Sebring World Challenge races...
03-21-2009, 10:17 AM
#1
Supporting Vendor
Thread Starter
Sebring World Challenge races...
Well, that sure was a long week filled with a big dose of trials and tribulations!!!
The short summary is that it turned out fairly successful... But up until the race starts it sure had me wondering....
In TC AJ started 11th and finished 8th, and in the GT race he started 14th and finished 6th (7th on track and moved up one position when a Viper was DQ'd due to weight distribution...)
So here are some of the highs and lows...
1. SCCA PRO RACING did a superb job running a professional event... My hat is off to Bob Wildberger, Dee Duncan, Ken Tripkos, Eric Prill and all of their staff who obviously worked hard to make the first event this year a great one...
Same goes for the people of WC Vision, Bob Woodhouse, Peter Cunningham, Dave Drimmie Scott Bove et al, all of whom worked double time and double hard to make all competitors and our team feel at home and welcome... We did not know all the ins and outs and quite a few times bumbled around, but there was help all along the way to straighten things out...
I know this is only the first event, but they sure did try hard and it showed.. From our point of view, the racing was INTENSE!!! Its also expensive, so we are not sure how many of these we can make, but we will try to do more...
2. The GT race was end to end excitement for us... Getting the car to work on the tires was well, difficult.. we finally did get it figured out after a mediocre qualaifying effort, and 6 or 7 laps into the race the AHA!! bulb lit up and AJ started moving up... The double file restart sure was scarey... Big fast cars bunched up into small spaces looked like a prescription for disaster and it was.. Fortunately we survived... I will let AJ tell tou abut it and post some in car video...
It should make for good TV!!! I can't wait to see it..
3. The TC race was another unknown... We qualified 11th with a heavy car with stock type suspension and basically were off the pace by two seconds... When the race started AJ got a perfect launch and the hunt was on... Somewhere on the 4th or 5th lap the engine started going into limp mode, so we recycled the key, gave 4 or 5 positions and the race was back on for us... By the end he was challenging michael gallty for 7th place and almost had him when the car stumbled for fuel a few turns from the end...
All in all a pretty good race day, i will post more as we get time... If any one would like to ask questions, fire away and i will answer when I have some more time..
Thanks to everyone who stopped by and said hi!!! we appreciate your support!!1
Joe
The short summary is that it turned out fairly successful... But up until the race starts it sure had me wondering....
In TC AJ started 11th and finished 8th, and in the GT race he started 14th and finished 6th (7th on track and moved up one position when a Viper was DQ'd due to weight distribution...)
So here are some of the highs and lows...
1. SCCA PRO RACING did a superb job running a professional event... My hat is off to Bob Wildberger, Dee Duncan, Ken Tripkos, Eric Prill and all of their staff who obviously worked hard to make the first event this year a great one...
Same goes for the people of WC Vision, Bob Woodhouse, Peter Cunningham, Dave Drimmie Scott Bove et al, all of whom worked double time and double hard to make all competitors and our team feel at home and welcome... We did not know all the ins and outs and quite a few times bumbled around, but there was help all along the way to straighten things out...
I know this is only the first event, but they sure did try hard and it showed.. From our point of view, the racing was INTENSE!!! Its also expensive, so we are not sure how many of these we can make, but we will try to do more...
2. The GT race was end to end excitement for us... Getting the car to work on the tires was well, difficult.. we finally did get it figured out after a mediocre qualaifying effort, and 6 or 7 laps into the race the AHA!! bulb lit up and AJ started moving up... The double file restart sure was scarey... Big fast cars bunched up into small spaces looked like a prescription for disaster and it was.. Fortunately we survived... I will let AJ tell tou abut it and post some in car video...
It should make for good TV!!! I can't wait to see it..
3. The TC race was another unknown... We qualified 11th with a heavy car with stock type suspension and basically were off the pace by two seconds... When the race started AJ got a perfect launch and the hunt was on... Somewhere on the 4th or 5th lap the engine started going into limp mode, so we recycled the key, gave 4 or 5 positions and the race was back on for us... By the end he was challenging michael gallty for 7th place and almost had him when the car stumbled for fuel a few turns from the end...
All in all a pretty good race day, i will post more as we get time... If any one would like to ask questions, fire away and i will answer when I have some more time..
Thanks to everyone who stopped by and said hi!!! we appreciate your support!!1
Joe
03-21-2009, 11:01 AM
#3
First of all..... a BIG CONGRATULATIONS goes out to you, and your son for a job well done. Having raced in both Touring and GT, I know exactly what you speak of. We all know that racing at the PRO ranks gets VERY EXPENSIVE, heck racing at any level is expensive, when done correctly.
