And One for the Win!

And the Season Finale -

With just one weekend off, the entire field of Spec e30 racers returned to Infineon Raceway at Sears Point, and as usual welcomed a few new racers with brand-new cars, and looked toward the sharp end of the field where the veterans would play a part in a storybook ending for the challenging 16 race season. Brad McClure, Andy Chittum, Greg Petersen, Loren Trefethen, Steve Ferrario, Tommy Oliver, and the rest of the 25 car field would all figure in the hard-charging drama. With Brad’s misstep in the Saturday race the previous weekend, and Loren losing an engine and falling far back down the field the previous Sunday, just four points separated Team BTM Motorwerks with Loren's speedy TFB Performance car. Considering there were 200 points available for a 1st place, the entire season was going to simply be down to who could get their car across the line first. With rain forecast, many racers prepared for it, and the morning warmup session was typical Sears Point soggy, with enough overnight rain on the track to cause puddles and spray. One surprise was John Trefethen joining the field for the second time laying down a warmup lap two seconds a lap faster than anyone else - when questioned about it later he claimed he was ‘just getting a feel for the car’ but many took note he could be a force to be reckoned with if it were to rain.

But, by the time qualifying began midday Saturday, the Sonoma sunshine was warming things up, and the racers found themselves on a very green very dry track. Andy managed to make the best of a busy track and qualify 3rd with a 1:58.141 and Brad did one better by throwing down a 1.58.105, just 4 hundreths faster. But the session would belong to Tommy Oliver who managed a near-magical 1:57.8 on the slippery track. Season points leader Loren Trefethen ended up just one position behind Andy, with Greg Peterson and Steve Ferrario right behind him.

The NASA organizers also contributed to the excitement by scheduling qualifying for Saturday, then Sunday run a 30 minute race followed by a 50 minute race later in the day. The racers would need to mind their cars in the morning race to be sure they were ready for the longer afternoon event.

But as can happen, the morning race’s drama began sooner than expected... in fact right about the time everyone was hitting second gear from the spec e30 standing start. Everyone except Tommy O - lining up on pole position he took off as the green flag fell, but the experienced NASA racer missed getting into 2nd gear. Brad, lined up on the outside also missed his shift to 2nd, but managed to recover quickly and take off after a speeding Loren Trefethen who took excellent advantage of the mayhem on the inside of the track. Andy hit second gear perfectly just to find Tommy slowing in front of him. Andy tried to avoid on the inside of the track, but the pressure from the other 25 cars behind the leader caught up too quickly. He glanced off Tommy’s rear bumper, which in turn knocked his car out of gear. As he recovered and got up to speed, a number of other cars had already passed him, putting him in 10th position. Luckily the #19 car was not damaged badly from the contact, and Chittum took off after the leaders.





Up front Brad caught up to Loren and pulled out a gap over Steve Ferrario and series organizer Scott Neville who had both benefited from the chaotic start - Scott had managed to stay clear of the mess and made it up to 4th from his start in 12th, all in the first half lap.

But heading out of the carousel and up the hill for the first time, Brad got a great run and got inside Loren. He braked so hard he locked up his tires, but somehow in the resulting smoke he was able to get the mighty 91 car turned and took the lead.
Loren pressed Brad continually throughout the race, but wasn’t able to take back the lost position.

Meanwhile, Andy had his work cut out for him coming back through the field. He worked the field, passing cars up to 6th place, but after getting by the blue #2 Shawhan car, the top 5 cars had a several second gap. He took off after them setting the fastest lap of the race catching up to the familiar green #76 car driven by Greg Petersen. Greg must have seem him coming as well, because the two caught and Greg passed Scott Neville in a single fell swoop on the inside of the Turn 11 hairpin. Chittum snuck by the 44 car as well on the inside of the double-apex turn 7 shortly thereafter. But even though Chittum had the speed, and harried the 76 car repeatedly, Chittum had to settle for 5th behind Peterson. Tommy O recovered from even further back in the field after his fatal mis-shift, and managed an impressive 7th, still possibly in the hunt should Loren and Brad not finish the race for any reason.

The morning race was to set the grid for the long afternoon race, Team BTM Motorwerks then held down the 1st and 5th positions, and as it turned out would be key in the final battle. Brad had finished ahead of Loren and the 91 car had retaken the series point lead, but given the double points given out at this particular event, he still couldn’t let Loren get away, it was still very likely which ever car crossed over the line in the final event would be the series champion.

The afternoon race’s start was a bit less dramatic, Brad again not quite getting his 2nd gear shift right, but managing to avoid any major carnage. Loren again got a blistering start and blasted off into the lead, and Greg shot by the mis-shifing McClure followed by Steve Ferrario, Andy, and Tommy O right behind them. While this time the racers knew they’d be out punishing their 205mm Toyo RA-1 tires for a full 50 minutes of racing, the less-chaotic start meant that nearly the entire field crossed the start-finish line nose to tail on the first lap...it wouldn’t stay quiet for long.



A few laps later found bunched up field each looking for an advantage, and the first one to find it was Greg, getting a good run inside Loren in T 11. At the same time, just a few cars back, Andy had tried to get a run on Steve, but couldn’t quite get it done and lost speed in T10, leaving the door open on the inside of 11. As Greg powered around Loren nearly followed by an opportunistic McClure, Tommy O got inside Andy and got the inside line in T10. Tommy motored off after the top 5, but Andy had to deal with traffic for a few laps before getting back up to speed. And shortly later, Brad was also able to get a run inside Loren in T11 and took over second going into T2.



Andy gapped the rest of the field then, on his way back up to the front. As he caught up to Tommy O and Steve’s battle, the two got together on the slippery entrance to T7, and Andy slipped by on the inside.

