Rupunzell
Bernice Loui
We finished about 17th overall, second place in class L2 behind "Hurling Moss, BMW 2002" (car# 71). The LeMons folks have figured out the X is not slow and tends to survive to the end of LeMons races.
We were still dealing with chattering under breaking until mid-afternoon when we HAD to change the brake pads. The hope was those pads would last until the end of this race, but they did not.This cause a 18 minute pits stop to change both set of front pads, check the engine (which was down on power, likely due to a broke header tube and failing piston), change drivers, re-fuel and get the car back out on the track. We knew this would be the last race on this engine due to the amount of track time on it. It's survival is also a tribute to the toughness designed into this engine by Aurelio Lampredi and others who worked with him at FIAT on this engine.
This engine started out with about 80,000 miles on the clock.. then taken apart to make sure all was well, then put back together pretty much stock, did about 10 track days of testing, the first LeMons race where it over heated and loss a head gasket which was replaced and finished the race, then got motorcycle carbs which upped the power, some more track day testing, then completed a LeMons race at Button Willow (top twenty again), and finally finished this LeMons race.. If there is any doubut of the durability, reliability and toughness of this engine, our LeMons racing endeavor is proof of just how capable this little engine really is and why FIAT kept this design in production with all it's variation for so long..
All the fellow LeMons racers who have been around this X1/9 I spoke with has been totally impressed and surprised with the performance of this x1/9.
Might we have done better if the transponder did not cause problems early on, no problems with brakes or etc??? In many ways, it does not matter..we all had great fun doing this. The drivers did a SUPERB job out there on track staying out of trouble. The new paint even saved us once when we got black flagged for making contact, but when we appeared at the penalty area not a scratch was found. The judges comments were, "unless you fixed the body work between the track exit and here, there is no contact, back on the track."
We came out of this LeMons race without a scratch on the new paint.. that says much indeed about our drivers..
Just how fast is this X at LeMons?
Here is a real time shot of the timing board mid-Sunday afternoon:
We were running 14th overall, best lap time of 2:25:xx (car number 68). EyeSore Racing's (some of my favorite LeMons racing folks) turbo Miata which won second place overall and a Porsche 928 that was prepped by a pro-race shop with one of the best Pro Porsche drivers did a a 2:19:xx.. While the Miata went on to take second place overall, the Porsche 928's engine seized on day two. Or, we are about 6 seconds slower than some of the fastest cars at LeMons..
Here the car list from 2009 ThunderHill. It's really the "People's Curse" ballot.
We are planning to return to another LeMons race at Sears Point Race way in March.. with much work to do before then.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
End of the race, we drove the X back on the trailer:
These two "really got into it" and ended up with the V8 volvo on it's roof. This is the other car run by "Evil Genius" racing who also ran the Porsche 928.. they won at Button willow, but both their cars failed to finish this LeMons.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PviZvh-xZMY"]YouTube- V8olvo Rolls at 24 Hours of LeMons Arse-Freeze-a-Palooza[/ame]
Steven, one of our "radio jockeys" and great helping hands:
Our X on track, heading into turn?
TR7, post contact with the V8 volvo, they managed to get it back on track until something else died. This is a Buick V6 powered TR7 that had serious rear brake lock-up problems. Not the penalty on the fender "Amazing! we hav ethe worst car and the worst drivers." one hundred times written on the car as a penality..
Failed weld on the roll cage of that MGB... folks, don't fool aroung with safety in race cars.. your driver's life depends on what is put in the car and should be held to the highest standard.
Front brake pads from a FORD mustang.. worn down past the backing, into the piston, fried the brake caliper too:
The cause of our 18 minute pit stop, front brake pads down to the backing:
Chris & me, changing front brake pads, other members of our crew did the other side:
Diane and me trying to figure out how to keep the X engine alive for the remainder of this LeMons:
Across the way, the Porsche 928 with a sized engine. Two of their drivers where Mark Anderson, Mark Kibort. Two of the most experienced pro 928 drivers out there.
The "Bird" went Off Roading:
Another "Off Roading" BMW, this one had a M3 engine stuffed into it.. fast, yes, but that is not the only thing that matters:
This Porsche 944 was born as a race car, these folks believed the car would take them to a win.. The nudged Pel (one of our drivers off the track) then suffered a broken front suspension part which caused them to crash.. Karma? Here they got a penalty for passing under a yellow flag... "Hot Rod Porsche Drives Should Not Pass Under Yellow"..
The difficult way to build a mid-engine car, Angry Hamster. While their team of real engineers and great fab shop proved nice, I believe they under estimated what really happens at a LeMons race. The shop brewed motorcycle to RX7 rear axle failed. Then the started bolts came un-done, over heated and that was it:
Hurling Moss, BMW z00z, Class L2 winner, the car we were chasing. The car was well driven, stayed out of trouble and it did not break:
Our X at the starting line up day two:
How our morning on day two started:
This X has altered the perception of what this car is capable of for those who follow LeMons...
