Arno's Mk4 daily (now with more orange)

I like it. I wasn't totally sold on the idea at first, but I must admit the orange really does go with the rest of the car.

Video Post: Pike's Peak Porsche Cup car (qualifying)

A great clip I saw over on Speedhunters...bottom half of the course, Porsche Cup car, what's more to ask for? This car blitzed Pike's Peak on race day, easily taking the record in '2wd Time Attack.'

_WRS

Between a rock and an oil well

Motorsport is a tough business. It's expensive, has high risk and low monetary rewards, and is increasingly ignored by more and more of the populace. The waning popularity of even the 'mainstream' series like Indycar and NASCAR are proof enough. Small series have their die-hard fans, but the reach is not what it once was.



Even if you have the desire, maybe 50% of the cash and some connections to get a team started or perhaps even drive in a series, chances are you aren't going anywhere, or at least not very far without a huge influx of cash. In today's world there are so many possible outlets for marketing dollars and advertising budgets that convincing a company to spend a significant portion of that on motor racing is increasingly difficult.



Return on investment, public perception of the brand and what it stands for are all weighed very carefully and if the numbers don't add up, they don't get involved. Let's face it, with global climate change on everyone's lips, regardless of what you believe, it may not be best to be perceived as being in support of burning through our finite oil supplies like $1 per gallon gas is just around the corner again. (it won't be)



Before the start of the 2010 American Le Mans season for example, there were a number of rumors about which cars and teams would be making their return to the series and which would not. The worldwide recession hit motor racing as hard, if not more so, than many industries and even the entry of teams as great and constant as Dyson Racing were in doubt. Surely Dyson Racing, a team synonymous with North American sports car racing, would not let a thing like a few dollars of sponsor money keep them from returning to the ALMS? It's like the old saying goes, death, taxes and Dyson Racing, or something like that...



At any rate, Dyson's two main sponsors of Mazda and BP did sign back on, if not with enough to field a 2-car team, enough to do a full season with one. BP, with their biobutanol 'green' fuel was particularly important. Not only were they a crucial supplier of funds for Dyson (*one would assume) they also went hand-in-hand with the 'green' image that the ALMS has been promoting. After all, renewable biobutanol, which can run in a regular gasoline engine without any modifications, is made from fermented biomass and is pretty handy when it comes down to it.



So, how about this Deepwater Horizon oil spill problem then? Yeah...kind of a big issue for BP, and more importantly the world in general. The effects of this whole thing, which if you read up on could be far beyond the scope of any current guesstimates currently bouncing around the talking heads of the networks, are going to be huge and far-reaching. Lives have been lost, livelihoods will continue to be lost, and we could end up with entire species gone for good, mainly thanks to the simple fact that 'to er is human.'

So Dyson, whom up to now have probably been counting their lucky stars that they picked up enough sponsorship to run the season without dipping into too much of Team Principle Rob Dyson's pocket, are likely in a bit of a conundrum. What do you do when the name stuck on the side of your car is now in headlines across the globe (although not enough of them to be honest) in the worst possible way?



If you're the man with the money, like a Tiger Woods type situation, you can drop the bad news and pick up a little positive PR on the flipside. When you're Dyson Racing, simply thankful for some dollars towards the budget and trying to win races, what do you do? It's not so simple to say 'thanks a lot, but we're going to dissolve our relationship because well, we don't need any bad PR.'



I'm sure it has been discussed by the guys at Dyson, and thus far I have seen no word from them on any official stance on the matter. Probably a smart move since after all they're no dummies, but eventually something will need to be said. If and when members of the BP executive staff are taken down in various scandals and resignations, and the world has been forever altered thanks to the massive amount of oil and carcinogenic treatment being used by BP, a decision will have to be made: End the relationship or go down with the ship. It's not an easy decision to make but it's one which will have to be made at some point. Like going to the dentist when you know you have a cavity. There will be some pain and hardship, but in the end you'll be better off.

_WRS

Pike's Peak LIVE NOW

check it out!

Pic post: Flying Lizard Porsche

Less than one month to Lime Rock...

