"RallyWrench" (rndlitebmw)
05/11/2015 at 16:55 • Filed to: because racecar, lamborghini
16
46|
"RallyWrench" (rndlitebmw)
05/11/2015 at 16:55 • Filed to: because racecar, lamborghini | 16
| 46 |
I had a rare relaxing weekend of watching racing & drinking beer at Laguna Seca with friends and family planned, then got a call on the preceding Wednesday to work on one of these for O’Gara Motorsport in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo series. I’ll take it. Fortunately I already knew & had previously raced the Thunderhill 25 with 5 guys on the team, which greatly helped in getting me more or less up to speed as quickly as possible. By Sunday morning I was starting to feel comfortable within the operation. Overall a successful weekend, and I was happy to try my hand with a new team and car type. I do love racing, hard work though it is, so any opportunity to work at the track is a good one because it gets me out from behind the desk at the shop. O’Gara has an amazing operation coming together, it was a pleasure to work for a properly set up team. What follows is more or less a photo journal of my weekend.
I got to the track at about 10:30pm Thursday, having closed up the shop and done payroll before jumping in the truck & pointing north. Fortunately I was sleeping in the truck and didn’t have to set up much, so after a bite to eat and a couple of beers I turned in. The next morning, I had this to look forward to:
Friday morning, 6:45am: After a quick run out to Will Call in Seaside for my IMSA hardcard, it was right down to the paddock Friday morning. My charge for the weekend would be the #50 Huracan, driven by Richard Antinucci. It was a brand new car, and had only been delivered the prior week, and first turned a wheel in shakedown testing at Buttonwillow 2 days earlier, following a heroic thrash by the overworked full time guys. The team had not originally planned to run it this weekend:
Sam, who I’d worked with before at Thunderhill, gave me a quick rundown on the cars’ systems & procedures. I was sitting in the car within 2 minutes of walking in the tent, learning the steering wheel & system controls because I’d be driving the car to & from grid & pitlane soon:
Next, a brief walkaround of the car, going over the basics for service access:
Radiator low in front, always covered with a protective pad when the front cover & extractor vents are off:
Passenger footwell, with radio, fire bottle, air jack, battery & Motec boxes visible:
Now that’s a firewall:
Job 1: New brakes & bleed all around, to bed in a complete set of pads in the morning Practice for later use:
#69 on the setup pad in the top of the frame and below:
Then it was off for the first Practice of the morning, less than 3 hours after meeting team and car. Go time!
In line for IMSA tech after practice, a bit of a nervous time because I wasn’t really familiar with the car or measurements yet:
Weight is checked first, here we’ve just rolled off the scale pads, about to check camber:
Then the car gets rolled on to the rack for an underbody and ride height inspection:
Laguna curbs can be mean:
Checking ride height compliance. We made it, just:
Back to headquarters for debriefing and cocktails service. So begins the afternoon pre-race prep, as qualifying and the first race would be back to back the next morning. This is the level of disassembly required to access the rear sway bar and drain the catch can:
Just remember: Every race car, no matter how cool, is someone’s pain in the ass. Several wounds were incurred in reaching this point. World’s dumbest catch can visible between the frame sections, to the right of the shock assembly:
Very cool fuel pump-out box made by my buddy Dustin of
!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
, a car chief for the ill-fated 09 car:
Setting sun made for some cool light in the tent, which I in no way captured well:
Tucked in for the night, well after dark:
First blood drawn, one of many carbon fiber wounds incurred during the weekend. I forgot to take a pic of both hands after the weekend, it was lots more of this, plus splinters:
Up at 5:30am for Qualifying & Race day, Team O’Gara ready to go bright & early:
In line for post-quali Tech, result: P1 for both sessions, pole for both races. Richie is a not only a great guy to work with, he’s a monster behind the wheel!
