<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=918799731584652&amp;ev=PageView&amp;noscript=1">
FCP Euro Service Kits

FCP Euro Kits

Endurance racing, especially the 24 hour variety, isn’t for everyone. When we made our first attempt I was all-in and it was a good thing because we were on the brink of disaster the entire race. It started with a partial head gasket failure, but fortunately, we were able to find the source of overheating, re-torque the head bolts and continue racing. Next, our clutch disintegrated requiring a mid-race clutch job in a downpour. It was midnight by the time we were back out on track. We barely finished the race after a last lap incident left the car with the fender hanging on by a thread and a door that wouldn’t open.

Some would have thrown in the towel on endurance racing after this experience, and there have been quite a few people who’ve asked why what would make us sign up for a second, let alone a third race. The second year was a no-brainer; we knew we couldn’t go out like that. We started the race looking for redemption and found it with a 6th place finish. Again, some would have quit while they were ahead, but we jumped at the chance for another 24-hour race, and will likely sign up whenever the opportunity arises.

Why you ask? If nothing else, a 24-hour endurance race is an all consuming experience. During the 24 hours the race is taking place, you are completely devoted – with no escape. It is not possible to relax, think, sleep, eat, drink without first considering what needs to be done next to keep the car turning laps. Whether it is a driver change, fuel run or gathering parts and tools for the next stop, personal needs come second. There are few racing events that give you this sense of immersion and accomplishment when the checker flag flies.

 

Putting the Team, and Car, Together

When registration time came around this year it was not hard to find team members willing to make the trek from across the country just for the opportunity to pilot a beater BMW around VIR’s full course. Andy Hughes, Inness Eisele and Mitch Wise signed on to take care of the driving duties, with Aaron Shotwell acting as crew chief. Along with a completely immersive experience endurance races also supply enough driving time to satisfy even the most diehard track rats.

Preparing for an endurance race is a significant undertaking if your plan is to finish. Maintenance, improvement and general checks are on the agenda even if the car was running at the end of the prior event. During preparation for this race we determined the engine condition was questionable and opted for rebuilding and swapping in a new powerplant. Most of the team is scattered across the country but Daniel, Chris, and Matt from North Fork Autoworks put in some time piecing the car back together. Due to the timeline there would not be any time to do a proper shakedown or break in the engine before practice on the big day.

 

Off to the Races

The weekend began with an accident on I-40 when I collided with the rear end of a pickup truck at ~50mph while towing the race car. Apparently the car in front of them stopped after being run off the road by another truck hauling a trailer. With no visibility and minimal stopping power the sound of crinkling metal ensued. Luckily, we survived with minimal bumper damage, bent trailer hitch and a snapped tie-down strap. After wrapping up with the police report we continued on to Alton, Virginia slightly behind schedule. Our friends at THR had saved us a paddock spot and we rolled in with ease. The Chumpcar annual tech inspection we had gotten earlier in the year simplified sign-in and we were almost ready for the next day.

Unfortunately there was still work to do on the car before taking to the track. After unloading the gear, we replaced the brake pads, wired up the radio, did a front-end alignment and finished up the sponsorship decals. By the time we were finished it was getting late and we agreed to call it a night.

 

Final Checks

The morning came quick and we were up at the crack of dawn getting the car ready for the 8:30 test session. We were thankful Chumpcar was offering 2 hours of testing prior to the race start so we could get the fresh engine broken in. Some seat time to get settled into the track and test the radio setup didn’t hurt either. In one of the first turns water started splattering the windshield. A quick trip into the pits revealed the coolant bleeder screw was loose spraying water out after pressure built up in the system. We added water, tightened the screw and went back out. Keeping the rpms low for engine break-in was difficult but at least it was only practice. The next issue that arose was a vibration under heavy braking. It was attributed to a warped rotor so we continued on for the remainder of the session. All seemed to be going well and we were finally able to communicate around the entire circuit with our new roof mounted antenna. Luckily there were not big surprises.

After the test session we put on the new front brake rotors we had from FCP Euro, changed the oil and filled the cool suit cooler. There is nothing like changing oil and brakes on a car that has been running at full speed around a track. It did not help that the oil filter is directly below the piping hot exhaust manifold resulting in minor burns on my forearm. No metal chunks in the oil meant the engine was not eating itself, at least not yet.

 

Start Your Engines

I took the green flag at noon in 37th place after a few slow warm-up laps behind the pace car. The BMW felt much better now that the vibration was gone and the engine could be taken to redline. During the first few driver changes we checked the oil and gave the motor a quick examination to make sure there were not any glaring issues. All was going well, but the heat was almost unbearable. In the car the cool suit provided some relief. It would have been impossible to complete the 2-hour stints without it. Any trip in the paddock that required venturing out into the sun was avoided if possible. In our pit stall we even had a spare cool suit system wired up which provided relief in short doses.

As the day went on we noticed that our team was not even close to the fastest out there. To place well in this race we would need to rely on completing consistent laps and minimizing down time. Despite our lap times we moved up in the standings as the day progressed. Six and a half hours into the race we were in 7th place before our first incident, which was a black flag for minor contact. Inness came in, talked with the Chumpcar staff and went back out to finish his stint. The car suffered a minor dent in the front fender but did not result in tire rub or any other noticeable issues.