I would like to know your thoughts on:
1) Did the LS3 perform above or below expectations in terms of power?
2) Looking forward, what changes will you need to implement in order to make the car more competitive? (less weight? more car/tire testing, more engine performance?)
3) what VTS concessions will you be asking for?
Again, hats off to a job well done
I would like to know your thoughts on:
1) Did the LS3 perform above or below expectations in terms of power?
2) Looking forward, what changes will you need to implement in order to make the car more competitive? (less weight? more car/tire testing, more engine performance?)
3) what VTS concessions will you be asking for?
Again, hats off to a job well done
03-21-2009, 12:32 PM
#4
Supporting Vendor
Thread Starter
The LS3 worked Great!!! the guys at GM St Catherines did an excellent job... We have about 3 hours of hard running on track at sebring, plus another hour or so of pulls on the chassis dyno... No problems of any kind!!! remember, this is all stock valve train and internal parts...
Andy did redesign his radiator location and we have a custom built radiator from Ron Davis that woked very well...Temps in the high 80's, running in close formation with other cars and no cooling issues...
Power output was about what we expected, around 490 or so at the crank... We think we are are 80 or 90 less than the prepped LS2's... So its a tall order to run with the big dogs... Its pretty apparent once we get on the straights... we can corner with the others, and outbrake the vipers and some of the corvettes and porsches.. Now we need to work on drag, aero and getting off turns..
We have some very good data now on all the other cars that we ran nose to tail with, corvettes, vipers and 911's, so the engineer is working on analyzing it all and we will keep working on setup!!!
The most exciting part is that we spent $5200 on the motor.. shifted at 6400 rpm and it came home in one piece.
The Volvo team lost 3 engines, and another corvette team lost one due to debris blocking the cooling intake...
We will apply what we learned to our club racing program and I hope to have one out at some national and track day events by May...
We did have a dry sump installed, using a stock oem oil pump. It worked fine also... we never found all that mysterious HP that drysumps were supposed to make..
Our exhaust system was version three of a new type we have been working on and it seemed to work fine.
Joe
Andy did redesign his radiator location and we have a custom built radiator from Ron Davis that woked very well...Temps in the high 80's, running in close formation with other cars and no cooling issues...
Power output was about what we expected, around 490 or so at the crank... We think we are are 80 or 90 less than the prepped LS2's... So its a tall order to run with the big dogs... Its pretty apparent once we get on the straights... we can corner with the others, and outbrake the vipers and some of the corvettes and porsches.. Now we need to work on drag, aero and getting off turns..
We have some very good data now on all the other cars that we ran nose to tail with, corvettes, vipers and 911's, so the engineer is working on analyzing it all and we will keep working on setup!!!
The most exciting part is that we spent $5200 on the motor.. shifted at 6400 rpm and it came home in one piece.
The Volvo team lost 3 engines, and another corvette team lost one due to debris blocking the cooling intake...
We will apply what we learned to our club racing program and I hope to have one out at some national and track day events by May...
We did have a dry sump installed, using a stock oem oil pump. It worked fine also... we never found all that mysterious HP that drysumps were supposed to make..
Our exhaust system was version three of a new type we have been working on and it seemed to work fine.
Joe
03-21-2009, 05:08 PM
#7
Supporting Vendor
Thread Starter
Andrew Aquilante races Phoenix Performance Corvette to 6th in Sebring SCCA SPEED World Challenge GT Season Opener
- Picks up four positions in final five laps -
Phoenixville, PA – March 20, 2009
Andrew Aquilante passed half of the more-powerful race cars in front of him Friday on the world-famous Sebring (Fla.) International Raceway circuit to race the Phoenix Performance 2008 C6 Z51 Corvette to a sixth place finish in the season-opening race of the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT series.
Andrew qualified his Corvette 14th quickest in the 21-car field, slashed his way to 10th by lap four, eighth by lap 17, and seventh on a lap 18 re-start after a full-course yellow period, which he held to the finish on lap 20. The final position, to sixth, was literally handed to him long after the race when a competitor who finished ahead of him was disqualified for technical infractions.
Aquilante, 21, of Phoenixville, Pa., an experienced Corvette racer, drove a mechanically-different Phoenix Performance Z51 Corvette to the Touring 1 Class National Championship at the 2007 SCCA Runoffs, a drive which earned him the SCCA President’s Cup. He has also raced Corvettes in the Grand American Rolex GT series and, since 2004, in SCCA National Club Racing.
“This was definitely an intense race in an exciting series,” Andrew said. “The best description I can think of is ‘scattered chaos.’ There were mini-battles breaking out all around the track. I learned, too, that when the race is only 75 miles long, you have to race from start-to-finish. And if you’re going to try to get past cars with 50 more horsepower, you’ll work for it!”
