Superlite Coupe Race Debut

[Fran Hall RCR]

Superlite Coupe Race Debut
After a pretty busy winter building the SL-C race car, the time had come to test its mettle in the real world .The chosen venue for the first race was Summit Point raceway in West Virginia at the famed Hyperfest event..
Things were going quite well as we had tested the car a couple of times with some teething issues being sorted out…( more to come no doubt.)
We had to do an emergency engine swap the day before leaving for Hyperfest due to some debris being found in the oil…and with having to drive 1100 miles, round trip an engine failure was the last thing we needed.
Having finished the new lesser power engine install at 4.30am, we grabbed a couple of hours sleep and hit the road at 7.30am.
No sooner had we left the shop than the trusty International tow rig had sprung a diesel leak…a quick pit stop at my pals diesel shop and we were back on the road by 10am…..only 550 miles to go.
Toby Follows from Campbell Race Concepts (Canadian RCR go to guy) had been dispatched to the track earlier and he had secured us a great paddock spot .The trip down was great other than the GPS stopping right before we found the track and trying to turn a 68 foot rig around on narrow country roads was a PITA after a long day in the saddle.
Unloaded and set up we retired to the local Steak house for some beef and beer…
Day One….Race day.
Practice went quite well with Ryan getting into the groove with the car…we had been tweeking the brake set up for Ryan so he had more pedal feel and better modulation..he was now happy to start pushing a little harder…8 laps and time to come in for a chat…more tweeks,tyre pressures set, shock settings adjusted and ready for qualifying.
It was close to 80 deg and dry…things were looking good for a fun time.
Qualifying time and Ryan started towards the back of the pack as we were unsure of the SL-C’s speed vs the Ferrari 430 challenge car, Porsche GT2 , GT3 and RSR and the American Iron V8’s in our Thunder race group, and we did not want to get in the way of anyone on a hot lap.
We noticed a little smoke coming from the back of the SL-C but Ryan radioed in that all pressures and temps looked good so I told him to stay out and get some laps in and we would check things over after the session.
Times were posted and Ryan and Will. Campbell…fellow SL-C owner and manager of logistics for the race team (unpaid volunteer in other words) went to see how we had done .
We were on pole position and we had broken the track record for NASA Super Unlimited by ½ sec.…The previous lap record holder was actually on track with us too….
To say I was surprised and pleased would be an understatement…especially as we had found a small oil leak that was causing the smoke and Ryan felt we had much more in the car to come.With the oil leak fixed ..or so we thought we cleaned up the car and waited for Race One.
Race One.
Pole position with a very hot Porsche along side on the front row…the pace lap was incredibly slow and did not allow any heat in the tyres or brakes…this was going to be fun…
I was on the radio at the start and finish line spotting for the green flag to drop…Green Green Green….Ryan was away and off to a healthy lead …V8 torque vs Porsche RPM…
BLACK FLAG….Ryan had been judged to jump the start…tough call when I was on the startline and gave him the order to go as the green dropped, but “hey” that’s racing…
Ryan pulled in on lap four to serve his stop and go…..he was immediately back on track and flying through the field…back up to second place and pushing with 4 laps to go…..the Porsche was back in sight.
More oil smoke….Ryan wisely decided it was time to pull off the track and live to race another day…
Once back in the paddock we spotted the issue and repaired it for good this time….
The results came in and Ryan had broken his own previous best and lowered the Lap record again…
Day Two Race Two
We finally woke up to rain….bugger…
Time to find out how the SL-C works on wets…
I reset the shock settings and disconnected the sway bars
Mark and Toby put on the wets and we were ready to go…
The track started to dry and it was really too dry for wets but too wet for slicks…
Wet tyres it is…
Ryan radioed in …the car was handling beautifully and he hoped it rained for the race as he was having a great time…
No drama no smoke …no problems…finally a clean run…
Times were posted and we were again on Pole…4 secs clear of the next SU car…
Race time…dry track back to slicks.
No dynamite start this time…Ryan had been warned by Race officials to keep the rolling start down to 25mph…he duly obliged but still managed to keep the lead into turn one….
Lap two …still in the lead…more smoke…bugger.
Leading , Ryan decided to pull off and thankfully no major damage….
The Porsche went on to win the race and we look forward to meeting him again at VIR in a few weeks time.
Once back in the paddock we found the cause of our problem…a leaky stage of the dry sump pump…we had not spotted this in our earlier checks as it was tucked up tight under the block/exhaust manifold and at idle was not visibly leaking….
Ryan was bummed , as were we obviously, but his comments about having the most fun he had had in a race car were heartwarming to hear.
A great weekend all in all and we certainly got some great data and some momentum to carry to Mid Ohio in a few weeks time…
Thanks to the RCR crew of Dan, Mark, Toby, Will, Darin and Ryan and his family for a great weekend…and of course my wife, Karen and my kids, Aidan and Elise for letting me be away on Fathers Day

