A Profile of Jonathan Vo

Words by Enrique McLeggon, Images by Martin Buendia

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

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

Jon, as he is more commonly known, lives in Fremont, CA and is 35 years old. In 2021, we will see him compete in his very first Time Attack event and he’s excited about the prospect of doing so. He grew up building Hondas in his parents’ garage with input from both his father and step-father. As he grew older he got a job at a shop that specialized in Lotus cars, the famed British manufacturer now owned by Geely (the Chinese multinational corporation which has Etika Automotive as an equity partner).

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

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

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

With so many Lotus customers, it made sense for Jon to eventually own one himself. In 2019, Jon bought the Exige that he now competes with from a customer that was involved in a crash at the famed Laguna Seca racetrack. Jon rebuilt the car and it wasn’t long before he decided he wanted to race it in NASA’s Super Touring 4 (ST4) class at places like Sonoma Raceway, Thunderhill Raceway, and Buttonwillow Raceway.

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

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

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

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

“Next year, I plan to continue to improve the shop for the benefit of my employees and my customers. I also want to start developing parts for doing these K swaps. Most importantly, I hope to spend more

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

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

For more info on Jon and Trackspec Auto www.facebook.com/trackspecautosports www.trackspecauto.com - JRZ Suspension (FYI, Trackspec is the exclusive dealer and authorized installer for all JRZ Lotus products in the United States) - Skepple Designs - SFG Wraps - Unit2 Fabrication - OnGrid - Tom Tang and Graham Downey for helping to develop the car