MOTORSPORTS FESTIVALS

HOW TO OVERLOAD ON ROAD RACING, TIME ATTACK, DRIFTING, TUNER CARS, AND MORE IN TWO SHORT DAYS!

DURING THE FIRST WEEKEND OF OCTOBER 2007, THE GT LIVE EAST EVENT AT VIRGINIA INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY (VIR) PROMISED “ROAD RACING. DRIFTING. TIME ATTACK. RALLY. STUNT BIKES. RIDES IN RACE CARS. RIDES IN DRIFT CARS. GIRLS.”

INDEED, DURING THE WEEKEND, YOU COULD WATCH THE GRAND-AM KONI CHALLENGE SERIES PRACTICE, QUALIFY, AND RACE ON VIR’S FULL COURSE. YOU ALSO COULD ENTER YOUR CAR IN THE REDLINE TIME ATTACK SESSIONS, RACE GO-KARTS, TAKE A RUN THROUGH THE DIRT WITH A PROFESSIONAL RALLY DRIVER IN A RALLY CAR, WATCH STUNT BIKES, OR EXPERIENCE WHAT IT’S LIKE TO COMPETE ON THE TRACK AS A PASSENGER DURING A GT SIM RACE. OR YOU COULD RACE YOUR STREET CAR IN TARZAN’S LAP BATTLE!

Click here to view the GT LIVE East weekend schedule.

UTILIZING THE FACILITY

VIR’s facilities made it a great choice for such a weekend. The road course was configured to handle two on-track events at the same time – one on the full course and the other on the smaller Patriot Course. The venue has a skid pad for the stunt bikes. Plus, VIR’s go-kart track and rally course handled other activities.

SKIP BARBER NATIONAL RACES

Photo: Rick Roso, courtesy Skip Barber Racing School

The Skip Barber National series ended its seven-race 2007 schedule during the weekend with practice, qualifying, and two race sessions on VIR’s full course. The open-wheel cars in the series look like scaled-down Formula 1 or Indy Cars. Powered by four-cylinder engines, the Skip Barber cars are identically prepared for the racers, who compete for experience and “career enhancement” money. The National series is the lowest of three rungs in the Skip Barber ladder to a professional racing career.

DRIFTING

Photo: Greg Gallup

Drifting fans had enough demos and competition to keep them at the Patriot Course all weekend! Falken Drift Demo drivers showed the crowd what to look for.

The U.S.Drift (USD) series took to the same track for practice, qualifying, and competition. Through shrouds of smoke and squealing tires, competitors are judged on speed of entry into turns, speed carried through turns, drift angle, clipping points, use of the track, and other factors – all under controlled track conditions. After qualifications, the top 16 drivers were reduced to eight in single runs, then bracket racing determined the winner.

GRAND-AM RACES

GRAND-AM KONI CHALLENGE SERIES SCHEDULE

Thursday, October 4, 2007
9:00-12:00 Rig parking
13:00-18:00 Track test day for KONI Challenge Teams

Friday, October 5, 2007
9:00-10:00 Practice – KONI Challenge ST
10:10-11:10 Practice – KONI Challenge GS
12:00-12:50 Lunch – Pace Car Rides
13:30-14:30 Practice – KONI Challenge ST
14:40-15:40 Practice – KONI Challenge GS
15:50-16:30 Practice – KONI Challenge ST
19:00-19:45 Night Practice – KONI Challenge ST

Saturday, October 6, 2007
8:45-9:15 Practice – KONI Challenge GS
9:25-9:40 Qualifying – KONI Challenge ST
9:50-10:05 Qualifying – KONI Challenge GS
14:45 Recon Laps – KONI Challenge ST
15:00-21:00 KONI Challenge ST Race (6-hour limit)

Sunday, October 7, 2007
11:45 Recon Laps – KONI Challenge GS
12:00-18:00 KONI Challenge GS Race (6-hour limit)

Click here to see more images of the Grand-Am KONI Challenge Series ST Class races.

The Grand American Road Racing Association’s Grand-Am KONI Challenge Series teams used Thursday as a track test day, then had typical practice, qualifying, and race sessions throughout the weekend. The KONI Challenge Series features sports cars, coupes, and sedans kept close to showroom specifications by Grand-Am rules.

Grand Sport (GS) cars are factory sports and muscle cars that weigh between 2,900 and 3,300 pounds (minimum) and have 350- to 405-horsepower engines, which include V8s. Maximum speeds are around 160 miles per hour. The GS class had a six-hour endurance race on Sunday.

Street Tuner (ST) class cars weigh between 2,200 and 3,125 pounds (minimum) and sport, in stock form, engines that develop between 170 and 250 horsepower – either four-cylinder or six-cylinder. Maximum speeds are approximately 135 miles per hour. Subaru Road Racing Team (SRRT) competes in the ST class, which had a six-hour race on Saturday – almost two hours of it at night.

REDLINE TIME ATTACK

Click here to view the SRRT’s racing 2005 Legacy 2.5 GT Wagon - prepared for time attack.

One of the fastest growing forms of motorsports, time attack has come to the United States from Japan. Participants try to set fast lap against a clock on a closed course with their own vehicles. Modifications for the cars range from changing wheels and tires to installing racing engines and replacing body panels with carbon fiber ones. The cars are categorized accordingly.

The Redline series ran time attacks in three classes at VIR – Street, Unlimited, and Modified. The Street class ran on the Patriot Course, while the more powerful Unlimited and Modified classes took on the full course.

