82 Audi Coupe 24 Hours of LeMons Build Thread - Audi Style Racing

[Anthony]

Just a few pics from today's final day of LeMons at Infineon Raceway...

A little Sonoma beer at the end of the day.

[Whatset]

Couple of more pics. What a blast!

[koolade9]

Best race weekend yet!

[Anthony]

Best race weekend yet!

Word to that.

[nnnick]

Some quick updates from the team - full write-up coming soon:

• Our final finish was 93 out of 171 cars
• We were in 50th place before the car broke down towards the end of Sunday
• Great times had by all
• We did a complete clutch replacement track side on Sunday
• We did a shift linkage repair during the race saturday
• We got a ton of great pics! See here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/audisty...7627867369287/

Here are a few shots I really like:

















And our top secret gameplan for Saturday ;)

[Whatset]

Behind the scenes...














In the Pit



















In Car - in order of driver lineup

Day 1, Slot 1


Day 1, Slot 2


Day 1, Slot 3


Day 2, Slot 1


Day 2, Slot 2


Day 2, Slot 3
Missing closer day two - Tranny exploded

[Anthony]

Great shots, guys!

[nnnick]

Our full race recap is now ready! Check it out on our site or read it below: http://www.audistyleracing.com/24-ho...-2011-edition/

Audi Style Racing Infineon Race Recap

We had another great time at Infineon Raceway (aka Sears Point). Since our last race there – a lot has changed. A new engine (or two), a new livery, and a renewed sense of enthusiasm – and it showed. While the car died in the final few hours, we went from being the team that was known as “the team that were misfiring so bad they could barely make it up the hill” to “the team that didn’t totally suck.” But more importantly than anything, we keep having more fun than ever, and in the words of Team Petty Cash – “we really love to play race car.” If the most fun wins, then we’re definitely in the running for the lead…

Technically speaking (e.g. not sorting by “the most fun wins”), we were 36th in our class, or 93rd overall. At our best, we were 17th in our class and 51st overall, which is something we’re all pretty proud of. We also had the 4th fastest lap time in our class – so we know we can be very competitive, and we’re continuing to make strides in the right direction. Now we just need to work on consistency, and continue to reduce our pit stops & repair needs.


Here’s some of our favorite moments/highlights from Infineon:

* Actually being able to pass people – we weren’t the quickest, but we weren’t the slowest, either…
* The car next to us in the paddocks literally caught on fire – we put it out, so at least we did one thing nice while we were there…
* We blew up the clutch during the first three laps of Friday (the test day) yet were among the first to grid Saturday for the race. Rob & team came through big.
* It was the first race we didn’t blow an engine (knock on wood)
* The Audi Style Racing support team greeting us with cocktails, food, and great hospitality. Thanks Fran, Michelle, Carol and Jayme!
* Anthony from Audizine.com joining us, bringing us some local brew, and getting to know him better
* Blake’s Megaphone – and being the loudest, most obnoxious team to hit the paddock
* Hanging out with: Audizine, Team Petty Cash, Godzilla Loves Bacon, the Jetterossa, Matt Kulka and Danny & Krista (among many others – LeMons brings out some great people)
* Getting shout-outs from Audizine, Adams Rotors, Audi Sport, I Am Audi and others on Facebook
* The after parties at our horse themed rental home

Most of all though, we just had a hell of a lot of fun playing racecar.

Here’s the recap, day-by-day…



Thursday:

We leave with the tow rig & trailer. The truck is struggling, sometimes unable to accelerate, but it makes it into Sonoma around 2am. Blake, Chris & Michelle are heros.


Friday:

The team takes the car to the track and Nick Roshon takes the first rew laps. As Nick passes the grand-stands during his third practice lap, he gives a friendly “hello” wave to his team mates in the grand stands. At this time, the clutch blows up and the car starts smoking. Both his team mates and the flaggers wave in distress to tell him something is not good. Upon bringing the car in, we discover the clutch & pressure plate are fried. We try a quick fix and send Matt Springer back out, but Matt is towed in minutes later by our friends at AAA. Rob, with the assistance of the rest of the team, then work late into the night to heroically drop the transmission, replace the clutch, and attempt to restore the pressure plate over night. We’re iffy on if it will hold, but we’ve come too far to give up. In the meantime, we get the car through tech & judges inspection – passing tech with flying colors and being awarded with 0 penalty laps…


Saturday:

Saturday was a new day – and our makeshift repairs hold-up. Blake started us for the day, followed by Matt Springer and then Chris Wynne. The start was an odd one, with a competitor using police radios that almost got the entire race shut down. Luckily it didn’t come to that, and the fellow competitor offered free beer as an apology, so all was well in the world. Both Blake & Matt rocked it, continuing to show that our little Audi could hang with. Then fellow driver (and only team member with a racing license) Chris Wynne took his turn, and Chris dazzled us with his race car skills. It was Chris’ 30th birthday, and he sure made the best of it, putting down the best lap time for the team at a 2:08 and having an absolute blast entering his older years. At the end of the day, team Audi Style Racing was in position 59 of 171 cars…we celebrated accordingly, especially Blake.



