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Contour takes to VIR for another CHUMPCAR race

G

GCR2

CEG'er
Joined
Mar 14, 2012
Messages
90
Location
SC
Gotham City Racing, based out of Spartanburg, SC takes to the track once again Dec. 6-7, 2014 to participate in the season finale Eastern region race with Chumpcar at VIRginia International Raceway. The race format is a double 8 hour endurance race. Rather than being treated as two individual 8 hour races, this race has a twist. Cars will be parked on grid in running order at the end of Saturday with racing resuming again Sunday morning for another 8 hours. Final posiitons are determined as if the race were run as one contiuous 16 hour race. Cars can not be touched for maintenance, repairs or refueling during the down time. RAcing each day starts at 8AM and ends at 4PM.

Gotham City Racing has been successfully running a 1998 Contour SE in the Optima Batteries Chumpcar World Series on such famous venues as Road Atlanta, VIR, Atlanta Motorsports Park, Atlnata Motor Speedway, Daytone International Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway and Watkins Glen International Raceway.

Spectators are welcome to attend. A full race report will follow - hopefully with some video.

Wish us luck!!

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Competition checking out the car prior to the WGI race last May.
 
Holy **** you are doing an endurance race at VIR?!?!?! That track is fantastic and if my car would hold up it would be so cool to run it for that long. Have a great time and good luck!!!! there are 2 gnarly corners that you need to get use to, but it is a fast track.
 
Awesome and good luck to you and your team, for sure!! I'll definitely be rooting for your Contour! I'll be following this and waiting for the report...hopefully with a video!! Hopefully everything works out for you...good luck!
 
good luck guys hope you do at least as good or better than you did at Watkins
 
Overall, it went well. Lousy weather Sat. Lots of rain but the FWD platform helped us move up. At the drop of the flag we started in 47th place. Moved up to 21st by the end of day one I''ll have good "blooper" footage of some spins in the rain. A newly paved and smooth track with water on it made for some interesting descriptions. I thought it was like driving on ice - every input - gas, brake, turn had to be super delicate or risk unsettling the car. One of my other drivers said it was just "slipperyer than snot!". Sun. was sunny, cold, breezy. Lap times for everyone went way down. Fuel consumption went way up! We had figured going 1 hour and 45 minute stints between fuel fills. and it was taking almost a full 15 gallon refill. Tim was our next to last driver and at 1:35 into his session he radios in that he's pitting - rear tire is down. We pit, fuel, change out rear left tire and then I go in the car to do the final stint. Only problem - I've now got to try and do a 1:55 session - near impossible unless I do parade laps. No fun in that so I work on driving clean smooth semi fast conservative laps - upshifting into 4th and 5th gears. We are in 15th place and maintaining that position. With 4 minutes to go, the car stutters going around turn 1. I know from experience that means about a lap before the fuel cell and surge tank are both on vapors. I go super slow hoping for a checkered at the start finish. The car stuutters again making the right turn onto the North course cut through. Not good. Another right turn entering the rollercoaster and it stalls. I coast down into hogpen and get it to catch on the front straight hoping to see that checkered flag. It's not waving yet - damn!!, Around turn 1 and it dies again. I know it won't make the final lap and pull off course. Manage to restart the car and nurse it back into the paddock where it dies just in time to see the checkered get dropped. Racing results were so close that we dropped from 15th to 17th in that last lap!! Overall, extremely pleased with the result. The field included 22 cars contending for the Chumpionship plus about 40 non contenders like us. We out did about half of the contenders in the final standings. Car ran completely trouble free for all 16 hours. Give me a couple days to recoup and I'll get some pictures and video posted.
 
Time to get a bigger fuel cell or is that a spec size for the class you run in ? other wise trouble free is good though :cool:
 
Here's a couple of pictures.

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Trying to find the dry line

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Fuel stop and driver change

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Cars in impound on pit road - wind storm Sat night took out a number of tents

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Weaving through the lower esses

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Celebrating our finish!
 
No. That team is from Canada and doesn't travel this far south. We did have a couple other Ford's though . Fox body Mustang, older Escort, and a Focus.
 
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