This left Greg still leading, Brad in 2nd, and Loren right behind, with Andy about 10 lengths back...and the race still only half over. For a few more laps, everyone still driving flat out, Andy struggled to make up time on the three leaders. Furthermore Loren started to push as well, starting to try moves on Brad. If the cars finished as they were at this moment in the race, Team BTM would win the championship, but not if Lauren could make up any more positions.

As their battle intensified, Greg was able to relax a little, but Brad came further under fire, twice running wide in T11, T7, and once even nearly off in T1 - Lauren’s assault was both solid and persistent, sometimes even drawing even with the 91 BTM car. While Brad’s style of driving was solid and persistent if occasionally sideways like Nigel Mansell, Lauren played the perfect part of a Montoya, completely fearless, completely unforgiving, lightning fast and completely willing to put his car anywhere jaw-droppingly necessary to get the job done. It seemed that Brad’s defense was weakening...



And then Andy caught back up to the three leaders. Making contact coming out of 4, he nearly got by Lauren going into the carousel, but Loren fought back quickly closing the door and preventing Andy from sliding down the inside of 7. But while he was able to keep Andy from stealing the last podium position, including some extra-difficult-to-pass sideways action, Brad was free to recover his car, and give Greg a final chase before the end of the race. Andy also gave Loren a serious run for his money as well, finishing just about a half second behind the last podium spot. But, with Brad in the 91 car ahead of Loren, that gave Team BTM Motorwerks the points boost needed to take home the season championship for the first time. 3rd in 2009, 2nd in 2010, and finally a season win for the team.

And an especially heartfelt congratulations to Greg and his family for their new baby - a great drive on his return to the series.



Brad and Andy would like to thank:

Ross Martindale, Gary McClure, and Jennifer Chittum
QStarz Motorsports GPS Lap Timer
LPI, Inc
NASA, Scott Neville, and our fellow Spec e30 Competitors!
We’ll see you all next year!

Massive Shift - Season Heats up in Cool Sonoma

With two race weekends left to go in the 2011 championship, Team BTM Motorwerks returned in full force to Infineon Raceway at Sears Point. Andy had done some between-race testing and identified a weak point on both the new #19 and the venerable #91 car that benefited from some re-freshening and after a few nights wrenching all three team members would be ready to race, Brad again in the mighty 91, Andy back in Spec e30 with the 19, and Ross taking the 19 in GTS Challenge. Beautiful Sonoma California obliged with gorgeous mild October weather in the mid 70s with no chance of rain, and the entire field was excited to get back racing.



The weekend started off in fine fashion with Andy laying down a blistering lap in qualifying to take the first Pole Position of the weekend. Mike C of the always-fast Team Courtney-Olivier set a time only four one-thousandths slower, Lauren T a relatively distant one one-hundredth behind Andy. Brad in the 91 qualified three-tenths behind that group with Bennett M two one-hundredths behind him. As usual being a second off the pace would put you down somewhere between 13th and 18th




Over twenty other Spec e30s took to the track behind the leaders, as the canny NASA officials decided to mix the racing action up by mandating a rolling start instead of the typical standing start. Generally seen to be an easier, less incident-filled method of starting a field of cars, the field managed its full quota of mayhem the first lap.

Andy had opted to start on the outside of Turn 1, noting a huge oil slick from an earlier race's incident on the outside of Turn 2, but as the cars took off under green, Andy and Mike stayed side by side through one, and either the NASA safety crews had done an exemplary job of cleaning up the track, or the speedy #10 car had mystically found grip through the mess. In any case, going side-by side worked fine through the first part of the track, rarely led to anything good happening in the turn 3 left-right over crest complex at Sears Point. Andy tucked in behind Mike rather than potentially becoming a hood ornament to Brad and Lauren's onslaught.

Brad had fared better, getting around Lauren at the start, and snuggling up to Andy's bumper. For about four laps, Mike, Andy, Brad, and Lauren made a high-speed train, with Andy getting occasional peeks around his bumper, to keep him honest, but finding no advantage large enough to capitalize on.

Finally, after nearly getting alongside Mike approaching T8, Andy had a slightly compromised run through T10, and Brad made his move on the inside. Andy gave him room on the inside of T11, but unfortunately Brad went just a little late into T11, locked his front tires, and slid into the the #10 car. Andy and Lauren quickly darted to the inside and Brad managed to untangle himself and get back underway in 5th. Brad would later apologize to the team of the #10 car admitting to an uncharacteristic mistake in the midst of the close and hard fought action.

From the mayhem, Andy re-took the lead with Lauren close behind. For the last half of the race, the #19 and #69 cars fought for inches over the same 5 car lead that Andy held since the incident. Finally with the checkered flag literally just around the corner Andy missed a shift coming out of T11. This allowed Lauren to come alongside the 19 car, and just like in qualifying the two cars finished inches apart, Lauren just twelve thousandths ahead of Andy.

Although Andy would have much preferred the top podium step, 2nd place was a great result, and best result the new 19 car had seen all season. The entire team was happy the car has proven it can run up front. Unfortunately, for the contact that the #91 and #10 car had, NASA officials ruled it avoidable, and DQ'd the championship leading car. The team accepted the result, and focused on the next day's race.



Sunday's festivities began with an announcement by the NASA officials that Group A Spec e30 and Spec Miatas would be running a modified course – the long Turn 4 to the long Turn 7, essentially the NASCAR course. Laptimes quickly dropped into the low 1:33s during qualifying, and when the dust was settled, Team Courtney-Olivier cranked out a 1:32.9 for pole position. Steve F slotted in right behind, and Brad qualified the #91 BTM Motorwerks in third.

On the heels of a brilliant qualifying session the previous day, Andy started a smoking fast lap, then suddenly realized he'd corded a rear tire right at the start of the session. With no time to swap tires out, he heroically threw down the fastest lap possible under the conditions, but given the competition, he was to start 13th.

