislation essential to the racing community.

Your commitment and support have set the stage for a promising year ahead. Stay tuned for more updates on PRI PAC initiatives and future events. Together, we are making a difference. For more information on how you can support PRI’s government affairs efforts, please contact Alicia Steger at alicias@sema.org.

Pratt Miller Motorsports, constructors and operators of the legendary yellow Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs in the IMSA series, has announced a dynamic new partnership with Forgeline Motorsports, manufacturers of the world’s finest custom made-toorder lightweight forged aluminum street and racing performance wheels. This collaboration is set to kick off at the 62nd running of the Rolex 24 at the Daytona International Speedway.

This new partnership will provide Forgeline brand integration into several Pratt Miller Motorsport team assets including placement on the No. 3 and No. 4 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs piloted by Antonio Garcia, Alexander Sims, Tommy Milner and Nicky Catsburg with Dani Juncadella and Earl Bamber rounding out the driver roster for endurance events.

In addition, this partnership will highlight content creation, distribution, and community engagement within the digital realm which will also include signage inside Pratt Miller Motorsports podcast studio in Huntersville, NC. It will continue to

be the focus for both entities to tell the motorsports story well beyond race weekends.

Based on the Chevrolet C8 Corvette Z06 and sharing the road car’s aluminum chassis, the Corvette GT3.R is powered by a version of the Z06’s 5.5L DOHC LT6 V8 engine mated to a 6-speed sequential transmission. It rides on a motorsportsspecific double-wishbone suspension system that was engineered for optimal performance at lower racing ride heights and a motorsports-specific 6-piston front/4-piston rear braking system with unique cooling and quick-change capabilities.

Pratt Miller worked with the team at Forgeline Motorsports for several years to develop an application-specific version of Forgeline’s centerlocking one piece forged monoblock SS1R-GT wheel that was engineered to deliver optimized performance metrics (in terms of mass, deflection, strength, and durability) specifically for the new Corvette GT3.R. Each Chevrolet C8 Corvette Z06 GT3.R sold by Chevrolet anywhere across the globe will compete on 18×12.5/18×13 Forgeline one piece

Brandon Widmer, Pratt Miller VP, Motorsports: “We are thrilled to welcome Forgeline into our family of team partners. Steve and David are exceptional individuals who have solidified their reputation in a fiercely competitive industry. Their wheels, which we proudly use on our team cars, are a testament to their commitment to quality and performance. Now, we eagerly anticipate the innovative ventures and unique experiences we will craft together beyond

Steve Schardt, Forgeline Motorsports

Founder: “Having the chance to partner with Pratt Miller Motorsports and their fabled sports car team has been something we have had our eye on for a while and felt now was the right time to partner with them. The growing passion for motorsports in the United States is palpable, and we’re thrilled to be part of this vibrant scene. Our goal is to not only engage existing fans but also to captivate new audiences, contributing to the sport’s everexpanding appeal. In the world of motorsport, every victory on the track is a shared triumph, and we’re excited to be part of this winning formula.”

from a young age!

‘Rene Koechli was born into the world of wheels. He tells us about the love of Hondas and motorsport that he inherited from his father.’

It really is no surprise that 52-year old Lucerne resident Rene Koechli got into motorsport. His father was a Swiss Honda dealer and as Rene tells it, “I was born into the world of wheels and really wanted to become a car mechanic from an very early age. When my father was young, he drove a classic Mini Cooper in slaloms towards the end of the 60s.”

“When I was about 20 years old, in the 90’s, a customer of my father invited me to join him for a 100-lap race. These races are done with two drivers

per car. We started with noticeably lightweight racetrack modified VW Polo and had to start at the end of the starting field, but still finished in 5th place. That was my first race and since then it is like having a virus in me, something I just can’t shake off!”

Rene started running in slaloms and autocross, which are exceedingly popular in Switzerland. They are run on airfields and military facilities and are fast and challenging tracks.

In the early 90’s he built his first race car, an

Audi 50, that was built completely from the ground up. At that time, he worked at a VW/Audi dealership and that allowed him to build that car in their workshops. To get his feet wet with the Audi, Rene drove it in

50. Stefan Schöpfer, who bought it, still has it today and has since become a good personal friend.

When he came back from the US, Rene found an excellent job at the Honda Importer for Switzerland. In 1998, the Honda Integra Type-R was launched on the Swiss market. So began the next chapter in his racing career. Through his job at Honda, Rene was able to do the FIA Group N homologation for this car at that time. The car fascinated him from the moment it was unveiled. It still does today. “I had to buy an Integra Type-R of course,” he said, to compete in slaloms again. “I started the season running on used rally slicks. My expectations were not too high, the Integra was 100% stock, and the Renault Clios were faster cars at that point. But even at the first race I was incredibly surprised, I won the first race even after a long racing break away from the sport and running with these old tires.”

The next season was more of the same and he had no difficulties winning the races in his category right from the beginning of the year. In 1998 Rene ran about sixteen Autoslaloms and won all the events with this super competitive car.

Further studies in marketing stopped him from racing anymore and it was time to sell another race car.

In 2003 he bought his current racing car, a secondhand Honda Civic VTi. It was built using many components that were used Integra parts including the engine and transmission from the Integra. Originally the Civic was dual purpose and Rene drove it on the road to

That was where life got in the way and Rene decided to make a huge life change and head to the USA to study in San Diego. That also meant that unfortunately that Rene had to sell the Audi

work as well as getting in a little motorsport time.

“Unfortunately, in 2005 an intense storm hit Lucerne and my father’s garage was completely flooded with water reaching a height of almost three meters. My Civic was a total loss as far as the insurance was concerned, so I had to decide whether to throw this car away or to use it as a base for a build of a real race car. Luckily I was able to save the engine and transmission and the chassis, so it was an easy decision to build a real race car.

As anyone who takes on a huge project like this knows, it does not happen overnight. For two years my good friend Andy and I screwed, welded, sanded, painted etc. totally dedicated to building a race car we could be proud of.

“Finally in 2007 I drove in my first hill climb

in Reitnau. That was an indescribable feeling, my dream of driving in hill climbs had became reality. In the previous years I had visited some hill climbs and really wanted to climb the hill in a race car, and now it had happened!”

Rene has also driven on various circuits, such as the Green Hell (Nürburgring) in Germany, but admits the adrenaline rush is so strong during the hill climbs is second to none. “But I only get such an adrenaline rush at the hill climbs, when you arrive at the finish line in St. Ursanne -Les Rangiers, your knees are shaking, and you can barely stay on your feet after getting off the car. That is how much goes on in your body on fast hill climbs.

Rene has been very successful with the Civic and has won many events with the car. He has also

The Build List

1995 Honda Civic EG6

Engine:

- Honda K Series 2698 cc

- 382 hp / 360 Nm

- Kinsler ITB & self-built carbon airbox

- Neal Brown Engineering Dry Sump

Cooling:

- Self Build System

Drivetrain:

- Sadev ST 82-14 / 6 Speed

Exhaust System:

- Custom Self Built System with 4-2-1 header, 90 mm diameter, thermally insulated exhaust system

Suspension:

- KW Competition V3 Custom built Full spherical suspension

Brakes:

- Front: K-Sport 6 piston caliper

- Rear: OE Integra Type R

- OBP pedal box with balance bar

Electrical:

- Hondata ECU and Traction Control

Aero / Body:

- Self-built carbon body parts except the doors / car weight 830 kg

- Self built flat underbody, diffuser, and rear wing.

