cayman gtr?

 

All the parts we need to get the car running are on order and we should have them by Friday. Looks like we will make it after all, but here's to hoping that nothing else goes wrong because Doug has aged about 5 years in the last 3 days due to this and other things (like having our 3rd transit driver pull out). Like you said, Jon, One Lap is actually going to be a stress reliever for Doug and I now, which is ... insane.

While I wanted to just use my car at this point to save us the scrambling, I am weary about it it due to the fact that it is my only car, currently. It will see One Lap soon enough.


Devin

 

Yea.. don't worry though, making One Lap the stress relief makes for a better effort.. trust me, I speak from experience..

Having Keith pull out kinda sucks though, as that third driver gives a bit of sleep time. This will be my first One Lap with only two, and I am slightly worried about it. I did get a slight test this weekend, and I wasn't 100% happy with the results.

 

Keith pulled out sometime back in 2007 as he has a wedding to go to in Japan that week. We've had two other transit drivers besides him pull out (1 being a sponsor that didn't understand the whole sponsorship concept, I'll tell you at SouthBend).

Doug and I are either going to two-man it or get a third to join. We're in contact with two previous One Lappers who would have missed this year in order to see if they want to transit with us. Should know sometime today how our situation will work out. Two-manning it is definitely do-able, but with the amount of time I spent blogging, picture uploading, video downloading, etc. while in the car, we really depended on that third driver.


Just out of curiosity, what was off in the test last weekend and are both GTPs ready at this point or is one still being worked on?


Devin

 

So it’s time for my annual One Lap of America prediction list – who is going to be at the front of the field, who I think is going to be strong, and who I think might surprise some people. Having actually started this list about a month ago, the surprises are more in who isn’t coming than who is. Ron Adee and his 800 whp + viper are not coming back. Brian Smith vacated the Henessey Viper and picked up a ride in a Motorsports Technology Incorporated Viper, but then it was crashed by the owner so he isn’t coming. A couple of drivers played musical chairs in the TopSpeed Subaru, but in the end with Luke Russell on the list the team decided efforts were better placed elsewhere.

Of course it would be easy to say, “Well, DaVia will win his fifth in a row for sure now,” but that’s not the case. What this leaves us with is more questions than usual. Yes DaVia is the favorite, but that hasn’t really changed in the past three years anyway, what changes is the cast of people who have a shot at knocking him off the top of the mountain.

So here it is, for better or for worse, the list of who I think will be at the top of the heap at the end of the week.



1) DaVia/Wickstrom, Porsche 911
I might have said it wouldn’t be easy to predict him as the winner, but I didn’t say I wouldn’t predict him as the winner. Last year I called him the tick-tock Croc, waiting for the faster guys to fall into his jaws for another taste of victory. With four wins in a row now, I can't say much different. DaVia is like erosion – always there, always taking place, and competitors don't know how much they have lost until the results are in the history books. He will have challengers in the form of speedy cars, but his track record and reliability over the inexperience and equipment of the people trying to knock him off leave me to put him on top again.


2) Hertzberg/Popp, Mongoose GTP
This car can be fast. Danny Popp can be fast. Mechanical issues kept him from clinching the top spot in 2005 and 2006 but he was running up front when his car was running. Now he is coming back in a mid-engine LS7-powered car. I kept bouncing around as to where to predict this team would finish, but I can’t justify putting them anywhere else in the top ten other than here or first, since it’s the cars first One Lap, it’s going here, though I honestly believe if it finishes, it will be a spot higher.

3) Keen/Barnes, Porsche Cayman GT-R
This hasn’t been officially announced yet, but I have done some digging and this will be the entry. Because there hasn’t been an announcement, I am not sure how much of the driving duties will be shared by each, but both drivers are very good, Donie Barnes has lots of autocross experience, and Leh Keen has lots of Porsche experience and the third place at One Lap in 2007. The car is 400whp, and the effort is sponsored by Farnbacher-Loles, so the prep work should be immaculate, and the driving top-notch.

4) Corcoran/Corcoran, Chevrolet Corvette
The usual rock-solid top-five contenders had some issues last year, one in the form of a Mid America tire barrier. I expect that we will see a more solid effort with more development time this year on what was his new-for-07 suspension setup, which should net the Canadian father-son team a top five. This is also the team that scares me. Dan hasn’t run fast enough to win before, but he went faster in pre-season testing than anyone, and has the experience to run a smart event. If Dan can come in and get the win, you can bet it will be a crowd favorite.

5) Clarke/Lipperini, Acura NSX
Crazy man Lipperini and car-owner Clarke are coming back this year in an Acura NSX. In 05 they ran a GT40 kit, in 06 a near-stock STI, and in 07 were on the list in a Lotus that never showed up. Lipperini's One Lap schmorgasboard isn't any different than his roadracing In the wheel-to-wheel stuff Lipperini runs FWD, RWD, and anything in between and wins championships. Whatever he is driving you can bet it will be at its limits.

