Sebring test week

This past Monday and Tuesday were the official test days for the 12 hours of Sebring, and it was the first time we would be able to catch a glimpse of how this year's ALMS series is shaping up thus far. Early indications are quite good. A record number of 28 cars were on the track, and if the testing times are to be believed, 2010 is going to be a real battle.



The top two classes of P1 and P2 were obviously at the top of the heap in terms of lap times, with the Lolo Aston Martin turning in the fastest lap (before finding the crash barriers anyway), but the top two classes are a little spread out in term of times. It will most definitely be a great race come March 20th, but for closest racing you've got to look at my personal favorite, the GT2 class.



GT2 has the highest number of entries, and the field is packed tighter than a brick of freeze dried coffee. The top time was posted by the Risi Competizione Ferrari F430 GT, turning in a 202.9 with Jamie Melo behind the wheel, but the rest of the field was not far behind. The new-ish kids on the block, Team Falken Tire had their 2010 911 RSR right behind, just three tenths back. The rest of the field, including Flying Lizard, RLR, Extreme Speed (who's Tequila Patron Ferrari looks fantastic), and Black Swan were covered by just two seconds, with the Ford GT of Robertson Racing just behind them. The GT2 class is truly going to be anyone's game. The Corvettes were not there, so maybe they'll show up and knock everyone down a peg, but even so they won't have an easy time of it even if they do manage a class pole. There is a real possibility that people were sandbagging, as any good poker player will never show tip their hand that early in the game, but this is the rather obvious class to watch. It usually is...



Finally there is the addition of the LMPC class, which has done a remarkable job of bringing cars to the field. A total of 35 cars is scheduled to take the green flag, which is respectable if not record breaking. The LMPC are spec racers, with a limited number of options for set up, identical chassis, aero and engines. These great looking little race cars slotted right in between the P1 / P2 times and GT2. Primetime Race Group moves to the head of the class for their embracing of Youtube to help promote their efforts this year, and already have a clip up of their LMPC putting in a few laps. It's a great little video, and gives you a real sense of the speed of the course, and the remarkably rough surface these drivers will be dealing with. It also shows that these LMPCs sound really good. I'm usually more of a flat-six guy, but the rumble from the V8 is pretty intoxicating.


For more pics, go check out Speed TV, which has as a couple of galleries up, but for the real experience you have to go to Motorsport.com. They've got a huge number of pics, including many not pictured in Speed's two galleries.

We'll have more to come from Sebring, as Josh and I have our credentials lined up and a couple of connections with some GT2 teams, so should be able to bring a nice inside view of the race. Perhaps not of the entire experience, but at least from the perspective of a couple of the teams duking it out for top spot in GT2. For tickets check out SebringRaceway.com.

_WRS

In case you were wondering

A full set of 18x9.5" et40 wheels can in fact fit all the way around on a Passat B5 without any real hassles. I have to admit being a bit skeptical after Jason sent the test fit shots over a couple weeks back, but here's the proof, live and direct!



Jason went with the very finest in Sumitomo tires (and they gotta be run-flats) for his wagon, and the 225/40 yields just enough of a stretch to fit and give that 'super mad stanced' look. They are not so stretched that they look ridiculous or unsafe, at least not in this man's opinion.



These pics were all taken this past Sunday, but Jason's been too lazy busy to post up about it, so I decided to take it upon myself to do so. I've got to say, the 18s really suit the car, size wise, compared to those 19" boat anchors that used to be on there. I wonder if it handles any better?



And for those who are super picky, Jason's already got the car back on the lift (should be this evening) for a little more lowering up front and some 5mm spacers out back. I guess he's not content with the lack of rubbing considering how much it looks like it should. Not to mention the 'Sorry brah, can't give you a ride home cause my car will rub' excuse is always a good one to have in reserve.



So there we go...all dressed up and just in time for more snow. Jason should have pics of the refinements shortly.

_WRS

Anatomy of a race car - APR Mk6 GTI Build up

Ever wonder what it takes to turn a stone-stock GTI into a seriously competitive machine for this year's Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge? Well wonder no more. APR has been working overtime to replace their aging Mk5s with the new Mk6 this season, and although they weren't ready for the Daytona opener, things are moving along swiftly.



The car was stripped down to absolutely nothing in a mere two days, with every unnecessary bit removed to reduce weight as much as possible. Sound deadening? Gone. Power windows, gone. Sunroof, gone. Plus every little bracket or piece of metal that is deemed as expendable.



Not even the wire harness escaped unscathed, with a huge 14lbs of extra wire ripped out. It's amazing to think how much weight these cars carry in luxury and conveniences for the modern day driver.



Check out the doors....! No need for power windows at 140mph plus.



The cage, like everything else at APR Motorsport, has been done in-house. The motor is currently being rebuilt before re-installation, along with a DXD clutch and rebuilt 6-speed gearbox. APR is typically tight-lipped on power outputs, as you would imagine, but modifications to the 2.0t engine are very limited, with the stock turbo remaining and boost being specified at a very strict limit.



