RJ Racing

TUSTIN, CA — RJ Racing is please to announce the addition of four new crewmembers: Sean Trabue, Craig Tsurumoto, Sean Ryan and Serguey Piatrovich.

Sean Trabue hails from Saddleback College as an automotive repair student. His aspirations include opening and running an automotive repair shop. His undying enthusiasm and tireless work ethic are an asset to the team.

Craig Tsurumoto is an industrial engineering student at Cal Poly Pomona. His specialty is process flow analysis. Craig is heading up the expansion and optimization of RJR’s data acquisition systems. Craig is the President of the Formula Hybrid SAE program at Cal Poly Pomona, which involves the design and building of a hybrid race car.

Sean Ryan is a mechanical engineering student at Cal Poly Pomona. His primary interest involves the design of suspension systems. Sean is the Vice President and Design Captain of the Formula Hybrid SAE program at Cal Poly Pomona.

Serguey Piatrovich has a Ph.D. in engineering from University of California, Irvine, with an emphasis on aerodynamics. Serguey is heading up the optimization of RJR’s aerodynamics.

FONTANA, CA – The team descended on Auto Club Speedway with a goal of getting the car on track and testing the refinements from the off season. While the weekend was a success, scoring podium finishes in both Performance Touring “E” races, the real story was in between the races.

The team had embarked on its first engine rebuild in the offseason. After holding up for more than 100,000 miles, over 10,000 of which were spent in the upper reaches of the tachometer, the bottom end of the engine was due for a rebuild. Always looking at maximizing the ruleset while staying within budget, the team opted for a conservative, but still performance-oriented engine build.

The block was first cleaned using a thermal engine cleaning process, magnafluxed to verify that the block had no cracks, and line bored to ensure that the crankshaft would sit perfectly perpendicular to the cylinders. Then the cylinders were overbored by 0.020″ and compression was increased from the stock ratio of 9.0:1 to 9.5:1 by using Mazda overbore pistons from a 1999 Miata. The crankshaft journals were polished and ATL race bearings were installed. In addition, brass freeze plugs were installed to further aid in preventing corrosion. The clutch and flywheel used during the 2009 25 Hours of Thunderhill were inspected and looked almost brand new, so they were reinstalled. And the team fitted a new rear main seal and oil pump with new front crank seal.

After seating the rings, it appeared that the engine had a small oil leak at the front of the engine, which appeared to be coming from the oil pan seal. Monitoring the oil leak before the race weekend, it appeared to be minor at best. So it was decided to run the Auto Club Speedway weekend just as intended, as a test weekend, and to further monitor the oil leak to determine the source and possible fixes.

Big mistake.

Rob, John, Norm Sandstrom, and new crew member Sean Trabue arrived early Friday morning for the test day to tweak the setup. Since this weekend would be Rob’s first time behind the wheel since the September 2009 NASA Nationals when he broke his wrist, it would take him a little time to get reacquainted with the car. So John took the #23 Mazda Miata out on track for its first hot laps of the 2010 season to check the engine performance and the status of the oil leak. John reported that the engine felt great, with a noticeable increase of power using the good old butt-dyno.

After two laps, John brought the car into the pit lane and both Rob and Sean immediately noticed a small stream of oil coming from the front of the engine. The car was immediately taken back to the garage area, where it appeared that the oil leak was coming from both the oil pan seal, as well as, behind the oil pump. This was going to be a big job.

In order to reseal the oil pan, either the engine has to be pulled, or the front subframe has to be dropped while suspending the engine. The latter was chosen and the front subframe was quickly out of the car, with the engine hoist suspending the engine in the air. The oil pan and oil pump were removed, which revealed some scoring on the crankshaft nose where the crankshaft seal is placed. Upon inspecting the crankshaft seal, it appeared that the spring which provides tension to the seal had popped out of position, and had pressed against the crankshaft nose. The big job just turned into a bigger job, because now we had to polish the crankshaft so that no further leak could happen.

Norm got to work on the crankshaft nose, John went to pick up replacement parts, while Rob and Sean began prepping the oil pan and oil pump (a seemingly simple task until the amount and nastiness of the sealant is taken into account).

The crank nose was polished as much as possible, but when attempting to refit the oil pump, the new crank seal popped its spring out again. Going back to the Mazda factory workshop manual, we verified the correct procedure, which involved installing the front crank seal into the oil pump, and then installing the oil pump on the block. Each time this was attempted the spring popped out. So we went “off the menu” and first installed the oil pump, followed by the crank seal. This worked like a charm. So now we knew why the original spring popped out. While the Factory Workshop Manual is great in many respects, it was made by humans and there are mistakes we’ve found. This is just another one.

