Thanks for the update Randy! Very encouraging... I can sense the excitement. Sounds like the drivers are also the mechanics as well.

Get us updates, but never have it feel like an obligation, espeically after a hard day... Most of know that we can go to http://www.grand-am.com/Home.asp to get info as well...

Be safe and have fun!

 

Thanks for the update Randy.

Looking forward to seeing you guys at the pointy end of the Homestead grid.

 

Randy

Good to hear the wheels arrived and all is well. Keep us posted on how you are doing today, the online Grand Am timing is not broadcasting lap times until tomorrow.

Good luck and my best to all.

Mark

 

Late in P1, RSR #197 is at a 1:37.779 (31 out of 37). The quickest time so far in ST is 1:33.619 (set by former Nuzzo MINI driver Shane Lewis).

And they just changed drivers from Randy to Ali.

They got 22 laps in which is great!

Good luck guys.

 

Looks like they stopped at lap 22, with a best lap on 17. Practice 1 continues as a couple cars are on the 33rd lap... Qualifying is coming-up. Weather appears to be nice, high 70's to low 80's. There might be race day rain though...

 

Yeah, just echoing Mark's best wishes, luck and fun. Plus, go out there and kick some butt! Many in the cheering bleachers out here!

 

They must have had problems for Qualifying, their time 2:35.873 is whacked. They are P32 with the cars behind them having no time listed.

I hope they run a clean race, stay out of trouble, and make some passes.

Good luck RSR!

 

Sometimes I wonder if there is a 'luck God'. If so, he must hate Mini Coopers.

1) Only 4 race wheels showed up on time. Customs stopped the remaining 8 wheels and they didn't get delivered until after qualifying today. We have them now but lots of time and effort was wasted.

2) We spent Friday and Saturday resetting the suspension and shocks. We got the rebuilt Koni's back and the good news . . . they seem to be working. The problem was we had to start setup all over again at Zero. Alignment . . . corner weighting . . . etc. The better news is that we ARE dealing with refining setup and not dealing with the basics of fitment . . . this is progress.

3) We broke the supercharger belt during today's practice. The tensioner broke and went into the crankshaft compensator pulley. It was damaged. We patched it back together for Qualifying . . . and, Bang! it broke again after the warm up lap.

We have now properly repaired it by replacing all the damaged parts and we are ready to race tomorrow. A small benefit may come out of this fiasco. I took the busted pulley over to the tech officials and showed them what happened and why. They have tentatively approved an upgrade so we can avoid this in the future.

If anyone has a recommendation for a good high quality crank pulley, I would welcome the information. It has to be stock sized, but weight and features are open. HELP!

Lastly, Homestead is another 'AERO' track. If fact, it may be worse than Daytona. We use the banking from the end of turn 2 all the way back to turn 1. The Mini advantage in tighter sections is eliminated by all the high speed stuff. It's very disappointing to us. There is not a whole lot we can do. We are just short of HP and don't have the aerodynamics to keep up. We will keep up the fight and hope that consistency, good pit strategy and some luck (do you hear me Luck God??) will prevail.

We go tomorrow at 10:15am. Ali will start the race. I will post some updates as time permits.

Randy

 

argh......racing can be a lot of fun sometimes!
Hang in there and good luck in the race!

 

nice job w/ the quick update, randy. i just got back from the track. too bad that you aren't running the same course as the motorcyles ran. eliminate NASCAR 3/4 and subtitute some tight technical stuff.....glad all the repairs were completed. see you tomorrow w/ a few other miniacs....greg

 

Thanks for the update Randy.

Funny about the tensioner. When Vesko Kazaroz ran an MCS in Grand-Am Cup at Fontana a few years ago, the tensioner on his car busted. They had problems with belts also. A mad dash to a MINI dealer in LA produced a new tensioner and he ran the race.

Glad to hear you guys got her buttoned up and ready to go.

Have a great race.

 

Randy, from what I've heard... for a crank pulley, in your high demand situation, stay oem - '05/'06, which is a few pounds lighter than earlier years. There are lightened stock-sized crank pullies, but from what Nuzzo had shared, this is risky...