It was great to see Ron McCall in his American Iron Mustang out there on track too, he was also in our Thunder race and having some good battles of his own...well done Ron.
..

(Remember guys....the race car has the same chassis and body as our street car...and also the same suspension mounts...go get em...)

 

[Rick Muck- Mark IV]

[/FONT]

So Fran,

Did this place have any BAKED POTATOES????

I know you got stiffed for them in the Outback at Carlisle!

Congrats on the outing. For a first time out those don't sound like big problems in racecar land. Might need to come watch this thing run someplace.

Rick

 

[Jack]

Really super and encouraging results for an "out of the box" racecar, with only minimal testing. Too bad a minor oil leak spoiled an overall victory.

Track record anyway against some formidable competition! Congraulations Fran, Ryan and the team.

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

Rick,
didn't have time for baked spuds...too much Yuengling to drink...

 

[Rick Muck- Mark IV]

Rick,
didn't have time for baked spuds...too much Yuengling to drink...

Fran,

I prefer the "Black and Tan" myself.......

 

[Dave]

Congrats to Fran and the rest of the team.

Short of an oil leak that ended up being a spoiler, an opening race weekend for a new car could hardly have gone better. Pole position with a new track record in the fastest race group is something to be very happy about. No doubt the car will get even quicker over time.

I'm curious about what kind of car held the record before and what is your SL-C's weight and power.

 

[Pat Buckley]

Awesome Fran - Congratulations!

 

[Jack]

Dave, I believe it was a 430 Ferrari Challange car, but will defer to Fran.

 

[Paul Osborn]

Fran:

If that's your debut, I'd love to hear what the long time teams were saying amongst themselves about Team RCR.

 

[Mike]

They are going to need a bigger gun.

 

[Doc Kaler]

Looks like the SLC will make it's mark on the competition once the little things are sorted out.

Fran, do you accept the standard suspension as a core deduction from the race suspension price? :thumbsup:

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

Track record was held by a very well driven and highly developed 3.8 RS Porsche...really nice guy too.

There is a lot left in the SL-C plus the 80+ HP we were down using the spare engine.

Dave...550hp and 2550lbs wet,with driver ready to race...similar to GT2 ALMS

 

[Chuck]

The debut of the SLC was far better than the debut of the GT40, and we know how that story ended.

Great debut; great time; really great write up. Keep the reports coming!

 

[Howard Jones]

So that's it! YUENGLING RACING it is! You know you have to name the team based on the first outing. It's either yuengling or diesel leak racing.

 

[Tim Kay]

Fran, Ryan & Team,

To say I am impressed is an understatement. I think a real tribute to your operation at achieving pole and fast lap on a maiden voyage is nothing short of remarkable:thumbsup:

You and the team have sincerely earned a huge congratulation. The issues of first getting on the track to qualify would have been success enough for me. Knowing you got through all that and still coming through with a successful weekend, the proverbial ‘skys the limit’.

I currently drive an ’08 3.6 RS so I certainly can relate to the attributes the SLC is displaying. If you keep posting impressive results like this the “RS” may have to go

 

[Will Campbell]

Some random thoughts from the event:


Like moths to a flame, the SLC had a permanent crowd of people around it all day Saturday, sometimes 3 deep. Most of them were fascinated by the car, and were very complimentary about the overall presentation, engineering, and apparent speed. A popular misconception was that it was a prototype car on vacation from GrandAM, or ALMS. Some found it hard to believe that it was based on a car that is street legal. It also got lots of attention from some of the other racers, though some of them had a long face while looking at it. :stunned:


The two poles and lap record were set with a car that is very early in the sorting stage. Most of the crew think there are at least 3-5 seconds in the car, if not more, just from improved engine mapping, experience in the car, optimized setup, etc. We all thought that the SLC had tons of potential, but I think even the team didn't expect such speed right out of the box.