Interior/Safety:

- Full driver safety cell self-built meeting FIA standard

- FIA safety fuel cell with 2 fuel pumps and catch tank

Wheels / Tires:

- Rota Slipstream front 10x15 rear 9x15 Custom Made

- Avon Slicks:

10.0 x 15 front

8.7 x 15 rear

set two track records in my class.

“I have two exceptionally good memories in motorsport. The first was winning outright at the 2018 Touring Cars event in Bure, which was a great achievement, one I am very proud of. I had achieved second FTD a few times prior but in Bure which is an amazingly fast and difficult slalom it all worked out finally and I had my first FTD.”

His greatest success was at the European Championship Hill Climb Race in Switzerland at Saint Ursanne – Les Rangiers. They had reworked a lot on the chassis and suspension over the winter from the 2018 season to 2019. And the work paid off! Rene was able to improve his best time from 2:14.to 2:09:23. He won one category clearly and was the third fastest car in the FIA category E1 behind two Mitsubishi Bombers of Roger Schnellmann and Ronni Bratschi. He never expected this result, because the competition in the whole E1 category is huge and the two Evos have more than 800 HP. He was even faster than a McLaren 650S GT3 which really

On the first run up the hill, Rene already was under 2:10: mark. The commentator was so excited and said that this was almost impossible with the Civic in it’s current specification. Things got better on the second run, where he continued to improve his time and set a new track record that is still valid today.

The photo on the right really shows how the European Hillclimb scene is supported by the fans. If you check out the definative Hillclimb website www.hillclimbfans. com you can see in their great videos that the fans are everywhere. Why is this so different from the rest of the World? Is it different or is it just that it looks that way with the long European tracks? Now I think we have to investigate this further!

At The PRI Show 2023

It’s been four long years since I was at the annual Performance Racing Industry show in Indianapolis. Health issues and a compromised immune system stopped me attending in these intervening years. But 2023 was going to be different after hearing my engine builder for our project MINI Cooper RSR and some good friends from the UK were attending.

Jan Breuggemann of Revolution Motor Works was flying in from California and Ilya Krylov of Ruski Weld Fab was flying in with Eden Young of GizFab. Both have had their cars featured in the pages of MotorWerks Magazine and since then we have been talking a bunch on the Internet.

As usual I based myself at good friends and longtime advertisers Forgeline Motorsports. Not only do they produce great forged alloy wheels, they are

great people as well. Since I was at PRI previously they now insist everyone has to buy a membership including the media like myself. Many of the exhibitors I talked cto ould not usderstand why the media is included in that new ruling but it is what it is.

For those of you who do not know what PRI is about; it is a trade show for the motorsports industry. Imagine SEMA without the bling and focused more on racing products. It is held in Indianapolis in the second week of December and thankfully we had good weather for it. One evening I even walked back to the hotel without a coat on. I wish we could get that sort of weather every year! The show has an app that you can download to your phone and set up a show planner. This was the first year I really used it and it sure made life

VAC Motorsports had a great booth as usual and were promoting Drenth and Quaife as well as a myriad of their own products.

easier. If anything, a couple of improvements would make it even better. Firstly it would be great to be able to set priorities for the booths you want to visit. And secondly while the app allows to mark your visit to a particular manufacturer it would be good to be able to hide that item in the list if you have completed your business with the manufacturer. And if I really had a wish for an update it would be to allow you to sort the booth numbers numerically so you can stroll through the show in an organized

So on to the show! Our plan was to look at products for our projects, Cooper RSR and Project 3ThirtyFive. The good guys at VAC Motorsports had brought in some of their machined parts for our BMW 335 which allowed me to bring them over the border back into Canada using my tax free allowance, thanks for setting that up Tony. We talked to the guys from XClutch who had some super trick billet clutches on display. They have two available for the R53 MINI and it was good to discuss the options that were available.

Australian clutch company XClutch had a great range of billet clutches on display.

Meziere Enreprises are well known in the drag racing world but many people do not know that they have reliable electric water pump solutions for road racing as well. Mike Meziere told me they have two sizes of pumps and the only place he could see an issue is with high horsepower cars in endurance racing. You can see from the photo above that the pumps mount directly to the front of the motor but there is an option for a remote pump. Another cool option is having the pump mount directly to the PWR radiator like in the photo below. Meziere

are also well known for things like starter motors, flex plates and transmission pans. For those of you building a car they have a great range of clevises, tube adapters and other weld-on parts.

Our longtime advertiser Leaf Racewear put together a promotion with Racing Junk.com for a lucky attendee to win a complete racewear package. All you had to do was sign up at the show as you can see the gentleman below doing.

I wonder if he was the lucky one?

The Hennessey Venom F5 attracted a lot of attention sitting on the Forgeline Motorsports booth sitting on the custom forged wheels built by Forgeline.

In addition to the awesome looking Hennessy Venom F5 on the Forgeline stand the Ohio based wheel manufacturer had unveiled a few new wheels at the PRI show. The TS1R is ready for the racetrack and is a one piece forged monoblock available in 18-22-inch diameters with a range of widths and offsets. The VV1R-CL is a center-locking version of the original VV1R 5-lug wheel, featuring a sharp Y-spoke design with integrated machining details at the base of each spoke, striking angles, and deep concave profile. The Forgeline VV1R-CL is a fully-forged one-piece monoblock wheel that utilizes manufacturing technology similar to their legendary GS1R wheel and is engineered to allow plenty of room for caliper clearance and extreme brake fitment. It made for hardcore track use and engineered with a 2100+ lb. street tire load rating to handle serious motorsport applications. It is also available in 18-inch, to 22-inch diameters with a range of widths and offsets. It can be made to accommodate most centerlock applications and can be made with knurled beads. Depending on size, the VV1R-CL may be available in deep, medium, or shallow concave profiles. The NW105 5-Lug Beadlock wheel is very similar to the original NW105 5-Lug one piece forged monoblock wheel with one big exception: It has been re-engineered to include a special bolt-on outboard beadlock ring that, like the wheel itself, is also precision-machined from

forged 6061-T6 aluminum. This forged aluminum ring holds the tire securely in place, to limit unwanted tire slip against the wheel, and to keep the tire from unseating, at very high speeds. It is is available to order immediately in 17-inch, 18-inch, and 19-inch diameters in a range of widths and custom offsets & fitments.

Pride of place at the front of the Forgeline booth, even in front of the Venom was the new beadlock the company developed for GM’s new GT3 Chevrolet Corvette! Pratt Miller Motorsports worked with the team at Forgeline Motorsports for several years to develop an application-specific version of Forgeline’s center-locking one piece forged monoblock SS1RGT wheel that was engineered to deliver optimized performance metrics (in terms of mass, deflection, strength, and durability) specifically for the new Corvette GT3.R. Each Chevrolet C8 Corvette Z06 GT3.R will compete on 18×12.5/18×13 Forgeline one piece forged monoblock SS1R-GT wheels finished in Gloss Black.