Best to you guys! As karma would have it... you are due.

 

16th in Practice 3 -

16 197 ST Smalley/ Basakinci
RSR MotorsportsMini Cooper S 1:36.844 85.498

Nice job! Keep motoring.........

 

Something happened in the race.

Leaders are at 26 laps, #197 has only completed 10.

There is usually a lot of attrition in these races so I hope that RSR has a clean race the rest of the way.

 

We broke 4 Supercharger belts over a total span of 20 laps which included one practice session, a qualifying session and twice during the race. All the drive parts were new. We were puzzled.

However, we finally discovered what was causing it. We removed the idler pulley that replaces the A/C compressor. The theory is, who needs and extra pulley that can fail??. Wrong decision. This requires a shorter aftermarket belt. We are going back to the extra idler and using JCW belts like we used too.

When the last belt broke, it stayed in the engine compartment. We finally got a look. It was a clean break . . . almost like a knife cut. It was clear that the belt was not strong enough.

We also could see on the data logging when the belts would break by watching the voltage drop.

All in all, a disappointing day and weekend. At least we got the setup done and the shocks fixed. We will have the belt situation corrected before Iowa. The transporter has already left for Des Moines. We will bring the new belt drive parts with us on Wednesday.

My apologies to all our NAM friends for another disappointing outing. Unfortunately, we are still in a development mode. We learn more and correct problems each time we go out. Eventually it will come together.

Thanks for your support.

Randy

 

Randy, at least for me, no apology is needed. Growing pains are understood, and best be done... well, early, especially on a track not best suited for our little guy.

Were you logging manifold pressure also? I'm guessing that you were low on boost, thus power also... Not sure, but would seem logical.

Iowa seems a little more MINI-friendly, but still a "big" track:



Behind you guys more than ever!

 

Well, at least you learned something. I think you're doing well, best of luck in Iowa, that track looks a little more MINI-favorable.

 

Randy,

Please, there is no need to apologize. Growing pains are understood.

TonyB nailed it: Your fans are behind you more than ever.

Good luck in Iowa.

 

It was great seeing the #197 in person today. Sorry to see the problems you all had today, but learning and growing from each disappointment will make you all a better team in the end - so don't be too down on yourselves. My 2 year old son was just tickled to see a MINI on the track and you provided that memory of his first track experience that he will remember forever - so I thank you for that!

Here are some pictures I took today of the event:

http://www.motoringfun.com/image-gal...april-15-2007/

 

hey Randy, gald to see you again today - ok two things come to mind

1 - you have no luck except the bad type in FLA, but we do host two of the races so that just sucks

2 - Greg and I are the only ones that have been to both your races so far and we are bad luck for you - and that just sucks

but either way, you are off to Iowa and the next race is not in FL and Greg and I are not attending, so best of luck, and I bet you left your demons behind you at the state line, HA HA!

good luck next week - Jamie

 

Transporter is on the way to Iowa.

With less than 1 week between Miami and Iowa, we have a few things to take care of before Friday practice. We are installing a new supercharger belt drive system. The existing one proved very problematic at Homestead.

We are also changing the clutch which requires almost removing the engine. The race clutch has been troublesome. It drags which makes upshifts sticky and some downshifts almost impossible.

We are still experiencing some 'teething pains' but things are improving. At Miami we got the Koni suspension sorted . . . finally! The handling has improved by a factor of 10. We are hopeful we can now concentrate on setup and driving rather than putting out fires like Daytona and Miami.

My co-driver is Craig Hansen, a very experienced AZ spec series racer. He is originally from Iowa, so he will be racing in front of friends and family.

Practice is on Friday. I will posts updates.

Randy

 

I sent in the entry for Lime Rock today.
Randy

 

Most Excellent !!

Mark

 

I just posted a video of the race from this past weekend:

http://www.motoringfun.com/2007/04/1...llenge-series/

 

Made me feel like I was there! I still get a grin on my face seeing the MINI on a track . Thanks for sharing!