Hey...at this level in motorsports when two parties go their seperate ways for whatever reasons, one or the other should not be posting like that. I could not let that go....and remember, he put two smack talking posts up yesterday (under a different screen name) and then took them down.

He needs to keep it to himself and not take joy in it.

Enough said...I'm done with this conversation. On to Mid Ohio!!

 

For the record I was the one who reported the posts to the mods
so pack sand

 

Actually Jan has been pretty big about the whole thing and has posted very little about it
I'm certain that he would rather be there helping them win races

As for the posts yesterday, Jan called me asking if I had any idea who it was (I didn't) and that he didn't like it and was going to report them.

No one is happy about the way the Mini's have been running in Grand Am and wishes them nothing but success. We just want them to be running the way they were at the start of the season if that meets with your approval.

 

Wow, wonder if any infractions went out from this thread? There should be.

 

why? because someone posted under an alias to slander me?

 

And somebody (hello moderator, or OP) needs to lock this thread because it's become unproductive.

 

You guys could continue your discussion via PM's.

 

I agree that this is not the blame forum.

Randy is a stand up guy and I can tell you I know of noone else in North America that has done more for MINI racing than he nor has anyone invested as much as Randy does in supporting MINI racing.

I have also worked with Jan and run his products in my own personal race car and I have been very happy with the results as I was one who got to stand on the podium at Nationals and Jan was a big part of supporting me there.

Jan has been working with the Grand-Am cars and has helped bring them to a new level.

Which is the whole point - once you reach this level of racing and trying for results, quickly you begin to find the weak points in the car that was not originally built for this level of performance. There are many many factors involved here and that, in a nutshell, is what owning and running a race team is all about.

I will defend Randy and Jan based on my own experiences with them - they are committed to making and promoting MINI racing - which I think is awesome and I congratulate them and thank them for it for in the end, it helps all of us.

In the end, we are racers and we all want to win! And in the end, I will run with Randy any day, any time, on any track! And I will continue to use Jan's products!

Ricky "Boo-Boo" Johnson
2009 AZ Region NASA Champion PTC
2009 3rd Place NASA Nationals PTC

 

Hey guys . . .

Please don't use these threads for bickering. . . Everyone is entitled to their opinions and they are welcome. Please be civil about it. . . no slander, no unfounded claims please! Thanks.

------------------------

The current problems with the cars have nothing to do with the ECU's. Both cars failed to finish at Watkins. One had a clutch failure and was possibly driver error. The other one had a transmission failure of some sort. We don't know what yet. We have never had a tranny fail before.

It is true that RSR and Jan have parted company. Don't read anything into that. We are all big boys and there were reasons on both sides. It is also incorrect when someone said the Daytona engines had Jan's crank pulleys on them. They did not. They were installed on the engines for Miami but were removed because they were not Grand Am approved. The real story isn't very dramatic is it?

We have also parted company with Automatic. RSR opened it's own shop in Orlando and I have hired our own techs and engineers. The Automatic guys were great but they had a different venue. It became clear that we needed to control our own destiny. We have done that. That happened after the fiasco at Barber.

No one is more disappointed than me about the recent DNF's. We started the year with 7 starts and 7 blown engines. Even the car that podium-ed at Miami had a trashed motor. We have now fixed the engine reliability problems and and can now focus on other issues. We have been chasing our tails all season trying to catch up and it shows in the results.

The 198 was scratched at WG because the Bosch engineers messed up the mapping. They sent us out for practice and the within two laps the engine blew. They admitted they messed up the calibrations. Even with these teething pains, the Bosch is a mandatory step. We have the stock ECU's working right now but reliability and engine life will NEVER be there staying stock. We have dyno'ed the Bosch set up and the numbers are good. We will get more power, better fuel economy and better reliability with the Bosch.

I would agree that the stock ECU's are Ok for 95% of the applications. Unfortunately, we are in the remaining 5%. Heck, we have set the fastest lap at 4 out of 6 tracks this year. That says a lot.