Another place we made a point of stopping at was at our advertiser PE Racing. The Oakdale, NSW based company had a rather trick new product on display. In addition to their award winning pedal assemblies and brackets Daryl and the team have developed a pedal slider to cater to the new FIA standards. The Sliders are specifically designed to suit their PE Racing Pedal Assemblies and cater for the FIA fixed seat regulations. This is to enable efficient driver changes during endurance race events, making smooth adjustments to suit different drivers setups.

As APR performance was not attending I wanted to see if I could find a car equipped with a GTC 200 wing. I was pretty sure there would be a Toyota GR86 Cup car somewhere at the show

and as the series mandates that wing, that’s what I found but it was tucked away so the above is the best photo I could get of it.

A stop both Jan Brueggemann and I had to make was at the Link ECU booth. Jan has sold and tuned more Link units in MINIs than probably anyone in the World and was hoping this year would be the one that provided the good news regarding

the appearance of a plug and play ECU for the direct injection R56 MINI. With the advent of controllable high pressure fuel pumps the appearance of the Link plug and play ECU for the R56 MINI Cooper is scheduled for next year. Meanwhile at the 2023 show Link released a new G5 Voodoo PNP unit for the GT86 range of cars.

‘Simply

The Best’

Also on the electronics front Racepak Data Systems brought out two new digital dashes. They are so new I don’t even know the spec of them yet.

I had heard of Noonan Race Engineering many years ago through a drag racing friend of mine Jeff Burnett, who raced alcohol funny cars. His Composite Specialities company had been the official distributor of Noonan products way back. I recognized the Noonan name because of their great heads that have now made their way into many more classes of the NHRA. In the meantime they went on to produce race billet blocks for the 4.8” and 4.9” Hemi as well as the LS block. Now they

have developed Honda K-Series, V10 Lambo blocks and a Porsche 911/964 case. Now, we did hear a rumor about Noonan and a R53 MINI billet block. We will enlighten you as we hear more about this project.

As I noted earlier in this article PRI has a great app that allows you to plan out your visit to the show, but cruising any of the 5700 aisleways you are almost guaranteed to see a booth you had previously not thought about stopping at. Once such booth was Tillett Racing Seats. I was no stranger to the name Tillett, as I raced karts against the founder Steve Tillett in the UK’s Kart and Superkart series and can remember when he totally transformed the kart seating world with his upholstered seats.

In fact Steve and I specc’d a seat over the phone with some help from my Dad and a tape measure before I made the move to Canada in 1988. Unfortunately Steve himself was not in Indy but was ably represented by his kids, Laura and Archie. Thanks for letting me rest my weary legs guys, that Til- C1 halo seat was pretty comfortable! Since the karting days the company branched out into manufacturing race seats for cars, especialy those having little room for larger upholstered seats. Our discussions included talk of the seats but there was more about the past and kart racing in the UK. Both of the Tillett kids had raced karts in the past and were familiar with some of the names that race in the Steve and Ian era. Names like Gary

Prior, Jamie Beasley, Jeremy Cotterill, Allan McNish, Neil Hann, they all came up and during a chat on Facebook with Steve during the following week, we both agreed they were great days. Well done Steve, making Tillett Racing Seats the World-wide enterprise is a true testiment to all your hard work!

While we at MotorWerks Media have associations with many of the companies displaying at the show, it was good to see some sponsors of racers that have been featured in the magazines in Indy. One such company was ASNU Fuel Injection from the UK. You may remember them from the article on Damien Bradley’s Subaru Legacy. ASNU are manufacturers of world-leading Gasoline Injector Diagnostic Testing & Servicing Systems & have distribution in over 60 countries worldwide. They offer a range of systems to suit all markets; aftermarket service & repair workshops, fuel injection specialist workshops, racing engine builders, high-performance tuning shops, motor cycle performance and racing specialists, motor cycle service & repair workshops, marine racing performance and racing specialist and marine service & repair workshops. ASNU has over 30 years of experience with injectors from all the various injector manufacturers worldwide. they are represented in over 38 different countries, with

thousands of injectors being tested and serviced in the aftermarket and motorsport worldwide; a programme and experience unrivalled by anyone else in the world. This gave ASNU the greatest experience and understanding to develop a range of performance injectors that will do exactly what they are designed for - Correct Performance. ASNU Performance Injectors are purpose-designed and built with the ideal spray pattern to match the flow required. They are designed to meet the varied demands of the Racing & Performance markets, with the largest range in the world!

With data becoming such a huge part of motorsport these days it only makes sense to make sure you are getting good reliable and accurate data. One stop I knew I had to make on this trip was at was at 3FP Sensors. Many of you know we have Cooper RSR datalogged up the yazoo with Racepak equipment but I wanted to see what 3FP could offer. The first thing I noticed was that the sensors were shorter than others I had used and I know that low profile is a huge advantage in some locations. Having previously talked to account manager Zach Gibson over the airwaves it was good

to finally meet him. At present they are focussing on pressure and temperature sensors but they did have a combined unit on display on their booth which

out that the low profile pressure transducers are very rugged and don’t require any form of flexible hose in direct to engine applications to minimize any harmonics that can ruin other transducers.

I am pleased to say I am in negotiations with the company for my HeadsUpRacer.com company to carry out business development for them in Canada. So any Canucks looking for good sensors, give me a call.

A new name to me was Schultz Engineered Products. They are a leading manufacturer of fuel handling and testing equipment as well as fuel recovery systems. The company has branched out and has got into the motorsport market with fuel

cells. Schultz Ultimate Fuel Cells are designed and manufactured in the United States to be safer, last longer, and outperform all other Fuel Cells.

While talking about fuel it was good to stop off at another advertiser and supporter of our Cooper RSR project, Fuelab the manufacturer of both gasoline and diesel fuel systems. it was great to actually see their ‘new’ for 2023 Fuel Cell “QSST” which comes base as a “bare” unit without a lift

It was certainly nice to be recognized after being away from the PRI show for four years but it is a bit embarassing when someone says, “Hi Ian” and you can’t place them. That was the case when I was checking the Capaldi Racing FP350S Mustang on the Anderson Composites booth. Zach Bohn is the brand manager there and somewhere along the line we hooked up on Facebook in the past. The Capaldi Mustang certainly looked the part with the Anderson hood and trunk on it.

pump and with an empty fuel pump hanger in the surge tank. There are options to add 3 different lift pumps, 5 different surge pumps, a remote fuel fill if required, fuel level sensor, and a fuel tank vent kit. The QSST is compatible with both Brushed or Brushless lift and surge pump options and of course there is the Fuelab Limited Lifetime Warranty! Fuelab had many other new products on display, you would have seen them in the New Products section of this magazine. It was good chatting with Brian Paitz and chatting about all the leading edge development is doing in the fuel delivery arena. Keep watching, they are never finished!

Our friends at Harrop Engineering were once more a part of the PRI show with their superb range of TVS superchargers on display. It was interesting to see their 50 State Legal TVS1320 supercharger for the FA20 platformToyota 86 and Subaru BRZ on display and for those with eagle eyes who actually read the information card might have noticed that there is a newer version coming along for the 2.4 liter FA24 platform in early 2024.

