I've been considering a move to Pirelli tires ;)
Lucky for me, women only like the car or my wife would have left me by now!
Chris and I at VIR in full One Lap livery
Q&A
What is your favorite thing about the RX-7?
Well, owning one has been like dating a supermodel. People look at you as you go by, not because of who you are but because the car is drop dead gorgeous. That and the silky smoothness that can only come from the rotary engine makes it a dream.
What modifications have you done to it?
Not much. For a time I kept it legal for the SCCA Super Stock Solo II class. I've replaced the Y-pipe that connects the twin turbos and that bumps me out of 'stock'. I haven't run Solo II in any official/sanctioned manner for about 5 years so I don't care. I've got Koni yellows, a K&N Filter, PFS cat-back and Kumho R compound tires on stock wheels. For the Cannonball we had to run street tires and picked the Bridgestone S-03 Pole Positions which worked well, again in stock 16x8 size. After the One Lap I bought an Apexi PFC chip and commander for it. I also got one of the last 'M2 style' rollbars. It weighs all of ~40 lbs and is made of chrome-moly tubing. We were so stock compared to most entries it wasn't even funny!
What plans do you have for it?
I've got a down pipe to replace the pre-cat which does more damage to the engine/turbos than it is worth. I have a set of Wilwood front calipers with 13" rotors and PF 01 pads. Then there is the Koyo radiator to install. Finally, I've recently purchased a Ground Control coil-over setup to go with the Koni's and bump my spring rate from 280F/200R to 550F/400R. I'm hoping this cuts down on some of the wheel rub I get at the Shenandoah Circuit at Summit Point.
Why should I be invited to the UTC Challenge?
I think the fact that I'm the driver, pit crew, crew chief, owner, and every thing else makes this as much a grass roots entry as you'll find. Also, the 3rd generation RX-7 was built to be an uncompromising ultimate track car. The fact that it is now 15 years old (it was built in 1992 as a '93 model) and can STILL kick a lot of newer, higher HP cars to the curb means Mazda got it right. Anyone that wants to experience the purity of the sports car ethos needs to ride in one!
What experience do you have?
I started autocrossing with the Texas A&M Sports Car Club This is a great group and has a great facility to run on. They still only charge $10-$15 per event and if you stick around at the end of the day you get fun runs! Then I moved to DC and the auto-x scene was totally different. I hooked up with the local Mazda club and their affiliated HPDE group MazdaDrivers who were kind enough to sponsor me for the Cannonball. In Texas I'd done a number of track day events as well. We'd flag for the PCA group in exchange for track time, a pretty sweet deal. I've done a number of events with MazdaDrivers at VIR. Then, Chris and I did the Cannonball: One Lap of America. This covered 9 tracks in 7 days with multiple configurations at each. We got to meet Brock Yates and a bunch of cool speed junkies. After OLoA I started instructing for MazdaDrivers as well. The funny thing is, even with all the tracks I've run, I've never run the North Course at VIR! I'm hoping this will be my chance!
Oh, and I've also had the chance to drive about 6 laps at the Nurburgring in Germany. This is like a pilgrimage for any serious track junkie. Nothing else even comes close in terms of length, speeds, types of corners, elevation changes. VIR is the closest we have in the USA and it is 1/3 the size of the Nurburgring. They have a very different idea of personal liberty in Germany since they allow you to drive the track for about $20/lap. Name one place in the USA that the lawyers and insurance companies would allow that!
Why do you run the car at the track?
This is what the car was built to do. Yes, it also looks stunningly beautiful, but it is a thoroughbred. Also, it gets the speed-bug out of my system so I don't do stupid things on public roads anymore. Well, hardly anymore. ;)
Has your car ever seen snow?
Sadly yes, I had to back it out of the garage last week to change the brake pads on my '03 Mini Cooper. While I had it out for about two hours, this happened.
HISTORY
I bought this car in July of 1998 from a guy in Richmond, VA. That's me standing next to it the day I bought it. I was living in Texas at the time. I had to fly to VA, pay the guy, and drive it back. Thankfully someone on the RX-7 owners e-mail list was able to check out the car for me ahead of time and gave me a 3 page writeup saying, "If you don't buy it, someone else will and you'll be kicking yourself."
I proceeded to take it to the SCCA Solo II (Autocross) nationals that year and placed pretty low but the car was 100% stock, not even adjustable shocks. It did get used for the 'rookie class' picture in Grassroots Motorsports that year, a nice little B&W of my yellow car in front of a red fire truck. I still have my tattered copy of that issue. The photographer wanted a car with nice contrast to the truck. Why it mattered for a pic that ended up B&W I don't know. But that was the start of my 'career' in competing with the car. I moved out east in 1999 and joined up with a bunch of great enthusiasts of the DC Mazda club. There I met my friend and co-driver Chris and a bunch of other rotary fanatics. He and I decided to run the 2005 One Lap of America and ended up taking 1st place in our class! This next picture I've loaded shows the car with the trophy.
So now I've decided to enter it into the UTC Challenge. Why should GRM pick me? Well, I've done almost all the work myself with the exception of the new motor a few years back. I've kept it mostly stock and 100% street legal but it is still a very competitive car. I even drive it to the track directly with a mini-trailer for my tires. Our OLoA effort got a lot of support from our friends who gave us some gas money, toll booth transponder, and brought us parts when we thought we had a radiator problem. We had a little help from a couple of sponsors as well to the tune of a few hundred bucks. So, if this isn't grassroots level, I don't know what is.
For now, until I update this page more, you can read about our OLoA effort at my friend Bill's site. He's the owner of Big Momma, a car recently voted as "Beater of the week". Don't worry, his server loves the traffic. :)
