WDCR members have again volunteered their cars to be on display in the region’s exhibit at the Washington Auto Show, which lasts until Sunday.  They are on the large (main) exhibit hall on the lower level.  Just follow the thumpity-thumpity music!

About 20 vehicles are on display representing Solo, Club Racing, RallyCross, Time Trials and Emergency Services.  Here is information about some of those vehicles:

Karen Kraus, 2006 Subaru Impreza WRX, Solo – E Street Prepared (ESP)
I mostly run National ProSolo and Tour events with it. In ESP, it mostly runs against Camaros and Mustangs, with the occasional Talon TSi/Eclipse GSX thrown in.  I won the 2008 ProSolo L1 Championship (in stock form), then I did the modifications for ESP, and took the 2009 National ESPL Championship.

Mike Snyder, Ford Mustang Shelby GT, Solo – F Stock (FS)
I purchased this car new in February of 2007, and the dash plaque authenticates this car as #450 in the Shelby GT registry. It was built to compete in SCCA Solo II and Pro Solo
competition in the F Stock Class. It competes against Camaros, Mustangs, and other Shelby GTs.

Modifications include AST Shocks, crash bolt kit, competition alignment, adjustable sway bar end links, lightweight Volk wheels and Hoosier race tires. Driven by Sam Strano at National level events, this Shelby GT always finishes in front or near the front of the pack. No other Shelby GT has won an F Stock SCCA National Championship or F Stock Pro Solo Championship title.

Eric Kriemelmeyer, Pontiac Solstice GXP with ZOK package, Solo – B Stock (BS)
The Solstice GXP competes in SCCA Stock Class B, against S2000 Club Racer, STi, C4 Corvette primarily.  It’s a 2.0L turbo four-cylinder engine provides excellent acceleration as well as above average fuel economy. With the addition of the factory ZOK suspension option, the car is lowered as well as having increased cornering ability above the base Solstice GXP. Using stock-size 18X8 wheels, the car can use enormous 295 width racing tires (stock is 245) providing a much larger contact patch for competition. Pontiac: They Built Excitement!

Alan Claffie, 1990 Mazda Miata, Solo – Street Touring S (STS)
Competes against the Honda CRX, Honda del sol, Mazda RX7 and Toyota MR2 in STS

SCCA’s Street Touring Solo category lets drivers compete in popular cars with popular modifications (aftermarket suspension, intake, exhaust, etc). Expensive and fragile racing tires aren’t allowed in this class, so it’s ideal for those who just want to show up and drive without having to bring a second set of wheels and tires to the event site.

Larry Spector , 1991 Toyota MR2 Turbo, PDX/Time Trials/Solo – Street Modified 2 (SM2)
The car is used primarily for PDX events, with occasional Solo competition as well. It’s been run at Summit Point, WV; Watkins Glen, NY; Virginia International Raceway and New Jersey Motorsports Park.

The MR2 Turbo is a mid-engined (engine behind the driver) rear wheel drive car.
It has two seats, and two trunks (one in front, and another in back) and was made in Japan and sold in the United States between 1991 and 1995.  This car has a turbocharged and intercooled 4 cylinder engine, with a 5 speed manual transmission, and as delivered, it had 200hp and a 0-60 of under six seconds, and a top speed of over 140 mph.

This car is now 20 years old, and is driven to and from the track. It’s also used for commuting in good weather!

Tristan Herbert, 2008 Volskwagen GTI, Pro Racing – World Challenge Touring
Competes nationally in World Challenge against Mazda RX-8, Honda civic si, Scion tc, Mazda 3, Acura tsx, Mazda speed 3 and Acura RSX racecars.  It’s modified with JRZ Three-Way Adjustable Suspension, Piper Motorsports Custom Exhaust, AIM Data System, 17X8 BBS RGR Wheels, Racetech Seat, (Gripper) Limited Slip Differential Transmission, Ground Control Camber Plates, Power Flex Suspension Bushings, Stop-Tech Big Brake Kit, BSH Motor and Trans Mounts and an APR chip.