So . . . to all the loyal fans and to the detractors . . . I am sorry for the disappointments. Racing at the Grand Am level is never easy. This season it has been particularly difficult. We will get it back together soon as the race schedule opens up after Mid Ohio. These back to back races have taken a toll on us and ALL the Conti race series competitors.

Thanks for listening.

Randy

 

With that cleared up, let's not steer this thread into the direction that we don't want to go. I would hate to have to lock up another thread because of disrespect, bashing, trolling and etc. Please keep the site guidelines in mind when posting. Thanks for your time folks!

 

Absolutely no disrespect Randy but from being a loyal supporter of RSR since your beginnings racing the Minis in Grand Am, I'm a bit confused. As I follow your racing very closely didn't you have a problem with the transmission last year at Homestead? Also don't understand your statement about the pulleys at Daytona, are you saying that the 197's engine did not arrive at Automatic with Jan's pulley on it, wasn't that what the big argument in the pits after the race about?

Sorry to hear about the 7 blown engines, thought as per your post that many of the problems this year were the results of thrown belts like at VIR and not blown motors...

Please know that I for one wish you and the whole RSR team nothing but success and want to stay a loyal supporter and not a detractor of your efforts in Grand Am with our beloved Mini Coopers. Good luck on the rest of the season!!

 

Randy sorry to here of your teams bad luck at the Glen. Looking forward to seeing you guys at my home track of Mid-Ohio.

Keep on plugging!

 

The engines at Daytona did not have Jan's pulley's on them . . . never did. They were installed and WOULD have been on the engines for Miami but were removed. We were not even aware of a pulley problem UNTIL Daytona.

This IS the 1st time we have ever had an internal tranny failure. We were having problems with throw out bearings last year. We seem to have solved that problem . . . however, the TO bearing did go away on the 196 at Watkins but we think for another reason.

The 7 engines I speak of . . . Some examples . . . Two at Daytona. The pulley's sidelined them but neither would have finished the race. Both engines had oiling problems and would have thrown a rod soon. Both engines were rebuilt after the race.
At Miami . . . the 197 threw a belt and then threw a rod. The 198 that was on the podium had almost zero compression on #4 at the end. All the rod bearings were heavily scored. The 196 had the ECU problem.

. . . and so on.

Anyway . . . onward and upward

Randy

 

RMW pulleys were never on the cars before Daytona but were installed for Miami but removed...

Again, good luck!

 

Looking forward........

Good Luck RSR!!!

 

Pic's here http://upstateimages.com/#/album/1f58dj/

 

Nice pic's . . . you even got the 198 on track for the 5 minutes it was out in practice session two!!!!

Thanks for posting.

Randy

 

To be clear . . .

The RMW pulleys were NOT on the cars at Daytona. They were installed on the replacement engines for the next race at Miami. They were removed because they were not approved by Grand Am. The fact is, they were not necessary as we we solved the crank pulley problem by ducting air to the pulley area.

The factory pulley failure issue is resolved. They were remove for Miami because they were not necessary.

I hope this clears up this issue.

Thanks!

Randy

 

Thanks for spending some time with our group!

 

Hope you all got some decent Speed TV coverage this round. Looking forward to tuning in on Sunday, June 13 @ 1:00pm ET or for the replay on Thurs., June 17 @ 3:00am ET.

 

DVR set - Thanks for the reminder.

 

Do they air this across the internet?

 

No they don't . . .

 

Big surprise on the failure of the 197 at WG. Turns out the inner boot on the long axle was torn and the CV joint failed. Usually, it's the outer one that tears.

The driver never reported any noise or other indication that would point to an axle. We are now checking the diff because the car would not move. One would think the LSD would drive the car on the other axle but it did not.

These are upgraded axles and we have not broken one in a LONG time. I suspect the car must have run over some debris or gone off track (not reported) to tear the boot.

I'm puzzled. We are replacing the diff to be safe. The cars leave for Ohio on Tuesday morning.

Randy

 

So Randy your giving a clean bill of health on the trans fluid?