crash
12-24-2012, 01:37 PM
PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT GROUP
2012 25 HOURS OF THUNDERHILL
So the Fiscal Cliff is upon us, the Mayans are predicting the end of the world, and children are being slaughtered by mad men.
While an auto race may seem inconsequential in comparison to the realities of the current world around us, I have to tell you that, although our team did not finish as high in the rankings as we would have liked, I came away from this year’s 25 Hours of Thunderhill endurance automobile race with a huge grin on my face.
For some at this race it is all a business proposition. For others, it is simply a chance to get a ton of track time for a small amount of cost. For Team Prototype Development Group it is a rare opportunity to mix the two, bring in a big name driver like Elliot Forbes Robinson, and just have a GREAT TIME while trying to do well in the “longest endurance road race in North America”. Maybe forgetting the troubles of the world, if for just a couple days, factors into the draw to this event as well. Whatever it is, (and I am still not exactly sure why I do this every year) no matter where we finish, I find myself oddly at peace and with a smile on my face every year. For some things in life, it is not the destination as much as it is the journey that makes it a worthwhile endeavor. This race is one of those things.
Enough of this philosophical mumbo jumbo, let us get down to the racing!
This year’s 25 hour race adventure really started about 10 days after last year’s event ended. We had a very good showing last year and ended up 4th in class and 4th overall. This allowed us, as a team, to go out and drum up some needed sponsors and talented drivers to really transform our VERY low budget team into just a low budget team! We could not have made the showing we did this year, both at SEMA and at the 25 hour race, without the help of our sponsors. We are unbelievably thankful for their support. Companies like Mendeola Transaxles, Baja Designs lighting, Chase Chevrolet, Hoosier Tire, Factory Five Racing, Tel Tac data, Stop Tech Brakes, My Race Shop LLC, and especially all the volunteers that put this car together and made these events happen. People who love the GTM and send us what they can, which in some cases is $50, just to pitch in and help from their locations in Australia, Europe, and, of course from all over the U.S. It is because of the combined efforts of ALL these individuals and companies that we, Team PDG, are even able to compete in this race every year.
So for 2012 the car was completely redone. That was apparent to anyone that saw the car at SEMA this year. What may not have been apparent was that, largely in part to a couple of sponsors coming on late in the eleventh hour with products we simply couldn’t refuse to run on the car, we had basically no time to run the car as it would be raced. The fact is that while we had been running very good parts on the car all year long, there were just some things that weren’t available until right before this race.
For instance, we had been running a Mendeola transaxle in testing all year long. It was a great transaxle, but there were some improvements that the guys at Mendeola wanted us to try out for them. There were issues with some of the parts that Mendeola had gotten from other venders for our new gearboxes, and thus, what we had planned to test for ratios and shifting systems, among other things, many months earlier, were, in fact, going into the car for the first time Thursday…just before the morning test session…the day before qualifying.
Then there were the new, bigger brakes provided by Stop Tech, and the true slicks provided by Hoosier Racing Tires. None of these items had been tested until that Thursday morning. Yes we had done testing throughout the year. We tested engines, we tested wings, we tested shocks, we tested cooling systems, but quite frankly, we probably had just as many things on that car, come Thursday morning, that were completely untested, as we had new parts that got tested throughout the year of 2012. So to say that some very late nights and a ton of cell minutes were sacrificed in the last couple weeks leading up to that Thursday test would be putting it mildly. These race cars, no matter what level you race at, are a LOT of work. In most instances it is not a case of buying something off the shelf and bolting it on the car. Almost invariably there are issues with fitment that require custom modifications. Of course this leads to other pieces of the puzzle not fitting quite right and so what may appear to be a simple part upgrade install, can quickly turn into a full blown, fire up the milling machine, all night project.
End result? The Thursday test session was a complete and utter success! Just about everything went as planned, and that transaxle shifted as smooth as butter. We bettered our average times by about six seconds per lap and the overall fastest ever lap time was set for this car. Everything looked like roses on Thursday. But then again, it was only Thursday.
