Mayhem Racing is victorious again! I know all of you that attended the MNSubaru ice race had a good time but a few of us we having fun just a bit south in Brainerd. Jay Luehmann and I won the IIRA endurance race overall on Sunday. We had to overcome low fuel and and water on the course but we hung on fo a 10 second victory after over two hours of racing. Amy Springer was there working corners, Thanks Amy! She saw some great racing. I Invite everyone up to the next race which is this weekend in Garrison, MN. I will update this thread if there are any changes to times or location. Mark Utecht
Congradulation Mark, awsome job taking the victory in the Subaru! I got to meet David Hobbs but he didnt have any favorite FWD stories to share. LOL Looks like Garrison, MN is not that bad of a drive from my place, I'll have to consider it. So give us more details on how you managed to achieved a victory in a 2hr endurance race? Did you have auto pilot on board, is that legal?
The IIRA page is http://www.angelfire.com/mn/icerace/ . Practice starts ~ 10:00 am Saturday with qualifying and races until about 4:00. Same schedule for Sunday. It is a VERY loose schedule so more information is difficult to predict. Mark
It was actually a textbook race during my stint. I drove the first hour and after 4 laps I was in the lead and pulling away. The next closest car was a Saab 900 Turbo. I had fun catching and lapping cars and the Saab is the only car I didn't put a lap down. Just past an hour into the race the organizers threw out the red flag. There was a corner of the track where we had worn through enough ice that water was bubbling onto the ice. They rerouted the course around the bubbler and after about 20 minutes we were back underway. After careful discussion, we decided to pit immediately to perform our required driver change, not even taking the green flag after the red. Unfortunately, we found our fuel drum was nearly empty and we only got about 2 gallons in at the driver change. I got on the radio and told Jay to be steady and conserve fuel. Meanwhile, two of our group hightailed it to the gas station for some fuel. When they got back, I let Jay know we had fuel when he needed it, if he needed it. About 5 laps later, Jay called in stating we were getting fuel starvation in right corners (all but one corner were rights). We determined second was better than a DNF so we called Jay in. As he was entering the pit lane, the announcer started yelling about the Saab being in a snowbank. I made the quick decision that we would pour fuel until the Saab came to the pit straight and we would send Jay out in front and he would have to do the best he could to conserve fuel and get to the end. I gave him some things to try in the car to conserve fuel and pick up all the fuel that was in the car. The minutes remaining SLOWLY ticked away and when the Saab would make ground, I would tell Jay to pick it up. When the Saab fell back, Jay would back off. The checkered flag fell on us and Jay performed some victory donuts. I expect some pics soon and will post them here. I can't tell you how much fun door to door ice racing is. You should all come out and see for yourself. It is also the cheapest (by far) wheel to wheel racing I have found. You too could be a real race car driver! A fellow RallyCross driver (Brent Carlson) bought his first ice race car this weekend, for under $1500.00. The only thing that he didn't get is the 300.00 seat. That is uber cheap for a race car. Come on out and see us. Mark Utecht
Fun car to drive. The torque from the 6 is really nice, and it's gotta be light because there's not much body left . . . Is Brent planning on IIRA with it and/or RallyCross? Gotta see if I can get a pass for one day this next weekend to come out to Garrison. If I can only do one day, which would be the better choice?
Both as I understand it. Sunday is better if you want to see the endurance race. Saturday is better if you want to see more race starts. The starts are where the action is. Mark Utecht
Good to hear that it'll still be at RallyCrosses. Not so good to hear that Brent (who has been altogether too fast in that boat of an Audi and should be even quicker in this car) is driving it. At least for my finishing position. I'm happy to have the competition though. Do you and Kevin run in the sprints or just the Enduros? Brent gonna run yet this season?
We have both run both races but it always depends on if the car remains running. That is more of a concern for the Beck's than for Jay and I. You would have to ask Brent about your second question. Mark Utecht
Congrats on the win. That sounds like a ton of fun. I might try to come up and watch on Sunday. Is it practical to build an ice race/rallyx car that is still street legal/driveable? It sounds like the costs are reasonable to get into this kind of racing, but I could never afford a truck/trailer to get to events.