We had to make a stop at the Canton Racing Prodducts booth to re-aquaint ourself with their Accusump Oil Accumulator. Our Cooper RSR MINI motor from Revolution Motor Works is running a wet sump with a dirt car style oil pickup baffle. As an extra precaution our plan is to install one of their great Accusumps to our oiling system. They

can be installed with a solenoid to control the oil flow and a pressure guage to indicate the internal pressure. Our plan is to use a 3FP pressure sensor data into our Racepak G2X Pro datalogger and control the operation of the solenoid through logic in our Racepak Smartwire PDM. Watch for upcoming articles on this motor saving product!

Thirty-nine year old Finn Tero Pääkkönen admits his introduction to motorsport was by watching fellow Finn Mika Häkkinen in Formula 1. Pääkkönen lives in Nurmes, which is only 120 kilometers from the Russian border and 3 degrees south of the Artic Circle. With snow affecting his home town for 4–5 months; normally from November to April and the fact that the North Karelia region is one of the snowiest regions in Finland you would think Tero would be more into rallying, but that was not the case, he prefers his motorsport on proper racing circuits. Except during winter that is; when he joins the throngs of snowmobilers on the Finnish trails.

Tero bought his red Mazda in 2015 and only two weeks later he had installed a turbo on the engine for more power and lowered the car for better handling.

In 2016 he did nothing special other than running around the local microcar track getting seat time. But in 2017 Tero’s first big track day was at the Heinjoki shooting range and motorsport centre motor track about 140km from home for the Streetcar Challenge. This was completed with the MX5 stock engine and turbo still in place, but Tero enjoyed the out and wanted more.

So in 2018 he added a rollcage, updated the chassis and brakes and set out to get more seat time in preparation for a competition debut in

As a fan of Japanese motors he went through lots of Honda Civic 4G and CRX 2G ownership before purchasing his Mazda MX-5 in original normally aspirated form.

2019 which saw the team compete in Time Attack for the first time. The chasiss was improved once again, the brakes were further improved with a big brake kit and he even made it to the final at the Veteli municipality in Central Ostrobothnia. The 600km round trip to one of Finland’s leading circuits was certainly worth the effort. Kemora has been around since the 1980s. It started off as a short 0.9 mile circuit with the twisty original course extended to to 1.69 miles in 1987.

As a rookie Pääkkönen fought his way to a third place finish and FTD for the RWD class, only loosing out to more powerful 4wd cars.

Now with a dedicated love for Time Attack racing Tero used 2020 to add a little bit of aerodynamics, a wide body kit, some engine upgrades, a 6-speed transmission driving to the rear and a freshly

installed torsen diff and a new clutch

In 2021 it was decided to step it up even more and more aerodynamics,new graphics, additional chassis and brake updates (now with a front and rear big brake kit), engine upgrades and two disc clutch to handle the extra power.

Never one to sit still, 2022 saw Tero add even more aerodynamics, engine upgrades, new wheels and tyres and pedal brake box.

So what are the future plans for this radical Miata? Tero paused before replying, “Much more of the same! We will continue development work with Time Attack competition in mind. I’d like to travel further afield and maybe try some European Time Attack events.

The Build List

2015 Mazda MX-5

- -1.6 turbo built,

- Supertech valves

- Cometic gaskets

- Gatesracing, jun,custom header, custom intake manifold, turbosmart, ls2 ignition

- Urethane bushings

Brakes:

- K-sport 6-pot calipers 304mm x 28mm discs and EBC orange pads,

- Wilwood 4-pot 270mm x 22mm discs and ferodo pads,

- Steel lines,

- Pedal Box AP-racing cylinders

Electrical:

- MS2 P&P ECU

Aero / Body:

- Full aluminium radiator out of a

Davies Craig Water Pump

12” electric fan

6speed manual,

- Twin disc clutch

Exhaust System:

Custom v-band header, turbosmart cooled wastegate, full 3” Pipe + two

- Wide Body Kit +100mm

- Nezuko Demon Slayer graphics

- Hood vent

- Head lights removed

- Custom home built aerodynamics

Interior/Safety:

- 6 point roll cage

- Sparco race seats

- full harnesses

K-Sport Circuit Suspension and

- Adjustable Whiteline front

- Rear Rollbar removed

Wheels / Tires:

- 15” x 9” et 0,

- Spacers -30mm front and rear,

- Nankang-AR1 245 x15

- Nankang-AR1 275x15

cing?

“It has been an exciting time, I’ve had the gas pedal stick wide open once, twice the car has been on fire and 5 or 6 times I’ve driven off the track, no big deal really, but it can make the heart beat faster. I have to thank Kouvusilta Motorsport, my mechanics/drivers Petteri Sutinen and Jesse Pääkkönen And of course I don’t want to forget my sponsors: Nurmeksen Teräsmyynti oy kuljetus palvelut Sami Karhu Auto ja Metalli kierrätys Timo Ollilainen sisustus outil@jiiamtech, JM tuonti, finjector, pro-paja, ms-tuonti, Korpi&koti, cimec family

MANUFACTURER Spotlight

One booth that was not on my radar was Graf Gearboxes out of Miami. My buddies Ilya and Eden had been there earlier in the day and told me about this high horsepower gearbox for a K-Series Honda on the Graf booth. Graf’s beginnings date back to 1930 when they built commercial gears. Around the 1950’s they saw a new market and they began to manufacture sequential gearboxes

for racing motorcycles; the beginnings of what we know today as MOTOGP. Then in the 60’s Graf started to develop gearboxes for Formula 4 cars, which with different updates has become the current Formula Renault 2.0 gearboxes that are used in many countries Worldwide. Like all the good companies out there they never sat still, and in the 70/80’s, touring cars and rally cars began

to become increasingly popular and that is when they manufactured the first gearboxes for those various categories. Since then, Graf designed and manufactured a wide variety of products, becoming one of the leading brands in the motorsport gearbox market. In 2000’s Sport Compact drag Racing was a big thing and Graf decided to venture into the Drag Racing World. Nobody would argue that drag racing is one of the biggest challenges in terms of making transmissions live due to the high horsepower and grip levels, but using the vast experience they had gained over the previous fifty years their talented engineering staff came up with a solution that not only takes the abuse but performs well enough to

In 2019 they were first to market with the Honda B-series AWD transmission for drag racing. In 2021

they stepped things up again with another first to market product, a reinforced hardened cast bell housing for the K-series Honda (lighter, lower cost and as strong as billet product)

The K-series gearbox at the show is a true complete racing solution with full Plug and Play for the Honda K-series with Sequential operation. 2023 saw an update to that when they brought to market a TC2000 (Turismo Competición 2000 Argentina championship) based paddle shifter actuation for Honda K-series powered vehicles.

The show unit comes with a reinforced hardened cast bellhousing for direct connection to the Honda K-series motor. For those running the 1000hp and lower unit, any type of Limited Slip Differential can be used. The 1500hp option requires the use of Graf’s own proprietary dual ramp adjustable clutch type LSD. Graf did not forget the other weakness in drag racing gearboxes, the axles and provide their Pro Axles to take care of those demands. This option has now become very popular for the insane Honda powered Time Attack cars that are now becoming more common across the World.

Make sure you click on the Video link on page 43 to see Andy Lamus walk you through all the positives for this awesome sequential transmission. You can contact Andy in Hialeah FL. at 786 264 1706 or by e-mail at info@grafgearboxes.com for more info.

