Gabe and Leo are packing as we speak to head down to Willow Springs for the next ChumpCar World Series event. The name for the series may not be terribly flattering, but the guys take the racing seriously and the budget minded series makes the reality of racing, well, real! Gabe and Leo are building their own car for competition over at The Road To Chumpcar, but in the meantime, they are helping out with the Toyota MR2 team of Free Range Racing. Here are some pics from the last event that Leo drove for them at Infineon:
I’ve been meaning to make this post for a while. I spotted this scanned article on VWVortex over the holidays and it’s been on my to-post list since then.
My Dad was always a Road & Track reader when I was growing up, and he used to bring home his latest issue after a business trip for me to read. I vividly remember this March 1991 issue because soon after I read it, I went down to Trump’s Hobbies in town and placed a special order for the . I painted it black on black because I have no skills building models and it turned out awesome! I wish I had a picture.
Paul Frere was a fantastic writer and an accomplished race car driver. He was well respected in his field and here are some of his quotes from the article:
[...] but the 535i-based B10 Biturbo is surely the most impressive of them all: a comfortable 4-door that blends Rolls-Royce silence with Testarossa performance, with road manner to match.
The B10 reached a maximum speed of 181 mph. At such speeds, the car feels entirely stable, with no suggestion of the front end getting light or any tendency to wander.
Thanks to the low inertia of the two small turbo chargers and to the electronic wastegate control, response is nearly immediate n al most any circumstance.
Ever since reading that article I’ve wanted to have a real Alpina. I’m going to have to keep an even closer eye on the classifieds having reread that article again! Please feel free to leave a comment with your Alpina experiences!
Here are a few e34 Alpina videos for you to snack on tonight:
Paul and I are going to prep the Rabbit for sale soon. It’s been a fantastic introduction to track days, auto-x, and hillclimbs, but it’s time to move on to new endeavors.
That said, if I was going to be looking to get back in, I’d be looking for a used race car that was already built. And this little Datsun 1200 looks like a perfect way to get to the next level: amateur road racing. Making the step from track days to actual road racing is an expensive proposition, especially if the car you plan to campaign isn’t prepped already. Think cage, fuel cell, fire suppression… not to mention the gear! Might as well start with a budget car that’s ready to go considering. Hell, the DCOE’s and Minilites have to be worth half of the asking!
If you’re curious about budget racing, check out a new site I’ve set up for some friends that are going ChumpCar Racing: RoadToChumpCar.com Sounds like Leo and Gabe are guest driving a car late in January at Willow Springs. I’m really excited for them and looking forward to following their progress. Good luck guys!
I threw the Doors on at a recent poker party and have found myself coming back to Morrison Hotel pretty frequently. In particular Peace Frog and You Make Me Real. Check ‘em out and enjoy!
And just so you know I haven’t totally lost my mind, I’ve also been listening to this lovely Italian melody:
As stated in the previous post, I’m totally jealous of the recent acquisition Alex made with his Honda RS125 track bike. Here’s an excellent illustration of why the lightweight 2 stroke can make bikes with 3-4x the displacement look like amateur hour:
The super fast change in direction and razor sharp lines in this video make me an absolute believer in the bike Alex got, even if it’s not quite the same model. But I’m eager to learn more about these and will report back when I know more.
My buddy Alex who is a contributing author on Rare Sport Bikes For Sale is about to pick a Honda RS125 for track days. What a great early Christmas present to yourself! He sent over this picture of the bike to show off his latest acquisition. I started staring at in Photoshop and ended up with these two versions of the image. The first one is more photo-realistic and the other has a filter applied for a more stylized look. I’m leaning towards the latter. Probably end up wallpapering one of my garage walls with a huge print out.
Congrats on the new bike Alex! Can’t wait to see it in action!
I’m going to start a new series of blog posts featuring the wonderful cars I’m privileged to work with. Tonight the 1974 De Tomaso Pantera Lusso!
This car has been refurbished by Joseph Potter Restorations and is now available at Sports Car Shop in Eugene, Oregon. I was fortunate to be asked to take photographs of this car and rushed to find a break in the Pacific Northwest rain. Interested parties are advised to bid for this car Friday afternoon at the Barrett-Jackson auction this January, Lot #944.
In my brief time behind the wheel of this car, I can honestly report that this car is fantastic! Joe and his team have done a great job making this car one of the best of it’s peers. The motor has gobs of torque and a long first gear that actually make in town driving a pretty easy affair. Tickling the gas in 2nd gear shoots the car forward with authority.
The high points of this short experience would be best summarized as follows:
Light, unassisted steering. Being mid-engined, there is very little weight over the front end. The steering is a real delight with so much feedback being communicated to the driver.
The exhaust note is pure sex. No shit. I’ll make sure to get some video the next time I’m nearby.
That long first gear really makes this 70’s supercar pretty easy to handle in town.
Those beautiful Chromodoara rims are really at home on this car. They really give this car fantastic presence.
And finally, Joe has secured a great spot in the Barrett-Jackson auction this January. I’m so excited to have even the smallest of connection to this great car in such a prestigeous auction!
Many thanks to Joe and Bob for the opportunity to get up close and personal with such a great example!
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