Time for a quick cleaning and tire change before the race, it was pretty much back to back with qualifying. Here’s my fellow mechanic on the car, Nick, with Richie:
About to blast the wheels on & get to grid:
Post race tech, a couple of interesting things here. 1: the pattern of oil from a leading car made a pretty cool aero study on the front of the Monster Energy entry of Corey Lewis & Change Racing:
And the tires moved about 3” on the rims over the course of a 50 minute race, see the yellow “N” on the sidewall relative to the yellow stripe at the valve stem, through the Speedline script:
Back at the tent, with some shiny new aero mods to the roof:
P1, but no champagne for me, back to work (after lunch):
The 09 car didn’t fare so well, suffering extensive damage during race 1. Unfortunately it damaged the frame & could not be repaired for race 2 on Sunday:
That’ll buff right out:
Lamborghini’s engineers were a regular presence, downloading data for IMSA to ensure legality:
Not bad for paddock transportation:
On the way to lunch, Proper Huracan GT3 on display at Lamborghini hospitality. I was told this is the first one, a thoroughly used mule:
The famous Bob Akin 935, on static display to promote the upcoming Rennsport Reunion, which I’m really looking forward to:
The new Compass 360 Audi S3s:
Some gratuitous supercar pics from the paddock area around Lamborghini hospitality:
Cheers from our little victory soiree, where the mechanics promptly descended upon the free beer. Forza Italia!
A few camp shots... this was a nice sunset riding back to camp on Saturday night:
Back at camp, a great evening for May in Monterey:
Heating up last night’s tri-tip and a can o’ beans.
My friend Lars’ “Dutch Chili”, which I wisely stayed the hell away from:
Back at it Sunday morning, with some last minute setup changes from our engineer Gerald. It’s a spec series, you always seek an edge:
Pit lane post-race, and another good result, P2 by .4 seconds after a blinding drive by Richie following an unfortunate drive-through penalty. When the driver says “The car was fucking awesome,” we’ve done our job:
A tired, relaxed post-race lunch at Marion’s, the best damn racing catering I’ve ever had. They follow the Tudor series around the county, as they did American Le Mans in ‘06 when I was in World Challenge. I found it comforting to have them there at every track, I always knew I could make my roast beef & turkey on rye at any time. I’m not a fancy food guy, so this suits me just fine, thanks:
Lined up for some beauty shots and pre-loadout cleaning. This is when I was making my work list for the car moving forward, documenting everything that we did to it for the weekend. This is why I take notes, several pages over the course of a weekend, all included with the summary and work list, so the next guy to touch the car can pick up where we left off.
The race may be over, but there’s hours of work yet to do, packing up 5 cars, 2 semis and a motor coach for the trip home. It takes awhile to get the tile pulled up organized for easy setup next time:
2 in, 3 to go. A little spooky standing behind the car on a shaky liftgate:
Not a bad hardware haul for the team, here’s to more success in the future:
A good weekend all in all. I didn’t get to watch any of the on track action but my own, hence the dearth of pictures to that effect, but for as positive an experience as this, that’s ok. There are few places I love more than Laguna Seca, and having come there since childhood as a fan, it’s pretty cool to find success with efforts on the other side of the fence. 37 hours of work in 3 days, all worth it.
norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback
> RallyWrench
05/11/2015 at 17:06 |
|
I cannot give this enough stars.
505Turbeaux
> RallyWrench
05/11/2015 at 17:06 |
|
this looks eerily like my hand shape. Maybe you actually ARE my brother from another mother. On another note, does this mean you will be making the NY trip?
EL_ULY
> RallyWrench
05/11/2015 at 17:07 |
|
holy hot damn!!!!
|
505Turbeaux
> RallyWrench
05/11/2015 at 17:08 |
|
this is all that could have come from this
R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet
> RallyWrench
05/11/2015 at 17:25 |
|
You didn’t tell me that you got to drive it, last week.