Graf Gearboxes are homologated for use in Maxi Rally and Rally Junior whereever the classes are run in Latin America. In the effort to provide racers with a bulletproof transmission in the Maxi Rally class, Graf offers a sequential conversion of the 6-speed Subaru WRX STi gearbox. In Rally Junior they provide a GT82 fully sequesntial 6-speed with dual ramp plate type LSD.

Nick Kohrs is running Graf Gearboxes helical kit with synchros as that is what is required for the Gridlife Street Mod Time Attack class rules. At the Gridlife event at The Glen he won and set the FWD Street Mod record. Rounding out 2023, he also placed P2 at Gridlife NJMP and set the Street Mod FWD record (super close to the win) and finished P3 at Gridlife Road America taking another Street Mod FWD record.

Words by Ian Rae, Geoff Smith - Images by Alex Smalley, GoFast Photography

Recycled Racecar

Last Place Motorsports is an environmentally friendly race team, they are firm believers in recycling. So rather than let a former Grand-Am Mazda Protege 5 sit around and waste away in someone’s race shop they re-purposed it, brought it out and gave it a new life on their local Canadian race tracks. This is their story!

he Last Place Motorsports Mazda was built from new as a race car. It’s never seen the road, let alone snow or salt. It raced in a couple of Grand-Am Cup races (predecessor to today’s Michelin Pilot Challenge), back in 2003 and 2004 before being sold into Canada.

A stock Protege5 was given a MazdaSpeed Protégé turbocharged powertrain, and custom engineered coilovers, along with all the necessary changes for high-end motorsports competition.

But lets go back a bit and talk about 40 yearold Peterborough, ON resident Geoff Smith. Smith owns the car in partnership with Taylor Parsons. Geoff’s love of the sport comes from his father, “My father influenced me from a young age.” he said. “He has been to some of the greatest races on the planet, including Le Mans in 1971, and numerous F1 races around the world. I grew up watching Formula 1 with him in the late 80s and early 90s and learned about sports car and prototype racing in the late

90’s. I made my first trip to Mosport (now called Canadian Tire Motorsport Park) at age 17, to see the American Le Mans Series in 2000, and was hooked! I took this love of cars and motorsports, and turned it into a career as an automotive technician, which has allowed me to work on a variety of race cars before finally acquiring my own.

“Once I learned to drive, I bought my first car, a 1989 BMW 325iS, and started doing autocross with the Motorsport Club of Ottawa. I did parts of four seasons before having to sell the car. I also competed in their Snow Cross series, which was essentially time trials on a course of snow and ice. I have crewed for various amateur racers, including CASC-OR, VARAC, Canadian Rally Championship and

Pirelli World Challenge. And of course all of these experiences have been vital in helping me when the time came around to have a full blown race car of

And racing has been good to Smith, “Winning the FWD class championship in the MCO’s Snow Cross series in 2006 was quite memorable. I won two of the four events, and took the class title in a 1986 Honda Accord that I bought for $300!”

“More recently, our team, Last Place

Motorsports, finished second in the inaugural Lucky Dog Racing Canada Sprint championship. We shared the driving duty between three drivers, and managed to take one win and five podiums in 2023.”

So why is the car so successful? It goes back to the start where the car was built properly in the begining. Geoff explained, “The car was then sold in 2005 to Brian Sibbitt, who owned it for 16 years, and competed in the first season of the Canadian Touring Car Championship in 2007. I purchased it in 2021 and brought it back to racing. All the safety gear was long since expired, but the car was otherwise in great shape.”

“Early on, I learned that the stock transmissions in these cars are weak, and with the

power it makes, we quickly blew through multiple transmissions in 2022. Thanks to a Facebook group for Mazdaspeed Protégé enthusiasts, I found a guy who had developed a kit to swap in the Toyota E350 transmission (09-12 Corolla XRS, among others), which is a much more durable transmission. In the 2022-23 offseason, a used Toyota transmission was sourced and installed, and has shown to be exactly what the car needs to survive long distance racing.”

The transmission upgrade is especially important considering the car is currently undergoing off-season maintenance and preparation with the goal of entering into Lucky Dog Canada’s endurance championship next year. The team of drivers, Geoff Smith, Taylor Parsons and Doug Armstrong is also planning to head South and enter a ChampCar race at Watkins Glen.

We’re also partnering with a successful e-sports team, Screeching Moose Motorsports, and

will be rebranding the team for 2024.

As most of us know, motorsport is not easy and Smith told us about few spectacular failures the team has had.

“In 2022, Taylor’s first time in the car, a bearing in the transmission failed, causing the clutch to grenade about halfway up the back straight at Mosport.

Later in 2022, we had 3rd gear disappear completely at Calabogie, to the point that it didn’t even grind, just another neutral. We soldiered on for another hour, but eventually decided to retire the car.

We blew a head gasket at the end of the first weekend of 2023, that led to us putting the engine back together on the Friday of the 2nd race weekend. As we’re torquing the head, one of the studs starts spinning in the block. We ended up rethreading the block on Friday afternoon, and then

had a stud break in the turbo as we put the car back together. We took it to the track anyhow and spent the Saturday morning drilling and re-threading the turbo stud. We missed that morning’s race but came back and won the Sunday Sprint race by the narrowest of margins, coming out of turn 10 side by side with the car that had led the entire race, and just beating him to the line.”

“We have a great team,” Geoff says and lists them below,

“Geoff Smith – co-owner/driver/team manager

Taylor Parsons – co-owner/driver/lead mechanic

Doug Armstrong – driver

Tony Bill, is multi talented and combines being our mechanic and chef.

“We have to thank our 2023 Sponsors:

Fast Wheels

MSGear

DriverCal

Bruiser Automotive

Haven Brewing Company

Go Fast Photography and a big thanks to my wife, Caitlin, for putting up with this hobby, and to my Mom and Dad, Merrill and Gina, for all the support through the years.

The Build List

2002 Mazda Protege 5

Engine:

- 2.0L Turbocharged FS-DET

- Estimated 215-220whp, redline at 7000rpm

- GT2860 turbo

- Pauter forged connecting rods

- AWR baffled oil pan

- Doc B Racing blueprinted oil pump c/w remote press. regulator

Cooling:

- Ron Davis radiator

- Setrab oil cooler

- Turbonetics front-mounted intercooler

Drivetrain:

- Toyota E350 transmission swap (2nd car in the World)

- AWR 95 durometer motor and transmission mounts.

- Quaife LSD, ACT 4 puck clutch

- Fidanza lightweight flywheel.

- Toyota Corolla shift tower

- Monkey Wrench Racing short throw shifter

- Toyota Celica shift cables.