On the start Brad was held position in 3rd, poking his nose around the Steve F's car, with Paul B and Rick M right behind. Everyone held steady for several laps until Brad mis-shifted in T2 and both Paul and Rick got around him. He was able to re-take 4th, but though he got alongside Rick twice going into Turn 2, he wasn't able to make the pass stick and had to settle for a non-podium position.

In the middle of the pack, Andy steadily worked his way up to 8th before being punted on the last lap by car 20, and getting knocked back to 13th again.

Team BTM Motorwerks will return in just one weeks' time to Infineon Raceway at Sears Point for the season finale where the season Championship will be decided between their venerable #91 car and the #69 car driven by Loren Trefethen...only 4 points separate the two. Stay tuned to this blog or follow us at the addresses below to be sure not to miss a moment of the hard charging racing action!

http://www.facebook.com/bradford.t.mcclure
http://www.facebook.com/achittum

Brad's twitter - @btmmotorwerks
Andy's twitter - @mmmotors





Thanks to QStarz Racing, and Livermore Performance Inc!

Andy Spends a Weekend with USTCC in a MINI

Last weekend's Team BTM Motorwerks Racing Update will be available soon. In the meantime, check out Andy's Blog Update with Video of the hard-charging racing action with USTCC at Buttonwillow Raceway!

Summer Break's Over - Get Back to Racing!

Thirty Spec e30 BMWs returned to Thunderhill the weekend of August 13th and 14th in the penultimate weekend of racing before a champion would be crowned in NASA NorCal Spec e30 competition. The BTM Motorwerks Racing Team of Brad McClure and Andy Chittum held a sizable lead in the championship, but teams including Loren T, Tommy O, Mike C, Greg P and Steve F all figured high chances of doing well in qualifying and spoiling the BTM Boyz' plans.

Joining Team BTM Motorwerks again would be the newest member of the racing team, Ross Martindale. Ross ran the #19 car at Sears Point and Thunderhill early in the year, and if he had a successful weekend, he could potentially get his log book signed off for a full competition license. As he would be running in likely the largest and easily the craziest field road racing on the west coast, he would most certainly have his work cut out for him just to make it to the checkered flag unscathed.




As usual after a break, the jovial bunch met Friday night for pre-race planning sessions chez Casa Ramos, and it was an ever so slightly bleary-eyed McClure that showed up Monday morning to qualify the venerable #91 car indeed. Martindale would be joining McClure in the #19 car in Spec e30, and Chittum ran the #19 car in GTS Challenge competition, upgrading to GTS 2 after the last round of tuning put it just a few pounds too light to continue in GTS 1.

And as one would expect in August at Thunderhill raceway, eighty miles north of Sacramento in California's central valley, heat would definitely play a factor in competition, temperatures already well past 90 degrees as the huge field took to the 3 mile track, along with a smaller field of Spec Miatas and several fast USTCC cars interspersed for good measure.

McClure got a few good laps in the melee, and qualified a respectable 6th of 30, behind Derek W, Steve F, Tommy O in the Courtney-Olivier machine, and Greg P put down a smoking fast 2:08.1 lap to take pole position for the Saturday race. The competition was so fierce, that Greg's 2:08 pole lap was only a little more than a second faster than 14th place qualifier Robert L. Martindale was only about another two seconds slower, qualifying 22nd in his first Spec e30 race.

The stage was set, and the typical Norcal Spec e30 standing start was event-filled as always. Craziness began early as front-row sitting Tommy O made an uncharacteristic mistake missing 2nd gear off the line. The 28 other cars behind him split to either side taking bizarre lines into Thunderhill's very fast T1. Pole sitter Greg P got away unscathed, but Steve F and several other front runners dodged to the inside of Tommy's stricken car causing a severe bottleneck and leading to a few wheels off in the grass. Luckily McClure instantly dodged to the outside of Tommy's car and made up several places off in the marbles on the outside of T1. He immediately set off after pole sitter Greg P and as the field strung out going into the faster second half of the course, Brad had Greg in his sights.

All over the back of the green North Bay Bavarian car by T10, McClure got a great run out of T11 and through the eases, and pulled even by T14. Ever the fast qualifier, Greg P had raced with McClure long enough to know not to give him the slightest whiff of an inside line, but pulling even on the outside, McClure made a daring pass around the outside of the 14-15 complex, pulling even onto front straight and making the pass stick by T1.

McClure then set about putting down several fast steady laps and slowly began pulling away from the rest of the group. The only other car capable of matching McClure's pace was Loren T, who also benefitted greatly from the first lap shimozzle and quickly found himself in 2nd after qualifying 8th. For fully 10 laps McClure and Trefethen battled, each pinching and scraping to gain an inch on the other car. Each attacked and defended, but together they still drove away from the huge field, and by the checkered flag, they crossed the line nearly nose to tail. Steve F led the rest of the field in, followed by Tommy O who recovered from his poor start to take 4th, and 2010 Champ Gary R for 5th.

And Martindale found himself wide in T1 as well, but kept his head and his foot in the gas, and made it through to a safe finish.

Sunday's qualifying was equally busy if slightly cooler. McClure tried some setup changes and ended up with a slightly slower time than the previous day, but again qualifying 6th behind the bevy of usual suspects at the front of the grid, Team BW Racing, Gary R, Loren T, Tommy O, and Steve F who set a blistering lap a half-second faster than the previous day's best for pole position.

Brad again got a great start, but nearly all of the rest of the field did too. Tommy, Steve and Loren all piled in to the first three positions, and Brad and Gary R ended up side by side for nearly the entire lap, including a Once again, the first time through the 14-15 complex though, McClure was able to get the might 91 rotated early, get a great run down the front straight, benefit from the draft from the clump of 4 cars, and beat the Berkley Motor Works car to T1, handily passing the 2010 Champion on the outside of the turn. McClure then took off after the trio of cars at the front, gapping the rest of the field again.

