California Racing?

#41

traqrat wrote:

[quote]m3donnelly wrote:

[quote]1) Chris Donnelly
2) NoCal/SoCal (MidCal)
3) SO
4) It runs and compression is good, just getting started
5)Driving Concepts Competition school (Willow Springs) in May, Buttonwillow in June?

Lance, I think you know this red 325is from Campbell. 3.91 diff gearing needs to be replaced, otherwise seems like a good starting point.

Chris[/quote]

Chris, your name is awfully familiar. Where have I met you? Was I your instructor at Buttonwillow?[/quote]

Lance, good memory. Buttonwillow, September '04. Red E30 M3.

#42

1)AJ Goldsmith
2)NorCal
3)SO
4)finished suspension today, stripping interior and cage/seating is next
5)2007 - probably at Thill. Have done AX, and I’m signed up for the CCC 8/6/06 and the GGC HPDE on 8/26 - plan on doing more DEs now that the car is getting to be a better handler and will try to be licensed in early 07.

Cheers,
-AJ

#43

Looks like bunch of us will be on GGC HPDE in Aug (so far I think Walter, Lance (instr.), AJ, and me)

Igor (will have a DD and not SpecE30 car for HPDE)

#44

Alright damnit - are we going to get a spec e30 grid for the October race at Infineon?!?!? (The September event looks to be CR only.) I’ll make the trek way up north IF I’m not alone. C’mon guys - we need to get ONE spec race out here this year!

OK - I say this even though I’m asking to get my a$$ handed to me at a track I’ve only been to once before (and got my a$$ handed to me at that race courtesy of CR). After this happens I want a rematch at Willow!

#45

That would be great - I’m going to try and do more of the NASA DEs through the rest of the season so I’ll try to be there, but can’t race yet. If nothing else, it would be cool to see a bunch of next year’s SpecE30s out doing more of the DEs. I might give TT a go as well, but haven’t figured out the details yet - seems a great way to learn the tracks. Look forward to meeting a bunch of you guys at the CCA DE 8/26. Are most staying over Sat nite and going to the dinner?
-AJ

#46

All,

Could those of you with cars in progress in CA please post with an indication of how close you are to getting the car (and yourself) on track?

I think that this has the potential to be a great, low-cost, very competitive series in California. However, for this to ever happen we need to get cars on the track. And soon. There has been a lot of talk about getting things going out here. But we still need to get a good showing on track soon to get things moving.

I’m very sorry to say this, but I’m starting to lose patience waiting for competition out here. Yes, it’s great fun chasing (and sometimes beating) KP and JS cars in tihe BMW club. However, I would really like to race against some other similarly prepared cars. As I’ve said before, it would be really nice if my lack of driving skill would be my biggest holdback, rather than continually trying to overcome a lack of hp while following the CR crowd.

I love driving my e30. It’s fun, reasonably fast, easy to drive, reliable, and extremely forgiving (which is 90% the reason why I haven’t wrecked mine yet - the other 10% would be luck!). Plus it’s fun to post faster laptimes than some others with 50+ more hp. But I’m seriously considering moving on. I’ve now been racing for a season and a half, and I’m honestly getting frustrated with cars "in process" never making it on track. For the record, I have absolutely no experience working on cars and yet was able to get my car built & on track within 4 months - working nights in my garage with only the Bentley and a few friends for guides…

An IP car is for sale in SF that I’m a step away from pulling the trigger on. Sorry for the less-than-positive post, but frustration has set in. I just want to race on more equal terms against the pack. And unless someone can flicker a light at the end of the tunnel my car will be for sale very soon. Hopefully to someone willing to carry forward the spec e30 torch out here in CA. :slight_smile:

Steve

#47

Steve,

I understand your frustration. The KP car that Paul and I have is about ready and can be finished in less than a week (electrical cutoff, fire system, window net). The key item is getting Paul licensed, which he is scheduled for this weekend. We also have purchased another car that is being prepped for Spec E30. It’s our intention to prepare it to a buyers specification. The head is out for a valve job and the suspension is being shipped. The interior has already been stripped and I’m confident we can have this car on the track in October. We’d like to work with a buyer to finish it so we can work the cage, seats, and harness to their preference. In the mean time, we’ll finish the car and take it to events as a way to promote it for sale.

I hope this helps get things going. In addition to the car in process, we already own another candidate car for Spec E30 if there are two buyers who are anxious to run.

Rob.

#48

Steve has been a good contributor to the group and I admire him for speaking up about his frustration, instead of quietly slipping away, as many would probably do.

I am very surprised at how slow it’s been out there. I’ve always thought of California as a real "car culture" area and Spec E30 is such a great racing class that I thought it would grow steadily on the West Coast. However, Steve is understandably frustrated.

Is California such a large state that it’s tough to get something like this going? I spent a college-summer in Santa Barbara and found the people to be very nice, and certainly interested in cars and racing.

I would think that people will get interested if they see three or four cars racing together and three or four of us are considering transporting our cars to California for a race or two next year. We have even gone so far as to start looking at the costs of such an adventure.

Carter

#49

I used to live in SD and there is a serious car culture out there, no doubt…but I always wondered why BMW CCA racing never really took off out there…and I dont really understand why the Tarheel chapter has the biggest turnouts and the largest # of licensed racers is it something in the water over here? I know the best hotrodders, customizers, fabricators and inovators are located out west maybe spec e30 is not their cup of tea.

Al

#50

I have two fully prepared cars available for rentals in the San Francisco area. I built two so there would not be just one. I gave away weekend rides twice last year, one car was used in a BMW CCA Club Race at Laguna Seca last year as well as one at Buttonwillow. I have the cars, sitting and waiting. I’ll ever sell them if there is interest.