_WRS

To continue the thought

In my last post I touched on some of my frustration with living in a the most metropolitan area in the USA, and being a 'car guy.' Coming from Baltimore, where it was very easy to go from city to perfect, fairly empty and challenging back roads in about 10-15 minutes maximum, to a city like NYC can be frustrating. Here it takes a minimum of 30-45 minutes to get to something other than stop lights and divided highway (and that's being generous) and even then more time to get to a road that you can really wind it out on and be alone with your thoughts. (and not around a million mini vans and taxi cabs) Then another 30-45 minutes (don't forget about traffic at the Lincoln!) to get back home...it's exhausting.

Now that I have lived in NYC for about 5 years, the first three of those years being without any kind of car, I now rarely drive for any sort of reason other than basic transportation. That bothers me. It's a frustrating predicament to be in as someone who has always very much enjoyed the act of driving. I can recall more than one vacation or trip where I enjoyed the route more than the results.



I'm not sure what the solution is. Perhaps I'm just too lazy to find the fun places to drive near my apartment, but I have yet to see anything other than the recently repaved part of the BQE that makes me think anything other than 'this bump is going to hurt, please don't smash my oil pan.' I'm by no means downing NYC car culture and those in and around the tri-state area by the way. Quite the opposite in fact...to be a 'car guy' here requires a diligence like none other, just pure, unrelenting dedication and sacrifice.

To run a modified car in NYC means to subject yourself and your vehicle to any number of hazards that are beyond the scope of 90% of the rest of the country. Baltimore was never a cake walk when you were downtown, but it's definitely not like one of the Boroughs. You break down here, you don't find a nice side street to leave it on until you can borrow a trailer. There will be no spot, no parking lot, no anyplace that will be safe from tow-trucks and tickets. It's rough, and not for everybody. Maybe not even for me.

Had I grown up here I can't say I'd be the same person I am now (obviously) or would even care about cars, but while I'm here I owe it to myself to find out more about what makes the NYC scene tick. I've been saying that for years, now it's time to investigate...watch this space...

_WRS

Pic Post: (Sebring flashback edition) - SVRA Porsche 911 RS / RSR

I've been having irrational day dreams about owning / buying / restoring an older 911 the past couple of days. I blame the latest book I've been reading, From R to GT2
The Racing Porsches: 911 & 930 by John Starkey. So far I'm up to the 1975 3.0 RSR (the car pictured is not a 3.0 RSR however, probably a replica or an early 2.7 RS) and well, they're just such awesome cars. Perfect, in a word, and I know that is very common knowledge but they just are. Simple, with everything you need and nothing you don't: CIS injection, lightweight, no ABS, no power steering, pretty much bulletproof. This is an RSR:



As long as I'm living in NYC however, that's never going to happen. Even if I could manage to afford the car, I'd never be able to afford the extra parking space (which would have to be a garage naturally), not to mention the fact said garage would be underneath of or behind someone else's house. Plus any mid 70s 911 which I could scrape together the cash to buy would likely be a project, and once again, I'm not about to leave thousands hundreds of dollars of tools out of sight and out of reach, several blocks away.

So until the day comes when I have millions of dollars, or I leave NYC, that dream will just have to wait. At least I have a lot of research and learning to do in the meantime.

_WRS

Results: CTSCC EMCO Gears Classic at Mid Ohio

APR Motorsport has continued their upward trajectory with a 2nd place finish in class at this weekend's EMCO Gears Classic at Mid Ohio Sports Car Course. The number 171 Mk5 GTI 2.0t, piloted by Josh Hurley / Kevin Stadtlander were on the podium for the second time in as many races, only just being nudged out by the Bimmerworld 328i who managed to take the ST class win. The #181 had a fair showing, now with a revised driver line-up featuring Ian Baas and Mike Halpin, ending up in 14th position in class.

The #01 S4 and #91 Mk6 GTI were both MIA this past weekend for reasons left unknown, but it seems the reduced strain on the team has perhaps allowed them to focus on the already sorted (and successful) Mk5 GTIs that carried over from the past year. It will be interesting to see what APR decides to do for the rest of the year, whether they decide to remain strictly in ST for the rest of the year, or branch back out into a four car effort.

_WRS

Sources: APR Motorsport / Grand Am

Video Post: In-car from Watkins Glen with Josh Hurley (APR)

I'd like to apologize for my super slacking of updates about the APR gang and their efforts in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge. It's not for lack of caring, mainly just lack of time. (and let's face it, the Le Mans 24 is going to take pretty much any and all focus that I can muster from initial testing and practice, until that checker flag drops on Sunday afternoon.)