Arriving at the front, McClure found both Loren T and Tommy O stacked up behind a slightly slower Steve F. All three cars with slightly different strengths on the power-hungry Thunderhill track, Steve was able to drive a slightly defensive line and keep the other three cars behind him, but as is the case with this situation three following cars started poking their noses inside and outside turns looking for weaknesses, and Loren T and Tommy O found themselves both trying to move up and defend at the same time.

After several laps of jostling, Steve was slow in T8 which backed up Loren right behind him going up the hill. Loren broke to the inside of T9, but didn't have enough momentum to get by Steve, and ended up compromising his own line into T9. Tommy in 3rd took advantage by taking a very wide line through 9 which gave him a great run down the hill into T10. Brad in 4th was nearly able to dive inside of Tommy's wide line, but backed out at the last moment. As all three cars pelted down the hill, Tommy got inside Loren nearly passing him, somehow missed a shift again and Loren got away in 2nd, again and Brad made a perfectly timed lunge down the inside of T11 getting up to 3rd place.

The very next lap in the same place, McClure got a run on the inside of Loren, but this time Loren was able to stave off his attack by using every bit of pavement on the exit of T11. Once the dust cleared the four cars were right back in their same positions. But somehow magically, Loren was able to get a superb run through the dirt, and by T14 had overlapped Steve F's car and taken the lead down the front straight. Indeed, Brad caught Steve in T2, and after a slight bit of jostling made it by as well. As it would turn out the mighty 33 car was to suffer engine problems a short time later and not finish the race.

This left Loren T in front, a hard-charging Brad McClure in 2nd, and the ever-canny Tommy O lurking in 3rd waiting for his chance to strike. The very next lap again, Brad pushed Loren hard up the hill to T9, overlapped him in both T10 and T11 compromising his speed, then finally overlapping him again in T14-15, he was able to get a great draft and run down the front straight, and pass the saucy 69 car on the outside of T1.

For several more laps, Brad motored away with the two other cars right behind, and such was their pressure, the 91 washed out slightly going into T1 at over 100 mph. McClure quickly corrected and was on his way, but the one lapse was all Tommy O needed to get inside, take his line, and make a clean pass going into T2. The very next lap, without time to chase down and retake his position, the checkered flag flew and the three cars motored across the line. Handshakes and back-slapping abounded at the post race tech inspection as each of the three drivers relived the knife-edged action so often seen at Thunderhill.




For the rest of the team, Ross Martindale brought home the 19 car unscathed and was granted his full NASA racing license, and Andy Chittum managed two podiums in GTS 2 action, racing cars far more powerful than any Spec e30. All in all an excellent weekend of racing for the team.

Team BTM Motorwerks will return October 29-30th at Infineon Raceway at Sears Point where NASA officials are scheduled to grant double points for each race in the penultimate weekend of Norcal Spec e30 competition. We'll see you all there!





Note - race video is still in production - stay tuned for more!

The Turns and Twists of Sears Point

With the winter and any chance of precipitation behind them, the entire Norcal NASA Field of Spec e30 drivers looked forward to a return to Sonoma, gorgeous weather, and the twists and turns of the fabulous Infineon Raceway at Sears Point. Team BTM Motorwerks was also ready to race with both cars shined up and ready to go.

Race Day!

But the weekend held both ups and downs for the black and neon-orange racers at their home track, beginning with NASA's schedule indicating a 50 minute race Sunday and a qualifying race Saturday instead of just a regular qualifying session. And the NASA officials would also throw in several turns and twists of their own for the huge Norcal field - ones that would rival even those of the famous raceway itself.



First thing Saturday morning, drivers were randomly assigned a grid position for the qualifying race, Brad drew 18 and Andy drew 16 - both drivers definitely had their work cut out for them with many of the faster drivers drawn toward the front. In addition, the field would have its first rolling start of the year, which added another element of the unknown.

As the field rounded T11 and hit the front straight, the leaders choose a blindingly fast pace for the rolling start, which immediately broke the field apart and left the BTM drivers with a lot of ground to make up. Andy and Brad both made progress forwards through the field, Brad moving up to 3rd by the end, but Andy getting caught in a crash in T11. Though the 19 car was undamaged, it was stuck for over 10 seconds, which had Andy fall back to finish 15th, back where he started.

The canny NASA officials then threw in their next twist, a full grid inversion for the race. The start held slightly less drama this time, but was still quite fast, and the field strung out again quickly. Andy and Brad moved up together through the field, moving into 10th and 12th within just a few laps, but when Andy caught up to Robert L's impressively powered #30 car, his forward progress was balked for several laps. Brad and Greg P caught up to the back of Andy's #19 car, and, in a daring move Brad got by both drivers and continued his march to the front. Tires overworked from his previous battle, Andy settled in about 6th place or so, and got some life back into the car with the daunting trio of Greg P, Steve F, and Tommy O approaching from behind.

While the leaders had a large enough gap to not be caught, Andy still had plenty left in the car to hold position and looked in great shape to do so. But on the white flag lap, the #19 car had a burp in the electronics, a result of some troubleshooting Andy had done previously on the ABS system on the car. The 19 car lost power for about 5 seconds after hitting the bump coming out of T7, and that was enough for the three fast racers to zip by bringing Andy home in 9th.

At the front, however, Brad caught up to the Gary R who was running in second and began a massive battle with the 2010 Champ that amazed spectators and racers alike. Even Dave B running in the USTCC class in the same session remarked to Brad, "You attacked him everywhere, very good drive - I even slowed down to watch!" High praise indeed from the multiple champion USTCC driver.

