RJRacing

Sonoma, CA – RJ Racing hit the road for the second of two trips to Wine Country to compete in the penultimate round of the Western Endurance Racing Championship (WERC). With the championship hotly contested, the team added more firepower to the crew. The five person team of Rob, John, Tim, Dave, and Ed prepped the car and practiced pit stops on Saturday in preparation for the Sunday afternoon race. They were excited for the 4-hour format of this race but knew the non-standard format did not play to their strengths. “Our fuel stints favor a 3-hour or 6-hour race, but we looked forward to having a larger pit window so strategy could play more of a role in the race,” said Rob.

With a compact schedule on Sunday the team was only allowed 20 minutes of track time before the start of the main event. Rob and John each took the #23 car for three laps around the flowing circuit – just enough to remember how much they had forgotten since their previous visit in February. Both drivers agreed the hard work on the car the past four months had paid off – the car was faster with less tire wear. After a minor pre-race adjustment to the car setup the team made their final preparations and lined the car up on the starting grid.

Rob started the race in fine fashion, immediately putting down faster race laps than he had during practice while being surrounded by 30 other cars. Technical difficulties with the track’s timing and scoring system left the teams at a disadvantage by not knowing which car was in which position  throughout the race. The team bounced around between second and fourth places in the E2 class. Half an hour into the race, Rob radioed in that the clutch was slipping causing some trouble shifting from 3rd to 4th gear. With well over three hours remaining, Rob made adjustments to his driving style to extend the life of the clutch, short shifting and using higher gears in certain corners.  Lap times slowed slightly, but the clutch slippage was minimized.

After 30 laps of Rob setting his fastest laps a full course caution came out when a Honda blew its engine through Turn 5, spraying oil across one of the fastest corners on the track.  “At first, I thought the rear tire was losing pressure; the back end kept wanting to come around on me.  But once the oil got scrubbed off the tires, the car was back to being near perfect. We really nailed the setup this time,” said Rob.

The team was currently in second place but luck was shining on the leader by pitting right before the caution, allowing them to close the gap to the #23 RJ Racing car. The team briefly considered bringing the car in early to top off the tank with fuel but decided to leave Rob on track with a light fuel load to keep banging out fast laps. After another 15 consistently fast and flawless race laps, Rob pulled the car into the pits for more fuel and a driver change. Rob relinquished the reins to John for the final two-plus hours of the race.

Changing track conditions meant more grip for the Kumho Ecsta V710s and ambient temperature changes meant more power out of the 1.8L Mazda engine. Combined with a clear track, John was able to further lower the team’s lap times. After some quick calculations, the team instructed John to put the pedal down in an attempt to make up ground on the leader. With any luck the team would catch another full course caution just right and further make up ground. But with the clutch continuing to slip, the transmission not wanting to stay in 4th gear, and slight brake fade, the task would not be easy.

After their main competitor pitted, RJ Racing inherited the lead with a half-lap cushion, but still with one fuel stop to go.  John then came up behind a car with a whole slew of problems. “An RX-7 was dragging its fuel tank, causing sparks. Normally this isn’t a big problem. But then fuel started spilling out of the tank and the whole rear of their car went up in flames,” said John.  The team realized a full course caution was likely.  If they could pit before it came out, they could take advantage and get their last splash of fuel in the car to take them to the end of the race, with a shot at retaining the lead.  John hustled the car around the rest of the track in a valiant effort, but with only a few corners to go, the full course caution came out and the pits were closed. RJ Racing’s main competitor lucked out yet again and closed the half lap cushion down to a few seconds.

Discouraged, but not defeated, the team pulled an Ace out of their sleeve and brought John in at the very end of the caution period for the fuel stop to minimize the time lost on track. The final stop went like clockwork and the car returned on track in record time.  With 20 laps to go, John tried to close the gap to the leader but the time lost in the pits was too much: the team was forced to settle for second place. A fine result but disappointing to finish right behind their main rivals.

With a 14 point deficit to the championship leader (459-445) the team is anxious for the final round of the WERC series to be held at Thunderhill Raceway in Willows, California. The final championship race will be a 6-hour event held in conjunction with the grueling 25 Hours of Thunderhill in early December. As a double points race, and a race that better suits the team’s strengths, RJ Racing is not out of the title fight.  “Anything can happen in racing, and we’re fighting this thing to the end,” said Tim.