APR has not had the break-out year they were likely hoping to have, or continue, after numurous successes last year. Like so many other series, it would seem that legislation which puts turbo motors at a disadvantage has continued to keep the GTIs down on power in ST, and combined with bad luck it's been enough to keep them out of the winner's circle. There have finally been some podium appearances however, so it's not all for naught.

Lime Rock Park saw the 181 car combo of Hurley / Stadtlander just get nudged out of a podium spot, with a 4th place result, but the following weekend at Watkins Glen they managed 3rd in class after having lead for a good portion of time.


This weekend the CTSCC teams are at Mid-Ohio Sports Car course, and it's not looking good so far. Of all four APR cars, only two show up on the qualifying sheets, and only one of those is actually locked into a position, with the #171 Mk5 GTI (now piloted by Baas / Halpin) coming into 24th position and the 181 as not having a qualifying time. It would appear that the #01 S4 (and #91 Mk6) has been put on the shelf for the time being. I'll try and find out a little bit about that, but I suppose the effort of fielding a full 4 cars, in two classes has proven to be more than the APR team can muster, at least for now.

The race is scheduled for 1:15pm start tomorrow, EST.

_WRS

VW Roots (Baltimore's Finest Jetta Club)

Every once in a while it's good to look back on where you came from, and where you managed to pick up this addiction. I've been into cars my whole life, my favorite Matchbox car was a blue Sachs sponsored Porsche 935, so the post and pic series which is forthcoming isn't necessarily exactly where it all started for me, but it's the first time Josh and I would hang out with other people strictly because they shared a similar passion. That group was Baltimore's Finest Jetta Club. Thanks to Josh's camera always being in hand, he was there to take these pictures.



Back in the day, a certain car or model would tend to get really popular in Baltimore, and for a really long time it was all about the Mk2 Jetta. Back then half the cars weren't really sporting anything more than some chrome Hammers and maybe some kind of body kit or some lowering springs, but it was the car to have, no doubt. The 'it' car went onto the 300Z soon after, and the Acura Legend soon after that, but there were those who stuck with the Volkswagens, and those guys were the Jetta Club.



I'll need to check with Josh if he has any other pics, but this series is of the club president, Billy, and his newly acquired Corrado G60. Keep in mind this car was only 3 years old at most when these pictures were shot...and Billy's black 92 GL with the Momo Quasars and modified Maxima body kit was only a year old. Billy was quite the VW head...he lived and breathed it hardcore, and he had an 87 GTI 16v as a more in depth project as well.



The closest thing to this grip of cars these days would be an R32 parked next to a Mk5 Jetta, with a Mk4 20th Anniversary out back.



This 16v was running a full body kit from Autotech (I think?) and was resprayed in a slightly more flashy version of the OEM maroon paint. There wasn't any internet to jump on, no way to know what the other guys were doing except for what you saw in European Car, or what you saw at Bug Out. There was no Waterfest, no H20, no Dubs anywhere at all. Just your catalogs from Neuspeed, Autotech and Techtonics. There were other shops, like JT Motorsport and Rapid Parts, but they didn't have those same glossy mags, or the cache of the 'Big Three.'



Altogether there were probbaly 10-12 hardcore members of Baltimore's Finest Jetta Club, and maybe another 5-6 that would show up on the odd occasion. Most of these guys were getting out of the whole car phase, with families and real life to deal with, so after that first 6-8 months of hanging out at the Polytechnic parking lot on Sunday afternoons, we lost touch with Billy and the rest of the guys. From there we started hanging out with the younger guys at Loch Raven Reservoir, but that's a story for another time.



Who knows, maybe there's a mint G60 Corrado stuffed into some garage in East Baltimore, parked next to a dusty old 16v project that never quite got finished all those years ago. Probably not, but it wouldn't surprise me...just remember that it's guys like this that helped keep the VW scene alive back in the dark ages of Watercooled tuning. Sure the cars look dated and a little tame by today's standards (however the wheels are all hot!), but they were the way things were back then.