But in the end, Gary R showed the stuff that earned him the 2010 Norcal Championship and 2nd overall at NASA Nationals, and held off the hard-charging BTM Motorwerks driver. Lauren T took the top Saturday podium step with an excellent drive as well.

Sunday's schedule tersely listed a 50 minute race as Spec e30's only event for the day other than warmup - and there was an air of speculation and trepidation as the drivers assembled for their morning briefing.

And the fiendishly clever NASA officials were indeed in rare form. First, the starting position in the race would be determined by the Saturday race finish. But the top 10 finishers from Saturday were all moved down 10 places, meaning Brad's 3rd place started him 13th, and Andy's 9th place started him 19th. Next, the course would be changed - Saturday had been the normal sports car course at Sears Point along with the long Turn 7. Sunday, the drivers would run the long race on the shorter course that NASCAR uses - with an extended Turn 4 that skips the carousel and hooks right up to Turn 7. Finally, in the meeting as well, NASA's Technical Director Will F ominously noted several times that NASA can change the course at any time for any reason, safety or otherwise...a warning that would prove to be instrumental in the race.



Returning to the traditional standing start, the Spec e30 field lined up in perfect precision and, at the drop of the green flag blasted off in perfect unison into T2. Lacking the usual T2 drama from Saturday, it was an event-filled trip Sunday with a few cars spinning off the track. The long run out of T3 into the extended T4 was interesting as well, both for the additional speed and shift into 4th gear, as well as the high inner berm and very solid wall on the exit. In spite of the fact that around two-thirds of the field (including both BTM drivers) had never been through that turn before, the entire field made it through without much trouble and got racing.

Andy got a good start and picked up several positions on the first few laps, including passing Steve F and Tommy O in the lap 1 T2 melee. After passing a number of slower cars, he settled in behind Greg P just as the two were cracking the top 10. However Andy's overnight repairs to the 19 car's electrical system proved to be more of a hurt than a hindrance. This time, instead of a few seconds loss of power, the car's ECU shut off entirely, right in the same bump coming out of T7. Most of the field passed before he restarted. A few laps later, as he was catching the back of the field, it again cut out, putting him back further. Realizing the car could be driven as long as it didn't hit any bumps, Andy noted this and soldiered on.



Meanwhile, Brad's race was going quite well in the mighty #91 car. He chased Lauren T through the front of the field until the two cars were far ahead of any of the others. Again, Brad went to work on his competitor, but the NASA officials had one last twist to drop on the drivers.

About 30 minutes into the race, a full-course yellow was thrown, and the safety car came out, leading the 56 car field around. However, this time, it took the normal T4, went through the carousel, and took the usual short T7. But instead of the tight line through T8 out of the esses to T9, the safety car took the long T8 toward the kink that the Moto GP bikes use instead - an actual course change right in the middle of the race to anther course that Spec e30 typically doesn't run at Sears Point.

Once synced up, the safety car came in, and the field took off again, finishing the last half of the race on the new course. In longer race a driver can fall into a routine, a rhythm between the car's inputs, the course, and the conditions, but the NASA officials managed to keep the racers on their toes the entire race long.

And Brad's natural flexibility from years of Autocross experience really paid off - with the new course and the restart, he was able to finally get by Lauren T for the win. And for not only his amazing Saturday drive from 18th to 3rd, and victory Sunday, Brad also spent most of his free time in the paddock working on the #5 Roadrunner Racing car too get one more of his competitors on the track, he was awarded the Hard Charger award of the race, and will receive a pair of Anarchy Eyewear Sunglasses in addition to the other fine contingencies available to the NASA Norcal Spec e30 field.






Welcome Back, Krshul!

BTM Motorwerks would also like to extend a warm welcome to Steve K, the new NASA Chief Technical Steward as of the weekend's race. We first met Steve at Mid-Ohio of all places, when Andy was competing the 2007 NASA Nationals in his usual USTCC 328ti in Performance Touring D - the small contingent of NASA Norcal Spec e30 racers had made the trip as well, and Steve's loud, boisterous wide-eyed tales of tough competition and an exploding transmission on his car made us like him immediately. While he'll certainly bring some new perspective to Spec e30 technical inspection that will throw some for a loop we believe his overall influence will be positive on the field, and his knowledge and experience with these cars will continue to support fair racing in a huge spec field, which of course is why we're all out here.

Next Round

BTM Motorwerks will return to the track August 13th and 14th for what will undoubtedly be the hottest races of the year at Thunderhill raceway. We'll see you all there!

Thanks to LPI Inc, and QSTARZ for Support! T2 Pictures by Ralph Warren - Thank you!

Thunder Strikes Twice! (Part 2 - Sunday)

Day 2 of the May NASA event was forecast for 80% rain, and indeed on the three mile drive from town down Hwy 162 toward Thunderhill Raceway Park, the rain, fog, and even snow threatened in the distance. Teams readied their rains, but took to a dry track for qualifying. In spite of the overnight rain and a green track, some very fast times appeared on the board.

Mike C dropped a smoking 2:05.6 in the #10 car, firing a shot across Brad McClure's lap record 2:05.8 from the previous day. The usual suspects in the top 5 included Greg P, Lauren T, a newly revitalized Steve F, BTM Motorwerks' own Andy Chittum. Brad, suffering slightly from a late-night strategic session, took the line in 7th, right behind Andy.

At the drop of the flag though, Brad got an insane launch, blasting by Chittum on the inside, while Chittum held Ted B off on the outside. Early in the race, Brad was also able to sneak by Lauren T on the inside, but as the lead cars settled in, the top 6 became a train of cars that for nearly half the race was covered by less than two seconds.