The car just came back from paint, and should be really sharp once all the graphics are done. I'll keep updating as things move along for the 2010.



www.GoAPR.com

_WRS

From the archives... Abt Sportsline Cup 2.0 Jetta

Despite my best efforts, I finally ran out of hard drive space on my trusty Macbook. I fought it for a while, but even after deleting a bunch of unneeded, space-hogging videos and various junk, it had to be taken care of. So I made the purchase a few weeks ago, but oddly enough I'm not the most computer savvy person in the world when it comes to those of the desktop variety. I can solder a chip or repair a connection on a Bosch ECU with the best of them, but crack open a laptop and I'm all question marks.

Josh (blacksquirrel) is the resident computer pro, so I lured him over to Chateau de Rennsport (French / German...sure, why not!) with the promise of some free tacos from De Mole. My Lacie external backup drive had decided to pack it in, awesome, so Josh had to bring his over for the cloning process, which as you can imagine went for much longer than we expected. Pretty typical. At any rate, the plus side of this is that his drive was left overnight for me to complete the process, and lo and behold, it has a bunch of pictures on it that he's too lazy busy to send me for the blog.

This particular shot is a reject (slide film son!) from a Performance VW shoot, probably around 2000 or 2001. I don't recall the owner's name, but he was a really cool guy, who drove all the way from California for the honor of a feature! To Waterfest! Talk about commitment. The car had a full ABT Sportsline Cup widebody, which is in my opinion the best around for the Mk3, along with some other items, the specifics on which escape me. The raw carbon fiber hood perhaps takes away a little and dates the overall style, but there's no faulting the rest of the car. Nice and low without looking silly, OZ wheels, just a nice looking car. A true classic, and proof that VW's have been doing the whole 'stance' thing while the import guys were still rocking et45 Konigs on their Wings West Civics.

For the record, I like imports, so no hate mail please.

On a somewhat related tangent, I was reading Hot Rod today, (eye opening magazine by the way, really well written) and they used the word 'Stance' in a feature story. Does that constitute shark-jumping? Discuss....

Full Sized Pic

_WRS

A Step Backwards... or Up

So this is my first post here on WRS blog. I was hoping my first post would be about the awesome fitment of my new wheels, but unfortunately it doesn't appear that they'll be going on anytime soon. In fact, to be able to get my car back into my neighborhood after all this snow, I had to raise the coilovers up 2 inches and borrow some wheels from my boy Scotto.







So here's how the Passat sits until all this snow melts, or until Baltimore City decides to actually clear the streets of Hampden. Here's a little reason why...

_Jason

Add another to the 'Can not have' list...

As a rule of thumb I don't post very often with information about new models from VW, Audi or Porsche as told by press release, as I feel there are plenty of other places that do that and I don't need to stick my hat into that ring, so to speak. (is that a saying? I feel like I'm getting that wrong) I will however, break this slightly unofficial rule with the following letter to Volkswagen of America, regarding the new Polo GTI*.

* Not destined for the USA.



Dear Volkswagen of America,

Hey, how's it going? Been a while huh, what's new? Me, not too much, just sitting here thinking about how few new cars there are worth buying. Sure there's the Mk6 GTI, which is fantastic looking (aside from the Touareg rear tail lights), but it's a little big, expensive, you know, adult. I have to say...I've heard about the new Polo GTI, and as you may have guessed, I'm a little upset. What? Did you think we wouldn't hear about it? You think the internet would simply not report about the 7-speed DSG gearbox, the 177hp 1.4 twin-charged engine? Or the fact that it has the XDS limited slip differential from its big brother, the Mk6 GTI?

Don't even write back about how you're going to come out with some sort of special edition Jetta coupe for the suckers here in the states. It's going to suck, and suck hard. It will be large, heavy, boring, and probably offered with a lot of chrome trim. It'll be just like a GTi, but not as attractive, slower, and won't handle as well. I can hear the excuses for not selling the Polo already.

' Americans don't buy small cars, especially small hatch backs, and bringing the Polo would be too much of a risk. Look at the Rabbit Golf Rabbit Golf. It doesn't sell nearly as well as the sedans. Money Money money, etc etc etc...'

Well perhaps Americans don't buy lots of smaller cars, or at least not the smallest VWs in large quantities because Volkswagen hasn't SOLD a small car here since 1992. Sure the Mk3 isn't huge, but don't even come at me with saying that the Mk4 or any of the newer models are anything other than mid-sized. Not EVERYONE wants one of those heaps in the driveway. And in case you hadn't noticed, Toyota has moved a pretty good number of those Scion things, which are all pretty damn small compared to the Cadillacs you've been selling as compacts. I also hate to break it to you, but I see way more Honda Fits than I do Rabbits or Jettas. Don't get me started on the Yaris or Prius.

In closing, why don't you grow a pair and see the light like Ford has with their Fiesta? Maybe even throw one into the Rally America series with some serious bank behind and it and get some kids interested in the brand, you know, get them hooked early and all that. Trust me, you should bring it here. You can contact me directly at wolfsburgrs@gmail.com when you want to give me one for evaluation here in NYC. Maybe we can be friends after that.

Signed,

_WRS

P.S. - This car looks way more like the spiritual successor to the beloved Mk2 GTI 16v than the Mk6 GTI. It's a seriously handsome car, and you should sell it in the states.

Is it spring yet?

I guess a little snow never hurt anybody, but I'm certainly tired of dealing with it...

_WRS