Exhaust System:

- 2.5” straight pipe from turbo, exit on passenger’s side

Suspension:

- Dynamic Suspension (Multimatic) remote reservoir double-

adjustable coilovers with camber plates

- AWR rear lateral trailing arms,

- AWR adjustable rear sway bar

Brakes:

- Wilwood front calipers with Nissan 350Z rotors and Hawk pads,

- NC Miata rear rotors Hawk pads

Electrical:

- GReddy piggyback controller on factory ECU, tuned for 94 octane

Aero / Body:

- Stock with carbon fibre hood

- Side glass removed

- Battery relocated to passenger’s seat area

- Weight 2420 with ¼ tank of fuel

- Aero: None (yet)

Interior/Safety:

- Full Ronnie O’Brien cage with 1.5” tubing

- Lifeline fire system

- Schroth 6-point harness

-Kirkey aluminum racing seat with back brace

Wheels / Tires:

- 17x8 Fast FC04 with Falken RT660 or Hankook RS4 tires

Words and Images by Giuliano Johnston and Ian Rae

Giuliano Johnston is a twenty-four year old diesel mechanic from Richmond Hill, Ontario. Unlike many others we have featured in the magazine Johnston never had any influence from a family member who introduced him to motorsport.

“No one specific influenced me to get into racing,” he said. “I’ve always had a passion for cars since a young age. The first time that I went to the race

track with a friend I was hooked. I instantly knew this would be the place that I would spend all of my weekends from now on. I have been racing for the past four years at local Time Attack events. Before I personally got behind the wheel and into racing myself, I would help out one of my buddies with his race car and be part of his pit crew. It was a great learning experience and served me well when I actively started competing myself.”

Four years is not a long career in motorsport but Giuliano has had some great memories in that short time. He recalls one at Calabogie Motorsports Park near Ottawa where he placed first in a Time Attack event in the Street Class and his younger brother placed second.

Another reason it was such a memorable moment is because it was the last event that my grandfather attended before he passed away. That was bitter sweet, but I’m glad he got to see it. It was also the first time I had placed first in any sort of racing competition, so it was a great feeling.”

Giuliano’s ride of choice is a 2018 Ford Focus RS that he purchased brand new on September 18, 2018 (Editor’s Note: Maybe change your race number to 18) As is the norm with real motorheads the modifications were slowly added to the car year by year. “First, I started with the engine bolt on parts such as air intake, intercooler, and downpipe which was enough to get the car just under the 400whp mark. Once I finished the power upgrades I went straight to the suspension and brakes, I had learned during my apprenticeship helping my friend, you really need a complete package to be successful. I started with a set of used coilovers which I found on market place, and followed that by adding front and rear sway bars with end links, and then rear toe and camber arms go give me more adjustability in the rear. Braking was upgraded with some G-LOC Breaks R16 pads with Gyro 2 piece floating rotors for front brakes.”

upgraded turbo kit to be more competitive with the higher horsepower cars. I’d also like to eventually put in a sequential transmission with a carbon drive shaft and axles. The final thing is to make the cars stance wider. My final goal is to be able to run a 295 tire all around.”

The upgrade to the 295 tire should be able to stop Giuliano from having another ooh-ooh moments when he was racing at Calabogie Motorsports Park. “I was on a hot lap going into turn 16 when the car suddenly started to slide while I was going around 160kmh, luckily I was able to control it and complete the lap. I’m hoping more tires will aleviate that problem, it sure got my attantion!”

Johnston would like to thank his loyal team members, Josh, Luca, Nick and Richard. He would also like to thank his sponsors WHITELINE USA and RAPTOR RACING.

“After that, the main focus for the car was to shave weight down as much as possible. So, I got rid of the factory seats and upgraded the front to bucket seats and deleted the rear seats for a harness bar. Future plans are to make it a fully dedicated Time Attack car, which will include putting in a complete weld in roll cage and building the motor with an

The Build List

2018 Ford Focus RS

Engine:

- OEM turbocharged EcoBoost 2.3 liter

- 350 hp @ 6,000 rpm

- 350 lb-ft @ 3,200 rpm

- ETS cold air intake

- ETS intercooler

- Bomba racing blow off valve

- Bomba racing throttle body spacer

- Turbosmart waste gate actuator

- Cobb v3 accessport

- Radium dual catch cans

- Mountune oil pan

Cooling:

- Mountune/CSF radiator

- Airtec oil cooler

Drivetrain:

- OEM 6 speed manual driving all four wheels.

- Cooler works aluminum shifter

- Rear differential brace

Exhaust System:

- ETS extreme cat-back exhaust

- MBRP catted downpipe

Suspension:

- ST Suspensions XTA coilovers

- Rear camber arms

- Whiteline sway bars front and rear with endlinks

Brakes:

- Stainless steel brake lines

- OEM brakes with upgraded pads and rotors

Electrical:

-

Aero / Body:

- Carbon hood

- Massive front strut bar

- Massive rear strut bar

Interior/Safety:

- race seats

- harness,

- harness bar

- Rear tow arms

Wheels / Tires:

- Enkei NT03

-

So, what is it we are revamping? That is easy, the garage or as we like to call it the race shop. Why does it need to be revamped, many of you might know that a few years back I was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. Things have been going really well on that front but last year I was put on the supposed wonder drug Ozempic. I must admit for the first few month’s things were great, my diabetes was under better control, and I had lost a bunch of

weight. Then my GP decided to double the dose. Those of you who have seen the Ozempic advert on TV will no doubt have seen a list of side effects. I had none of those until the dose was doubled. That is when things took a downward turn.

I would wake up in the morning and couldn’t face breakfast. I couldn’t focus on anything including working on the magazine and if I did venture into the race shop it would not be long before my head was stuck into a garbage can, either being sick or trying to! It was not a good time. The race shop had become a tip, things were thrown everywhere and there was no organization. Not that I could spend some quality time out there because of the health issues, but if I tried it became a nightmare to find parts or tools, so nothing was really getting done.

After a mutual decision to come off Ozempic, it took a couple of months before I was feeling better, and I could not believe how much better! Although the major plan was to get working on

Cooper RSR again, I decided it would be better to revamp and rework the race shop to make things easier when we did get back on our ongoing MINI project. During the downtime when I was not feeling so hot, I spent many hours on YouTube researching various videos. One thing I did come across were many carpenters who outfitted their workshops with something called French cleats.

Now, I could see no reason why a race shop could not be organized in a similar way even though

we use different tools. I’m sure many of you are in the same boat, you have tools that do nothing other than clutter up a drawer in a toolbox and more importantly, if you try to organize them in the toolbox you rapidly see a decrease in the available space in the drawer.

That brings us to our next question, what exactly is a French cleat? It consists of two lengths of plywood, in our case three quarter inch thick. We took a 5 inch by 8-foot length and cut it in half with

that table saw blade angled to 45°. If you line the plywood up properly you will have 2 identical pieces that we go on to use to create the French cleat. It works by mounting one length of plywood to the wall with the 45° pointing out and up. The other length can be cut to suit the storage item being mounted on the wall. That plywood strip is mounted with the 45° pointing down and towards the wall. The idea is that the free mounted storage can be placed anywhere there is free space on a French cleat in the workshop.

While that all sounds very easy, real life can throw you a curveball. In my case I was not starting off with a brand-new installation. On one side of the shop, I had to plan and design the French cleats to go around an existing electrical installation I did many moons ago. Looking at the attached photo from the other side of the shop you can see how much cleaner this installation is. But if your garage walls are built anything like mine, they are not straight and plumb. That can cause a problem if you are mounting anything that is wider than 12 inches or so. Because the wall mounted cleat is curved, the storage side cleat requires the same curve for the 45° sections to interlock properly. I actually found that keeping the storage side cleat assemblies

shorter made them easier to build and place. Keep in mind that some of these storage items can be moved around the shop and placed close to where you are working. The idea of placing tools where they can be seen or more importantly not seen was one of the things that attracted me to French cleats in the first place.