Finally, nearly halfway through the race with six drivers each scrambling for every hundredth just inches away from each other, Steve F got a move on Greg P for 2nd, and passed him on the outside of the 85+ mph Thunderhill Turn 1. This allowed Steve F to move up and really start pushing Mike C, and McClure started pushing Greg hard as well. Several times the wiley McClure tried to sneak inside Greg P as he'd done the previous day, but Greg had learned his lesson and kept that door firmly shut to the BTM Motorwerks driver. Finally a few laps into the 91 car's assault, Greg's tires seemed to overheat, and he went wide in turn 11, allowing Brad, Lauren, and Andy all to get past. But Brad's car was also looking a little ragged at this point, and Lauren began to attack as well. At the same time, each time Lauren tried to get an advantage, Andy also attacked, keeping the fast TFB Performance #69 car in a very unforgiving BTM Sandwich, just where he'd been in the middle of the round 6 endurance race just a few weeks previous.

The three cars battling let Mike C and Steve F away to eventually take 1st and 2nd, but the final podium spot might have been the most hotly contested battle all weekend. Lap after lap Lauren T pounced on the series-leading #91 car, and Andy pounced again from behind, making it very difficult to him to get an advantage on Brad.

Finally, on the white flag lap, Andy was able to get a run on Lauren's #69 car and eke out a 4th place finish, with Brad hanging on for the final podium position. Kudos out to all the top drivers, including Scott N that kept the back of the group honest early on, and Ted B for making a late-race charge nearly catching up to the back of Andy's #19 car and getting involved in that battle as well.



Earlier in the day, Chittum also won the 2nd GTS Challenge race of the weekend, starting in the back of the back due to a qualifying snafu, but passing Bennet M on the last lap. Many of the other GTS cars took advantage of stickier slick tires allwoed in GTS Challenge, but Andy drove the Spec e30 required Toyo RA1s and pushed his competition hard enough that the Toyo's longer-life advanage made the difference.

Team BTM Motorwerks Racing will return to NASA Norcal competition June 11th and 12th, this time to their home track Infineon Raceway at Sears Point. The team's 91 car leads the series championship by a healthy margin, and the team will be looking for solid, reliable race finishes to bring home the season trophy at the end of the year.

Thunder Strikes Twice! (Part 1 - Saturday)

March 14th and 15th saw another huge field of Spec e30s return from around the state to Willows CA, at the world-famous Thunderhill Raceway Park for rounds 7 and 8 of the 2011 NASA Championship. BTM Motorwerks' championship-leading #91 car saw Brad McClure back at the wheel, and Andy Chittum opted to drive the new #19 car in both GTS Challenge and the Spec e30 races to generate as much data as possible to test and tune the car.

The weekend's threatening rain and classically fickle Thunderhill weather had all the paddock's drivers ready with full-tread Toyo RA1, but Saturday looked to be overcast and nothing more. Se30 qualifying looked good for the BTM Team, with Andy and Brad posting the 3rd and 4th fastest times. However, heartbreak befell the new 19 car when the 19 car came in underweight - a side effect of the changed weight requirement from the Round 6 enduro. Andy took his place at the back of the grid.

At the start, Brad in the 91 car came alive, blasted off with one of his signature 'BTM Power' starts and quickly began pressuring Greg P for 2nd place. He made his move and began chasing Mike C down for the lead.



Back at the back, Andy found himself starting in 26th in nearly ideal cool dry conditions. Like his drive in round 1 where he gained 24 positions he had his work cut out for him, but it was even more difficult than the wet race as the entire field
had their cars working well, and there were many personal best laptimes in the field. He got a good start as well, and moved steadily up through the field passing individual cars until he caught up with a 5 car train comprised of Dan G, Derek W, Scott N, Brian M and Jeff L.

Andy first got by Team Roadrunner's Jeff when he made a minor mistake in turn 2, and got a run on Brian M on Thunderhill's long front straight. Pulling up behind the series director Scott, Andy now found himself with two cars right on his bumper, and three ahead, all vying for position. As Andy began to put pressure on Scott, he also found a little more speed and motivation in the 44 car and pushed inside Derek W on the inside of T2. Andy followed him through as well, finally passing Derek on the outside of T3, the hairy off-camber turn typically only used single file. In the same lap, Andy also managed to get a good bounce exiting T8 and got inside Scott in T9. However, Derek, Brian and Jeff were all waiting to pounce, and as Andy and Scott went down the hill at compromised speed, Derek and Brian both pounced, bracketing Andy. Andy got on the brakes first in the four car wide mess, Brian sailed around wide and touched Scott's rear bumper, and Derek made it by on the inside. Scott spun from the contact, Derek went by safely on the inside, and Brian made it through, but Andy found the 44 car sideways in his direct path, leaving only the well-used grass on the outside of T10 as his exit. After a short stint as a high-speed Bavarian weed-whacker, Andy re-entered at T11 and continued the chase.

Brian's line around the spinning Scott also compromised his speed, and Andy was able to repass him going into 14, leaving only Derek ahead of him from the original train of 6 cars. As the 19 car charged down the front straight, the white flag flew - if Andy was going to make it up further than his current 9th place, then he'd have just one chance. Indeed, Andy managed to throw the car into the first two turns with such force, that he got alongside Derek going into T3 again, however, he strayed just an inch or two too far into the marbles, and T3 bit back. The result was more of an audition for the next 'Fast and the Furious' film than a great passing maneuver. In spite of the slide / drift / ass-clownery Andy was able to keep the 19 car pointed forward, but his already suffering RA-1s weren't in any shape for right hand turns for a while. Derek got away, while Brian repassed exiting 6 and Jeff repassed exiting 14. Andy nearly got back by Jeff at the finish line, but the new #5 Team Roadrunner car edged out the 19 by a little less than half a second. Though running as high as 8th from his 26th place start, he'd have to settle for 11th.