“Andrew did a superb job,” said team owner Joe Aquilante. “He is racing for the first time in this series."
“Our Corvette is prepared to different rules than the Corvette that Eric Curran drove to second place,” Aquilante explained. “His car is two miles per hour faster for an average speed of a lap at Sebring. That’s a small number, but those last two miles per hour are very expensive.
“The new rules instituted by the Sports Car Club of America allow us to be competitive using a combination of lighter weight and less-expensive components, on a smaller budget. They achieved their goal. We’re happy and we hope to be back.” Aquilante also applauded the host SCCA officials. “Throughout the weekend, I was very impressed with the professionalism, helpfulness and courtesy shown by all the SCCA people and World Challenge-Vision staff.”
“We struggled all week to get the car to handle exactly the way we wanted it to, and finally got to the point where Andrew felt there was nothing else left in it. He found he could race with a good part of the field,” he concluded.
The race was televised by SPEED TV and will air March 31 at 2pm, April 2 at 4am and April 15 at 2pm. All times are Eastern.
Sponsors for the Phoenix Performance Z51 Corvette include Rockland Standard Gear, Automotive Racing Products, Hawk Brakes, Quarter Master, Ron Davis Radiators and VAC Motorsports.
About Phoenix Performance
Phoenix Performance, Inc is owned and managed by Joe Aquilante and is located in a 32,000 sq. ft. race shop 40 miles west of Philadelphia. Phoenix Performance-prepared cars have won 18 SCCA National Club Racing Championships since 1999, two professional series Driver and Manufacturer Championships, and the GM Motorsports Winner’s Circle Award. Andrew can be reached by email at ajavette37@comcast.net and on his website, www.andrewaquilante.com. For team information, call Joe Aquilante at 610-482-0141, by email at JFAPhoenix32@aol.com, or visit the company’s website, www.phoenixperformance.net. Additional information about the series can be found on www.World-Challenge.com
- Picks up four positions in final five laps -
Phoenixville, PA – March 20, 2009
Andrew Aquilante passed half of the more-powerful race cars in front of him Friday on the world-famous Sebring (Fla.) International Raceway circuit to race the Phoenix Performance 2008 C6 Z51 Corvette to a sixth place finish in the season-opening race of the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge GT series.
Andrew qualified his Corvette 14th quickest in the 21-car field, slashed his way to 10th by lap four, eighth by lap 17, and seventh on a lap 18 re-start after a full-course yellow period, which he held to the finish on lap 20. The final position, to sixth, was literally handed to him long after the race when a competitor who finished ahead of him was disqualified for technical infractions.
Aquilante, 21, of Phoenixville, Pa., an experienced Corvette racer, drove a mechanically-different Phoenix Performance Z51 Corvette to the Touring 1 Class National Championship at the 2007 SCCA Runoffs, a drive which earned him the SCCA President’s Cup. He has also raced Corvettes in the Grand American Rolex GT series and, since 2004, in SCCA National Club Racing.
“This was definitely an intense race in an exciting series,” Andrew said. “The best description I can think of is ‘scattered chaos.’ There were mini-battles breaking out all around the track. I learned, too, that when the race is only 75 miles long, you have to race from start-to-finish. And if you’re going to try to get past cars with 50 more horsepower, you’ll work for it!”
“Andrew did a superb job,” said team owner Joe Aquilante. “He is racing for the first time in this series."
“Our Corvette is prepared to different rules than the Corvette that Eric Curran drove to second place,” Aquilante explained. “His car is two miles per hour faster for an average speed of a lap at Sebring. That’s a small number, but those last two miles per hour are very expensive.
“The new rules instituted by the Sports Car Club of America allow us to be competitive using a combination of lighter weight and less-expensive components, on a smaller budget. They achieved their goal. We’re happy and we hope to be back.” Aquilante also applauded the host SCCA officials. “Throughout the weekend, I was very impressed with the professionalism, helpfulness and courtesy shown by all the SCCA people and World Challenge-Vision staff.”
“We struggled all week to get the car to handle exactly the way we wanted it to, and finally got to the point where Andrew felt there was nothing else left in it. He found he could race with a good part of the field,” he concluded.
The race was televised by SPEED TV and will air March 31 at 2pm, April 2 at 4am and April 15 at 2pm. All times are Eastern.
Sponsors for the Phoenix Performance Z51 Corvette include Rockland Standard Gear, Automotive Racing Products, Hawk Brakes, Quarter Master, Ron Davis Radiators and VAC Motorsports.