Friday practice and qualifying for The 25 Hours of Thunderhill is usually a pretty frantic time. People are really pushing things as far as last minute preparations and trying to get drivers that may be completely unfamiliar with the track some seat time, so it can be a treacherous thing to run a car in the Friday practice sessions. Matter of fact, the last two years they have had to bring in the helicopter to transport injured drivers out during the Thursday-Friday practice sessions. It is for these reasons that The Team usually does not practice on either Thursday or Friday immediately preceding this race. It is simply too dangerous. This year though, ended up being major incident free, and we went out for the evening practice session before qualifying. This is really where we started to see the effects of those late, last minute nights on the crew. We should have had the schedule posted, as we always do, on the pit cart so that we were sure when the evening practice session stopped and the qualifying session had begun. The last practice session is a little different in that there is no break between the practice session and the qualifying session. In other words, we go out and practice, but then the track is not cleared and the cars continue to run through the time at which the qualifying session begins. Unfortunately we were about 15 minutes off in our understanding of when qualifying would begin and as such set our fastest ever time in the car of a 1:51:45 with Steve Zadig at the wheel during what we THOUGHT was qualifying, but was actually still practice. That mistake took us from what would have been up near the front in the 2nd or 3rd row back to the 6th row in 11th position. Not what we had wanted or planned for, but also not so bad. It insured that we wouldn’t be back in the pack of trouble, should there be any, for the start of the race.
The start was exciting, as it always is, but largely uneventful. No major incidents, but certainly some “wanta be heroes” going into turn one. All was sorted out quickly though, and we settled into a 6th-7th position overall and then just let our natural advantages come into play.
In this race, anyone can bring anything they want to compete. If it doesn’t fit into a particular classification, or has not been previously classified under another sanctioning bodies rules, then it goes into ES class. Our class. On the other hand, if the vehicle does come to this race with it being classified under another sanctioning bodies particular class rules, then it must conform to those rules. So things like brake size limitations, or fuel tank size limitations largely restrict many of the cars that end up in ES, while we are not limited to those rules because our car runs under NASA Super Unlimited rules, which, pretty much means anything goes as long as the fuel tank is no bigger than 44 gallons and the proper safety equipment is present. So the end result is that we have a large fuel capacity, combined with the tires we choose that will allow us to go for hours at a time without a change, and, well, there you have it…natural advantages.
Plainly put, our strategy is simple…NEVER STOP! Or at least make as few stops as possible. Combine that with a team of drivers that are experienced, patient, and reasonably fast, and it should be a winning combination.
2012 25 HOURS OF THUNDERHILL
So the Fiscal Cliff is upon us, the Mayans are predicting the end of the world, and children are being slaughtered by mad men.
While an auto race may seem inconsequential in comparison to the realities of the current world around us, I have to tell you that, although our team did not finish as high in the rankings as we would have liked, I came away from this year’s 25 Hours of Thunderhill endurance automobile race with a huge grin on my face.
For some at this race it is all a business proposition. For others, it is simply a chance to get a ton of track time for a small amount of cost. For Team Prototype Development Group it is a rare opportunity to mix the two, bring in a big name driver like Elliot Forbes Robinson, and just have a GREAT TIME while trying to do well in the “longest endurance road race in North America”. Maybe forgetting the troubles of the world, if for just a couple days, factors into the draw to this event as well. Whatever it is, (and I am still not exactly sure why I do this every year) no matter where we finish, I find myself oddly at peace and with a smile on my face every year. For some things in life, it is not the destination as much as it is the journey that makes it a worthwhile endeavor. This race is one of those things.
Enough of this philosophical mumbo jumbo, let us get down to the racing!
This year’s 25 hour race adventure really started about 10 days after last year’s event ended. We had a very good showing last year and ended up 4th in class and 4th overall. This allowed us, as a team, to go out and drum up some needed sponsors and talented drivers to really transform our VERY low budget team into just a low budget team! We could not have made the showing we did this year, both at SEMA and at the 25 hour race, without the help of our sponsors. We are unbelievably thankful for their support. Companies like Mendeola Transaxles, Baja Designs lighting, Chase Chevrolet, Hoosier Tire, Factory Five Racing, Tel Tac data, Stop Tech Brakes, My Race Shop LLC, and especially all the volunteers that put this car together and made these events happen. People who love the GTM and send us what they can, which in some cases is $50, just to pitch in and help from their locations in Australia, Europe, and, of course from all over the U.S. It is because of the combined efforts of ALL these individuals and companies that we, Team PDG, are even able to compete in this race every year.