Back at the front, Brad ruthlessly chased down the #10 Team Courtney-Olivier car setting a new lap record at 2:05.8. While neither car was able to either pass or make much time on the other the drama was no less than Andy got in the midfield, the 10 and 91 cars touched several times, but in the end Mike C managed to hold off the hard-charging McClure.



Earlier in the day, Chittum also ran the GTS Challenge race. Caught in some traffic, he fell to 2nd in the first lap, but retook the lead on the 2nd lap, and sailed to an easy victory, giving the 19 its first top-step result just three weekends after tightening the last bolt on the new car.

Team BTM Motorwerks then came away from the first day of the weekend with a 1st, a 2nd, and a hard-fought 11th as well as a new Thunderhill lap record for Spec e30s.

Stand by for Part Two of Thunder Strikes Twice! to be posted in the next few days. Available Now!!!

Thunder on the Hill!

A mild weekend of weather in Willows contrasted the previous round's Sonoma Splash as once again a very healthy grid of 26 Spec e30s converged on the world-famous Thunderhill Raceway Park. The competition started early on Friday night as Donny E got the trickery going early at the traditional pre-event meeting at Casa Ramos in Willows.

Saturday morning saw the cars warm up and qualify for a traditional race day with a half-hour qualifying and race each. But the fine NASA officials had some ideas in store for the grid, deciding to use the Saturday race results as qualifying for a 1 hour mini-enduro on Sunday. Drivers would be required to stop once during the race, exit the car, then return to continue to the end.

BTM Motorwerks' two cars went out further back in the field in Saturday qualifying to get good position, but given the full Spec Miata and USTCC field in the same session, neither Brad in the Norcal points leading #91, or Andy in the newly repainted #19 car were able to get good laps in with the busy 70 car field, starting 10th and 12th respectively. It's a tribute to the healthy field that a car and drivers that dominated the first two rounds have merely to suffer some bad positioning, and they'd immediately be mid-pack.

Also driving the #19 car for BTM Motorwerks in GTS Challenge 1 would be Ross Martindale, a new addition to the racing team and working through his 4 rookie races, but an old hand with BTM Motorwerks, having spent time in the garage building not only the mighty 91 and the new 19 Spec e30s, but also Andy's 328ti USTCC Podium machine as well.



The Saturday Spec e30 race blasted off from its usual standing start, with some carnage in turn 2 resulting in a few cars off the track. Luckily Brad and Andy avoided the majority of the trouble and started moving forward. Brad in the mighty 91 car moved forward quickly, getting into an epic battle first with former series champ Donnie E, then with Lauren T, moving from his 10th place start up to a worthy 3rd place podium. Still breaking in the 19 car and looking for some performance, Chittum avoided mid-pack mayhem early on, then laid down consistent laps to move up to 8th by the end of the short race.



Sunday's race began mid-morning, and the racers found themselves with another twist to deal with - NASA officials inverted the entire starting grid, all 26 car's starting positions would be inverted, putting series organizer Scott N, victim of the Saturday turn two schimozzle on pole, and Tommy O, the Saturday winnner at the back.

Once again, the cars took off, and given the inverted grid, the field compression was pretty impressive heading into turns 2 through 5 the twistiest part of Thunderhill Raceway. Brad in the 91 car got an excellent start, and was already running in the top 10 by the end of the 1st lap, followed closely by Andy. The usual suspects Donnie E and Lauren T had again also made good starts. But as the field headed through T14, suddenly Lauren and both of the BTM cars headed for the pits to do their pit stops early! Each driver exited then returned to their car as required by the rules, and all blasted back into the track leaving a small group of about 5 cars in clear air away from the bulk of the other 70 cars.

At this point, an epic battle began with Brad getting into the lead of this group, followed closely by Andy and Lauren. Lauren seemed to have the speed advantage, but each time he tried and failed to pass Brad, Andy would catch up as well and just about turn the whole thing upside down. For nearly 8 laps this went on, until a number of things happened. First, Tommy O caught the back of the group, having stopped, and got into the mix, managing to get inside Andy in the 80+ mph entry in T1. Second, going into T9, 4 black stripes suddenly appeared under the 91 car, and it along with Brad sailed off into the dirt outside T9. Slightly later it appeared that Tommy O and Lauren T touched bumpers causing Lauren's exhaust to drop down and drag on the pavement. Tommy O steamed on, but Lauren got the meatball and had to return to the pits and lost a lap during repairs.

Andy found himself out in the middle of no-mans land occasionally passing backmarker Miatas, and holding off Robert L for some time, but before long, Brad had recovered, and the 91 car easily cruised ahead again. Before long, another incident between two cars on the other end of the track brought out the safety car, but only just as Brad and Andy motored by, putting the rest of the field behind them a lap down.

But drama wasn't over once the still 60+ car field had been gathered by the safety car. On the restart, Brad and Andy found themselves in the midst of a number of fast mid-pack Miatas, and a few other Se30s that, given the pit stops was pretty difficult to tell who was leading who. Both cars charged on at the restart, passing numerous other cars, when suddenly, the 91 car headed off track again, this time outside Turn 4. Andy again motored on alone, with Brad far in the distance behind slowly catching up.

Andy got the call on the radio the time was nearly up, but at the same time exiting T15, the 19 car began to starve for gas. With an angry gaggle of spec Miatas and Brad in the 91 car rapidly approaching, Andy managed to keep the speed up and the gas usage down just enough so the 19 and 91 cars ended up in a drag race down the final straight to the checkered flag, the 19 just about a quarter-second behind after 23 laps 60 minutes, and a whole lot of racing.

Brad again ended up 3rd overall behind Tommy O and Donny E, while Andy made it to the end in 4th. Stay tuned for links to video, and more details from the weekend!



