Great article in the March 2012 Hot VW's about Enduro Racing on the cheap by Frank Camper! Shows a whole nother side of the VW cult! Thanks FJC, looks like a blast!
Greg
FJC in Hot VW's
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doc
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Re: FJC in Hot VW's
We have many hidden celebrities on site. Best pay close attention.
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r1cpowdercoating
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Re: FJC in Hot VW's
just got my march issue of hot vw. great job 'Fank' Camper lol.
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Steve Arndt
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Re: FJC in Hot VW's
I always wondered what FJC stood for.
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2jmotorsports
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Re: FJC in Hot VW's
Missed it! Can someone please scan the article? =D
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FJCamper
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Re: FJC in Hot VW's
HOT VW ARTICLE MARCH 2012 issue
ENDURO RACING ON THE CHEAP
Two 1973 VW Super Bugs (out of three) survive Sebring in a run-what-you-brung 14-hour test of metal and sanity.
A budget form of endurance road racing (with cash prizes) has been sweeping the USA since 2007, held by two organizations, the 24 Hours of LeMons [LeMons/LeMans, get it?] and ChumpCar.
The main rule of both organizations is your car must be valued at no more than $500 by the race officials, excluding safety equipment. This makes it affordable. The roll cage and driver suit/helmet safety rules are as strict as SCCA or NASA, except no HANS devices or fuel cells are required.
LeMons and ChumpCar run races on the best tracks around the country. The races might actually be split as 7-hours on Saturday then another 7-hour race on Sunday, to straight 14-hour races, to genuine 24-hour LeMans-type events that start Saturday and run around the clock to finish on Sunday. The LeMons races have a festive atmosphere and humorous penalties for rules infractions, where the ChumpCar World Series is less carnival and more serious racing.
There is room for VW's of all types in LeMons or ChumpCar, and in the September 2011 ChumpCar 14-Hours of Sebring, there were three 1973 Super Beetles entered, all with air-cooled Type 1 engines. The entry fee was $500 per car and $100 each for the drivers, with four driver's being required per car. The driver's fee included the ChumpCar racing license. SCCA or NASA competition licenses are not required.
The Sebring event was for a continuous 14 hours. All cars of all types were in one class. The three VW teams were up against cars with four, six, and eight cylinder engines. The field included BMW's, Porsches, and even one Mercedes. Remember -- the cars don't have to be true $500 junkers, but valued at $500 by the officials. There are no rules on engine types, size, or power.
Two of the Super Bugs were Florida based, belonging to long time friends Paul Ripa (the #43 Bug) and Scott Windecker (the #14 Bug). The third Super belonged to Dr. Johan Samanta of Phoenix, a newcomer to racing in general.
Both the #43 and #14 cars were well sorted out, having started racing years ago as dirt track cars and individually groomed into road racers by Ripa's own shop (J.B. Bugs in Jensen Beach FL) and the 901 Shop in Stuart FL where Windecker works.
70 cars started at 9 A.M. Saturday morning. Only 45 finished at 11 PM that night. In between was hour after hour of fuel stops, driver changes, frantic repairs, and rain so heavy, laced with lightning, it temporarily halted the race for two hours.
Samanta's Bug, still in development, with just two incomplete LeMon's events behind it, threw a rod on the pace lap, filling the car with smoke. He was rolling into the pits as everyone else took the green flag.
The #43 Bug had it's transmission replaced during the race, Paul Ripa's team working swiftly to get their VW back into competition, only losing an hour and five minutes for the entire repair.
The #14 Bug had arrived at Sebring Friday with trouble, a loose flywheel. The crew worked late that night to fix it, and made the start. The fix was to hold, but fate wasn't finished with #14. During the race a front track arm came loose, requiring a pit stop, then a rear diagonal suspension arm pivot bolt backed out. The loose diagonal arm stressed a CV joint which separated, and #14 had to be towed in for repair.
Just before the yellow flag for the blinding rain, #14 was hit from behind, smashing the deck lid and apron into the exhaust and engine sheet metal. But in the dark and wet, at one point #14 was the 3rd fastest car on the track. Windecker himself took the wheel for the last hour, and was soon hit in the left rear, damaging a valve cover, and began losing oil pressure. Only bent sheet metal was keeping the valve cover on. Windecker pitted for oil, went back out for the final three laps, and took the checkered flag.
#14 took 26th place with a 2.56 best lap, and #43 was right behind with 27th place and a 2.57 best lap. By comparison, the fastest lap in the entire race (a 2.39) went to the overall winner, a 1990 Nissan 300ZX. 2nd place also went to a 300ZX, 3rd to a Mazda Miata, 4th to a Mitsubishi 3000, and 5th to a big Mercedes Benz sedan.
