WOW where to start. Thanks to Mazda, Kumho Tires, BK Motorsports and Road & Track for the hospitality and an awesome weekend. It can only go down hill from here, every other event I go to from now on will be a let down. These guys hooked us up with everything we needed to have a first class weekend, even a drivers suit so we could be right on the wall during the race, at the ALMS and Speed World Challenge races. They even put Jennifer to work as a flag girl. While the BK Mazda did not have great finish it does seem as they now have the reliability to get the 3 rotor to the finish of a four hour race.

Here are some pics I took, camera kind of sucks so not much action:

http://tinyurl.com/ta7zw

 

I will give you $20 to show up at the next autox looking like this...

 

If they would I have let me keep it I would have taken your $20.

 

Nice suit, dood

 

Looks like fun. Im jealous.

 

Jason, I think you need to show them your real driving suit.

 

It was only the one time....

 

Nice photochop, Clyde...

 

never been to Laguna Seca, but it is one my long list of things to do. Looks like a fun weekend. What were you responsible for doing Jason?

 

Nothing, I was just a guest... Jennifer had to hold the flag for about an hour and then we just hung out the rest of the weekend.

Jennifer wants to go up there for a track day now.

 

a track day up there would be awsome. What type of tires would you run for a day up there? Would Kuhmo hook you up on a set of them as well>

 

Just run our V710s.... That is what they are made for. I looked into getting some LMP2 slicks from Kumho but the smallest ones go on a 18X11 wheel. One of the Kumho techs uses some of the take-offs on his Corvette for track days, says they are super hard to mount on his 18X10.5 and he did not think they would fit on anything smaller.

 

would be interesting to see what temps the V710's get up to on a full track, with extended use. Wonder how long they would last (how many laps).

 

You do know that the V710 is a road race tire right?

 

yes, but I'm using my GT-3 and Forza motorsports brain to try and determine where the V710 would fit...is it a super sticky, short life tire...a medium grip, medium life...or low grip, long-life tire. I would assume that a 30 tire wear would be a medium tire in the realm of race/road tires....but I don't have much experience with them. Remember, before you showed me the V710...I had no clue tires like that existed for the average user.

Autocross has opened up a whole new section in my brain...just stuffing it with as much info as I can handle.

 

I went on Sunday, and therefore missed the LeMans race, but greatly enjoyed the Speed TC and GT races, with their standing starts. I really felt "at home" to be at a track named "Mazda Raceway" lol.
Randy Pobst had an electrifying win (not in the Mazda TC car though; but in the GT Porsche), making a pass at the last moment to win in a photo-finish.

I wonder if the RX8 is eligible for Speed World Challenge Touring Car class? seems this is similar to the Grand Am ST class where it already races. it'd be great to see one out there, as the Speed WC races are really exciting.

Now I'm all jazzed up to get back and do a Laguna HPDE once again (first time in the RX8)....

 

Yeah, just watched the Speed GT race last night on the DVR. Sweet drag race between Pobst and Imery on the final straight.

BTW, I don't know all the rules differences between Grand Am and WC, but the ST cars were about 5+ secs off the pace of the Speed Touring cars when they ran Laguna this year.

 

Yeah, as far as I know, Grand Am has a more restrictive set of specs for the respective classes than Speed World Challenge (and thus somewhat lower costs) . So whatever Speedsource does to the RX8 in Grand Am, they would (ostensibly) be allowed more upgrades/modifications if they put a car into World Challenge, hence a faster car. Note that Turner Motorsport does the same thing with BMW 325s in both series.
For whatever reasons, the Protege 3, and now the 6, are the Mazdas of choice in Speed WC touring cars class.

 

There was a great story a while back in Grassroots Motorsports on the Turner BMWs in WC and GAC. Gave all the info on both cars. There are motor, suspension, weight and tires just to start with. The WC was a lot more money to prep over the GAC car, most of it in the motor.