The oil pan was reinstalled and the front subframe was put back in place. The work was long and arduous, but done. After taking a reconnaissance lap around the paddock, the front oil leak was not gone, but it had been minimized to a manageable level.

Saturday promised to be a busy day. In addition to running the PTE race and Time Trials, the team would be joined for the weekend by members of the Pit Crew for a Day program run by Dennis Flaherty. This program matches engineering students with race teams to gain some real world experience. Joining RJR for the weekend were Craig Tsurumoto, Sean Ryan, Serguey Piatrovich and Brandon Mok. The team had rapidly grown to eight members.

Putting the car back on track for the first time after the monumental repairs the day before proved successful. The oil leak had been minimized to the point that we could at least run the races. Rob immediately felt the improvement in engine performance, with the car easily powering through 5th gear down the straight, as opposed to winding the engine out in 4th prior to the rebuild. Rob qualified 3rd with a time of 2:02.452, nearly a second faster than the team’s previous fast lap at this track.

During the race, Rob passed for 2nd place and the car felt solid throughout most of the race. In the last few laps the clutch began slipping, caused by the trace oil coming from the rear of the engine getting on the clutch and flywheel. Rob feathered the throttle for the last few laps, but had gained enough of an advantage over 3rd place that he was able to limp home in 2nd.

Hoping to avoid pulling the transmission, the team tried a few “old school” tricks for cleaning up an oiled clutch disc. Racing clutches are made from carbon-metallic materials that do not absorb oil, so as long as the clutch is able to burn off the oil, it should still perform.

Sunday morning’s warmup showed that the rear oil leak had become worse. John’s ran 5 trouble free laps but then reported the clutch slipping. Back to the garage, and the entire team descended on the car to pull the transmission, hoping that the rear oil leak was caused by the rear main seal. In only a few hours, the transmission had been removed, the rear main seal replaced, and the transmission reinstalled with the team’s spare clutch and pressure plate. The team even had 40 minutes to relax before the PTE race. Unfortunately we had missed qualifying so John had to start at the back of the pack.

John plowed through the field, reporting that the clutch felt great. But once again about two-thirds through the race, the clutch began slipping. John held onto 3rd and brought the car home.

With all of the problems, the team still placed 2nd and 3rd in the PTE races and 2nd place in Time Trials. Not a bad result considering that both the front subframe and transmission had been removed over the weekend.

Now it was back to the drawing board to diagnose and fix the oil leaks.

Tustin, CA – RJ Racing will be competing in its first race of the 2010 season this weekend, March 12-14, at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. The weekend will be jam-packed with on-track activities. If you plan to attend, your best bet would be to arrive for lunch around 12:30pm (be our guest for a gourmet paddock meal) and stay for the afternoon races. The weather should be great this weekend. Detailed information on the weekend schedule and RJR’s garage space are below.

When:
Saturday and Sunday, March 13th & 14th, 2:30 PST (Main races)

Where:
Auto Club Speedway
9300 Cherry Avenue
Fontana, CA 92335
Garage #80
http://www.autoclubspeedway.com/

Weather Forecast:
Saturday – 69/45 F (21/7 C), Sunny
Sunday – 72/47 (22/8 C), Sunny

RJ Racing’s 2010 Schedule*

Mar 13-14 Auto Club Speedway (PTE Sprint Races), Fontana, CA
Apr 17 Buttonwillow Raceway Park (WERC 3-hour Enduro), Buttonwillow, CA
Jun 26-27 Buttonwillow Raceway Park (WERC 3-hour Enduro and PTE Sprint Races), Buttonwillow, CA
Jul 31-Aug 1 Auto Club Speedway (PTE Sprint Races), Fontana, CA
Sept 19 Miller Motorsports Park (PTE National Championships), Tooele, UT
Oct 9-10 Buttonwillow Raceway Park (WERC 3-hour Enduro and PTE Sprint Races), Buttonwillow, CA
Dec 4 Thunderhill Raceway Park (WERC 6-hour Enduro), Willows, CA
Dec 4-5 Thunderhill Raceway Park (25 Hours of Thunderhill), Willows, CA

-RJ Racing

RJ Racing, a Southern California based team, competes in endurance and sprint auto races on purpose-built tracks across the country. The Team consists of Drivers and Team owners Rob Gibson and John Gibson and full-time Crew Members Norm Sandstrom and Sean Trabue.