BMW Club Racing is actually quite active in the Pacific region with 9 events in California, 1 in Utah and 2 in Arizona this year with reasonably sized fields.

As Carter said, with three or more cars playing, interest will spark. The current issue is getting and keeping the early adopters. The NASA schedules for all their race weekends includes SpecE30 both in Northern and Southern California so the opportunity to play is here.

#51

Steve,

I got my NASA logbook last week. I’m sending my rookie license application into NASA. My first race will be at Infineon with BMWCCA September 9-10. The next one will be at Laguna Seca with BMWCCA (planning to run in KP). Then there’s the NASA race at Infineon in October. The car isn’t 100% SpecE30 legal yet, but I think it is close enough where a few of us can get a race going. Joe has been doing some races with SCCA and he’ll be out there as well. I’m not sure what Cole’s status is but I think he’s planning on renting a car from Mike and joining us for some of the Sept. and Oct. races.

Just hang in there. We have to be the pioneers and show people out here that this is a viable class. With the insane amount of time I’ve put into the car this year, I’m committed to help build this series.

#52

I was planning on renting Mike’s SpecE30 for the Thunderhill race August 11-13 as my rookie race, but Joe decided he couldn’t make it due to car issues and I didn’t want to be the only SpecE30 car there.

I would love to rent Mike’s SpecE30 and race against some similarly prepped cars. I’m up for either Infineon or Laguna (KP) in September as long as I’m not the only one in my class.

Who is in for some California SpecE30/KP racing in September?

Cole

#53

Thanks guys for the replies. I hadn’t been planning on journeying north this fall, as I was still hoping to make it to Ohio. However, I decided to get lasik surgery (this afternoon :pinch: ), which basically blew the Ohio budget. So, the good news is that this opens my September for a trek north.

So, it sounds like we could have a 4 car grid for Infineon (Cole, Lance, Joe, and myself)? Oh wait - I forgot about Chris, who at last call was planning on doing the licensing school this weekend. Chris - you out there?? I’m suggesting Infineon over Lagna Seca primarily becuase they have HPDE running - meaning a bigger audience. Plus it’s closer to wine country, though it’s a further haul for me. Another thought for you guys out east - a couple of you have mentioned a car-exchange so that you could race a track out west & one of us could race a track out east. Not quite the same, but if anyone would be interested I’m sure Mike would cut you a good deal on his second car! :wink: Plus I’d like to get someone else out here who is similarly unfamiliar with the track! That could potentially put 6 cars on the grid if I’m doing the math right - which would be very cool.

As an add-on to Mike’s post below, below are the grids for the last 2 BMW Club races that I’ve been raced in SoCal. As this shows, we do get reasonable turnouts in California (it was ~105 degrees in July, which I imagine kept some away). Also, notice that there is a distinct top-heavy bias to the grids. Anyone wondering why I might consider moving to a faster car - I think this should give the answer.

I will likely still rent the IP car for a test day to give it a whirl (figuratively, of course). But a 5-6 car grid yet this fall would be a strong incentive to stick with the spec series.

Grid for Buttonwillow race in April:
CM/DM - 9
HP - 1
IP - 6
JP - 3
JS - 7
KP - 1
total - 27

Grid for Willow Springs race in July:
CM/DM - 8
HP - 1
IP - 5
IS - 1
JS - 3
KP - 1
total - 19

#54

What about Buttonwillow in October? Is anyone going there? Isn’t there a BMW CCA event in November?

#55

robh wrote:

BMW CR is at BW on 11/11-12.

A couple people mentioned NASA licenses - you need a BMW CR license to race with the CCA. I assume you know this, right?

#56

The September event at Infineon is the same weekend as the national NASA event at Mid-Ohio, consequently there are no regular NASA race groups on the schedule. If you guys want I can add the SpecE30 class to the BMW CCA Club Race group. It will not be a points race for SpecE30 because of the conflict with Mid-Ohio. There is a three hour enduro at this event that is open to all NASA endurance classes and there is a mapping for SpecE30’s to the proper endurance class.

The September event at Laguna is BMW CCA CR only entries and all entrants must also be SCCA members. This is a unique event run with SCCA Vintage.

In October there is an event on the 7-8 at Infineon; another on the 14-15 at Buttonwillow and the same weekend at Phoenix International. On the 20-22 their is a BMW CCA CR at Phoenix also, however is not a NASA event.

November 11-12 is a NASA event at Buttonwillow which is also a BMW CCA CR.

#57

Since there are so few of us points don’t really matter to me. This season I’m all about experience/fun.

The enduro is intriguing. At the Driving Concepts Race School Joe and I took last year the instructors said that doing enduros is a really great way to get lots of race experience

Anyone else interested in the enduro? I don’t know if I could do the full 3 hours, perhaps we could agree to break it up or something.

Cole

#58

Mike, that would be great if you could add an unofficial SpecE30 class to the upcoming Infineon race. That will save me from having to make a new battery mount for a stock sized battery so I don’t get bumped into DM.

Steve, I already have my BMWCCA rookie license so I’m all set to go.

I’m not quite ready for an enduro. I need to sort out a few things before feeling confident enough in the car to do 3 hours of racing. Maybe next season.

Mike, regarding the Friday test day before Infineon, is there any special pricing or are we stuck with their arm and leg price?

#59

Ok, I’ll ask NASA to add SpecE30 to the BMW group for a no-points race.

Sorry but the Friday test day is 100% Infineon organized and managed, I have no influence with them…

#60

Sounds like you guys on the "left" coast are starting to get serious…hopefully if a few more folks take the plunge we’ll see pics like this from you guys. Virginia Int. Raceway July 06. :slight_smile:

Post edited by: brain, at: 2006/08/03 19:14

Post edited by: brain, at: 2006/08/03 19:16