Over the 2023 winter holiday break is when things got really serious for our Pikes Peak car. We used the downtime to get a lot done, including a full rebuild of our Drexler rear diff.
New Toyo Proxes R Competition Tire: 2024 Debut With Trackspec Autosports E46 BMW M3
Last Spring, I announced that I was once again teaming up with Toyo Tires for the 2023 and 2024 seasons. Together, we have been working together to prepare for the upcoming 102nd running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb which will take place on June 23rd.
Pikes peak Build: Part 2
Picking up from where we left off in Part 1…over the past few weeks we have continued to work on ensuring our BMW E46 M3 survives the thin-air and increased cooling demands of Pikes Peak. I sourced a KSR hood vent (thanks Ken) which is the perfect size to serve as a ducted exit for the v-mounted intercooler. We also added an inlet to the driver side carbon fiber lens to feed the hungry Active Autowerke Rotrex C38 supercharger.
Pikes Peak Build: Part 1
Back in March, we announced our plans to tackle one of the most difficult motorsport events in the world; the 102nd running of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in 2024. In preparation for this grueling challenge; which will test us as a team, me as a driver, and the car we build over a distance of 12.42 miles and around 156 turns on the way to a summit elevation of 14,115 feet, we decided to spend the next year taking our time to thoughtfully plan for a successful race to the clouds. While my mental-state and physical conditioning are equally important, for purposes of Part 1 let’s just focus on what most people care about more…the car!
25 Hours of Thunderhill Documentary Short-Film
First Race Of The 2022 Season For Our New E46 BMW M3
Thanks to the power of smart phones and social media, Jon and I were reminded that we were at Sonoma Raceway exactly 1 year ago for the first race of the 2021 season when an unfortunate accident resulted in our E36 BMW M3 race car being totaled. At the time, we felt two things. Relief, because Jon was safe and uninjured. But also disappointment, because we had just finished a complete refresh of that car and we were looking forward to a full season of racing…
One-Two Finish at the 2020 NASA Pro Racing Season Finale
With the 25 Hours of Thunderhill postponed to 2021 (thanks, COVID) the final race weekend of the year took place at Buttonwillow in the form of a double header, Super Touring sprint racing and a 3 hour and 15 minute night endurance race as part of the Western Racing Endurance Racing Championships. We were able to use the month of September to properly prep both the Lotus Exige and the E36 BMW M3.
Second podium at the second race of the year
The first race of the 2020 season feels like a lifetime ago...and not because it was way back in February, but because the world as we know it has changed dramatically over the past 15 weeks. COVID-19 caused just about everything to shut down...businesses, offices, parks, restaurants, schools, and what can best be described as a “normal way of life.”
3rd Place - Final Race of the 2019 ST Championship Season
This blog post will be shorter than usual because our race weekend ended early at Sonoma Raceway due to the Kincade fire. On Sunday morning, just before 8am everyone vacated the track to make room for it to become an evacuation center for families who were fleeing the flames. Our hearts go out to all of them and to our brave service men and women. This meant that the final race of the 2019 Super Touring season actually took place on Saturday, October 26th.
VIDEO: The Next Chapter
Over the years, my good friend Nick Cahill (who happens to be an award-winning filmmaker and national geographic cover photographer) has helped me tell stories through video about my passion for motorsport (which he also shares) and the Honda S2000 race-car I built from the ground up. Last October, I had a nasty rollover crash at Sonoma and while I was able to walk away unharmed; the car was a total-loss. This season, I debuted a BMW E36 M3 which has presented a new set of challenges. That's when Nick and I got together to brainstorm the idea of creating a short-film about this next chapter, and more importantly; the incredible people and companies who make everything possible. Watch it here:
Round 5 of the 2019 NASA Super Touring Championship
When 4 out of 5 cars from your team are damaged after a race weekend, you know that some stuff went down. We were really excited about this weekend at Thunderhill because the weather looked dry, albeit hot (105F), and we had just confirmed a week earlier while testing at Buttonwillow that any overheating issues had been resolved (we upgraded a lot of things after Round 4 at Sonoma in June). This would also be my first time driving the E36 at Thunderhill (since Graham had covered for me there during Round 2 in April while I was in Japan).
