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March 2016

Simraceway at Sebring

March saw the IMSA racing season take on Sebring International Raceway, a track that started as a US Army Air Force base during the second world war and moved on to host the first ever F1 US Grand Prix — but it’s mostly known for holding one of the top endurance races in the world.

 

The 12 hours of Sebring has been running since 1952 and is a top stop for any endurance racer. This challenging 17-turn track has it all — from punishing bumps and high speed sweepers to tight hairpins and perilous sections when the rain hits. Simraceway was well represented in the weekend with Michael Wheldon making his debut in the IMSA Pro Lites series, Matt Bell once again behind the wheel of the Stevenson Audi in GTD, as well as several drivers in the Continental Tire Series.

 

Here’s some updates on how the weekend went for them.

 

Matt Bell- Stevenson Racing Audi R8 LMS

Matt Bell

Matt Bell, teamed with Lawson Aschenbach and Dion von Moltke in the No. 9 Stevenson Motorsports Audi R8 LMS for the 12 hour race.

 

A disappointing qualifying session saw the No. 9 machine start from 11th.To top that off, they also had to replace the gearbox the night before the race.

 

Race day for the 64th annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida dawned bright and clear. Unfortunately, the weather did not hold and made way for an uncharacteristically wet race day providing a unique challenge for the entire paddock, but one for which the Stevenson Audis were more than prepared.

 

Although the second round of IMSA WeatherTech Championship competition marked just the second outing for Stevenson in their new Audi machines, the 2015 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge Championship winning team proved its mettle as they fought through the changing conditions and sailed through a deluge with No. 9 Audi machine running in the top-10 as track conditions deteriorated to the point that IMSA red flagged the race for over two hours.

 

They showed strong pace early in the race and remained in podium contention for a majority of the endurance classic. Despite an afternoon deluge, all three drivers fought through it all and at a couple of points in the race led the field. Unfortunately, an engine issue with just under 3 hours remaining in the race forced the No. 9 machine back to the garage where the condition was diagnosed to be race-ending and the crew had to accept a 16th place finish.

 

Matt Bell said of his race – “Obviously this was not the night we were really hoping for. I was kind of still getting up to speed; I wasn’t as used to the track in the dry on the bumpy track. I was driving along and I got doored by a Lamborghini and got caught in some traffic and I was really on my own then. So I was driving through Turn 13 and everything was fine. Then I entered Turn 14 and the car went down on power. When I backed out of it, I looked in the rear-view camera and there was a huge flame coming out of the back pipe. It didn’t look like a big air-fueled fire so I knew the bodywork wasn’t on fire. I figured it was coming out of the exhaust, so I backed off a little bit, but I didn’t want to let the engine stall because I figured I was running on one bank. So I drove it back to the pits on one bank and tried to keep the speed up so the bodywork wouldn’t catch fire and brought it into the pit and they diagnosed it as a stuck injector which blew out the left side catalytic converter. So it’s unfortunate, but it is what it is. It’s a long race and we are still working out this car. The car was doing great in the wet. Honestly it’s odd that I was more comfortable in the wet than in the dry. So a bit of a disappointing day, but we will collect ourselves and head on to the next race.”

 

Michael Wheldon- Mazda Prototype Lites

Michael Wheldon

“We just finished rounds 1 & 2 of the Mazda Prototype Lites presented by Cooper Tire championship at Sebring International Raceway.  This was my first time in the Elan DP-02 with the Mazda MZR 2.0.  I have raced Pro Mazda before which is the same tub as the DP-02, but that’s where the similarities end.  The DP-02 has a wider track, and larger front tires.  The car also has a full tunnel design underneath which creates double the down-force.  All I can say is the car is an absolute blast to drive.

 

These first rounds were also my first time racing at Sebring.  Most told me it was bumpy, and the track definitely delivered.  I ran with World Speed Motorsports and we showed up last second to the race do to finalizing my funding.  We were behind the eight ball when we showed up.  Thankfully the team did an excellent job and we slowly found our pace and set up as we did testing.  A small gearbox problem ended our test day early, but we knew where we could find speed.  The next day was just practice, and we made more changed to the car and continued to find more pace.  Then came qualifying and we thought we had a good shot at a top five, however, a shortened qualifying do to a accident put us P9.  I knew it was going to be a good race though, as I was up 1.7 seconds when the red flags came up.  We defiantly had the pace of the front runners, just needed some track time.

