September 28, 2008 Mosport International Raceway
September 28 was our last race of the season and it ended the way the season started! The morning was very cold, the temp gauge was either not working, when we got back to the shop we realized the engine had not come up to temperature, it was that cold outside.
The morning races went well, in the G70 race we went from 28th to 9th overall and 3rd in class. The car ran well I set my fastest lap ever but was fighting it all the way. In the GT race we went from 33rd to 9th and was about 3/4 second slower than the 1st race the handling was worse. We switched to the last set of new BFGoodrich R1 sticker tires for the final G70 race.
Wow! The car was a missle! We went from 9th overall to 3rd and 1st in class, I had the whole back straight lead on the second place car and was closing in for 2nd overall when it went wrong. There was a strong smell of oil and then the power slowly started going away...
Once in the pits we found that the engine had pressurized the crankcase and blown about a litre or 2 of oil all over and even inside the car! The engine did not want to rev cleanly so we know its hurt. In that last race when the engine went away we set the fastest laps the car has ever gone with a string of laps in the 1.36's not just one quick lap.
When we tore the engine down we found that the epoxy used to fill the stock ports had expanded and clipped a side seal.
A very special thank you has to go out to the entire ABR team, without them we would have never had the sucess this season brought us. We have thank our sponsors as well, without Scarboro Mazda, BFGoodrich, MazMark Auto, RY-TECH X-Ray, Eurasia, Millenium Graphic and Inkwell Marketing we would have never turned a wheel this year!
We hope to have everyone back next year so we can go after the GT and G70 Championships!
September 14, 2008 Mosport International Raceway
The car was prepared and ready to go, however the weather forcast was for rain and we decided without rain tires it would not be safe for us or our fellow competitors.
August 31, 2008 Mosport International Raceway
ABR / Scarboro Mazda Racing
After a season that started with trial and tribulations, everything went right on Sunday August 31 for the team! We started the first race Sunday morning in 39th position and after 20 minutes had moved into 9th place overall. The car ran perfectly, crew chief Chris James rebuilt Mazda-Comp 4spd transmission performed flawlessly, the BFGoodrich tires were spot on. We managed to run our fastest lap ever in that race of 1.36.894 seconds around Mosports treacherous turns and hills. The MazMark horsepower of the 13B peripheral port engine was amazing. We were one of, or possibly the fastest car up the long uphill backstraight!
Race 2 Sunday afternoon was just as good, after starting in 9th position we had our first podium of the year, finishing 3rd in class and 3 rd overall. We were .00833 seconds out of 2nd place!
I would like to take this moment to thank all of our sponsors, Scarboro Mazda, BFGoodrich Tires, MazMark Auto, Eurasia Collision Center, RY-TECH X-ray, Millennium Graphics and Inkwell Marketing for all their patient and support this year.
A special thank-you has to go out to the engine builders Mark Balkissoon and Kam Harduwar and especially crew chief Chris James for the perseverance and dedication to the car and team. The crew did an awesome job, not only did they have our car to tend to, they also had a second car they worked with as well. Curtis, Joshua, Jeff and Jody all did an amazing job of keeping the cars prepared and everything organized that allowed to "go hard" all day!
July 1 & August 4, 2008 Shannonville
We went to Shannonville July 1st to test the Mazdacomp 4spd gearbox. Other than some syncho issues the car was faster than ever. We ran the fastest lap we have ever run at Shannonville and our average laps were faster than our race laps of the year before! On August 12 we went back to Shannonville after Chris rebuilt the Mazda-comp transmission and Blaise Chida spent a lot of time with us corner weighting and aligning the chassis. The car was faster and better handling than ever! We can hardly wait for the next race at Mosport!
June 29, 2008 Mosport International Raceway
We went out to Mosport on June 29 to run the 30 minute CASC regional race, however we were hampered by pouring rain just minutes before the race. Not having a wet set-up for the car we did the best we could until a completely fogged up windshield sidelined us.
June 22, 2008 Mosport International Raceway We attended the VARAC Vintage festival today, however in the race before ours a driver was fatally injured in a single car accident. The organizers cancelled the rest of the event out of respect for him and his family. Our hearts and prayers go out to Dino Crescentini and his family.
May 12, 2008 Mosport International Raceway The BEMC event this weekend was the 1st of the year, and Scarboro Mazda & ABR invited both the RX-8 and RX-7 clubs to attend todays race and have Alan Balinsky lead them in open lapping at lunch time! We started race one at the back of the field (we didnt qualify for reasons stated below). After about 15 minutes of the 20 minute race we were 1st in class and 6th overall! On what turned out to be the final lap, coming out of turn 5 while making the 2nd to 3rd gear change 3rd gear shattered leaving us with only 2nd and 4th. We weren't given the last lap sign because of a technical error, so not realizing this we headed down pit road only to see the checked flag waiving at the start finish line.
May 10, 2008 Shannonville
We went to the track to test, a day and half BEFORE our 1st race. After about 10 minutes we broke (later to be discovered a blown apex seal). This was at 6:30pm. My crew followed me back to Scarboro Mazda (2 hour drive!)and by 11:00pm the engine was on out and on my work bench. Mark and Kam were there at 7:00 am the next morning to tear it down. Kam and I drove 3 hours to get parts. Chris got there at 10am spent 5 hours cleaning and preparing the engine to be rebuilt. Mark was back in the afternoon and he and Kam reassembled the engine. By 10pm that night the car was running again. I cant thank these guys enough or show my gratitude, cause without a team like this I wouldn't be racing! Chris was there for 12 hours straight that day, and then the next day at the track, doing everything he could as usual. These guys are an amazing crew, and do whatever it takes to keep ABR on track and competitive!
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