One of the vehicles running the full course was the SRRT Legacy Wagon raced in 2006. Fired up, the emphatic exhaust indicated that additional work had been done on it since its Grand-Am days in preparation for Tarzan Yamada’s weekend drive at VIR. Changes included installing a Perrin™ front-mount intercooler, Perrin fuel rail, Power Enterprise fuel injectors, Forced Performance turbocharger, and STI factory Brembo^® brakes, plus taking weight out of the car.

TARZAN’S LAP BATTLE

Japanese racing legend Tarzan Yamada was busy all weekend. Between Redline Time Attack and appearances for Subaru, he held Tarzan’s Lap Battle for street cars on the Patriot Course. Competitors ran the course in two sessions, and Tarzan gave rides late on Sunday.

SUBARU CORRAL

ACTIVITIES FOR SUBARU OWNERS – SCHEDULE

Saturday, October 6, 2007
9:00-10:00 Check in at the Subaru Corral in the North Paddock
10:30 Drawings for 45 kart passes for the Subaru Kart Hour
13:00 Subaru owners Kart Hour for 45 winners
TBD Tarzan autograph session
14:45-21:00 KONI Challenge ST Race – cheer on the SRRT!

Sunday, October 7, 2007
9:00-10:00 Check in at the Subaru Corral in the North Paddock
10:30 Drawings for 45 kart passes, 5 rally car rides, and 5 race car rides
11:00-12:00 SRRT “open house”
13:00-13:45 Subaru owners kart hour
14:45 Tarzan autograph session
14:00-15:00 Subaru rally rides for winners
17:00-18:00 Subaru rally rides for winners
18:55-19:30 Subaru race car rides for winners

All day on Sunday, the SRRT trailer and SRT USA mobile display unit will be in the Subaru Corral in the North Paddock.

A GREAT EXPERIENCE

– Randy Reinhardt, fixed operations manager for Subaru South Central Region

We really didn't know what to expect when we showed up to participate in the event. It was a great venue with some form of motorsport activity going on at all times during each day.

The two-day VIR event was a great experience for more than 100 Subaru enthusiasts who attended. When they arrived, they were directed into a Subaru Corral parking area in the paddock. It was located next to the Subaru Road Race Team hauler and the team’s work area – right in the middle of the action.

On both days, we had a one-hour Subaru-only session on the go-kart track. There was a lot of trash talk about who would be the fastest and everyone had a great time.

On Sunday, the SRT USA rally car made an appearance, and Matthew Johnson took more than 20 Subaru owners and their friends on the rides of their lives on the rally course.

We definitely want to participate in 2008, and we plan to double our Subaru owner attendees.

Click here to see more images of the Subaru Corral.

GT LIVE encourages brand-specific fan festivals during its events. A large contingency of Subaru owners gathered in the paddock next to the SRRT transporter. The area was organized by the Subaru South Central Region and local dealerships.

Subaru held drawings for free go-kart sessions, rides with Rally America National Championship guest driver Matthew Johnson in Subaru Rally Team USA’s (SRT USA) Group N rally STI on Sunday, and autograph sessions as well as rides with Tarzan Yamada in the SRRT’s Legacy Wagon.

The 40-foot SRT USA display trailer entered the paddock Sunday morning. Visiting dealerships and special events nationwide, the trailer’s customized interior carries Subaru Performance Tuning parts and information, wall-mounted television monitors playing rally videos, SRT USA information and photos, posters, Drive Performance magazines, and the SRT USA Group N STI. When not on the rally course at VIR, the car was stationed under a tent next to the event trailer in the Subaru area.

RALLY INFORMATION AND RIDES

Professional rally driver Tim O’Neil and some of his instructors were on hand to talk to interested fans about rally racing. O’Neil runs the Team O’Neil Rally School near Littleton and Franconia, New Hampshire, where many Rally America stars have been trained. The school has courses for rally racing and security vehicle control.

Team O’Neil offered rides on the rally course in school cars transported from New Hampshire. The drivers kicked up considerable dust sliding around the dirt paths east of the road course. On Sunday, the Team O’Neil cars were joined by the SRT USA rally car.

XDL STUNT BIKE

Photo: Greg Gallup

VIR’s skid pad was surrounded by concrete barriers that defined the stage for the XDL stunt bikes. Screaming engines, tire smoke, and motorcycles in improbable positions filled the area all weekend. Wheelies are nothing for these riders, whose stunt repertoires include riding in circles on rear wheels, balancing on the front wheels, burnouts, and other tricks. At VIR, the competition included circle challenges, target stoppies, sickest tricks, freestyle burnouts, last man standing contests, and individual freestyle displays.

Paramax, the consulting firm behind GT LIVE, started the XDL Stunt Riding Championship in 2005. Each round in the invitation-only championship features no more than 30 riders who compete for prize money. VIR was one of four stops in the championship schedule, with the finals to be held at the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California, on March 22, 2008.

WATCH FOR MORE IN 2008

Subaru fans had the pleasure of seeing members of the two Subaru Motorsports teams together in the paddock and driving the road and rally courses. The Subaru corral, South Central Region tents, Subaru dealer tents, the SRRT paddock, and SRT USA Tour trailer all were stationed together in the VIR paddock. Close proximity allowed fans and teams to enjoy each other’s company.

If a motorsports festival like this one appeals to you, check out GT LIVE for the 2008 schedule. Having everything together helps you to discover new interests, be involved at your own pace, or stay focused on your favorite expression of motorsports. Take your friends!

RELATED LINKS

Grand-Am KONI Challenge Series – www.grand-am.com/koni
GT LIVE Tour – www.gtlivetour.com
Subaru Rally Team USA – www.subaru.com/rally, www.vtcar.com
Subaru Road Racing Team – www.icyracing.com
Team O’Neil Rally School – www.teamoneil.com
XDL Stunt Riding Championship – www.xdlshow.com