* Dates and race weekends subject to change

Tustin, CA – RJ Racing announced its 2010 season schedule today. The team will be focused mainly on Southern California endurance and sprint events and will once again take part in the NASA National Championships in Tooele, Utah and the world famous 25 Hours of Thunderhill. The team is looking forward to a great season of racing.

For complete season schedule and details click here.

Also, find RJ Racing on Facebook to keep updated on the team’s progress, announcements, and media.

I’ll try to update this post throughout the race and certainly after each of my stints. Here’s the first post…

The sun came up Saturday morning to reveal a beautiful, blue sky Willows morning. The only problem? Wind. The morning began with a strong northwestern wind. A lot of help down the front straight-away since the wind is at your back but problems in other areas, especially Turn 5.

I was given the honor of starting the race. Something I’m not normally used to. In the chaos of the start I couldn’t begin to tell you if I gained or lost positions. At the end of the day (or 25 hours as the case may be) it doesn’t really matter. The fun thing about the start of an endurance race is that it’s usually the only time you’re battling wheel-to-wheel with several cars in your same class. This was no exception as I found myself racing with three E2 class competitors. Once things settled down it became clear to me that they weren’t really settled down. The pace of the race was quicker than one would expect for the beginning of a 25 hour race. There seemed be more blown engines, oil on track, etc. than in previous years. The only saving grace was that the wind seemed to blow away a lot of the dirt that cars kicked on track.

The goal was to race a conservative first stint to keep things clean and avoid any contact or problems. The only major incident of the first stint was when a class competitor that I passed on the inside of Turn 14 decided it was a better idea to rub his right front bumper against my right door than realize that I passed him. Oh well, that’s endurance racing sometimes…

By the end of my 1.5 hours in the car the RJ Racing #23 Miata was up to 5th place.

Willows, CA – RJ Racing is currently two and a half hours into the 25 Hours of Thunderhill. 67 cars took the field this year under beautiful blue skies. The team started 48th overall, 7th in class and is currently 41st overall, 4th in class. For up to date timing & scoring information visit http://www.drivenasa.com:8080/liveresults/25hour/

For blog updates visit rjracing.net.

For blog updates from Grassroots Motorsports journalist, who is one of the team’s drivers this year, visit grassrootsmotorsports.com

RJ Racing Finishes 3rd despite mechanical gremlins.

“John drove the car brilliantly despite having only 4th gear and no power below 4500 RPM,” Crew Chief Tim Gibson said after finishing a respectable 3rd Place at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA.

The #23, piloted solely by John Gibson, came in for fuel in 1st Place and left in 1st place after building a lead of almost 2 laps. This despite having only single gear for the last half of the race. Reporting a loose shift knob and the inability to shift into any gear except 4th, John managed to continue to gap the field, turning laps only 2 seconds slower than his fastest time.

“Trying to keep momentum up thru the corners in a low-powered car like the MX-5 Miata is key to turning fast laps,” commented Rob Gibson, acting as Team manager for RJ Racing’s 3 car effort this year at Sonoma. “Unfortunately, an electrical glitch in the custom ECU flash caused the engine power to cut in and out at partial throttle in mid-corner, just when the driver needs smooth delivery. This abrupt cut in power while negotiating the tricky Turn 10 at Infineon caused the back end to become light, spinning the car. Fortunately the quick hands of John saved the car from the wall.

“All I was thinking was ‘The 25 Hours in 6 weeks. Save the car,” john said. After sitting for 3 full laps facing the wall in a precarious position, (with no reverse gear), #23 was finally rescued by the fast acting Safety workers. The Full Course Yellow (FCY) was shown during the incident, putting the RJ Racing machine back to 3rd place in E2 Class once the drama was over.

“We still have a perfect record of not benefiting from FCYs,” Commented Tim Gibson. “We make our own luck.”

With one race to go RJ Racing sits in 1st in the Western Endurance Race Championship (WERC).

Join RJ Racing as they compete in their second 25 Hours of Thunderhill. RJ Racing will attempt to improve on their 2nd Place finish in its maiden attempt at The 25 last year.

Tustin, CA — RJ Racing is proud to announce that Porterfield Enterprises will be the team’s brake supplier for the 2009 25 Hours of Thunderhill.

“We are very excited to partner with RJ Racing for their second attempt at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill,” said Tim Gray, manager of Porterfield Enterprises. “We have been supplying brakes to top teams for this prestigious event for many years and we know our brakes are one of the few that can endure for the entire 25 hours.”