Bob Crawford, 1982 Dodge Colt, Club Racing – Improved Touring C (ITC)
Races at Summit Point, Watkins Glen and other tracks.  Races in Improved Touring “C”

Jack Burrows, 1984 Mazda RX7, Club Racing – Spec RX-7 (SRX7)
The Spec RX7 is based on and races against first-generation (1981-85) Mazda RX7s.  Tightly limited drive train preparation but competition suspension – shocks, struts, springs, sway bars etc. – open exhaust, spec tires, and gutted interior.  Safety equipment includes roll cage, five-point driver harness, on-board fire suppression system, fuel cell, and electrical system kill switch. Minimum race weight (including driver) is 2,530 lbs.

It has been driven to four victories at Watkins Glen International

Matt Hayes, 2010 Womer EV-3, Club Racing – FormulaVee (FV)
The car competes in the WDCR region MARRS series with other FVs primarily at Summit Point.  The class often has 15 cars entered and the low-power, high-grip cars make for close and exciting racing with a lot of drafting.

The car was designed and produced by Womer Race Cars located inside the DC beltway.  It uses primarily vintage Volkswagen parts in a custom frame and body, as stipulated by the class rules.  The car has a top speed of about 120mph and is capable of about 2Gs of lateral acceleration.  While the car only has about 60hp, the weight of 1025lbs, which includes the driver, make for a exciting machine.

Shawn Roberts, 1988 Mazda RX-7, RallyCross – Modified Two-Wheel Drive (M2)
This is the class for the most modified 2 wheel drive cars in RallyX.  Locally the competition is mostly older Sentra’s and a Ford Focus.

Ben Lambioette, FFR Type 65 Coupe, Solo/Time Trials — X Prepared (XP)
The “Bottom Dollar” Coupe is built on a Factory Five Racing Type 65 Coupe chassis and body. It is not a “donor” kit car.  All mechanical components are new and were carefully selected to suit the uses for which the car was built.  Considerable additional work was done to the chassis and body.

It is powered by a 347 ci small block Ford V-8 built on a new Ford Racing Boss block.  Top end, recently rebuilt by Maryland Performance, sports Canfield 195 cc CNC heads, Race Tec flattop pistons, cut to match the offset of the valves, Manley H-beam rods, and Jesel “mohawk beam” shaft rockers.  It has a custom solid roller cam by Jay Allen at Camshaft Innovations.  Fuel is delivered by mechanical pump to Pro Systems Holley 4-barrel double pumper with no choke, feeding an Edelbrock RPM Airgap dual plane intake manifold.  It has a 22 gallon Fuel Safe fuel cell.  Built to rev to 7,000 rpm+, it pulled 485 peak hp and 480 peak torque at the rear wheels on a chassis dyno last year.  

It runs an Astro Performance “built” (heavy duty alloy gearset) T-5 5-speed transmission, mated to a dual disk Spec Super Twin clutch and lightweight aluminium flywheel.  Damping is by double adjustable Koni’s at all four corners and Eibach springs.  Rear is IRS, built on a 1997 T-Bird, with oversized heavy duty half shafts, and a Torsen T-2 helical gear type limited slip diff.   Brakes are six piston Willwoods up front and four pot Willwoods in the rear.  Front-rear brake bias is adjustable via dial on the lower console.  Steering is via a Fast Freddie’s Fabrication electro-hydraulic power steering set up.  Cog and tooth accessory drive and self-exciting alternator are from Jones Racing.

The car weighs 2515 pounds without driver, and a half a tank of gas.  It is not a show car or concourse replica, but was built to compete in a variety of motorsports.  A frequent competitor in Solo, in XP class, it runs autocrosses (cone-dodging) nearly every weekend with SCCA WDCR, Capital Driving Club, and at Cumberland and other airport long-circuit events.  It also saw action in last year’s SCCA Divisionals and a Pro Solo event at FedEx Field.   It is also used on road racing tracks for Time Trials and Club Trials (where four cars are released on the track, laps are timed, and the fastest lap wins) , and non-competitive track days.  We will probably do at least one hillclimb (closed public road circuit, usually up a mountain, with runs timed) with it in 2011.