 

Round 1 started and I passed three cars in the opening corners.  I then passed another a couple laps later, at this point I had some real estate to reel the top four in.  I put in the second fastest lap of the race here, and with three to go made a move for P4.  We were super happy with a P4, and even more exuberant with a front row start for round 2.  Round 2 has a 45 minute four car race for the lead.  After a couple of late yellows I took home P3 and my first podium in the series.  Such an incredible weekend to show up with no knowledge of the car or track and end up with a podium.”

 

Nick Galante with Spencer Pumpelly – Porsche Cayman Continental Challenge

Nick GalanteNick & Spencer were ready to capitalize on a runner-up finish at Daytona with another strong performance at Sebring. Hopes were high after practice where the No. 17 Legistics/RS1/RickieFowler.com Porsche Cayman seemed to handle the Florida heat better than the other ST entrants.

 

Nick Galante qualified the Cayman in seventh and was doing well at the start of the two-hour race when he reported trouble with the handling of the car. The crew determined that a slight bit of contact with another car had broken the Cayman’s sway bar drop link. This resulted in a large amount of oversteer.

 

Galante held on and brought the car in for its scheduled pit stop and driver change to Pumpelly. Not long after taking the reins, Pumpelly was going head-to-head with another Cayman when he suddenly lost the ABS.

 

“As a driver, when you assume you have ABS, you’re hitting the brake pedal pretty hard,” Pumpelly said. “In the Cayman, without ABS, all the brake bias goes to the rear. As I was trying to recycle the ignition and the master to get the ABS back, I got the car to shut off. It took me awhile to get the car going again; I was doing my best PC car impression out there. In the process, we lost a couple spots, but I nursed it home.”

 

Pumpelly crossed the line in 10th, taking home valuable championship points to bank with the team’s Daytona performance.

 

Tyler McQuarrie – Porsche Cayman GT4  Continental Challenge

Tyler McQuarrie

Tyler took a week off from jumping trucks in the Robby Gordon Stadium Truck Series to compete in his first Continental Tire series race of 2016 with the CJ Wilson Racing Porsche Cayman GT4 alongside teammate Till Bechtolscheimer. After Till started a fine 6th place, Tyler took over for the closing stint & was involved in a tight battle for 3rd but wasn’t able to make a move in the last laps and had to settle for 5th place in the end.

 

 

Greg Liefooghe – Porsche Cayman Continental Challenge

Greg Liefooghe“Our race went well with a P8. We got a lot of points to currently hold 4th in the standings and it sets us up for a good start of the championship. My co-driver, Ari, is making big strides every race in his first pro season and having only started racing a little over a year ago. He drove from P17 to P13 which is very good and proves our progression is on target. The guys at Next Level European did a great pit stop and I got out in 11th. From there it was a survival race with the track being as hot and greasy as it had been all week. Up next is our home race at Laguna, we know the MX5s will be out of touch but we’ll shoot for a win in the Non-mx5 class.”

 

Nico Rondet / Jim McGuire- Audi S3 Continental Challenge

Nico Rondet

“We had high hopes to return to Sebring with a much improved Audi S3… and it was, but we still were having some minor transmission issues, and the biggest problem, is that right now, our Audi is just too slow. The closest to the front we could get was about 2.5 seconds.

 

Then in Qualifying, Jim was surprised by one of the Mazdas’ which was off in turn 1, as he tried to avoid it, he lost the car, and ended up hitting the wall, hard enough that we could not take the start the next day. Jim was a little bit sore, but mostly fine. He did succeed in avoiding the stranded Justin Piccitel who he would have T-boned!

 

 

Not what we were hoping for, but we will fight another day!”

Spotlight on Simraceway F3 Racer Alex Coigny

Last weekend Alex Coigny, a frequent racer in our Simraceway F3 series and 5th place finisher in the F3 Winter Series Championship, headed back to his home country of Switzerland to begin his European racing schedule for 2016 in the VdeV European GT Sportscar Championship.

