We’ve had a very trying time at i-MOTO with development of the Mazdaspeed3 since my last report following Mid Ohio, and I wasn’t ready (or quite frankly in the right frame of mind) to do much writing until we had something positive to report. Alas, after success at the recent Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race in Utah, happy days are here again!
We approached the race at New Jersey Motorsports Park in July with much excitement and enthusiasm. Indeed, the weekend started off right as I was able to set fastest time in the #31 Cybernation/Cobalt Friction Mazdaspeed3 during the first practice session. But in the very next session unknown engine issues begin, and subsequently caused us to miss the rest of the weekend. It was as if someone had flipped a switch, and the cars suddenly wouldn’t rev past 5500rpm. The i-MOTO crew was merciless in attempting to troubleshoot the issue, with SpeedSource, Team Sahlen’s, and a cast of Mazda engineers and mechanics giving their advice on troubleshooting and diagnosis.
Unfortunately, the problem was very elusive. Despite spending the past few months testing, swapping parts, logging engine data, rewiring, and otherwise pulling out our collective hair trying to find the cause and solution, we got nowhere. I even went so far as to buy a Mazdaspeed3 as a daily driver, and we used my car to assist in the diagnosis. We had to miss arguably one of the most fun races of the season at Trois Rivieres. This was a big disappointment to our Canadian driver Taylor Hacquard, as well as to the rest of the team.
We loaded up the cars, still undiagnosed, and headed out to Miller Motorsports Park in Utah for the season finale, hoping that further troubleshooting might lead to some conclusions. After swapping more parts on the test day, with the belief that sooner or later we’d find the answer, we ended the test day with the same issue, a cut off at 5500rpm.
We decided to head to the dyno late that night for further part swaps and diagnosis. At one point, someone suggested we pop the hood and observe the engine movement under load. Sure enough, to our amazement, we watched as the intake hose collapsed at 5500rpm and cut off the air supply to the engine! There was much cheering and back slapping as we identified the problem and worked on a solution for the following morning’s practice sessions.
And that was the end of our engine issues – a simple hose that had been heat soaked and fatigued under the stresses of racing.
We started off fourth fastest in the first practice session, and my co-driver Glenn Bocchino hopped in the #31 Mazdaspeed3 with an unproven setup to qualify second on race day. Taylor Hacquard started the race sixth in the #32 Mazdaspeed3; both Glenn and Taylor were in the fight for the lead during the opening stint of the race.
Pierre Kleinubing brought the #32 home in fifth place, a top finish on the season for both i-MOTO and the Mazdaspeed3. The #31 suffered teething issues while I was behind the wheel, and we’re already working on solutions for that.
All in all, it was a very difficult development season for i-MOTO. Certainly not the typical results the team is used to, but we are confident that with the promise that we ended the season with, we will be able to reap the rewards in 2011 and hopefully bring home a manufacturer’s championship for Mazda to match the GT championships (driver & manufacturer) that SpeedSource won this year.
I have to give special thanks to team owner Glenn Bocchino for the opportunity to drive with i-MOTO this season, and of course to the crew for forging ahead during late nights of development. Crew Chief Tom Badger probably works harder that any person I’ve ever met. Also thanks to technical partners Custom Performance Engineering, DPtune, SpeedSource and Cobalt Friction.
Mazda deserves special recognition for their efforts in putting the pieces in place to make the Mazdaspeed3 a contender in Grand Am competition. John Doonan, Steve Sanders, Jim Jordan, Robert Davis, Tod Kaneko, Tim Buck, James Painter, and a host of others at Mazda are working hard behind the scenes to make Mazda a success both on and off the racetrack.
i-MOTO competed in the World Challenge event at Miller Motorsports Park a few weeks ago and Pierre Kleinubing finished 2nd with a lot of extra REWARDS ballast on board. Now the R&D for 2011 begins in earnest, along with a Grand Am test at Homestead the end of November.
I recently had the opportunity to take part in the 24 Hours of Booty here in my hometown of Atlanta. The event is a 24 hour bike ride to raise funds for the Lance Armstrong Foundation and local cancer organizations - a cause that hits close to home as the racing community recently lost racer Tim Nickel to cancer. It was great to ride alongside many cancer survivors and people supporting cancer research. I’ll be back to ride again in 2011, and I hope we can get a full team of racers to ride as well. Check out the website at http://www.24hoursofbooty.org
Grand Am has released the preliminary 2011 schedule, and it is great to see the series is returning to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca next year. Test Days and the first race of the 2011 season at Daytona are just around the corner, and planning is in progress for i-MOTO to campaign three Mazdaspeed3’s at the season opener in January!
See you there!
Posted by Todd on 11/03 at 01:20 PM
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