6) Manuel Da Silva/Christine Da Silva, 2001 Porsche 996TT
This pair is back for 2008, and they are bringing back a “sister car” to DaVia’s. They are usually in the top ten, and with more horsepower I am probably missing the call on this one. They may very well be in the top 5 and even competing for top three.

7) Krolewicz/Krolewicz, Mongoose GTP
...and we come to me. This is the car I was supposed to drive in 2007 that didn't make it. It is "Version 1.0" of the Mongoose GTP, and has a 4-speed automatic transmission, stock LS7 and an aluminum monocoque. (compared to the composite chassis of Popp's car) That doesn't mean this car is a slouch. It is still sub 2800-lbs, and is putting 404 horsepower to the rear wheels. It still has the super-slick downforce-producing prototype bodywork, and still blew the field away at the 2007 Kit Car Run N' Gun. Just because it isn't the faster of the two GTPs doesn't mean it will be among the "all remaining cars" group – that being said, looking at testing times they seem to put me in the fifth and sixth place range.

8) Chuck Veth/Adam Strelczuk, 2004 Porsche 911 GT3
Chuck Veth has run a few One Lap of America events, in a much less prepared Porsche, and usually came home at the back of the teens. He has also co-driven with Mark DaVia (2003) so he knows what he is doing, and knows what it takes to run up front. This year he has brought a Porsche GT3, and was running very fast at the BeaveRun One Lap school. If he shows the same speed daily that he did at the end of the weekend at BeaveRun, he may finish a couple of spots higher.

9) Chris Winkler/Rob Jones Dodge Hennessey Viper ACR.
This is a strange one on the entry list. This is factory ACR test driver Chris Winkler at the wheel of a Henessey Viper, a ride that Brian Smith usually took. Chris knows his way around a Viper, and around a racetrack. Chris is soft-spoken which in much of my experience will make him terror on a track. If he had more One Lap experience, I might place him higher.

10) Hall/May/Clay, BMW 135i
Speed World Challenge driver and One Lap veteran James Clay is joining the fun this year by joining up with One Lap veterans Alex May and Victor Hall in a BMW 135i that Clay told me, “has just enough power to be reliable.” I know that these guys have divided up the tracks to pre-run, and are going for as much blood as they can collect. It’s a strong group, in a strong car, with a smart approach. Could be fun to see what happens.


So there it is, my prediction at the top 10.. as I look at it, there are another five or so that I would put up there. With the very front being a bit odd, the race for sixth place on back can be insane. We might easily see the next five reversed with the ones I just put up there. So what’s a nervous hack of a fortune teller to do to cover his butt? Put up 11-15 of course.


11) Tony Swan/Mary Seelhorst, Nissan Skyline GT-R
The magazines rave about it so what better way to prove it than by handing it to Car & Driver hot shoe Tony Swan. Tony has given some very good runs in much lesser equipment, and we have seen him put in top-10 caliber runs at individual events. With the strength of the Skyline, he can knock on the door to the top-10 and maybe even get invited in for a drink.

12) Erich Heuschele/Ralph Gilles, 2008 Challenger SRT8
Erich “Hollywood” Heuschele is back after a year off in 2007. He is usually in a Dodge, and he is usually going fast. He has class wins and a few top-tens in this event. I am putting the team in twelfth because that’s where I think he will run daily, but when people in front of him break, he will move up. This is more of a “won’t finish any lower” prediction than a “will finish here” prediction.

13) Lier/Stewart, Porsche GT3
Peter Lier teamed up with Adam Breakey in 2007 to finish sixteenth even with some issues. This year he is bringing a different car, and different co-driver Ian Stewart. Don't expect teething problems from this team though, Lier and Stewart have been autocrossing this GT3 together for the past few years, with Ian bringing home an SCCA Solo National Championship in it in 2007. Ian now also has some roadracing under his belt, including a National win at Roebling Road in March. If Ian combines his newfound roadrace maturity with his autocross ability to be fast out of the box, and Lier can put up good times at the tracks he knows, this team might make me look very wrong by tearing their way into the top 10.

14) Johnson/Midgley, Honda Civic
The H.A.R.T. Civic that captured 5th place in 2006 and suffered a bad-luck failure in 07 is back. If not for an over the road camshaft failure caused by a loose bolt these guys might have grabbed another top-five last year. Like with 2006, I don't think they will have the speed to outright run up front, but they should have consistently solid runs. If the wet stuff falls or the big boys start breaking, these guys will be climbing up.

15) Braun/Creasy, VW Beetle TDI
At one point I looked at a results sheet with these guys up front and I thought, "where the f**** did they come from." In 2006 we heard about this car being a 12-second TDI, and in 2007 it found the speed... and a guard rail. To add insult to injury Braun also found a guard rail in his replacement car, and he is excited about the chance to improve on his 2007 results.