 

Alex in the Cockpit, obviously trying to remember the wise words of Tom Dyer

Alex in the Cockpit, obviously trying to remember the wise words of Tom Dyer

The VdeV is an endurance series that frequents the top racing tracks throughout Europe. The team will also be contesting several rounds of the International Endurance series for races of 12-24 hours in length. Alex will be driving for GPC Motorsport with fellow Swiss driver I’Alexander in a purpose built GT prototype car called a Vortex with a Corvette power plant that nearly matches the pace of the current top line GT3 cars in its debut race weekend! The first race was at Barcelona, which would be familiar to most race fans as the home of F1’s pre-season test days just a few weeks ago.

 

Alex ran the first and last stints which included some slippery wet weather conditions. He was able to take the car to the checkered flag but unfortunately, due to some technical issues causing some extensive time spent on pit lane, a good result was not forthcoming. The team is determined to get these issues sorted before the next race at Le Mans Bugatti course in April as the potential of the car was already apparent. Also, watch out for another familiar face in the car later on in the year as Simraceway’s very own Tom Dyer will be teaming up with Alex and the GPC team in the 24 hour race at Paul Ricard in July. We certainly wish Alex the very best of luck and look forward to seeing him back in the F3 cockpit  here at Sonoma at the 1st race of the F3 Summer Series in May.

 

A Lap Around Sebring with Matt Bell

Sebring 12hrs – A Lap Around Sebring with Matt Bell!

March 19th sees the 64th running of 12 hour of Sebring, one of the top classic sports car endurance races of the year and we asked one of our top instructors, Matt Bell, driver of the No.9 Stevenson Motorsports Audi R8 LMS which runs in the IMSA GTD class car, to take us for a lap around this amazing and storied track.

 

The first thing anyone will tell you about Sebring is going to have something to do with the atrocious surface quality. The second thing they’ll tell you is the history behind the famous race track. The two facts are linked, however. While the track is slated to finally be repaved this year, the last time serious machinery has worked on the surface of the track was sometime in the 1950s. It was originally a B17 training station through 1946, and by late 1950 it was holding motorsport events. The track has only degraded since then. While the bumps, grooves, filled sections, and temperature-dependent friction sound like blemishes on an international raceway, the track will likely lose some of its charm once repaved. As it was a former air base, it is very flat. It has been joked for years that if one measures all the peaks and valleys of the cracks and bumps around Sebring, it will add up to more elevation change than Laguna Seca. While I’m not sure this is true, it does paint a picture of the sandpaper-wrapped washboard surface that makes up Sebring International Raceway. Between missing fillings from the bumpiest surface in sports car racing, missed reference points due to zero topographical change, ever-changing traction levels, and the constant possibility for a burning school bus someplace in the infield, Sebring can be a challenging, yet very exciting race track.

 

Setting up cars for Sebring has become very difficult over the years. Without considering the ever-changing surface of the track, sports cars are generating more and more downforce, requiring 004accuracy of ride height only possible with very firm spring rates. Accurately placing the car’s aerodynamic features while heaving over all the bumps and jumps around Sebring can be jarring to car and driver. With jumps in Turn 1 and T17, a softer setup would make it easier to keep tires on the ground, but more often today, the aerodynamic benefit of rolling higher speed through these corners than keeping the car attached to planet Earth.

 

Turn 1: This is a very high speed corner with few reference points. It is smooth on the way in, but gets very bumpy on exit. Most people gauge their braking and turn-in points based on proximity to the foot bridge overhead. This is not a great reference point since it is so far ahead of the corner. Turn 1 is not a heavy braking corner. Most, if any braking is done merely to take a few mile per hour off and place some weight on the nose. Many drivers will tend to initiate braking while the car is straight, then bend the car in since it can be difficult to slow the car at such high speeds. It is often unwise to place the car to the extreme right against the pit wall. Debris, water, and dirt gets trapped against the wall and can quickly ruin a weekend. Turn-in should be smooth, but requires some command over the front tire. Most cars, if they go off, do so with too much understeer. This push often begins with an improper turn-in, either too late or without enough braking. The goal should be to roll as much speed in to the corner as possible and get close to the inside wall. The fast drivers will often feel like they could brush the wall with their mirror– better said than actually done. As soon as the car is set on this path, someplace between turn-in and apex, the exit should be easier to spot, and eyes should be pointed to the section of track just past track-out. The bumps from apex to exit are very aggressive and can be jarring. A focal point to close to the nose of the car can disorientate the driver which the car crosses these bumps. With a distant focal point, it will be easier for the driver to throttle their car to the exit, accurately rolling to peak acceleration while placing the car against the track-out curb. This curb is not used heavily, most times just half a tire placed on it.

