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!
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