“Brake longevity is key at The 25,” said Tim Gibson, crew chief of RJ Racing. “Teams that need to change brakes during the race will lose two or three laps to their competitors, which is often much more than the margin of victory.”

“We are confident that the Raybestos brakes supplied by Porterfield will last the distance and will give us the necessary edge to win,” said Rob Gibson, co-owner of RJ Racing.

RJ Racing continues its preparations for the longest endurance race in the world. Check back for future announcements regarding additional strategic partnerships.

Since 1986 Porterfield Enterprises has earned a reputation for manufacturing quality competition brake pads and brake products to the performance racing industry. Porterfield is a leading distributor of the world’s finest manufacturers of competition friction brakes. With the world’s largest variety of competition friction available, Porterfield gives their utmost attention to meet special criteria for individual customer needs.

Porterfield’s engineering and in-house manufacturing capabilities are known world wide for a rapid response and developing the special items to solve immediate needs, often overnight. A huge inventory, personalized service, quick order processing and on-time deliveries makes it easy getting the best in racing brake pads to your door, when you need it. Porterfield Brake pads and professional preparation puts the winning edge with you.

Tustin, CA – This weekend, RJ Racing will be fielding three cars for the penultimate round of the Western Endurance Racing Championship (WERC) at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California. With Rob sidelined with a wrist injury John will be driving both stints in the #23 Weekend-Racer.com Mazda MX-5 for the three hour event. While Rob will certainly miss his regular driving duties the team is fortunate that he will be able to focus his efforts on strategy for all three cars. The team’s second car will be piloted by Rob Burgoon, a Southern California driver attempting his first solo endurance race. Driving duties in the third car will be shared by Brady Flaherty and Jeremy Bua, two NorCal drivers with mounds of experience in endurance events.

If you are unable to make it to the track, browse to rjracing.net for updates throughout the weekend.

When:
Sunday, October 25th, 3:25 PM PDT

Where:
Infineon Raceway Park
29355 Arnold Drive
Sonoma, California 95476
www.infineonraceway.com

Weather Forecast:
Sunday – 78/51 (26/11 C), Mostly Sunny

RJ Racing’s Remaining 2009 Schedule*

Dec 5 Thunderhill Raceway Park (WERC 6-hour Enduro), Willows, CA
Dec 5-6 Thunderhill Raceway Park (25 Hours of Thunderhill), Willows, CA

-RJ Racing

RJ Racing, a Southern California based team, competes in endurance and sprint auto races on purpose-built tracks across the country. The Team consists of Drivers and Team owners Rob Gibson and John Gibson, Crew Chief Timothy Gibson, and Crew Member Norm Sandstrom.

Weekend-Racer.com is a SoCal based supplier of racing safety & setup equipment, in-car video systems, data acquisition and general racing accessories. They feature products from the highest quality manufacturers including Alpinestars, Simpson, G-Force, Bell, AIM, Intercomp, RaceTech & Cobra seats, Cool-Shirt, SPA, and ChaseCam. Newly added product lines include Sparco & Impact, AEM, Cobalt Brake pads and Hoosier tires.

* Dates and race weekends subject to change

During the Friday morning warmup, I had an incident involving one of our fellow competitors. At first I thought the damage to the car was fatal, but later was very thankful to learn the car was not only drivable but fixable.

I sustained a few injuries during the crash, which ended my racing for the weekend. Most serious was my wrist jammed against the steering wheel and began swelling up almost immediately and was very painful to move. And when jumping over the track kerbs, I felt pain in my tailbone and mid-back. I was checked out at the on-site medical facility who recommended visiting the local emergency room.

After visiting the ER, the good news is my wrist is not broken and I merely bruised my tailbone. The bad news is the x-ray revealed a compression fracture in one of my thoracic vertebrae. The ER doctor believed the fracture was already there when the crash happened and the crash aggravated it. Compression fractures will heal themselves with time so I’m on a course of pain medication, muscle relaxers and physical therapy. I should be back racing by our next race in October.

I wish the crash had never happened, but watching the team come together to fix the damage to the car was something to behold. And when I say “team” I’m referring to my brothers Tim and John. I was overwhelmed with emotion as the work on the car was being completed. I love my brothers and I feel so lucky to have them as teammates. I couldn’t imagine racing without them and I see great things in our future.

Everything is ready to go for our championship race tomorrow. We’re starting second which gives us a great opportunity for a podium finish and an outside shot at the win. Check back tomorrow for further updates.