The time just before the start of the race is an event all by itself. Every crew member is on the starting grid, it’s literally packed with people. Everyone stands facing the flag for the national anthem, the guys playing the bagpipes walking past the cars all gridded up, the fly-over by the fighter jets, just a few hundred feet up. It’s an awesome site. So I’ve heard. I wouldn’t know. I’m always in the race car getting settled in for the opening stint of the race. Not once have I actually SEEN the jets fly over. I’m always kind of bummed about that as I hear them scream overhead, but that feeling fades as fast as the sound of their engines, because my focus comes back to the start of the race. Easily my favorite part.
I had a great night’s sleep at the hole in the wall motel that no one seems to know about. The place is empty most of the time, and if you’re OK with the subtle overtones of the Bates Motel and can deal with the smell of curry, it is the perfect place to rest before the 25 Hours of Thunderhill. Reminds me a little of that mini-series that was on TV several years back called “The Lost Room”. Very twisted. No, seriously, I got a great night’s sleep!
So we all show up at the track early in the morning. It’s damned cold. The crew is working on the car and getting the last things done that need to be done. Typical morning of race prep. All the drivers got suited up and we climbed in the car one at a time to get our seating position perfect. Once each driver was strapped in and comfortable, the seating position would be marked and initialled. These marks would be used during driver changes so the person helping the entering driver would be sure of getting the new driver’s position just right. Continue Reading »
Well, qualification went OK, but not as good as I had hoped. By the time I got in the car it was just getting dark. Not completely dark, but mostly dark. Dark enough that it got really dark really fast. But not fast enough to hide the spin I had on my out lap. Well, more like my out exit. Really like the very first time I turned the steering wheel even a little bit, I spun the car. Not a full spin, mind you. But enough to watch the apex pass by the nose of my car as I slid 90 degrees off the direction my car should have been pointed. Go Gary!
Seriously, cold tires on this thing are no joke. Not even a snicker. I “thought” about turning the wheel to the right in turn 3 and the ass stepped out. This was while I was on the radio to Marshall bitching about how bad it was driving on cold tires. While putt-putting around the outside of the corner letting cars go past. I was in full on counter steer mode at about 2/10ths, I kid you not. I vote for leaving the same set of rear tires on the car the entire 25 hour race. Continue Reading »
I’m going to try to blog through the 25 Hours of Thunderhill this year. Try and keep everyone up to date here and let you know how our weekend is going.
We’re way ahead of the game already. Last year by this time today we were wrapping up a rebuild of the MPME Scion Racing tC after it barrel rolled in practice on Thursday. So far, zero barrel rolls. We’re going to try to keep it under 3 inversions this year. Fingers crossed.
Today was my first time in the car since the last 25 Hours. Dave McEntee had the car out at Buttonwillow last weekend and the team got to shake the car down a bit and uncover a couple of issues. Yesterday, Mark Hotchkis and Rob Holland got to drive, as did Dave. All got to turn at least a few laps and start to get acclimated to the car. Continue Reading »
Road racing veteran takes his GST Motorsports Subaru over 170mph on the banking at California Speedway on the way to a dominant victory.
When GST Motorsports decided to pull out all the stops on their Subaru Impreza “L” time attack machine for the final session of Round 4 of the Redline Time Attack Series, pro driver Gary Sheehan was ready to unleash the car’s true potential. Ripping off a tire blistering 1:38.396 lap time around Auto Club Speedway’s 2.89 mile ‘roval’ track layout, the time was fast enough to win the Overall Championship by more than 3 seconds over the closest competitor, as well as setting a new track record.
In fact, the lap was so unexpectedly fast that Redline Time Attack officials had to verify that Sheehan didn’t shortcut the track. When the lap was verified, officials turned to the car to ensure the tires were legal and that the GST Motorsports Subaru Impreza “L” conformed to the rules. The car was cleared and Sheehan was announced as the Overall Champion of the event. Continue Reading »
Gary Sheehan got a rare opportunity to drive ex-Formula 1 driver Jo Bonnier’s 1968 McLaren M6B Can-Am racecar at Infineon Raceway. SpeedTV.com was there to document the event. Here is a excerpt of the article from Sheehan’s experience:
I rolled out with a tiny bit of confidence that quickly grew once I started the clutchless upshifts. Now I could accelerate through the gears with very little effort and really feel how the car pulled. MAN! What a feeling! The McLaren just pulled and pulled.
Gary Sheehan returns to World Challenge GT for the racing series’ second visit to the palm lined streets of the Long Beach Grand Prix. Sheehan will pilot the potent ESX Motorsports Subaru WRX STi again in an effort to show that Subaru technology and AWD is a match for the world’s premier high performance street machinery.
“I’m very confident heading into Long Beach this year,” Sheehan said about his return. “The team has had the time and resources required to prepare our Subaru STi appropriately for this level of competition. We had our issues last year, and those are behind us now. I think this little red 4-cylinder rocket is going to make people stand up and take notice!” Continue Reading »
The time just before the start of the race is an event all by itself. Every crew member is on the starting grid, it’s literally packed with people. Everyone stands facing the flag for the national anthem, the guys playing the bagpipes walking past the cars all gridded up, the fly-over by the fighter jets, just a few hundred feet up. It’s an awesome site. So I’ve heard. I wouldn’t know. I’m always in the race car getting settled in for the opening stint of the race. Not once have I actually SEEN the jets fly over. I’m always kind of bummed about that as I hear them scream overhead, but that feeling fades as fast as the sound of their engines, because my focus comes back to the start of the race. Easily my favorite part.
