What a great way to end our first year in Grand Am Cup!
The Compass360 / Racing crew made the long trek to sunny California
with hopes for another good result to cap off the season.
The tow from Toronto is a solid three days, but Derek and
Aron managed it with aplomb, getting the car to the track
a day early and in fine shape.
Crew Chief Ian and I flew in Thursday afternoon and by the
time we got to the track the boys had already parked the "rig"
and unloaded the car and all of our gear. Now, at the end
of the year we've got this down to a bit of a science.
Friday morning found the ever-vigilant Ian under the car
tightening bolts and checking the suspension. Kevin York,
my co-driver for the event, showed up while we were in tech
line. It was a real pleasure to meet Kevin, as we'd been making
plans for him to run with us since the middle of the season.
It was great that with the help of his sponsors Mascot
Theory and CowanLange Associates, we were finally able
to make that happen. Kevin's a long-time BMW Club racer who's
also competed prevously in Grand Am Cup, and he came highly
recommended, fresh off a class win in the Eight Hours of the
Cascades in a Spec Miata.
After our first session, we made some adjustments to the
suspension settings. It's a real treat that we're now at the
point where we have time to do this, as we were not busy changing
larger components like engine or transmissions. As ever, God
is in the details, and the set-up changes worked well, with
both Kevin and I getting faster as we learned the circuit
and became more comfortable. Interestingly, after our second
one-hour practice, the team checked the rear suspension settings,
and surprisingly they had changed. Hmmm. Ian set about to
figure out why.
Not surprisingly, Ian's puzzling resulted in a solution and
as the garages closed for the night we were heading to Home
Depot for long pieces of steel, bolts and a tap (to thread
holes for the bolts). Fabrication can be fun! Back in the
paddock early Saturday morning, the goal was to solve the
problem and get out for our final practice, which was at 9am.
With some amazing teamwork, I was on track at 9:05. And wow,
did the car feel great. We'd also changed to softer front
springs (but a stiffer front bar), and the Z3 was just awesome
on the infield. It's been progressively getting better at
every race, and handling has always been a strong point of
our car, but here it was just in a different league. None
of the other ST-class cars could get a jump on me through
the twisty bits, and in fact I managed to be faster than many.
And we were quicker than all but the front-running GS cars!
On the straight, the top ST cars still managed to make pull
away, but Ian's work on the powertrain really shows. Compared
to the season opener in Daytona, where the Z3 was absolutely
lethargic on the banking, at Fontana we were well-matched
with a bunch of cars that have usually been more powerful,
including two of the RX-8s, the Neon SRT-4 and the Connolly
BMW 330i. This is progress!
We decided I would qualify. As the team owner, this season
I've always run the second stint. We do this primarily because
this is, after all, racing and anything can happen. My co-drivers
are paying for the privilege of running a Grand Am race, and
I would feel terrible if they came away from the weekend having
not been able to run because the car was out of the race before
they got in. But Kevin was remarkably gracious and made it
clear that he felt I should start at least one race this season.
So I went out and drove the car as fast as it would go, turning
our fastest time of the weekend, a 1:56.32. The front-running
ST cars turned mid-1:52's, but we felt we'd be able to get
into the top-10 during the race, as the Z3 looked to be capable
of turing 1:56's and 1:57's all race long. We see many of
the other cars able to turn a few fast laps after which their
handling goes off and drops them back three or four seconds
a lap.
I lined up for the start and was excited. Having not taken
the green flag since last season, I felt headed for a real
treat. And starting on the second-last row meant I would have
a really good view of the action in front. I got a good run
at the start, staying with the cars in front while pulling
out a little from the ones behind. The first few laps of a
Grand Am Cup race are just awesome. Everyone got through the
first corner (which is a 90-degree left-hander coming off
the banking where I was topping out at 135 Mph) cleanly, which
is pretty amazing when you figure nearly 50 cars are all trying
to fit into a very small space.
In the first few laps there were changes of position, a parry
and strike, and I settled into a really good battle with the
Roach Racing Dodge SRT-4 and the #66 Speedsource RX-8. Through
traffic the RX-8 managed to pull out a bit of a lead, but
the SRT-4 and I had a fanatastic fight for my whole stint.
We gave each other room but battled hard, and gradually we
caught the RX-8.
I knew we weren't getting great fuel mileage, and on lap
36 -- about an hour and 15 minutes into the race) I had to
come in. The RX-8 came in on exactly the same lap! Kevin jumped
into our car and was off. He put in solid, consistent laps
and kept the car clean despite some brief off-roading, which
is often unavoidable. As a driver in ST, you try to be courteous
to the faster GS-class cars, but sometimes they try to take
a bit more of the road than you were expecting to give. Kevin
did a fine job during his stint, running has high as eighth
before coming in for our second fuel stop, which resulted
in him coming out of the pits in tenth. In the last few laps
there was a lot of excitement, including the retirement of
the third-place Turner BMW 330i, which left us in ninth. It
was a hard break for the Turner guys who were fighting for
the championship, which they ended up losing by just a few
points.
But for us it was a great result! The ninth place gives us
four top tens this year (including 10th at Homestead in March,
sixth at Mid-Ohio, seventh at Homestead in September), which
we're really proud of. It was a great first year in Grand
Am Cup and a pretty remarkable achievement for a team that's
modestly funded and primarily run on the enthusiasm and dedication
of a couple of guys who love racing.
Most amazing is that we ran every lap of every race this
year, with no DNFs. That is a testament to Ian's flawless
preparation of the Z3 and his intense attention to the car
at every race. We've made the car better at every event and
had a great deal of fun with each of my co-drivers. For this
event, Kevin York was a great fit. His attitude was spot-on:
unfailingly enthusiastic he provided good feedback and brought
a much needed carafe of Starbucks' best on Saturday morning.
He also bought me a BMW Roundel logo patch; after racing a
Bimmer for a year, I now have the right to wear one on my
driving suit! Kevin, I'd drive with you again any time.
We said the goal for this year was to learn. And we certainly
did that, coming out with a really creditable result against
a bunch of teams with substantially larger budgets. It was
a truly fabulous season, and I thank everyone who helped to
make it happen, especially our sponsors* and our crew**.
We're already making plans for 2005, and are actively looking
for sponsors interested in furthering their brand through
motorsport. The Grand Am community is a great place to do
business, with many top-level decision-makers attending each
event as drivers, team owners and sponsors. If your firm is
interested in more information about how Grand Am Cup sponsorship
can become an key component of your marketing program, feel
free to email me.
In the meanwhile, we enjoy the sensation of a great season.
See you in 2005!
-- Karl --
* For the record, thanks to our sponsors:
Compass360
Design + Advertising
Hockley Autosport
mmwave Technologies
and W3Connex
ADP and Bluejay
Networks
Nautical White Yachtwear
** And a BIG thanks to the crew:
Ian McQuillan, Crew Chief
Rob Lavigne
Phil Thomson
Paul Bruch
Derek Whidden
Aron Hockley
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LINKS:
Kevin York Signs with Compass360/Racing
Consistent Racing Results in Another Top 10 for Compass360/Racing
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