As part of the revamp, I needed to create more space for working on Cooper RSR. Part of that was to move my DIY machine tools. The question was, where to. I had previously built a mezzanine for storage at the rear of the shop. My thoughts initially were to use the front of this as a bench. But after bringing out a tape measure and making a few calculations I saw this would not work. The area to stand on while working with these machines would intrude right into the Cooper RSR work area so that was a no go.

After much chin scratching and pulling of hair (something I cannot afford to do) I looked at turning the area above my resin storage racks into a mezzanine workshop. The top shelves were removed, and I built a bench top made from 2x4s covered in MDF to replace them. I ran some PVC conduit and installed a couple of 2 gang 120V receptacles to power everything.

Before I moved my pedestal drill, I had to cut 8 inches out of the column to allow me to operate the drill safely at that height. Talking about height, how was I going to work at that height? I did not want anything permanent That would take up floor space so it was onto the computer and checking out Amazon for something that would give me the height but could easily be moved when it was not in use. Most of the work platforms

height, the width of most platforms was only 12” wide which I was not too

We purchased a platform by Mr. Blacksmith from Princess Auto which was 18 inches wide, 45-1/2 inches long and was even higher at 23-1/4 inches. It provided a wide and stable base and would make working on it a lot safer. I then found that I really needed a bit more height to make it easier to use the pedestal drill, so I built a riser out of 4x2s to get the height I needed. While it worked perfectly the damn thing just weighed too much. So, what now? The Internet you all shout! Yep, Princess Auto had an aluminum work platform that was only 13” wide and that would be perfect for sitting atop the Mr. Blacksmith unit I had bought previously. The riser turned out to be too tall but the fix was easy. I drilled out the pop rivits holding the plastic feet in place and then realized that the brace that came to the leg would be a good location for the feet and one pop rivit would do two jobs, hold the feet in place and locate the brace against the leg. It sure is nice when a plan comes

Now, onto manufacturing the French cleats and installing them above

the work bench on the lefthand side of the shop. One of the things that multiple myeloma stops me from doing is lifting heavy objects. Why you ask, the MM can attack the bones and make them brittle, therefore no lifting heavy objects. Our local Home Depot will only make 2 cuts in a sheet of plywood, but that is enough to make for an easier lift. So, I instructed them to make two 10-inch length ways cuts, that I could easily cut again into 5-inch strips. This is where things got interesting, I want to get my Mastercraft table saw out of the shed and it was gone! WTF as they say! Yep, some bright boy had made off with it and now what was I going to do? So, back to Amazon and I could not believe it when I found a DeWalt DWE7491RS job site saw for $200 off. $600 bucks was a pretty good price I thought but imagine my surprise a week later when the Amazon and Home Depot prices were now at $919. I’m never normally this lucky but my table saw purchase was an even better deal than I first imagined! Although disappointed with having

to spend that money (typical Scotsman), I was really glad I had made the investment. It really is an amazing piece of kit and it made my life so much easier than if I was having to do the same job on my original table saw. If you want more info just check out the video we have posted on our @MWGarage YouTube channel.

came up with, as you can see from the photo below. I do have to admit that I have to come up with a better solution to store the bending arms for the brake.

Some of you may have seen the video we produced a few months

As I said earlier in this article the left side of the garage French cleats design had to be a bit piece meal to fit in with the electrical installation and a couple of other things. One of the major things I want to do achieve was creating a storage location for the self-built sheet metal brake that until now sat in my metal vice on the bench causing all sorts of muttering and four-letter words. The support bracket far the sheet metal brake had to be quite substantial as it was not what you could call a lightweight item. I was particularly pleased with the solution I

back showcasing how we stored our DeWalt cordless tools, batteries and four-gang charger. That previous storage idea took up a bunch of space close to the work top of the bench and it would be good to reclaim some of that space. By attaching the 3D printed mounts to a free French cleat, all of these tools are now tucked up out of the way, but easily accessible in space that was previously doing nothing. Of the tools I own, my one hand clamps tended to be just thrown into a drawer, it was not easy to organize them, so I searched the myriads of French cleat solutions on YouTube to figure out the best way to store them. And unsurprisingly there

Get Organized!

Ernst Manufacturing offers easy storage solutions that save time and spare frustration for every tool user. Ernst designs, manufactures, and distributes a full line of hand tool organizers and shop solution items (over 200 products) to accommodate the widest variety of tools and configuration possibilities. All products are made in the USA and come with a lifetime guarantee!

Introducing Tool Time

MotorWerks Magazine and Miniology Magazine believe in digital media and we are trying to expand our offerings to our readers. We have played with YouTube before but the plan is to create and post videos more frequently.

@MWGarage is our premier channel and follows what we get up to with our project cars, CooperRSR and Project 3ThirtyFive. We have run a series of videos called Tool Time with MotorWerks Garage where we showcase some of the special tools we use to maintain and fabricate parts for

We have also created videos talking about

workshop organization and tool storage. Check out the existing videos and subscribe so you don’t miss the new ones!

were many of them to choose from. As I had space available between the end of the bench and one of my toolboxes, I reckoned the solution was to store them coming out from the wall. As can be seen by the photo we can store 6 clamps on each side of the mount. They are easily installed by sliding the bar into a slot in the mount and squeezing the clamp until it closes on the plywood. Removal of the clamp is simply by releasing the lock pulling slightly down on the handle and removing the clamp from the slot. As many of you know it is a cardinal sin to have a race shop without some sort of music! An old neighbor of mine had worked for** and had a spare demo sound system lying around that he gave me, unfortunately it did not have a remote but that is

not really a problem when I only listen to Toronto’s Q107 radio station and I only needed to power the unit on and off which was achieved by pressing the appropriate button with a piece of dowel rod. So, it too got the French cleat treatment with the speaker boxes mounted each side of the unit and before long we had AC/DC blasting out Kashmir!

Well, that’s it for this article, I am really pleased how the update on the shop is going. It is going to be a lot easier to be focused when everything is in place and everything has a place. Make sure you check out the video below and please subscribe to our @MWGarage channel on YouTube.

A CSCS Photo Pictorial by Ian Rae

Top Left: #77

Mazda Miata, Brad Angevaare,

Top Middle: #171 Nissan 300ZX, Sylvain

Top Right: #72 Celica GTS, Avery Malhotra,

Middle Left: #159 Corvette, Z06, David Center: #554 Subaru STI, Graham Johnson,

Bottom Left: #113 Toyota GR 86, Luke Bottom Right: #63 Porsche Cayman,

Angevaare, SSR

Sylvain Toupin, UR

Malhotra, PF

David Balazic, SR

Johnson, SA

Luke Lay PR Cayman, William Qi, SR

Top: #121 BMW M3, Scott Shadbolt, SSR

Center: #717 M2 Competition, Mingzhao Chen, SSR

Left: #77 M4 Competition, Abdul Wasay, SSR

Above: #23 Honda Civic Type R, Alexis Christian Alvarez, PF

Above: #22 Mazda RX7, Cody Welsh, SR

Above: #9 Subaru STI, Sean Hachey, SA

Below: #11 Porsche 911 Turbo S, Michael Manalo , SSR

Words by Peter Richings and Ian Rae, Images by Joy Richings

72 year-old Peter Richings is an Instructor at the Land Rover Experience but his weekends behind the wheel are in nothing as sedate as a Land Rover. Richings is one of those who early on, saw the potential of the Toyota GR Yaris. The 4 wheel drive Japanese pocket rocket is getting quite a following in the motorsport world with Peter using his in the 4wd roadgoing cars class of the Midland Hillclimb Championship.

