2 for 2 for Hampton in Portland Trans-Am
We didn't learn our lesson after the Ridge and decided to field a four-car effort for the Portland round of the West Coast Trans-Am Series Championship. We spent an entire day getting loaded in on Thursday, which was a significant undertaking, even with a crew of seven. We unloaded three cars but had to wait on one, which was getting a last-minute makeover. Ask any racer or prep shop; things always come down to the wire. PDX Wraps knocked out a fresh look for our E46 M3 the day before the race, which we greatly appreciate. Out goes the old neon camo livery sported for many years by the Three Thieves and in with our traditional AR color palette. We will miss the old look for nostalgia, but the new design was well-liked by our crew and looked like a whole different car. For it to go fast, it has to look fast, right?
The driver and car lineup for the weekend included Larry Luck in the AR E46 M3. David Hampton in his Clubsport GT4 MR. Kevin Roggenbuck in the Three Thieves Audi R8 LMS GT3 car. And Martin Sarukhanyan in "Greta," the EcoTec swapped endurance Miata turned Trans-Am GT car. Much to Martin's surprise, nothing blew up after the Ridge. We divided our crew amongst the four cars, with Josh handling all of the prep duties on the M3. John Grant took care of David's Cayman. Steven and Blaise headed up the Audi R8 together. And Nathan worked on Greta.
Friday marked the start of unofficial practice. Trans-Am's format allows for some quality track time before the weekend officially begins allowing all of our drivers to get reacquainted with the track throughout the morning.
We had data analyst Brad Roberts join us for the weekend to break down what the drivers and cars are doing well and what areas they have room for improvement. Through data overlays and onboard video analysis, Eddie and Brad worked together throughout Friday and Saturday to relay these suggestions to our drivers and each crew chief/spotter per car. All three must work together successfully to improve lap times and consistency in preparation for the race. Whether pro or am, there are always areas for improvement, and we strive to support our drivers as much as we can to continue honing their skills. Seeing drivers reach milestones and continue to improve is one of the most gratifying things we get to do.
Portland marked the only double header round in the Trans-Am West series with 75-minute races over the weekend. Saturday started with morning qualifying. In the XGT class, Kevin qualified 1st out of 3 in the Audi with a 1:14.4, besting two new CEI cars driven by Chris Evans and Michelle Nagai. The GT class saw another close grid with all five cars within a couple of seconds of each other. David opted only to run a few laps and save the tires for the race and qualified 3rd with a 1:21.1 behind the two Killer Shrimp Racing Corvette teammates of Kevin Michaels and JC Meynet. Martin ended up third with a 1:21.7. Larry rounded out the class with a 1:22.5 after a slight spin on cold tires exiting Turn 3.
When the green flag dropped to start Saturday's race, a host of aggressive TA2 cars got past Kevin in turn one. No contact was made, but Kevin started experiencing throttle issues shortly after the green with no power down the straights. The trip to pit lane to recycle the car and ECU did not solve the problem, and Kevin was forced to retire the car as the issue kept sporadically happening.
In GT, the race was on with David and the two Corvettes. Kevin Michaels suffered some mechanical gremlins after leading early, which put David right on the tail of JC. The two of them battled it out early on. David was able to get by on a restart and took the lead. JC had some limp mode issues with his ECU shortly after, which allowed Larry to slip by. Larry charged late at the end of the race setting his fastest lap at 1:21.4 while pushing to catch up to David but ran out of time and took home a well-earned second—a fantastic drive after starting 5th. David set a new personal best in the race, running a 1:20.6, and knocked out some consistent laps to challenge the Corvettes early on to inherit the lead and hold it. He was ecstatic about his win, as was Larry about his podium!
Unfortunately, Martin dealt with some leaky brake calipers, which forced an early retirement just ten laps in. After cleaning out some gunk in the caliper seals that night, Martin and Nathan stopped the leak and were cautiously optimistic about the fix.
After Brad dove into the data on the R8, we determined the throttle body was not working correctly. The pedal was moving but not sending a signal to the drive-by-wire body to open. We weren't sure if it was the sensor on the pedal or the throttle body itself. Fortunately, one of our long-time friends and AR customers Valerie Bradley just so happened to own a first gen Audi R8 and was kind enough to allow us to rob parts from it. We went and picked up the car from her, drove it to the track, and then Steven and Blaise took the pedal and throttle body off and swapped it on. Luckily both the street and race versions of the R8 use the same components in these areas. Problem solved? We hoped and were once again cautiously optimistic.
The Sunday race was earlier in the day, much to the relief of the drivers, which meant a bit cooler temperatures. When the green flew, the mixed group of cars piled into Turn 1, and a traffic jam ensued. After starting on the outside pole, Kevin in the Audi got clipped going into Turn 2 by a TA2 car and was spun sideways in front of the field. He was then hit in the RF. 6 to 7 cars were involved, all with varying levels of damage. David snuck by to the inside and avoided it all. Larry had to check up, and Martin bumped into the back of him, which caused his hood to come loose. Larry escaped without damage and drove through the grass to avoid the carnage. Martin proceeded to the pits immediately to get his hood taped down.
Kevin and the Audi's bad luck continued. Initially, we only saw a right rear tire go down, but as he proceeded to go around to get back to the pits, he noticed the right front suspension felt off. Kevin's second hit broke the knuckle, and once again, his day was done before it started.
As racing broadcasters say, "cautions breed cautions," which was undoubtedly the case in Trans-Am at Portland. Once the first wreck was cleaned up, a bigger one on the restart involved multiple TA2 cars and an XGT car into Turn 1. Once again, all our drivers did a solid job navigating through it without damage. The race was red-flagged for a lengthy cleanup. When we finally returned to green, the GT class battle was on again. Martin had a stellar restart and went from 5th to third, passing Larry and David. But David fought back on the exit of the Chicane, racing side by side with Martin to take the spot back. David wasn't done there and went late on the brakes into Turn 4 to pass JC on the outside for second place. Kevin, unfortunately, suffered a mechanical failure while running just ahead of David. He was forced to retire, which gave David the lead. JC battled with Martin and Larry for the middle period of the race, swapping positions. JC prevailed over both of them, but by the time he got clear, David was well up the road with a 10+ second lead and cruised to his second victory of the weekend.
"I just tried to drive as hard as I could and drive my race," David said. The team was behind me the whole way and did a stellar job getting the car set up properly. Most importantly, my family is here to celebrate with me. What an incredible day"!
For Larry, it was just his third-ever professional race. "I'm still learning out there, but I did my best to keep it competitive, and I look forward to continuing to chase these guys. It was a lot of fun and a great day!"
Leaving Portland, David has closed the gap in the Championship points battle. With two rounds remaining, David is hungry for more wins to try and overthrow JC and Kevin for a Championship title. Next up is Spring Mountain on October 20-22nd in Pahrump, Nevada. The season finale is a few weeks later at Circuit of the Americas on November 3-5th. Larry, Martin, and David will all contest the final two rounds and look forward to driving some new circuits for the first time!