So for 2012 the car was completely redone. That was apparent to anyone that saw the car at SEMA this year. What may not have been apparent was that, largely in part to a couple of sponsors coming on late in the eleventh hour with products we simply couldn’t refuse to run on the car, we had basically no time to run the car as it would be raced. The fact is that while we had been running very good parts on the car all year long, there were just some things that weren’t available until right before this race.
For instance, we had been running a Mendeola transaxle in testing all year long. It was a great transaxle, but there were some improvements that the guys at Mendeola wanted us to try out for them. There were issues with some of the parts that Mendeola had gotten from other venders for our new gearboxes, and thus, what we had planned to test for ratios and shifting systems, among other things, many months earlier, were, in fact, going into the car for the first time Thursday…just before the morning test session…the day before qualifying.
Then there were the new, bigger brakes provided by Stop Tech, and the true slicks provided by Hoosier Racing Tires. None of these items had been tested until that Thursday morning. Yes we had done testing throughout the year. We tested engines, we tested wings, we tested shocks, we tested cooling systems, but quite frankly, we probably had just as many things on that car, come Thursday morning, that were completely untested, as we had new parts that got tested throughout the year of 2012. So to say that some very late nights and a ton of cell minutes were sacrificed in the last couple weeks leading up to that Thursday test would be putting it mildly. These race cars, no matter what level you race at, are a LOT of work. In most instances it is not a case of buying something off the shelf and bolting it on the car. Almost invariably there are issues with fitment that require custom modifications. Of course this leads to other pieces of the puzzle not fitting quite right and so what may appear to be a simple part upgrade install, can quickly turn into a full blown, fire up the milling machine, all night project.
End result? The Thursday test session was a complete and utter success! Just about everything went as planned, and that transaxle shifted as smooth as butter. We bettered our average times by about six seconds per lap and the overall fastest ever lap time was set for this car. Everything looked like roses on Thursday. But then again, it was only Thursday.
Friday practice and qualifying for The 25 Hours of Thunderhill is usually a pretty frantic time. People are really pushing things as far as last minute preparations and trying to get drivers that may be completely unfamiliar with the track some seat time, so it can be a treacherous thing to run a car in the Friday practice sessions. Matter of fact, the last two years they have had to bring in the helicopter to transport injured drivers out during the Thursday-Friday practice sessions. It is for these reasons that The Team usually does not practice on either Thursday or Friday immediately preceding this race. It is simply too dangerous. This year though, ended up being major incident free, and we went out for the evening practice session before qualifying. This is really where we started to see the effects of those late, last minute nights on the crew. We should have had the schedule posted, as we always do, on the pit cart so that we were sure when the evening practice session stopped and the qualifying session had begun. The last practice session is a little different in that there is no break between the practice session and the qualifying session. In other words, we go out and practice, but then the track is not cleared and the cars continue to run through the time at which the qualifying session begins. Unfortunately we were about 15 minutes off in our understanding of when qualifying would begin and as such set our fastest ever time in the car of a 1:51:45 with Steve Zadig at the wheel during what we THOUGHT was qualifying, but was actually still practice. That mistake took us from what would have been up near the front in the 2nd or 3rd row back to the 6th row in 11th position. Not what we had wanted or planned for, but also not so bad. It insured that we wouldn’t be back in the pack of trouble, should there be any, for the start of the race.
The start was exciting, as it always is, but largely uneventful. No major incidents, but certainly some “wanta be heroes” going into turn one. All was sorted out quickly though, and we settled into a 6th-7th position overall and then just let our natural advantages come into play.
In this race, anyone can bring anything they want to compete. If it doesn’t fit into a particular classification, or has not been previously classified under another sanctioning bodies rules, then it goes into ES class. Our class. On the other hand, if the vehicle does come to this race with it being classified under another sanctioning bodies particular class rules, then it must conform to those rules. So things like brake size limitations, or fuel tank size limitations largely restrict many of the cars that end up in ES, while we are not limited to those rules because our car runs under NASA Super Unlimited rules, which, pretty much means anything goes as long as the fuel tank is no bigger than 44 gallons and the proper safety equipment is present. So the end result is that we have a large fuel capacity, combined with the tires we choose that will allow us to go for hours at a time without a change, and, well, there you have it…natural advantages.
Plainly put, our strategy is simple…NEVER STOP! Or at least make as few stops as possible. Combine that with a team of drivers that are experienced, patient, and reasonably fast, and it should be a winning combination.