“I was introduced to racing by my car mad father, who took me to Goodwood when I was not yet 5 years old”, Richings told us. “From then on, I absorbed everything I could read about racing. I went to as many race meetings as possible and followed the sport as well as I could in the days before extensive TV coverage and the internet. I followed the career of Bruce McLaren from when he won the F2 class in the German GP in 1958. He was (and still is) a great influence and inspiration to me. Although I only met him a couple of times in the paddock at Aintree and Brands Hatch it still felt like the loss of a family member when he was killed in a testing crash at Goodwood in 1970.”

Like many of us Richings could not wait to get behind the wheel in a motorsport envireonment. “I started racing in 1972 when I was still studying at University. I bought a fairly standard MG Midget and raced in the Modsports class. Initially the car was not competitive, and it took me a couple of years until I felt I was driving anywhere near properly. I lightened the car and built a short stroke engine for 1975 and started to finish well, even scoring a couple of wins. Sharing the car with Mike Donovan we then built a long stroke 1460 engine for 1978 and the car was so fast. We had a great season, won quite a few races and set some lap records.’

For 1979 the duo moved into Clubmans Sports racing with a Mallock Mk20. “I stayed in

Clubmans until 1985” he said “Enjoying some excellent racing and good results using initially a FF engine and then progressing to a full race 1700 Ford Kent motor crossflow engine. Then in 1986/7 we bought a Ralt RT30 F3 car and ran in class B of the British F3 Championship. I found the racing a little too physical especially after being pushed off at high speed at Silverstone. At that time the leading lights in British F3 were Damon Hill and Johnny Herbert To be honest I was glad to return to Clubmans for 1988 with a new Mk27SG Mallock built together with Barry Webb. In this car I won the BRDC Clubmans Championship in 1988.

“I continued racing this car for many years and also became a Committee member for the Clubmans Register. I was one of the key people who introduced the MG K series engine into Clubmans to replace the old FF engine in 1996. I finished well up in the championship many times (usually 2nd !!) until I sold the car in 2005. In 2006/7 I was lucky enough to be able to co drive Mike Donovan’s Porsche 997 GT3 Cup car in a few races. We had

wins or podiums at Oulton Park and Dijon and experience the great Donington and Hockenheim

In 2009 Peter returned to Clubmans with a Mk28 Mallock and enjoyed a good season. He was eagerlly anticipating a good year in 2010 but an unfortunate collision at Oulton Park in the first meeting of the year saw the car inverted and written off. “I ended up upside down and backwards up the pit road! It was very convenient for the Medical Centre though! Fortunately I escaped reasonably

unscathed but I did need a new crash helmet as well as a new car!! Fortunately I found a Mallock Mk30PR in need of some TLC and over a couple of months of work the car was brought up to spec. This turned out to be my favourite car of all time and I raced it until the end of 2022. In this car I won the Clubmans Championship in 2016 and finished in second place too many times! I managed to win quite a few races along the way, so it was not all bad.

At the end of 2022 he decided that 51 consecutive seasons of racing was enough and sold his beloved Mallock, with the only question left was what to do next?.

“During 2022 my wife Joy and I had done a few sprints and hillclimbs in our Toyota GR Yaris road car and rather enjoyed it! So for 2023 we decided to try and complete a full season with it. In about May or June I felt that I was getting the hang of hillclimbing and started to record some competitive times. At the end of the year I was class winner in the Midland Hillclimb Championship, something I definately would not have predicted at the start of the season.”

So with all those years of motorsport behind him what was his most memorable moment in racing? “I’m going to choose two memorable moments! The first was in 1982 when I beat Will Hoy to win at Thruxton. I overtook him on the run to the line and won by 0.07sec! Will was very successful in Clubmans and went on to win the BTCC and competed at Le Mans.”

“The second occasion was winning a close fought battle at Brands Hatch at the end of 2021. I managed to lead into Paddock Bend off the grid and held off stern challenges from Clive Wood and Steve Dickens throughout the race. It was extremely nerve wracking being pursued throughout and having to work through a lot of lapped cars. I kept calm though, never put a foot wrong and was delighted to see the chequered flag.

So on to the car! “The Toyota GR Yaris I have

been hillclimbing is basically a standard roadgoing car. Some mods are allowed as long as the car remains road legal and runs on road legal tyres. The only changes we made to the car were to change the springs (lowering the car a little) and stiffening it up, plus adding some negative camber to the front wheels. I did try some different tyres but came to the conclusion eventually that the standard Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres are as good as anything out there!”

As for the 2024 season Richings intends to continue next season with the car much as it is but he may look at one or two mods to try and eke out a little more power. The car develops 270 bhp as standard but it’s relatively easy to liberate about another 50 bhp by changing the air cleaner, exhaust, intercooler and a bit of remapping.

such fun to compete within a mile of home and to rush into the underpasses at 80 mph knowing it everyday life it had a 40 mph limit!! Motofest takes over the whole city with displays from various car clubs and manufacturers plus Drifting and a Concours held in the ruins of the old Cathedral. And best of all it is free to the general public.

When it comes to thanks, the main person is my wife Joy, my long suffering partner, co driver, and photographer extraordinaire……

BUILD LIST

Engine: Toyota 1600 3 cylinder turbo G16E-GTS

Drivetrain: Toyota GR4 4wd

Electrics: Toyota standard

Cooling: Toyota standard

Exhaust: Toyota standard

Body: Toyota standard

Aero: Toyota standard

Safety: Toyota standard

Brakes: Toyota

One the things I can testify to is that the comeraderie in hillclimbing, and Peter agrees fullheartedly. “This season there were regularly three of us running GR Yaris cars. We are all over a certain age and some wags started to call us ‘The Last of the Summer Wine’ This refers to a UK comedy show about three old codgers who talk a mischief and dream about their lost youth!! Another highspot in 2023 was being able to compete in our hometown. As part of the Coventry MotoFest there is a Sprint held on the inner ring road. It was

standard

Suspension: Stiffened and lowered with Eibach springs, plus added negative camber on front. Wheels: Revolution CR10 flow formed wheels shod with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres

2023 saw a new Time Attack series unveiled on Southern Ontario race tracks. CTAC was born from the ashes of the Northern Speed series the first season was low key with five events and only three of them involving competition. Series Competition director James Houghton told us, “The first event in May was to introduce the series to the racers. It was designed to be a fun day, we had burgers, hot dogs and sodas for the racers, we got to chat to them and tell them about complying with the Gridlife rules that

we are running to and to what driving standards and safety requirements we will be enforcing as the series progresses”

As James noted the Canadian Time Attack Challenge has forged a partnership with the Gridlife series that has proven itself so successful in the USA. With a common ruleset it makes for easy cross border events and competition.