I strapped into the car next as darkness began to fall on the track. The stint earlier in the daylight was invaluable with respect to getting comfortable on the track, but did not make the reduced visibility trivial. The first thing I noticed was our lights were aimed a little too high making it difficult to see the edges of the surface going into turns. I found myself driving very conservative and leaving more space than needed to reduce the chances of any off-track excursions. At night, more so than during the day, I preferred to be alone. Blinding lights from behind made it difficult to determine where cars were and how fast they were approaching. Despite the visibility issues I made it through the stint without any incidents. When I got out of the car I adjusted the lights down and sent Andy out with words of caution. The temperature had fallen considerably which was a relief after getting out of my race suit. Racing at night does have some benefits.

When day turns to night the crowd in the pits begins to thin. We put together a pit stop coverage plan that gave everyone an opportunity to sleep. Since we were functioning with only 4 drivers and one crew member no one got more than a 4 hour break. Aaron, who was our crew chief and sole crewmember, coordinated efforts throughout the night until the early morning. Our pit mates THR had been helping out all day with fueling and were also able to provide some support at night. The only car issue that came up at was a hood pin mounting point that had fatigued and broke. The hood was beginning to lift up in one corner and was fixed with some gorilla tape during a scheduled pit stop.

Catching sleep is always a challenge during a race. Everyone is exhausted but excitement, adrenaline, and pit duties keep team members awake and wandering the paddock like zombies. If one is lucky enough to fall asleep it is never for long and only seems to increase the desire to find a dark quiet corner to curl up in. After sorting out the night duties I found a bed to get some rest.

The sounding of the alarm clock signaled it was time to suit up and it took all my willpower to pull myself out of the comfort of the bed. I was happy to learn the car was still making laps and the last few hours had been issue-free. My night stint turned out to be quite eventful, which is never good when on a racetrack. The first incident was a spin in turn 1, which is at the end of a long straight. I came in too fast, ended up outside of the racing line and spun facing oncoming traffic. The car stalled which was not a big issue until the key broke off trying to restart it. After several failed attempts I was able to use what was left of the key to get the engine fired back up. It felt like an eternity as I waited until there was a clearing in the traffic to rejoin the race. The next incident was a 4-wheel off-track excursion in a turn called hogpen.

The turn is a high-speed sweeper entering the front straight. I had been steadily trying to carry more speed through the turn. I took it a little too far and was on the curbing at the edge of the track when it ended. I slid into the field after the two outside wheels dropped into the grass. The dew made it feel like I was sliding on ice. Luckily I came to a stop without hitting anything and was able to get the car rolling again with little effort. Back on the track I took it down a notch and kept reminding myself that pushing too hard could put us out of the race, while making consistent clean laps will get us to the finish. I was happy to see the darkness fading to light as my stint came to a close. Mitch was going out next and after strapping him in I noticed that the heavily abused front left tire had lost its outer tread block. We did an impromptu tire swap as quick as we could and sent him out.

Mitch drew the lucky straw and was out during “happy hour” which is typically early in the morning when temperatures are cool, traction is good, engines are running strong and the sun is starting to shine. He set the fast lap of the weekend in our car making it around the track in 2:24.1. This put us in 32nd place, as far as lap times, which made it evident we were down on performance compared to many of the cars. Even with the speed disadvantage we had moved up into 8th place by 8am when Mitch came back into the pits. Andy took the next driving shift and put in clean fast laps bringing us up into 7th place. Our fuel did not seem to be lasting as long as it had earlier in the race and we were beginning to struggle to make it the full 2 hours we needed between stops. An additional pit stop would cost us several laps due to the minimum 5-minute pit when fueling. Andy was able to stretch his stint until just after 10, cutting it close to the 2-hour mark to the checker flag.

Inness strapped in to bring it home. One of the cars ahead of us dropped out with a brake caliper issue bumping us up to 6th place. Then Inness overtook the next car moving us into 5th. Near the end of the race we noticed the car #67 SRI Racing with the caliper issue was back on track and beginning to catch up. They overtook the 7th place car, then the 6th and were hot on our heels going into the last laps. It did not help that their lap times were up to six seconds faster than ours. Two laps from the finish Inness noticed the car beginning to sputter. The fuel began to cut out on the last lap and he had to slow down in an attempt to conserve. As he sputtered up the back straight car #67 went passed bumping us off the podium. We were elated to see him crest the hill at the end of the turn onto the front straight. The car continued to sputter through the checker flag signaling the end of our 24-hour torture test.

Racing in the Chumpcar series is always close, with the top 3 usually finishing on the same lap. We had some issues but were able to recover and move up into 6th place with not even a lap separating us from 5th, 6th, or 7th. This was a successful race for the Poor Boys Racing/FCP Euro e30 considering we were the slowest car in the top 10 and had just dropped a new engine into the car the week prior. We could not have done it without the support we receive from our families, friends and sponsors FCP Euro, Precision Imprint, and Achilles Motorsports. Many thanks also go out to the THR team for helping to round out our pit crew.

 

New Call-to-action

 


author image
Written by :
Alex Fiehl


More Related Articles