The car was built by Fred Kelley of Fast Freddie’s Fabrication.  Body and paint by Chris’ Customs. Custom dash, wiring, tire trailer hitch and other details by Larry Casey of Casey Design.  It was completed in June 2009, and just completed its first full season of competition.  It is street legal, and driven to and from events, towing a small trailer on which race tires and tools are hauled.

Other displays include:

Chris Windsor, Triumph and Morgan, Historic
Gene,  427 Cobra, Time Trials — XP
Steve Huemmer, Rescue 1 
Mike Collins, Mazda Miata, Club Racing — Spec Miata (SM) and Showroom Spec Miata (SSM)
Bill Mercurio, Club Racing — Spec Racer Ford (SRF)
Justin Huffman, Club Racing — Formula Enterprises (FE)
Steve Hyatt, 1991 Golf GTI, RallyCross — PF

The hearty group of Jim and Mike Golden along with Steve Hyatt headed to Stafford Springs, Conn., over the weekend for the Eastern States RallyCross Challenge Championship. This is one of the largest rallycross events with about a 100 entrants coming from all over the east coast.  There were entries from as far away as Florida.

The New England Region (NER) hosted the event and provided lunch both days, which gave competitors a nice break from the cold and a time to socialize. With over 30 inches of snow on Jan. 11, the NER members worked hard to provide two great courses, which resembled a bobsled run but kept the drivers on their toes. The schedule was designed for those who traveled in as the challenge was run in between two NER regional events.
 
“It really had some of everything from recycled asphalt to gravel to snow to large sheets of ice,” Steve said. “We showed up on Saturday morning to temperatures of minus-six degrees and lots and lots of snow.”

The morning runs started off rough with tons of the 4wd cars getting stuck in snow banks and needing to get pulled out by trucks. This continued though out the event so working times were very long and runs were limited, but once you got out there in your car it was totally worth it.

There were two regional runs in the morning/early afternoon then two national runs for those competing and two more regional runs for those who weren’t, in the afternoon/night. The event was running really long because of all the cars getting stuck so the 4wd guys got to run a night rallycross for their last runs. It was heard from some of them that it was a lot of fun and very different from running in the day.

The second day saw the national event finish up with two more runs in the morning, then for the final run in the afternoon, the course was changed to use up all the parts that were not used previously and no drive though was given.

“This was probably the most fun run of the event and probably the worst times,” Steve said. “With the limited grip and no idea what was coming around the corner you really had to be on your toes and be prepared to use the handbrake a lot for sharp turns from nowhere.

In the end, over 100 competitors showed up for the event so there was lots of competition, but because this event had snow and ice, studs were legal; therefore those without studs were at a severe disadvantage.

The event was not kind to Steve VW Golf in Prepared Front Wheel as he ended up setting fifth after having a fuel pump fail Sunday.

Mike had his own problem running in Stock All Wheel with his Subaru Impreza 2.5RS after hitting a snow bank, he had a very slow run and ended up finishing fifth.
Jim finished second in Stock Front wheel in a Honda Civic DX, which gave him Honda contingencies.

Tickets are on sale for the annual WDCR banquet Jan. 29 at the Washington Convention Center through DLB Racing.  Cost is $50 for adults, $30 for children ages 3 to 12, and children under 3 are free.  Ticket sales end Jan. 23.

People don’t have to purchase tickets for the auto show, which is being held at the convention center, unless they plan on touring the show floor.

Awards — Club Racing and Solo – will be presented from 3 to 5 p.m. followed by an hors d’oeuvres reception at 5:30 p.m. Winners who would like to just pick up their award may do so without purchasing a banquet ticket if they will not be attending the banquet – just be sure to check with your race chair to confirm the time of your program’s award ceremony.

A buffet dinner will begin at 6:30, and Region awards will begin at 7:30 during dessert. A cash bar will be available throughout.  

There will be plenty of open seating, but arrangements can be made in advance for groups of four or eight only. If you would like to reserve a table for a party of four or eight, please send the details (names of each person to sit together) to Eric Kriemelmeyer.

A discounted group rate has been made available for attendees at four nearby hotels. 

For parking, directions and other information, see the convention center Web site.