 

Turn 2, 3, 4: The complex from Turn 2 through the apex of Turn 5 is a gradually slowing section coming off the front straight. It is not often the key to a fast lap time, but has the ability to really hurt one with a few small mistakes. Turn 2 is a mild bend to the right before the braking zone for Turn 3. Because of this, the car has the be pulled, at least partially, back to the left to setup for braking for Turn 3 after exiting Turn 1. The braking zone for Turn 3 is one of the smoothest sections of track, offering good bite to slow the car down. That said, the common mistake to make is almost always going a bit too deep on brakes and turning in too late, making the corner more of a diamond shape than it needs to be. The way to solve this, or at least correct mid-corner, is to spot the apex of Turn 4 as early as possible. This apex also serves as the track-out point for Turn 3, so accurately calculating distance to it is key in timing turn-in and carrying as much speed as possible through the corner complex. The curbing through this section is very aggressive and not often used. Some very tall, soft sports cars can sometimes take advantage of hopping the apex curbs, but for the most part, the straighter line is at a cost to a settled platform and intact bodywork. Turn 4, similar to Turn 2, is just a kink back to the right. It is often temping to roll on heavy throttle before braking for Turn 5, but this often creates a dramatic pitch when braking for Turn 5. The best plan is a smooth roll to throttle from Turn 4, and an early roll out to calm the entry to Turn 5. While this doesn’t feel aggressive, which many drivers translate into speed, the increased stability can be very rewarding.

 

Turn 5: Turn 5, on the map, doesn’t look too important. However, it leads onto a short straightaway that is capped by the very sharp Turn 7 “Hairpin”. It is important to maximize the top speed down this straight both for lap time and to gain an advantage in braking for the Turn 7. The braking zone for Turn 5, which occurs very shortly after the brief exit of Turn 4, can be very slippery, especially late in the day. If a car enters the Turn 5 braking zone with any instability (see above regarding a big pitch exiting Turn 4) it will likely be very sideways by the apex. The grip is better closer to the apex, as there is a large amount of sealer in the middle of the track. It is very common to see heavier sedans keep almost to the extreme inside the whole way around Turn 5 to avoid the darker asphalt. The line to the apex depends heavily on car type and limitations there within. It is rare that a car takes a very wide entry and truly late apex. The apex is very soft for such a short corner and the exit is bending right, making an apparent early apex the correct line. The difference between a slightly early apex and one that appears suicidal comes down to how well a car can roll apex speed or apply max power. Cars that benefit from a more “park it and power it” strategy will do better with an over-slowing of the apex, clipping it a touch earlier, and applying maximum power as early as possible. Cars that can roll speed across the apex will see better times by turning in very gradually, possibly even from mid-track, apexing early, and getting a head start on reaching top speed down the short straight away. The exit curb seems to have been set on top of quick sand, and has sunken into the Earth at different rates along its length. Due to this, it can be very unsettling to a car that is applying big power. Lighter, apex-speed cars can often use the curb, keeping in mind that it is not straight, and it is easy to drop a wheel. A wheel that falls off the outside of this curb too many times per outing will soon resemble a square more than a circle. Conservatism on curb usage can be rewarding in lap-to-lap consistency.