Several racers came up to talk to us after the Saturday race, impressed that Ryan was able to carve through the field so fast after the stop-and-go. The raw pace of the SLC was apparent to more than just our team.


Whenever a car with the aggressive appearance of the SLC is created, some are skeptical, wondering if the car is all show and no go. In other words, does it really have the race car creds, or is it just another pretty face? In the case of the SLC, I think that question was answered clearly and decisively. And there is much more to come.


Looking at the car on track, it didn't look particularly fast, partly because we asked Ryan to go easy, and not try to win the race (or set a lap record-- I guess that part was an accident). But when it got near any of the other cars, the speed differential was hard to miss. It looked very smooth, almost like it was loafing- until the lap timer clicked off, and the reality was clear. This is a characteristic of a natively quick car- it didn't need to be wrung about the neck to perform, it just stuck everywhere (on and off line) and went about the business of being a race car quietly and effectively. Well, maybe not so quietly- there is no missing the thunder of the LS3 engine at full song.


Racing is an unforgiving sport, as we were reminded when we had plumbing-related issues. But the team persevered, and the results were exciting. With every race we expect to get more reliable and faster. We can't wait for the next race!

 

[Paul Osborn]

"And there is much more to come."

MUA HAHAHA.

 

[Tim Kay]

Track record was held by a very well driven and highly developed 3.8 RS Porsche...really nice guy too.

There is a lot left in the SL-C plus the 80+ HP we were down using the spare engine.

Dave...550hp and 2550lbs wet,with driver ready to race...similar to GT2 ALMS

Truly not to diminish the accomplishment, keep this in perspective. If the track time recorded you set was the GT3RS best time, no doubt commendable, it's no surprise given your spec listed above. SLC times should be substantially better with 600lbs less weight and 100hp more than an RS. You are in the GT2 class, as you stated, where RSR's, Ford GT's, Corvettes and F458's reside. In other words truly a different animal than the RS, and to a lesser degree, even Challenge cars.

A "highly developed" 3.8 RS can only mean suspension upgrades, shocks, roll cage and race seat, otherwise it would be a Cup Car which is a considerably different and still does not compete against the GT2 cars.

With that being said, the most fascinating and extraordinary fact is the RCR SLC appears to have proven right from the gate that it's heading straight to the GT2 class, a lofty position to be, yet it was born from a street car :bow: Incredible, not even a 911 GT3RS can claim that! Furthermore, achieved in a significantly reduced price range to boot.

Very much looking forward to the reports of continued success.

p.s. biased? yes I am openly defending my wonderful RS :thumbsup:

 

[simo]

Fran

Do we have any video footage of the SL-C in action:laugh:

 

[Fran Hall RCR]

Tim,
the Porsche was not a new GT3 RS...it was a modified "full on" race car...it used an early lightweight shell with a highly built 3.8 engine....his car also weighed 2400lbs
The driver told me he had more money in the cylinder heads alone than I had in the full Chevy engine....no need to defend Porsche they have only had 40 years to get their car right....and a few bucks....:thumbsup:..(my wife has a 993 so I like them too)

There would probably be about 80hp difference with the engine we used if the mapping was dialed, which it was not...it was stumbling off the corners...on the dyno tomorrow to start sorting that out...

He was very competitive and was certainly trying hard as he was close to his own personal best (previous lap record)

We cant run the car in any of the larger sanctioned classes yet...ALMS/Grand Am as its not a "production" car and is not homologated as such.Currently the car is similar in stature to the Mosler MT 900...(but much less expensive)...a GT type car or open class...
We have been approved for a few classes in NASA and the SCCA .

Thanks for the Kudos though...and you are right..the chassis , body and suspension pick up points, fuel tank locations, wheel size (CCW) are all the same as the current street car

I have not seen any video yet ...some may show up from spectators, but we were more focused on running the car...and this was not a televised event, as far as I know.