ChumpCar says their racing is "A throw-back to the era when racing was fun and cheap, when Bondo beat carbon-fiber; when home-made engineering made everyone sit up and take notice. Those were good times, and they're back."
And all three Super Bugs will be back for more. Schedules and rules for both organizations can be found at:
http://www.chumpcar.com
http://www.24hoursoflemons.com
end
ENDURO RACING ON THE CHEAP
Two 1973 VW Super Bugs (out of three) survive Sebring in a run-what-you-brung 14-hour test of metal and sanity.
A budget form of endurance road racing (with cash prizes) has been sweeping the USA since 2007, held by two organizations, the 24 Hours of LeMons [LeMons/LeMans, get it?] and ChumpCar.
The main rule of both organizations is your car must be valued at no more than $500 by the race officials, excluding safety equipment. This makes it affordable. The roll cage and driver suit/helmet safety rules are as strict as SCCA or NASA, except no HANS devices or fuel cells are required.
LeMons and ChumpCar run races on the best tracks around the country. The races might actually be split as 7-hours on Saturday then another 7-hour race on Sunday, to straight 14-hour races, to genuine 24-hour LeMans-type events that start Saturday and run around the clock to finish on Sunday. The LeMons races have a festive atmosphere and humorous penalties for rules infractions, where the ChumpCar World Series is less carnival and more serious racing.
There is room for VW's of all types in LeMons or ChumpCar, and in the September 2011 ChumpCar 14-Hours of Sebring, there were three 1973 Super Beetles entered, all with air-cooled Type 1 engines. The entry fee was $500 per car and $100 each for the drivers, with four driver's being required per car. The driver's fee included the ChumpCar racing license. SCCA or NASA competition licenses are not required.
The Sebring event was for a continuous 14 hours. All cars of all types were in one class. The three VW teams were up against cars with four, six, and eight cylinder engines. The field included BMW's, Porsches, and even one Mercedes. Remember -- the cars don't have to be true $500 junkers, but valued at $500 by the officials. There are no rules on engine types, size, or power.
Two of the Super Bugs were Florida based, belonging to long time friends Paul Ripa (the #43 Bug) and Scott Windecker (the #14 Bug). The third Super belonged to Dr. Johan Samanta of Phoenix, a newcomer to racing in general.
Both the #43 and #14 cars were well sorted out, having started racing years ago as dirt track cars and individually groomed into road racers by Ripa's own shop (J.B. Bugs in Jensen Beach FL) and the 901 Shop in Stuart FL where Windecker works.
70 cars started at 9 A.M. Saturday morning. Only 45 finished at 11 PM that night. In between was hour after hour of fuel stops, driver changes, frantic repairs, and rain so heavy, laced with lightning, it temporarily halted the race for two hours.
Samanta's Bug, still in development, with just two incomplete LeMon's events behind it, threw a rod on the pace lap, filling the car with smoke. He was rolling into the pits as everyone else took the green flag.
The #43 Bug had it's transmission replaced during the race, Paul Ripa's team working swiftly to get their VW back into competition, only losing an hour and five minutes for the entire repair.
The #14 Bug had arrived at Sebring Friday with trouble, a loose flywheel. The crew worked late that night to fix it, and made the start. The fix was to hold, but fate wasn't finished with #14. During the race a front track arm came loose, requiring a pit stop, then a rear diagonal suspension arm pivot bolt backed out. The loose diagonal arm stressed a CV joint which separated, and #14 had to be towed in for repair.
Just before the yellow flag for the blinding rain, #14 was hit from behind, smashing the deck lid and apron into the exhaust and engine sheet metal. But in the dark and wet, at one point #14 was the 3rd fastest car on the track. Windecker himself took the wheel for the last hour, and was soon hit in the left rear, damaging a valve cover, and began losing oil pressure. Only bent sheet metal was keeping the valve cover on. Windecker pitted for oil, went back out for the final three laps, and took the checkered flag.
#14 took 26th place with a 2.56 best lap, and #43 was right behind with 27th place and a 2.57 best lap. By comparison, the fastest lap in the entire race (a 2.39) went to the overall winner, a 1990 Nissan 300ZX. 2nd place also went to a 300ZX, 3rd to a Mazda Miata, 4th to a Mitsubishi 3000, and 5th to a big Mercedes Benz sedan.
ChumpCar says their racing is "A throw-back to the era when racing was fun and cheap, when Bondo beat carbon-fiber; when home-made engineering made everyone sit up and take notice. Those were good times, and they're back."
And all three Super Bugs will be back for more. Schedules and rules for both organizations can be found at:
http://www.chumpcar.com
http://www.24hoursoflemons.com
end
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2jmotorsports
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Re: FJC in Hot VW's
Awesome article! Thanks for posting it!