About Phoenix Performance
Phoenix Performance, Inc is owned and managed by Joe Aquilante and is located in a 32,000 sq. ft. race shop 40 miles west of Philadelphia. Phoenix Performance-prepared cars have won 18 SCCA National Club Racing Championships since 1999, two professional series Driver and Manufacturer Championships, and the GM Motorsports Winner’s Circle Award. Andrew can be reached by email at ajavette37@comcast.net and on his website, www.andrewaquilante.com. For team information, call Joe Aquilante at 610-482-0141, by email at JFAPhoenix32@aol.com, or visit the company’s website, www.phoenixperformance.net. Additional information about the series can be found on www.World-Challenge.com
Last edited by jfaphoenix32; 03-21-2009 at 11:38 PM.
03-21-2009, 05:21 PM
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03-21-2009, 08:00 PM
#11
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My last WC engine, a Katech built LS2, made "only" around 505 HP at the crank, with restricted HP. Before that, my Katech LS6's made slightly around 510 unrestricted. Sounds like your LS3 wasn't too far off. Oh btw, Katech trippled the price of their engines once the Cadillac team came along..........
As I said in the other post, with the economy homoraging, it's an AWESOME time for the smaller budgeted teams to get out there and win some races! Even though there are some factory "built" cars, having no factory teams racing or "politicing" in GT, it really is a season that can be won by anyone.
Congrats on a great start to the season!
As I said in the other post, with the economy homoraging, it's an AWESOME time for the smaller budgeted teams to get out there and win some races! Even though there are some factory "built" cars, having no factory teams racing or "politicing" in GT, it really is a season that can be won by anyone.
Congrats on a great start to the season!
03-22-2009, 08:01 AM
#16
Melting Slicks
My last WC engine, a Katech built LS2, made "only" around 505 HP at the crank, with restricted HP. Before that, my Katech LS6's made slightly around 510 unrestricted. Sounds like your LS3 wasn't too far off. Oh btw, Katech trippled the price of their engines once the Cadillac team came along..........
As I said in the other post, with the economy homoraging, it's an AWESOME time for the smaller budgeted teams to get out there and win some races! Even though there are some factory "built" cars, having no factory teams racing or "politicing" in GT, it really is a season that can be won by anyone.
Congrats on a great start to the season!
As I said in the other post, with the economy homoraging, it's an AWESOME time for the smaller budgeted teams to get out there and win some races! Even though there are some factory "built" cars, having no factory teams racing or "politicing" in GT, it really is a season that can be won by anyone.
Congrats on a great start to the season!
whats "homoraging"?
is that like when a male hair stylist goes on a killing spree?
I don't really see how that applies to the economy, maybe I'm missing something.
03-22-2009, 08:05 AM
#17
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03-23-2009, 10:02 AM
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Way to go all you guys at Phoenix. Congrats. 
It's gotta be tough when you get up into runing with all the big dawgs..
It's gotta be tough when you get up into runing with all the big dawgs..
03-23-2009, 10:24 AM
#20
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thanks for the kind words... we were very pleased to finish, and to end up 6th was a real bonus.
Andrew had to drive the car pretty hard and once the handling came around he did a pretty good job of racing with people... We were obviously down on power to the other 4 corvettes, but we braked well (Brembos) and cornered well... Joe Stimolas penske shocks... We also used Aarons sway bars and Gary's seat mounts and Ron davis radiators, lou G's drop spindles, Hawk brakes, Rippie ducts and Rockland stanndard gear transmissions and diffs... kerry hitt Body work and lots and lots and lots and lots of AJ's hours working on the car!!! he hung in there and put it all together and then sucked it up and raced her hard... with out Andrews's grim determination it never would have happened...
We had a bit of body work damage from a late race altercation with a viper, one of them thar racing deals, but it all came together, we avided disaster and finished...
As you can see, it was a celebration of all the vendors here at Corvette forums and the great products they make!!! Thanks to everyone.
we appreciate all the support!
Andrew had to drive the car pretty hard and once the handling came around he did a pretty good job of racing with people... We were obviously down on power to the other 4 corvettes, but we braked well (Brembos) and cornered well... Joe Stimolas penske shocks... We also used Aarons sway bars and Gary's seat mounts and Ron davis radiators, lou G's drop spindles, Hawk brakes, Rippie ducts and Rockland stanndard gear transmissions and diffs... kerry hitt Body work and lots and lots and lots and lots of AJ's hours working on the car!!! he hung in there and put it all together and then sucked it up and raced her hard... with out Andrews's grim determination it never would have happened...
We had a bit of body work damage from a late race altercation with a viper, one of them thar racing deals, but it all came together, we avided disaster and finished...
As you can see, it was a celebration of all the vendors here at Corvette forums and the great products they make!!! Thanks to everyone.
we appreciate all the support!
Last edited by jfaphoenix32; 03-23-2009 at 10:03 PM.