BTM Motorwerks will return both cars to NASA's Thunderhill event May 14th and 15th for rounds 7 and 8 of the Spec e30 Series.

And It Just Gets Better!

While the hordes of rabid Spec e30 fans can point to a lot of firsts and best evers from the March 19th - 20th NASA race weekend at Infineon Raceway, one can hardly deny this was most certainly the weekend of The Brad. Dominating victories both Saturday in abysmal monsoon conditions and in just regular rain on Sunday, the combination of the 91 car and Mr. BTM Motorwerks himself has proven to be a winning combination again.

Interestingly, the few weeks leading up to the race weekend was anything but. The entire BTM team, Brad, Andy and Ross, worked tirelessly to finish the new 19 car, with the old 91 just an afterthought. Thursday night both cars were still in pieces, and Friday meant loading up late to get to Infineon early the next morning.



Saturday morning involved just a few tweaks to get the new car running, and the 91 purred to life as usual.

But the Sonoma winter proved to have a few surprises for the entire field. While a Norcal record thirty-two Spec e30s lined up to grid, the day's steady rain turned into classic Sonoma weather that floods the Napa river, turns the valley into mush, and lays down enough water that grapes are still happily growing six months later. Any experienced driver at Infineon Raceway will tell you about the utter lack of grip in T2, the lake in T5, the river that spans the straightaway from 6 to 7, and the rising water that altogether removes T10 from view. Normal stuff. Saturday's weather was some order of magnitude worse.



And yet, Brad managed to place the 91 car on pole by a solid second and a half over Lauren T and the rest of the field. Stories of him drifting sideways throughout the entire track started to circulate in the paddock - crazy, skilled or both, the Brad and 91 car combo was really working well. Further back, Andy experienced the one minor failure in the new car - an unpowered transponder. Ironically, the BTM cars would be starting on opposite ends of the grid, pole position, and 31st.

And at the standing start, Brad launched, and was gone. A spin by Lauren T right in the middle of T1 undoubtedly made for good video as all 31 other cars filed around him before he could get the car pointing the right direction again and take up the chase. '10 champ Gary R challenged for the lead early on, and that characterized the race with he and Brad disappearing from the field in a misty blast, sometimes on, sometimes off the track. In the end, Brad finished second, but was awarded the top step when the NASA tech crew found an infraction on the reigning champ's car.

Andy, trying to break in the new motor gently, survive the blunt end of the field, and surf up through the field drove a more conservative race, but steadily moved up to 7th by the checkered flag, possibly setting some sort of record for a 24 place gain in a Spec e30 race.

Sunday was a bit more normal qualifying and race, Brad again set a blistering pole on pole and Andy a respectable 4th with the new car. Ever-bent on excitement and drama, the NASA crew inverted the top 10 places, leaving the BTM cars starting 6th and 10th. Once again, the standing start amazed fans and drivers alike, with several of the further-behind fast drivers getting excellent starts and making things very busy indeed at the front. It was Brad again who, amidst duels with Lauren T and Donnie E managed to motor to the front, and drift sideways to the top podium step again. Andy brought up the rear of the top six, holding position in spite of going easy on the new engine.



BTM Motorwerks will return with both cars April 16th and 17th for Round 3, this time at Thunderhill Raceway in beautiful Willows, CA. We'll see you all there!

-Andy

Starting the Year Off Right - Spec e30 Infineon

The first race weekend of the year is always filled with anticipation, excitement, and uncertainty - everyone's ready to race after the long winter break, and everyone wants to be that guy to get that holeshot and be the first around the first corner and get that racing season started.

BTM Motorwerks #91 car was driven mostly by Brad McClure last year, with some occasional help from Andy Chittum, and after a lot of work, the car was really working well, good enough for 2nd overall for the year. But a few issues with NASA's fine technical crew that morning meant a missed warmup session, and a slightly late start to the qualifying session.

Andy took to the track, was stuck in traffic for two laps, then broke free and managed what felt like two more good solid laps with a little time on the table. It was quite a surprise then, to find out that Andy's effort had brought in a 1:56.4, a new lap record for Spece30 at Infineon amidst the largest field to date.

Gary R, the 2010 Champion lined up next to Andy for the early afternoon start. At a Thunderhill event the previous summer, Gary had managed to pull an amazing standing start and leave the BTM car standing, but this time Chittum was ready for the green flag, and Gary fell back to fourth behind Greg P and Loren T. A late charge in the race brought him back up to the front, but Chittum managed keep the BTM car on track and land the top podium position.

The next race of the afternoon was GTS 1, where McClure took over and also managed to drive away from the field. Two wins for the BTM car for the day!

Sunday began more quietly, with Brad taking over driving duties for both the Spec e30 and GTS Challenge races. Qualifying second to Gary R again, Brad lined up next to the 2010 Champion and once again got an amazing start. This time Gary also had a good start, and latched right on to the BTM car's bumper. After getting a few car length lead, both competitors worked to wring every bit out of their cars to gain a tenth on the other, and for 12 hot sweaty laps, they gained and lost mere inches from each other. Once again though the BTM car took the checkered flag with Gary R just seconds behind.

The Sunday GTS Challenge race manged to be more incident filled. The rolling start put McClure in good position, but was nearly passed a number of times by the Bennett M's car. Traffic in the busier race both helped and hindered each car, both again pushing each other for tenths. Finally, late in the race a faster overtaking car from another class dove inside the battle, and hit Bennett's car squarely in the rear quarter panel. Able to continue, he fought on, but McClure once again brought the BTM car back in 1st position.

So, what started as a crazy weekend turned out to be a very good start to the racing season. Sixteen more races will come and go though before we crown a season winner, and every year has come down to the very last race. NASA has promised inverted grids, and other mixups to keep things interesting, but you'll hear all about it right here. Stay tuned!!!