Slipstream - November 2003

The SPEED GT and Grand Touring races were also held
during the weekend. The SPEED World Challenge
Championships feature a weight-equalization system, REWARDS
(Rewarding of Equalizing Weight Assigned to Reduce Drive
Sensitivity) is based on each competitors finishing position in
each race (basic VooDoo). It is accomplished by adding or
removing ballast weight from the cars. The goal is to provide
close on-track competition between diverse varieties of cars. The
REWARDS weight is displayed on the windshield of each car
(probably to impair visibility). This appears to have limited Bill
Auberlen and the other BMW team cars from running away and
hiding from the rest of the class as they did at Infineon Raceway.
Just don’t ask what they do if they have a driver change.
Weight (lbs) Driver
Car
65 Bill Auberlen #7 BMW M3
60 Mike Fitzgerald #22 Porsche 911
30 Boris Said #6 BMW M3
30 Hans Stuck #8 BMW M3
30 Michael Galati #1 Audi RS 6
30 Randy Pobst #2 Audi RS 6
20 Paul Mumford #23 Dodge Viper
Randy Pobst and Michael Galati driving Audi RS 6s swept
the front row. Randy described the car like this: “The Audi RS 6
has always qualified well. The Quattro advantage that this car has
drives all four wheels and has a twin turbo V8, which is pretty
much out of the street car. It’s one of the only (unmodified)
street engines running in this series.” Randy also compared the
Audi to the Porsche 911, which he had raced for 5 years. He
stated that the Porsche has power and speed that are addictive,
but the Audi has the torque. This is the first year they are running
the A6 and it is improving with every race. Unfortunately, the
Audis encountered several problems during the race and could
not keep pace with the Viper and the BMWs.
In SCCA SPEED Touring Car class, Bill Auberlen’s
BMW 325i was accessed 200 pounds compared to his closest
competitor’s 65 pounds. The 200 pounds did not prevent Bill
from winning the race.
The Pit Rat Investigates the Factory Sponsored vs. Privateer
Status: Recently, ALMS announced that Alex Job Racing was
losing their privateer status in the ALMS GT class. This means
that the #23 and #24 Porsches are not eligible for each event
purse. What does this mean to Alex Job Racing and should ALMS
treat them any differently than the Champion Audi Team, the
Joest Team, Panoz Team, or the Corvette Team? All of these teams
including the Alex Job Team have factory drivers. The Alex Job
team does receive developmental parts from Porsche that still
Photo by Bill Stafford
need to be tested for quality and reliability. This is both good
and bad. (They have had a head crack after one race.) They are
field-testing the parts, similar to a beta software release. It does
save the Job team from having to develop their own racing parts.
Job does not receive any direct sponsorship from Porsche. If you
look in the Alex Job pit, there are no signs or decals that say
“Porsche North America”, but you will see “Audi North America”
in the Champion and Audi pits and “Corvette/General Motors”
in the Corvette pit. These teams and the Panoz team receive
factory parts, but they also receive the event purse. Financially
this means the Alex Job will have to raise an additional $200,000
each year from sponsors. Ain’t politics grand?
Finally - It’s not too late to become a legend and have a piece
of real estate named after you. First you have to be successful.
This can be achieved by gaining success. So work hard and
save some.
Support your local racetrack!
Photo by Bill Stafford
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