So there it is, and writing it what I have realized is that though the front of the field might have thinned a little in terms of known teams, it has made the prediction about the rest harder. Many strong top-20 guys have come in with faster cars, and I think the density is going to be high in the eighth to twentieth place range. Expect to see close lap times and mistakes as this group pushes each other looking for the top-10.

Again, every time I look at the field, I see a field compressed to fusion-levels for the top 10.. It really is going to be fun to watch, and in the interest of still covering those I think will be players, here are some others to watch:

??) Carl Warren/Don Kahn, Ultima GTR
Carl snuck into the top five last year with the help of some attrition, but also with improvement in driving from 2006. To say the Ultima is a formidable car wouldn't be doing it justice, and even with no attrition Carl may have improved enough to land longtime Lap Dog Don Kahn's car in the top-10 for the second year in a row – so be on the lookout.

??) Rankins/TBA, Subaru STI
My last-minute ride from last year, Rankins is coming back for his third One Lap of America, and looking to improve on the tenth place overall that he and I fought to get last year. Can Rankins do it? I think he can, but I also think that he will still need some help from the attrition that the event saw in 2007.

??) Wind/Clancy/Ori, Neon SRT4
The little Neon that can. Though this isn't the car that I coined that term with, this one is the one that backed up the title last year by bringing home a fifth place - outrunning some very fast Subarus to take the class win in Mid Priced Sedan as well. This year Doug Wind is coming back with one of his 2007 co-drivers, Devin Clancy, and this pair will be assaulting the tracks that fit their styles and trying to improve on last year's results.

??) Eadeh/Fuchs, Ford GT
Fast car, fast drivers. They got into the top 10 in 07, and I expect them to run in the teens and be ready to sneak up there again this year depending on how fortunes go.

??) Greg Hagopian/Enrique Ramirez, 2005 Dodge Neon
Fast last year for sure, this team can also play for the front. They had a mid-week intercooler hose issue that set them back some last year, and then a crash that finished them off.. if luck goes better, so will they.

 

so yea...... heres my ride....

it SHOULD be as fas as anything out there threw the corners.... but lacks in hp.....

we are shooting for a top 3....








couple cool things about this car that the normal one dont have is Motons... carbon hatch with lexan rear window.... alot of trik computer stuff.. gt3 abs sytem.. left foot braking stuff.... set up extremly well.... cermic brakes...

 

So Leh, now that the cat is out of the bag, what will the driving duties look like?

I am assuming that Barnes will at least handle the autocross, and maybe the skidpad and BMW with you running the road courses?

 

Jon K update time...


This past weekend my dad and I ran a mini-one lap test, and it went a little something like this:

Friday April 18: Left Columbia, SC at 7:30pm to drive 700 miles overnight to New York, New York. I drove from 11:30pm until 5:30 am. We Stopped in a rest area for two hours, pulled into my Great-Grandmother's house in the Bronx at 7:30 am.

Saturday April 19: Spent the day in NYC with my Great Grandmother, I stayed up until 12:30am watching the IndyCar race.

Sunday April 20: Woke up at 4:30am, drive 1.5 hours to Lake Waramug Connecticut, drop my dad off so he can run a 62-mile footrace. I drove to Statford and participate in an Autocross, winning the street tire pax class driving an H-stock Chevrolet Cobalt. I drive back to pick up my dad who is just finishing up his 62 miles.

We leave Connecticut at 8:00 pm, heading for Nelson Ledges Racecourse in Ohio 447 miles away. I drive till roughly midnight.

Monday April 21 3:30 am, my dad needs sleep so I get up and finish the drive to Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio to meet the Mongoose guys at the shop. We load up the new Mongoose truck to head over to Nelson to do a test day.


The Mongoose Motorsports 18-wheeler in the Nelson Ledges paddock.

We get to Nelson about 10:30, and unload to go test. I wish I had more pictures, but I stayed too busy. Dean, one of the car builders, takes the yellow car out to test the transmission and new tune (417whp) and it stops running on course, he needs a tow-in. The Yellow car would spend most of the rest of the day being worked on.


Mongoose GTP 2.0 - teething issues continue on the brand new car.

I worked on the brakes of car 1.0 for most of the day. It's building too much pressure in the booster, and giving me very little brake feel. It stops, almost too well without giving me the ability to modulate, and the "soft" pedal is not very confidence inspiring. I try closeing off the booster and uh, that didn't work. I try crimping the line, but it still build pressure slowly, and I finally settle for removing the check valve in the vacuum line it works better, but still not great.