\what you thinking about, oh just racecars and things.jpg
|
R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet
> RallyWrench
05/11/2015 at 17:28 |
|
Halon bottle?
|
R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet
> RallyWrench
05/11/2015 at 17:28 |
|
These are the sex
|
R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet
> RallyWrench
05/11/2015 at 17:33 |
|
This thing? with the perforated holes?
thebigbossyboss
> RallyWrench
05/11/2015 at 18:05 |
|
You are the coolest. Noone could ever be as cool as you.
|
RallyWrench
> thebigbossyboss
05/11/2015 at 18:08 |
|
Not sure if sarcasm. I’m just a mechanic, so not that cool.
|
RallyWrench
> R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet
05/11/2015 at 18:09 |
|
Nope, the shiny black canister to the right of that.
|
RallyWrench
> R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet
05/11/2015 at 18:10 |
|
They get the job done!
|
RallyWrench
> R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet
05/11/2015 at 18:10 |
|
Nailed it.
|
RallyWrench
> 505Turbeaux
05/11/2015 at 18:11 |
|
That’s why I avoided it!
|
RallyWrench
> R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet
05/11/2015 at 18:12 |
|
Just 1st gear, paddock to grid & back. Nothing special, but people get out of the way in a hurry ;)
|
RallyWrench
> 505Turbeaux
05/11/2015 at 18:15 |
|
haha no surprise there. Figuring out the future now.
thedevilinside
> RallyWrench
05/11/2015 at 18:15 |
|
I never ever stand behind the car on the gate, always behind or in front.
|
thedevilinside
> RallyWrench
05/11/2015 at 18:16 |
|
Note to self, work on Lamborghini ST cars, no one moves when I drive through the Paddock.
|
RallyWrench
> thedevilinside
05/11/2015 at 18:20 |
|
The damn thing is so wide in back and has so much aero frippery on the bodywork that there wasn’t much room to maneuver around it once off the ground. I only found myself in that position once, and made a point to ride up elsewhere with the other 4!
|
RallyWrench
> thedevilinside
05/11/2015 at 18:22 |
|
I’ve had the same experience, normally. Having a 5.2L 10 cylinder horn and looking like it’ll eat you helps, I guess. First time I’ve worked on a car of this nature.
|
thebigbossyboss
> RallyWrench
05/11/2015 at 18:23 |
|
Not sarcasm at all. You got to spend an entire weekend working with lamborghini race cars. I got to spend my entire weekend fixing a pedal bike, and fighting with my bank over stuff.
Sorry if I came off sarcastically, thank you for sharing you experiences with us.
|
norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback
> RallyWrench
05/11/2015 at 18:26 |
|
Also, I got to see one of these in person last year. Almost saw a gold one but unfortunately the driver left the pits in 1:59.600 and got a drive through, probably would’ve won that race had they not been penalised.
|
RallyWrench
> thebigbossyboss
05/11/2015 at 18:27 |
|
Damn internet, making tone impossible to read. My bad, thanks for the positive comments! For what it’s worth, I spend most weekends working on or crashing pedal bikes at some point ;)
|
RallyWrench
> norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback
05/11/2015 at 18:30 |
|
That was exactly our penalty in the second race, we were .2 seconds short on total pit time, which earned us a drive through from the lead. Richie’s drive after that was magic.
CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist)
> RallyWrench
05/11/2015 at 18:33 |
|
You get to work on Lambos. You work on Lambos at Laguna Seca. You are certifiably awesome.
|
RallyWrench
> CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist)
05/11/2015 at 18:37 |
|
The feeling is mutual, then. You get to race bicycles all over, and that kicks ass to me!
|
norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback
> RallyWrench
05/11/2015 at 18:51 |
|
I’m sure Ryan wouldve been on fire had the penalty not been with in the final 10 minutes. Oh well, think he finished 9th-ish.
|
R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet
> RallyWrench
05/11/2015 at 20:08 |
|
\knows precious little about the workings of ice engines.
\knows a mediocre amount of info about suspensionbecause...Land Rover :)
|
R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet
> RallyWrench
05/11/2015 at 20:12 |
|
I can tell just by the jewelry y’all took home.
|
RallyWrench
> R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet
05/11/2015 at 20:13 |
|
Hey, you were close to it! The catch can catches oil blow-by & collects it for draining later, instead of a vacuum operated crankcase ventilation system as the road car has.
|
R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet
> RallyWrench
05/11/2015 at 20:13 |
|
I knew a thing in a racecar
|
R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet
> RallyWrench
05/11/2015 at 21:34 |
|
*scratches head.