 

Turn 7: The “Hairpin” is one of the more iconic corners at Sebring. It is, essentially, a very tight, bumpy, rubbered-up chicane lead to and leading to two competitive straights. The key to Turn 7 is the drive out, not as much the braking in. The braking zone is very bumpy. Years of sealer and tar have created a mix of surface types against the left side of the track. Late in the day, it is not uncommon to see drivers braking right in the middle of the track to avoid the very slick patches. Turn in is late but not aggressive. Heavier cars will like more time to change direction after heavy braking, so a more gradual turn-in is often beneficial. Managing the quick brake release on turn-in and balancing weight on the nose of the car is the big challenge on entry. It is very easy to over- or under-load the front tires and miss the apex. The curbs are perfectly flat, if a bit slippery at times. They are fair game even for the lowest of race cars. Power should happen early, and as “all at once” as possible. Rotation doesn’t occur very early in the corner, since the corner is very short. This means some rotation needs to happen at or after the apex. It can be difficult to balance rotation with wheelspin. Any of the latter will result in drastically increased lap times. The exit is very tight since the track bends back to the right slightly at the track-out curb. Tires can land on the left side curb, but the dirt directly to the outside is slick at best, and often has been replaced with a wheel-shaped hole. Accuracy in car placement is very important.

 

Turn 8, 9: The Fangio Straight as many people will call Turn 8 and Turn 9, as the name implies, is treated less like a series of corners than most track maps seem to show. Only in the wet, or with 1000hp, does Turn 8 start to feel like an actual corner, for most drivers. The line can be straightened out, and the bend in the track does mean that passing cars can be made to work for their position trying to sneak alongside by Turn 10.

 

Turn 10: This is a very slippery, very misleading corner. The braking zone has a couple notable ridges in it, that can hurt late braking. The turn-in point is closer than it seems, and this corner can be treated more like an apex-speed turn. Many drivers will try to park at the apex and roll to power, which isn’t wrong. However, drive from Turn 10 through Turn 11 can be poor, so a better strategy is often carrying speed through. As with many corners around Sebring, Turn 10 exits into the apex of another corner. This edge of the track that juts out into the exit path is the true limiting factor. Pushing a little too hard out to the truncated track-out point can require a very aggressive toss of the wheel to get the car pointed in for Turn 11. Care should be taken to avoid inducing a flick to oversteer, especially with high-powered, heavy cars.

 

Turn 11: Essentially a double-apex corner, the goal here is usually minimizing distance while holding full power, or as close to it as possible. The car is leaned over the entire duration of the corner, so the outside rear tire is always the one to lose. To open up the corner a bit, increase the radius, but also increase track distance, there is a very wide patch of concrete to the outside which can be used. Use of this extra track width is made difficult only by a need to pull the car back to the left to setup for Turn 12 and Turn 13.

 

Turn 12, 13: This complex has some of the only real elevation change around the track– and it is only a foot or two. The entry to Turn 12 can be tricky, especially for cars that need to brake early enough that the chassis is still recovering from exiting Turn 11. The track falls away in two directions toward the end of the braking zone and just after turn-in for Turn 13. It drops off slightly downhill and de-cambers. This camber change in the road is worse further out from the apex. This presents a reason to turn in a bit earlier and keep the car from venturing out onto the worse parts of the track. Turn 13 is something between an apex-speed and a park-and-power-out corner. All cars will benefit from both carrying speed in by braking late and around the bend in Turn 12, and all cars will benefit from being nice and stable to roll to good power off. The balance is up to the driver. The exit can be challenging. The exit curb is wider than most around the course, but is bumpy and doesn’t have a lot of traction. The dirt past the curb is both slippery and prone to turning into a large hole. The best, safest bet is to avoid placing more than half a tire on the curb. While it can get lost on a track map, this corner is definitely a key to unlocking lap time.

 

Turn 14: Another iconic corner of Sebring, Turn 14 is a very fast, balls to the wall, flat (if at all possible), double apex corner. There are no arguments about it among the racing community, this is an apex-speed corner. The only tricky part is settling the car before braking for Turn 15. Because of this, the first apex is taken flat out, after which the car is usually let to slide a bit wide, toward the middle of the track or even further. The second apex, however, is taken relatively late, so that the car can be as straight as possible before the brakes are applied. The curbing through Turn 14 is usually flat enough that most cars can handle jumping them. That said, cars that are more reliant on downforce are going to avoid them more to keep the splitter or front wing as level as possible. If any corner benefits aero advantage, it is Turn 14.

