Well I am just watching this one on Speed.
Better late than never, eventhough I already read results.

 

pre-duplicate

 

I just started following live timing at 2:30:00 and 197 is a lap down and not running fast times.

What happened?

And I see the 196 is kaput.

Damn, my heart breaks for you guys.

 

 

 

The season 's last race started on a high note with Owen earning the pole in the 197. It was eventful because the car had been withdrawn Saturday morning. Jade ran off at turn 3 into the tire wall and it looked like the car was done for the weekend.

At the very last minute, Joe Toussaint called in sick with a possible case of the Swine Flu so we were one driver short. The original plan was 3, 2, 2 for drivers. We still had 6 drivers and 3 cars so it was easy to realign the assignments and put two drivers on each car for the 4 hour race.

In the mean time, we went to work repairing the car and had it ready to go before qualifing so we re-entered it. Owen then cut a 2:10.1 for the pole.

The race did not go quite so well.

The Intercooler on the pole Car (197) split a seam at about the 2 hour mark cutting the boost to 3 or 4 lbs. The car soldiered on but was down on power. It was nursed home to 15th.

Adam, Trevor and Andy drove the 198 to 8th.

Randy and Jade drove the 196 to 20th. The car quit at about 3 hours with an unknown mechanical problem. The Oil pressure was dropping so we parked it rather than take the chance of a major failure.

The new engine package has shown the cars are competitive. We are looking forward to next year. We will be announcing our 2010 plans in the near future.

We will be back!

Randy

 

Randy, Sorry about the bad luck! Of all things a split seem... Get some good testing over the winter and come back looking for a championship in the spring!

 

Randy, thanks for giving your fans a fun ride this year.

We're cheering for you in the offseason and can't wait for 2010 (R53 and R56???).

 

Big thanks to Randy and the entire RSR Motorsport team for all the hard work they did!!! Been fun watching as the cars have really been improving all year long! In spite of the bad luck you've had to endure the speed the cars have exhibited shows great promise for next year!!!

 

I echo that sentiment! Thanks for keeping us informed!

 

Ironically, this was a tested part! We ran it at Miller . . . it worked and we were acquiring them for the other two cars.

We are right out on the ragged edge in many of the things we do. We need to be, as that's what it takes to compete. . . some of the other cars have engine displacements TWICE as large as ours.

The new inner cooler is one of those items . . . expensive . . . but worth lots of power by keeping the inlet temps low.

It backfired this time . . .

Randy

 

Thanks for all the Support during the 2009 season. We had a lot of lows and highs this year a win is right around the corner for RSR in 2010. We are happy with the pole at VIR but need to get a win for the Mini fans.

Thanks,

Owen Trinkler
I'm on twitter and facebook to keep up with the off season news.

 

You are welcome, Owen!

It's been a thrill to watch RSR develop the R53s into competitive machines.

So, are we looking at R53 and R56 in 2010?

 

We will be back with the R53's. The R56 is still not classed by Grand Am and is on hold pending some new engine management updates from Bosch.

The Challenge Race car was rejected because the roll cage does not meet GA specs. GA does not automatically recognize a FIA cage and the wall thickness on the tubing is too thin.

GA has approved a very competitive engine setup for us in the R53 so we will stick with aknown commodity!

Randy

 

Great news!

So does RSR have a facebook page?

 

Sort of . . . its under my name 'Randy Smalley'.

 

 

Look foward to next season. tried to see as many races as I could. And I encourage all MINI fans to attend GA/Koni races and visit the RSR paddock. They welcome all MINI fans.

 

I would love to except they do not have any races within driving distance.

The last time I recall GA/Koni was at Fontana (2005), there was a MINI team there that got significant local support. Laguna is a maybe, but only if RSR is there.

 

Yeah seen them at Lime Rock and NJMP when I was in Philly. Went to Laguna Seca, but they skip that one. Unfortunately, the closest one to us is Miller Motorsport Park in Utah.

 

Team RSR rules, and next year will be bringing home the gold!

 

Big announcement on the Grand-Am site this PM.

RSR partnering with Automatic Racing out of Orlando - will run two Minis in ST and two BMWs in GS.

http://http://www.grand-am.com/news/...es=k&cid=24358

 

So it looks like Tim Marren is onto other cars and the Minis are now being prepped in Fla at Automatic.

 

Great news, it can only make the MINIs more competitive.

 

How's that?