I guess I need to look up a working diagram to really grasp it. I’m mostly a visual learner. I need to make friends with a euro tuner so I can learn as much as possible.
RedBox
> RallyWrench
05/20/2015 at 19:35 |
|
I was there for Saturday’s race! I don’t know much about the Super Trofeo series, but I was skulking around the O’gara garage for a while because I was so attracted to that retina-searing green livery. Thanks for rolling it out after so we could get some pictures of it. Now I wonder if you’re in any of my shots...
|
RallyWrench
> RedBox
05/20/2015 at 19:53 |
|
Nice! That looks like right where I parked it post-race, because I was held up in tech inspection for awhile we couldn’t get it backed right in. If you have other pics I’ll see if you caught me.
|
RedBox
> RallyWrench
05/20/2015 at 20:21 |
|
Ha, sure! Dug up pictures that have personnel around the car, let’s see if we’re lucky.
That ridiculously teal/turquoise Aventador also caught my eye about a mile away and was drawing quite the crowd. Its conspicuousness was not help by the equally equally loud cars parked next to it
|
RallyWrench
> RedBox
05/20/2015 at 20:25 |
|
You got me, steering the car onto the tech rack, and at the paddock :)
|
RedBox
> RallyWrench
05/20/2015 at 20:33 |
|
Aww yeah! If you don’t mind me asking how do you suddenly get called in to work for a bona-fide racing outfit like O’Gara? Are you a Lamborghini tech? Connections?
|
RallyWrench
> RedBox
05/20/2015 at 20:50 |
|
Connections, basically. I had no previous Lamborghini experience. I run a European repair shop and have been a street car & part-time race tech for many years. I had raced with several of the guys on that team previously at the Thunderhill 25 (with another team), so we know each other’s capabilities well and trust one another, so when they needed a hand I got the call. Along those lines, they’d talked to me previously about coming out for some testing this year, which is usually how new team members are vetted. Needless to say this just sort of jumped over that step. ;)
|
RedBox
> RallyWrench
05/20/2015 at 21:15 |
|
Are you looking to become a full-time mechanic for them? If so, best of luck man. Working in the motorsport industry is somewhere I hope to end up.
|
RallyWrench
> RedBox
05/20/2015 at 23:20 |
|
Not full time, because I can’t and don’t want to relocate or be away from my family too much. But i hope to do fly-in for them. Full-time racing employment can be a fairly nomadic lifestyle.
Keaton Belliston
> RallyWrench
07/02/2015 at 23:22 |
|
DOWNFORCE IS A SUCCESS!
Tapas
> RallyWrench
07/24/2015 at 19:30 |
|
I can only get so erect...lol
What do I need to do to get access/pass on one of these events? (no erections, I promise)
|
RallyWrench
> Tapas
07/24/2015 at 19:43 |
|
Show up to the track and buy a ticket. The great thing about sports car racing is that the paddock is really open, so General Admission will often get you into the paddock, up close to the cars and teams.
|
Tapas
> RallyWrench
07/24/2015 at 20:24 |
|
Oh thats cool :) How do I track your team’s racing events?
|
RallyWrench
> Tapas
07/24/2015 at 20:41 |
|
These are a good start. I don’t Facebook, but I’m sure the team has a page and does Twitter, they have a dedicated Social Media guy.
http://squadracorse.lamborghini.com/en/super-trofe…
I won’t be at the next rounds at VIR because I’m having a baby any day, but hope to be back for COTA in September.
|
Tapas
> RallyWrench
07/24/2015 at 21:17 |
|
Oh wow, congratulations :)
Also, it looks like your team is going to be in Austin in Sept. I live in Houston, so I might drop by :)
http://austinraceevents.sched.org