Sunday:

Nick Roshon started off the day, and continued the team’s precendent of driving “flat out,” moving the team up into position 51 overall. Nick came in around noon when the brakes stopped working – turns out the brake fluid had boiled over, so it was probably time to make a pit stop anyway. When we brought the car in and bled the brakes, rotated the tires, and swapped out drivers – it was Craig’s time at the wheel. Craig was out there another hour or so before the car wasn’t running right, so it was time to bring her in again. At this point, the wheel bearings had gone bad, and the transmission was starting to fail again. We did our best at a makeshift repair, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough. Nick Searle took the final driver’s slot of the day, but the transmission had enough – a loud metallic noise and inability to shift into a gear past 2 meant our day was over – 2 hours too early. The final two hours were spent watching our friends race, and sadly our position drop. Nevertheless, we had a lot of fun losing



The Week After:

The tow rig made it home, and so did the team. We already found the parts to fix our coupe, which is great. We aren’t going to be able to make Buttonwillow in December as planned, but we have our targets locked on Infineon (again!) in March. Everyone had an awesome time, and we’re ready to reload…be prepared for Audi Style Racing 3.0!

A special thanks to our sponsors & partners:

Audizine, GoodSpeed Performance, Fathead Fabrication, Adams Rotors, TCE Performance, 034 Motorsport, Speed of Sound LLC and Audi Club of AZ.

Also, a big thanks to our fans & supporters, especially those who tuned in to our live UStream coverage, facebook coverage, or twitter coverage!

[nnnick]

Next stop - Infineon Raceway (Sears Point) March 24-25!

As always, any Bay Area/Wine Country Area folks are more than welcome to come out, watch the races, help out in the paddock, join the after-party, etc.

Just a few things to fix before the race: alignment, tie rods, wheel bearing and fix a brake caliper seal that went kaput.

[nnnick]

Our next race is 10 days away! If you're in the area, come hang out! If not, we'll be broadcasting the race live via our website.

Facebook Event reminder here: http://www.facebook.com/events/172745189510987/

[Anthony]

Yeah, buddy!

Looking forward to the team's best finish yet!

[CaptDistraction]

Anthony, we plan on making that finish something spectacular. Just packed up the car and I've gone over every inch, thought through every contingency, and worked out a KILLER plan to prevent the issues from our last race and additionally leverage our strengths and minimize our weaknesses during the 18 hours of racing.

The car is in its best shape ever, cooling properly and handling that almost approaches what you'd expect in a normal car (LOL! I kid). Drivers are experienced and prepared.

The only thing I'm hunting at this point is a spare transmission (CoupeGT) and maybe a spare clutch disc (200TQ) just to have. If anyone has a line on one of these items, we'd love the help!

Also, all Audiziners are welcome to come hang with us, help out, yell insults at our competitors and the like! less than a week to go!

[Anthony]

Great to hear! Hey, also, if you guys still have the back of Audizine stickers lying around, please bring 'em on back to Sonoma with you.

[CaptDistraction]

Ah, I'll see who has them. I know I need some more, I'm getting a new helmet at this race (the old one, which was new, is now covered in pro-driver signatures). I'll make sure we remember to do so.

Need anything else? a local AZ growler?

[Anthony]

Ah, I'll see who has them. I know I need some more, I'm getting a new helmet at this race (the old one, which was new, is now covered in pro-driver signatures). I'll make sure we remember to do so.

Need anything else? a local AZ growler?

Awesome! Take/use whichever stickers you need.

As for the growler, if you're able to keep it fresh and cold, that's be great. You may have heard I'm bringing over a few more from here in Sonoma.

[nnnick]

Tires are on! We switched it up from Dunlop to Falkens, I think we're going to like the Falkens :)

A big thanks to Wheel Specialists in Tempe, AZ for the hook-up on the tires and the great service as usual! Check them out if you're in Phoenix and want a good deal on tires and techs that will take really good care of you and won't scratch your wheels.

[CaptDistraction]

Write up and pictures coming soon!

We took 5th in class and 34th overall of 170+ cars! Our best finish yet!

[AudiCoupeGT]

Sweet!

[cbock]

this thread...you guys....the car....is teh shiz!

[Whatset]

Thanks guys! Our writeup is posted from the last event - CHECK IT OUT HERE

Here is one done by Geri Amani - our newest driver and an instructor for the Audi Experience in Sonoma - CHECK IT OUT AT F1 BLOG