Monday May 19th - watch ex911 crash his race car (or not) at Thunderhill

[ex911]

As you may have heard, ex911 races cars instead of bikes (he's just, you know, a 'lil different.)

You are invited to come out to Thunderhill this Monday and watch his next race. Cheer him on, laugh at him, or simply check out the other cools cars entered in the event.

Admission is free, and the entire paddock is open to you. Qualifying is at 1:30 pm, and the Race session is at 2:30 pm.

Here's a partial list of the cars entered in the event:
1995 Ford Mustang Cobra R ..........1995 Toyota Supra Turbo
2003 Chevrolet Corvette ZO6.........1992 Camaro GT1
1997 BMW M3..............................1969 Datsun 510
2004 Subaru Impreza WRX STI........2004 mercedes SLK55
2000 Porsche Boxster S.................1997 BMW Supercharged 318Ti
1997 Ferrari F355 Challenge............2001 Honda S2000
2007 Lotus Exige Cup 255..............2008 Porsche GT3 RS
2005 Lotus Elise Sport...................2006 Porsche Cayman S
2006 Ferrari F430 Challenge...........1993 Mazda RX-7
2002 Porsche 996 GT2..................1993 Porsche 911 RSA
1965 Ford Cobra Daytona Coupe.....2005 Mitsubishi Evo RS
2004 Porsche 911 GT3..................2008 Lotus Exige S
2005 Mitsubishi Evo VIII................2008 Mercedes Benz CLK 63
2003 Nissan 350Z

Here are some pics from the last race at Laguna Seca, so you'll know what to expect...

Yours truly...

Relaxing in the garage before the race (aka the calm before the storm)

The race grid (I'm the white car gridded 6th)

Making my way through traffic (exiting Laguna Turn 2)

 

[mlm]

Good luck

BTW: I always thought you were special because you ride a Hardley

 

[Cycle61]

I wanna see the '69 Datsun 510 dust everybody

 

[ex911]

I wanna see the '69 Datsun 510 dust everybody

I don't see the 510 in the pics, Nick!

Found some more pics to inspire folks to come out and watch the excitement.

So for those lucky enough to get Monday off, or students done with finals, or folks in the Sacto area, here are examples of what you will see.

One of my favorite shots under the Laguna bridge (chased by Lotus Exige S):

Pursued by Ferrari F430 Challenge race car exiting Turn 2:

Opening up a bigger gap on the Ferrari by Turn 8 (the famous Corkscrew - note the nice apex ):

View from the Ferrari

 

[Charmed]

Hey Bob...cool stuff!

What kind of motor do you run in that thing? What's the HP : weight?

 

[ex911]

Thanks Ben

Motor = port & polished ZX-10 (yes, now there's Moto content )

Weight = 922 lbs (by the racing rules, that's as raced, with driver and fuel/fluids, so prob 700 lbs dry curb wt)

Power = 157 hp at the sprocket (dyno'd by engine builder)

 

[BrassPremier]

what kind of car class is this? seems like a pretty big mix of cars

 

[ex911]

what kind of car class is this? seems like a pretty big mix of cars

yeah, we run multi-class racing, just like Le Mans or ALMS. There are 5 classes of cars in the race!

 

[AceT100]

Good stuff Bob, I'd go, but I get off work at 3am Monday morning, and wouldn't be even slightly awake for the drive up there...When you racing on a Tuesday????

I take it you got the transmission sorted then???

 

[ex911]

Good stuff Bob, I'd go, but I get off work at 3am Monday morning, and wouldn't be even slightly awake for the drive up there...When you racing on a Tuesday????

I take it you got the transmission sorted then???

Lol Dave, I'll let you know when we race on a Tuesday next!

So we took the tranny apart, couldn't see anything out of place, so we rebuilt it with some stronger parts like springs and dogs. We just finished putting the car together this last weekend, and hopefully whatever we did will have fixed the problem, I guess we'll find out on Monday!

I suppose I can also race without 2nd gear again, if I had to!

 

[Charles R]

So we took the tranny apart, couldn't see anything out of place, so we rebuilt it with some stronger parts like springs and dogs. We just finished putting the car together this last weekend, and hopefully whatever we did will have fixed the problem, I guess we'll find out on Monday!

I suppose I can also race without 2nd gear again, if I had to!

Wow, took it apart and didn't see ANYTHING wrong?

I'll toss an out of the blue idea to you, but I don't know that assembly, so it may be WAYYY off base.

Third and fourth gears on an early VW transaxle (I know that's not what you use) are actually a two piece design. the gear is pressed onto the syncro teeth hub. When you start putting real power to the gear, they spin. When you take them apart, they look fine. The trick for high-po use is some creative tack welding.

I'm pretty darn sure your gears are not built like that...BUT it's something to inspect for, if the problem returns.

GOOD LUCK!!!!

 

[ex911]

thanks Charles.

We had me, my team engineer, and the engine builder look at the tranny (it's a ZX-10 motor after all) and we could not find anything amiss. The oil was fresh and w/o metal. All the dogs were clean. 2nd gear looked no different than the other gears. Felt like we were chasing a gremlin!

 

[ex911]

Hey, found a couple of pics from the last time out at Thunderhill. These should inspire you to come out and watch the fun!

Leading a Formula car into Turn 1:

Leading the Ferrari 430 Challenge car out of the esses (RIP JC ):

Finally, bench-racing back in the paddock with a corner worker :

Hope to see you out there

 

[CraigB]

Bob, I like how you say you're being "chased"...you sure they're not lapping you Good stuff, man I wish I could have this Monday off :| Don't party too hard on Sat night now! And bring back pix

 

[ex911]

Shhh...Craig, shhhh!

U ever coming back to my show anymore?

 

[My900ss]

How many cars were in the class you raced the weekend of these photos?

 

[ex911]

seven cars in my class for both Round 1 (Sears Pt) and Round 2 (Laguna Seca). Interestingly, I just checked the entry list for tomorrow (Thunderhill) and there appears to be seven cars in my class also! Barring drop outs and walk up regs, of course.

Note that these are not the same seven cars....there are ten cars classed in my group, not all make it to all races.

 

[Valgar]

I'm curious what your T-Hill laptimes are!

 

[spdt509]

I'm curious what your T-Hill laptimes are!

you need to get back out there with modded Yugo before you get all old and slow/fat.which ever comes first....cry

ps i'll be your pit ladyboy....

 

[Valgar]

you need to get back out there with modded Yugo before you get all old and slow/fat.which ever comes first....cry

ps i'll be your pit ladyboy....

I'm old, slow AND fat!