About that point they finished figuring out the yellow car, and the report is that the brakes feel good, so I go take it out. I run 4 or so laps in it and decide that I should stop, as the car feels very different than the orange car, and I don't want to go bulding bad habits that might hurt my speed in the orange car. Overall the Yellow one is faster in a line, and feels like it has more overall grip, with not as much understeer. The brakes also feel better, and overall I think despite its teething issues, it's going to be a faster car.

I did run decent times though, times good enough to run top-15 the last time One Lap of America visited in 2005.

At that point I decided to put on the One Lap tires and scrub the release mold stuff off of them, and then decide to do a One Lap simulation.. warm-up lap, then three hard laps from a standing start.

Two things became apparent as soon as I launched - 1) I am going to have to leave a note on the dash to remind me to start in first.. I forgot to go back to the lowest gear and launched in 4th. It doesn't make for speed. It also disrupted my rythm as I hunted for the right gear over the first few corners.

I sucked it up, got my head back in it and turned my two fastest laps of the day still leaving a decent amount of the table. I could speculate on where it put me, but I did get practice so it wouldn't be a *true* test. I will stand by the fact I feel that unless I really pull out some good stuff, I will be 6th or 7th daily.


Out of the seven cars testing at Nelson on monday including an IT7, a BMW club racing M3, a Formula Ford, a very fast Honda Civic and the other GTP that was there, only this Formula 2000 turned faster laps than the GTP Version 1.0.

For a control test, we sent Dean out in the Yellow car to do a One Lap run, and his times would have put him 27th - 29th in 2005, depending on if it was run 1 or 2.

At that point I was done for the day, opting to put the car away and save it for One Lap.

We then left for home at 6 pm, and arrived home at 3:05 am Tuesday morning. I drove from 6 pm till 10:30 pm, and then from 1 am till 2 am.

For those paying attention, from the point I got up at 7 am on Friday until I woke up Tuesday morning at 8 am, I had slept roughly 18 hours over four days, which is hopefully less than One Lap. I was more tired than I would have liked, so we will see how the full week goes.

 

So how do driving duties get split up? Are their rules on such things about who drives where or how many hot laps each driver takes?

I do have a bit of a gift for doing very long hours and being sleep deprived and still functioning decently so maybe that would be helpful to such an event.

 

Really it depends on the team. As far as rules.. no, there are no rules about who drives where. I will be the only one competition driving Mongoost GTP version 1.0, and my dad will only drive transit. When we were in the AMS evo it was the same, with Martin and my dad sharing transit-only duties.

As far as hot laps, sure. For the most part there are two "events" at each track. A morning event and an afternoon event. each "event" is 3 laps from a standing start. You get one lap from the pits to the start/finish line as a reconnisance lap. That's it. No practice other than one lap to put heat in the tires.

Many teams will split driving up between drivers that know different tracks, or just divide it up even when splitting the costs. Most of the serious teams - with some exceptions - run one competition driver at each event. In Leh's case he is getting an autocrosser to come along, so perhaps he will turn the duties over to his co-driver for the autocross and skidpad contests. When we ran the dirt track I saw teams bring along a dirt-track specialist for the one event.

As far as over the road, that again depends on the team. Martin and my dad were great at pretty much letting me sleep all night, and I loved the ability to wake up fresh each day. (I had a solid 11 hours of sleep before No Problem Raceway in 2006..)

I would say that if you have a tallent for long periods without sleep, or you can driver overnight and then sleep in the paddock during the day, it may very well be a good skill to market. One of the reasons I love having my dad with me is that he does great driving most of the night.

 

Wow, this is going to be an exciting event this year, good luck to everybody.


Anyone have contact info for Davia or wikstrom?

 

Wikstrom has a screename over at NASIOC, but I don't know it.. and I doubt it would be reliable anyway as he pops in during One Lap mostly and not too much other times.

DaVia I usually contact through the One Lap message board, but I think you had to have run a One Lap event, or pay $25 to join. Other than that, www.onelapper.com is a new site, open to anyone, and he might have a profile over there, not sure.

 

i didnt know there was a autoX corse.... so yea.. most likely he will do that...

i will drive every event besides that one.... unless something happens where we get nocked out of the top runnings.... in that case.... we will share driving dutys and have fun...



thanks for putting me 3rd in ur predictions....


u putting urself 7th is a lil low i think.... u were being modest....




of corse... all this is considering every car runs with no issues....


how many top running cars will have problems you think?!

 

good luck guys!

 

I really honestly want to thank you guys who have done and are doing this race. Sharing your thoughts, input and feedback is a huge blessing to those of us who would consider this.

After meeting the guys at the BeaveRun school last year it went from being something that I thought was far beyond reach to something that seemed much more a fun bit of brotherhood that I had to try at some point. I still feel that way and for you guys to go out of your way to kick us some knowledge sure does make the brotherhood aspect seem a lot more palpable.

Thanks again! It means a lot.