_WRS

New Jetta unveiled in Times Square (NYC)

And Katy Perry stands on it. If you plan on buying one of these new bigger / cheaper / more 'merican Jettas, and ever anticipate being near or possibly even somewhat close to Katy Perry, be prepared for this to happen. And as petite as she is, hood dents are never any fun, no matter who caused them.

_WRS

Audi manages the impossible, wins 2010 Le Mans with 1-2-3 sweep

In what turned out to be a brutal race of attrition and failures, the trio of Audi R15s forced all four of the Peugeot 908 HDI FAP cars into retirement, and held on to win, taking the top three spots in LMP1 and win the overall. The #9 car of Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Mike Rockenfeller encountered zero problems and ran a flawless race, finishing in a well-earned first position. It seemed highly unlikely that Audi would be able to take a podium spot, let alone the win, but the Peugeots all succumbed to terminal problems, indicating their blistering fast qualifying pace may have been more of a bluff than most would have assumed.



Clicking off 3:20 laps was not a problem for the Peugeots, who were as much as 5-6 seconds a lap faster than the revised R15 on Wednesday, but it was pace they simply could not keep up. After the top-qualifying #3 908 went out early with tub failure, the #2 car held a commanding lead, hunted by Audis in second, third and sixth. Early Sunday morning the #2 gave up its lead with a blaze of fire from the right bank indicating terminal engine failure.



The #1 Peugeot was then in full attack mode, running lap after lap at qualifying pace before it too went out with a bang just before 7 o'clock. The final remaining #4 908 of Team Oreca Matmut was the lone wolf in the silver Audi herd, and was pressing even harder than the #1, setting fastest lap of the race and very nearly catching the #7 Audi for third position before blowing up in exactly the same spot as the #2 did, with flames from the right back on the out lap from a pitstop.



Clearly they were focused on an all-or-nothing result, and in the end they got nothing.



GT2 saw Porsche return to the winner's circle at Le Mans after many years of missed chances and a complete absence from the podium last year, with the #77 Felbermayr Proton Porsche RSR of Marc Lieb, Richard Lietz and Wolf Henzler, from Team Falken Tire, taking the class win.



The BMW Art Car M3 did not do well, ending up with several punctures and multiple problems before finally being retired. It will also go down in infamy as it caused Tom Kristensen to go off at the Porsche curves on one of those occasions. Still it looked great, even if the results were not such.



Sadly none of the teams from the ALMS fared well, with strong runners such as Corvette and Risi running each other into the ground and allowing the Porsches to step into the win. Highcroft had cooling problems, and Autocon and Jaguar barely managed to start, let alone finish. As they say to finish first, first you must finish, and nothing exemplifies that like this year's 24.

_WRS

Pictures:

www.speedtv.com

Le Mans official Facebook

Arno's Mk4 daily (now with more rim)

For more of that "stanceatsatsicalscenestylez" look. (Schmidt Space Line, 17x8.5" / 17x10") He says he wants to powder them orange but I'm not sold yet. It could work, but I was thinking maybe a nice lavender.





No? Well maybe it's just me then.

_WRS

Dubs at the Beach 2010 - Sunday

After a quick a easy set up on Sunday, thanks to our bitchin' new set up, we had some time to kill before the masses arrived. And boy did they take their time. A very slow start to the event, with a somewhat disappointing total attendance, although considering the number of car out and about over the weekend it wasn't really a total loss.



More than a few BMWs showed up...



NGP had some cool cars on display, including Josh's 325i turbo and Nate's Jetta VR6 remote turbo, plus Dave B's Mk2 GTI 16v turbo. (those not being the Josh and Nate that run this blog)

















Ethan and Dave from 8380 were set up quickly and kicking back as well.



Dave Goodwin's A4 has been re-done yet again, this time with a carbon-fiber / vinyl roof. Pretty trick, and a lot of time (and money) in this machine.



Even with, I don't know, maybe 100 show cars, there was still some nice metal in the fields. Plenty to check out, and honestly it was the first time I managed to see more or less an entire show field since 2002!





















We did manage to catch some blue crab finally. Jason was beyond excited, but the crabs were decidedly less enthusiastic about it, and in fact were downright cross.





Plenty more pics to see over at the Wolfsburg Rennsport Flickr page, so check 'em out.

_WRS

And yes, the 'scene' is ridiculous these days...