After a long season, WDCR RallyCross came to an end on Nov. 14. It turned out to be a great event with 46 entries, an excellent set of courses, and almost perfect weather. With a new pneumatic timing system in place for the second time, each driver got 5 runs in the morning and 3 in the afternoon on a course almost 1 mile in length.

In 2010, WDCR RallyCross ran 10 events including a two-day National and two driver’s schools.

The season had a few low points including two events moved due to weather, events with low car counts, and Mark Hoerath’s resignation as chair after almost a decade of running the program. Yet, the season ended on a high point with Jared Lantzy stepping up as chair, entries climbing to an above average level for the last two events, and Summit Point helping to create a multitude of smooth but challenging courses.

There were a mixed lot of vehicles entered during the 2010 season including Volkswagens, a Ford Focus and Mustang, BMWs, Dodges, Mazdas, Nissans, Hondas, and the usual gaggle of Subarus.  This year saw many returning drivers and a lot of first timers who became regulars. Even though car counts were down during 2010, the strong finish at the end of the season has everyone excited and optimistic for the 2011 season!

WDCR will crown eight RallyCross champions at the Region Banquet in January.  They are:

M2 – Wayne Moubray
M4 – Matt Berkebile
PA – Carmen Renzi
PF –Stephen Hyatt
PR – Matthew Yipp
SA – Michael Golden
SF – Brent Trail
SR – Chris Helgesen

The Region’s RallyCross drivers are looking forward to a 2011 season which includes a National Challenge Event on Sept. 11 with a test and tune day on Saturday before the event; a spring driver’s school in April; and five regional events spread from March to November.  Some of the regulars will be traveling to the New England area in January for the Eastern States RallyCross Challenge Championship event and to Nebraska in October for the SCCA RallyCross National Championship.

Please search for “Washington DC Region SCCA RallyCross” on Facebook for photos and videos and check the regional WDCR RallyCross page for more information about the program.

Submitted by Steve Hyatt.

You want to do what?

That is the answer I got from my wife last September. I had told Tracy that the need for speed had bitten me again.

See, it had been almost 20 years since I stepped out of the race car for a number of reasons and sold the car to my dad. I crewed for him till his racing stopped. I remain active in the SCCA and WDCR in numerous roles, but I wanted to be back in the driver’s seat.

The search for the type of racing took a long time. It was not till about Christmas that I decided on RallyCross. It seemed to allow the maximum fun for the right amount of money for our budget.

So the fun began. I started to research the classes and results of any RX, I could find. EBay, Craigslist and Racingjunk.com were the most read websites. The first event was only a month away and no car in the garage or even a good prospect. I narrowed down the choice to front wheel drive which would allow me to use my current towing arrangements and I raced a VW Rabbit and a real MINI in my club racing days. I was sure I would miss the first event which was now 3 weeks away, when a friend gave in and sold me a 1991 VW Golf GTI. Back to my racing roots!!!!

We picked the car up 14 days before the event. The new Racing Wabbit made it home with only one hitch- the front spoiler did not clear the ramps on the tow dolly. It’s a RX car and needs more ground clearance anyway.

I then remembered the problems with full time jobs, kids, the honey do list, and prepping a race car. With a lot of help from the whole family, most of the important thing got cleaned, changed, repaired or updated.

Then the weather steward gave us a week due to a huge rain system dumping 3 inches of rain on Summit Point- more prep and more details taken care of and the sorting of 3 sets of tools acquired since my racing days.

The race weekend is here and the list is long…… probably a little anal about packing tools and spare etc…

Check the list, load the truck, check the list, load the car, check the list, and leave for Summit Point. Not to insult the family, but it was good that all 3 of them were supporting club racing’s driver school or they may have seen a side of dad never before revealed.

Then the event goes off without a problem, almost; the car does great, the wife and kids get to ride and see the fun. The car decided it needed a 5 minute timeout in the middle of the 3rd run in the afternoon. It just shut off. Then as the masses were coming to push me off course to wait for a wrecker, it started and has been fine since. Who knows?

The best part besides driving the car back on the dolly with not having to fix anything, one was the huge smile on my face and the look on my friends and family as I was telling my war stories.

Have to run- the next event is only 2 weeks away and I have so much to do……

Stephen C. Hyatt