 

Turn 15: Another one of the few corners with much of any elevation change. Just after braking and turn-in, the track has a small rise in it. Because it is following such a high-speed corner, the braking force is relatively high. This rubbers the track substantially, offering very little grip in higher temperatures and late in the day. The crest of the small hill is about at the apex. Power-down too early will often result in understeer, followed by oversteer once the front tires catch up. Many drivers get tricked into pushing all the way to the outside curb at exit. This is temping, but often makes it difficult to get the car pointed back to the left to properly setup for Turn 16.

 

Turn 16: This can be one of the most important corners on the race track, and a big way to improve lap time. The setup, the sacrifice of Turn 15, is a prime way to better the time through Turn 16. Similar to Turn 11, the trade off is between track distance and radius. Throw away the exit of Turn 15, get the car extreme left of the track, and point it early back to the right, carry massive speed through the corner. Keep it tight, power through Turn 15 a bit more aggressively, begin rotation early, but following a tighter curve, park it, power out. The choice is up the driver and will be based on where the car has an advantage. This section of track is back on the old runway of the air field, is very bumpy, and is old concrete. Traction is very low. The apex curb is surprisingly steep, but can be used. Drivers should be careful, however, of falling off the inside of the curb, as it is a steep drop and can both unsettle and damage a car. Fast drivers, comfortable drivers, spot the exit point early. The Turn 16 exit curb is the widest on the track, and all of it is usable. If spotted early, a car can be accurately driven from the apex curb to the very edge of the exit curb. The mistake to make, here, is over-driving the car at the apex. As the track is low on grip, any understeer felt at the apex will certainly be there at the apex, unless it has swapped to power-oversteer. Driving under the limit at the apex can improve sector times dramatically, especially if it translates to a stable power-down and better exit speed.

 

Turn 17: Arguably the bumpiest corner on the track, it can be either a driver’s favorite turn or absolute nemesis. It caps the longest and highest speed straight on the course, and the braking zone usually occurs after the gradual turn-in. To avoid pitching it into the corner, most drivers keep close to the right side wall, but let the car run wide, but not so far out that lesser-used concrete is under the car. This Kuiper Belt of Turn 17 has nothing but debris and pieces of Porsche left over since the 1960s. It is very good to avoid it. There are two trains of thought as far as the apex of Turn 17 are concerned. Some drivers try to tuck close to the wall, induce some understeer with over-speeding and maybe some throttle, and tackle the very large jump while maintaining a traditional line. Others will avoid the large bump at the apex by staying a car width or so out. The only way to know which way works, is to try both. Regardless of how the bump is tackled, the wheel must be unwinding by the time the car meets it. Post apex is all about confidence. Ideally, the car should free up with maybe very mild oversteer just after the jump at apex. This should make managing distance to the outside wall easier. There are a few more “whoops” before the track-out point, but as long as steering angle is minimized, they are merely and inconvenience. Hammer down, trust it, lose the left side mirror on the incredibly dangerous protruding track-out wall.

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Out with the old, in with the fast: The new Audi TTS is here!

Parting is such sweet sorrow, and that is absolutely true of the outgoing Audi TTS. It’s the most versatile vehicle in our fleet, a car that always punched above its weight, and exceeded expectations of the many customers who got to get behind the wheel of this agile pocket rocket.

 

That being said, with every outgoing model that Audi retires you can be sure the replacement is always something to be excited about. While outwardly familiar in styling, the new TTS is an evolution from the former model but with many upgrades and changes beneath the skin. First off, we always have to look under the hood, and the 2016 TTS has a lot to say for itself with a stunning 292hp (up 72hp!) 2.0L turbocharged TFSI engine mated with its lightweight aluminum hybrid construction chassis the new TTS is lighter as well. The power to weight  ratio really helps this car fly through the turns at our home base at Sonoma Raceway. 0-60 times of 5.2 seconds matched with its classic front-to-rear balance, the new TTS is aided by a re-vamped Quattro system that is able to move 100% of that power to the rear wheels when traction allows, really spicing up the sports car feel.

2016-audi-tt-console

There’s a dramatic change on the inside as the latest Audi TTS now has a virtual cockpit where drivers have the ability to change the layout at their fingertips.

 

We are really looking forward to getting to know this new pocket rocket intimately and hope you can make your way to Sonoma to try it for yourself. You won’t regret it.

 

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