LeMons racing has also proven to be a good indicator of what stock street cars have what it takes to be a endurance racer and which cars sell on marketing, advertising and other things far from the reality of what has been designed and put into them..
Bernice
We were still dealing with chattering under breaking until mid-afternoon when we HAD to change the brake pads. The hope was those pads would last until the end of this race, but they did not.This cause a 18 minute pits stop to change both set of front pads, check the engine (which was down on power, likely due to a broke header tube and failing piston), change drivers, re-fuel and get the car back out on the track. We knew this would be the last race on this engine due to the amount of track time on it. It's survival is also a tribute to the toughness designed into this engine by Aurelio Lampredi and others who worked with him at FIAT on this engine.
This engine started out with about 80,000 miles on the clock.. then taken apart to make sure all was well, then put back together pretty much stock, did about 10 track days of testing, the first LeMons race where it over heated and loss a head gasket which was replaced and finished the race, then got motorcycle carbs which upped the power, some more track day testing, then completed a LeMons race at Button Willow (top twenty again), and finally finished this LeMons race.. If there is any doubut of the durability, reliability and toughness of this engine, our LeMons racing endeavor is proof of just how capable this little engine really is and why FIAT kept this design in production with all it's variation for so long..
All the fellow LeMons racers who have been around this X1/9 I spoke with has been totally impressed and surprised with the performance of this x1/9.
Might we have done better if the transponder did not cause problems early on, no problems with brakes or etc??? In many ways, it does not matter..we all had great fun doing this. The drivers did a SUPERB job out there on track staying out of trouble. The new paint even saved us once when we got black flagged for making contact, but when we appeared at the penalty area not a scratch was found. The judges comments were, "unless you fixed the body work between the track exit and here, there is no contact, back on the track."
We came out of this LeMons race without a scratch on the new paint.. that says much indeed about our drivers..
Just how fast is this X at LeMons?
Here is a real time shot of the timing board mid-Sunday afternoon:
We were running 14th overall, best lap time of 2:25:xx (car number 68). EyeSore Racing's (some of my favorite LeMons racing folks) turbo Miata which won second place overall and a Porsche 928 that was prepped by a pro-race shop with one of the best Pro Porsche drivers did a a 2:19:xx.. While the Miata went on to take second place overall, the Porsche 928's engine seized on day two. Or, we are about 6 seconds slower than some of the fastest cars at LeMons..
Here the car list from 2009 ThunderHill. It's really the "People's Curse" ballot.
We are planning to return to another LeMons race at Sears Point Race way in March.. with much work to do before then.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
End of the race, we drove the X back on the trailer:
These two "really got into it" and ended up with the V8 volvo on it's roof. This is the other car run by "Evil Genius" racing who also ran the Porsche 928.. they won at Button willow, but both their cars failed to finish this LeMons.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PviZvh-xZMY"]YouTube- V8olvo Rolls at 24 Hours of LeMons Arse-Freeze-a-Palooza[/ame]
Steven, one of our "radio jockeys" and great helping hands:
Our X on track, heading into turn?
TR7, post contact with the V8 volvo, they managed to get it back on track until something else died. This is a Buick V6 powered TR7 that had serious rear brake lock-up problems. Not the penalty on the fender "Amazing! we hav ethe worst car and the worst drivers." one hundred times written on the car as a penality..
Failed weld on the roll cage of that MGB... folks, don't fool aroung with safety in race cars.. your driver's life depends on what is put in the car and should be held to the highest standard.
Front brake pads from a FORD mustang.. worn down past the backing, into the piston, fried the brake caliper too:
The cause of our 18 minute pit stop, front brake pads down to the backing:
Chris & me, changing front brake pads, other members of our crew did the other side:
Diane and me trying to figure out how to keep the X engine alive for the remainder of this LeMons:
Across the way, the Porsche 928 with a sized engine. Two of their drivers where Mark Anderson, Mark Kibort. Two of the most experienced pro 928 drivers out there.
The "Bird" went Off Roading:
Another "Off Roading" BMW, this one had a M3 engine stuffed into it.. fast, yes, but that is not the only thing that matters:
This Porsche 944 was born as a race car, these folks believed the car would take them to a win.. The nudged Pel (one of our drivers off the track) then suffered a broken front suspension part which caused them to crash.. Karma? Here they got a penalty for passing under a yellow flag... "Hot Rod Porsche Drives Should Not Pass Under Yellow"..
The difficult way to build a mid-engine car, Angry Hamster. While their team of real engineers and great fab shop proved nice, I believe they under estimated what really happens at a LeMons race. The shop brewed motorcycle to RX7 rear axle failed. Then the started bolts came un-done, over heated and that was it:
Hurling Moss, BMW z00z, Class L2 winner, the car we were chasing. The car was well driven, stayed out of trouble and it did not break:
Our X at the starting line up day two:
How our morning on day two started:
This X has altered the perception of what this car is capable of for those who follow LeMons...
LeMons racing has also proven to be a good indicator of what stock street cars have what it takes to be a endurance racer and which cars sell on marketing, advertising and other things far from the reality of what has been designed and put into them..
Bernice