I would NEVER recommend driving a race car to the track, especially an ice race car. Damage from collisions is inevitable and may make getting the car home impossible. The good thing about ice racing is there is at least 4 different races during the weekend and you can share the car with others. That means sharing the expenses too. One of our partners doesn't know anything about how to fix a car or have a truck/trailer. He puts more money into the team and Jay and I do all the work and provide the support tools. It wouldn't be too hard to find a couple MNSubaru guys that want to go ice racing. Partner up with them and build a car. you won't regret it. Mark Utecht
We were running the Winterforce tires with street studs in them. They were 20 seconds a lap slower than the Menards tire on a one mile track. That said, I feel the future of the sport is studded DOT tires. They are cheaper (about 30% of the cost of Menards) , will last longer, are available in MANY more sizes and can be bought from more than one source. When IIRA changes to street studs, the good drivers will rise to the top as it won't be as much about who's got the most power or newest tires. Mark Utecht
Is there someplace locally that can stud tires? I know you can order them from Tire Rack with the stud in them, but can they be added (officially I know the answer from the manufacturer is NO) to a used tire by someone locally? I imagine the short races doesn't show the longevity of the studs though. I'd been under the impression that as the day wears on in the Enduros that throwing studs becomes an issue with the Menards tires. I wonder if the DOT tires will be better or worse in that respect. I really want to do this next year. Either as a partner with someone or by myself if I can pull it off.
Presumably with the DOT tires they'll probably have some value for resale even once they're past the point you want them to be for competition, so even cheaper yet. I read a review recently where the studded Winterforce was rated worse than many of the modern studless winter tires in pretty much all respects, worse acceleration, braking, turning grip, etc, and that was in raw numbers, not subjective measure. I wonder how a tire like the Hakka 5 with studs and a tread pattern/compound similar to the RSi would do.
Putting studs in used tires (that were built to accept studs) will be VERY problematic. The trash in the stud pockets will promote stud loss. My opinion based on my research is you will waste more time and money studding old tires than just buying new ones. You are spot on regarding the Menards. However, with street studs, there is less biting grip and thus less load on the stud trying to pull them out. That means they will last longer than the Menards. Tires are always a compromise. The faster they are, the more they cost or the shorter the life span or both. Mark Utecht
No doubt there are better tires than the Winterforce. However, there are few that are cheaper. Mandating a spec tire is about controlling costs. Why choose an expensive tire to control costs? Also, the main reason for the street studs isn't the grip it creates. The main reason is that the studs will scuff the ice so it doesn't get polished. That scuff will provide more grip than if we were to use the current studless technology tires. Mark Utecht
That makes perfect sense. In my mind I was thinking the potential "spec" would be "DOT legal" not a specific tire, but a specific tire makes more sense. Right, which is why I was thinking of the Hakka 5, which is a studdable tire with a more advanced tread/compound like you'd find on the RSi. But there's no question about the costs, as the Hakka is 3-4 times the cost. I'd be very happy to see the Winterforce chosen. It fits my budget better
Are you kidding?!?!?! We are lucky the IIRA site gets updated the same week! Mark, I have to warn you that when you come to your first IIRA event you are in for a huge batch of culture shock. There is NOTHING timely about ice racing. That however does not make it any less fun. On to your question. After a last minute decision, Brent and Kevin did run this weekend. Unfortunately, they broke the PS pump, tensioner pulley and axle shaft. Kevin maintains it was due to how hard Brent was driving. On the other side of the Mayhem coin, Jay and I won every race we drove, overall. Our third driver, Dave, was leading overall when he folded under pressure and got stuck on a bank. Due to that, he finished dead last in that sprint race. The last note on the weekend was that anything on anybody that protruded, dangled or was exposed got VERY cold...nuff said.
I know that. They've actually been preyty prompt recently, however I was asking for your story anyhow I've been to an IIRA event before, the one back when Jason turtled the Omni. I have at least a little idea how laid back they are. Brent pretty quick right out of the gate? How does the scoring work for the season? Is it points from the Sprints and the Enduros added together, or are they separate? Are points assigned to a driver, or to a team/car? I suppose I can go read that myself, if I can find it. And I did. To the driver(s) in the Enduro series and to the car in the Sprint series. Make sense. Yeah, I decided to stay home But I'm planning on coming out this weekend. Don't know if it will be Sat or Sun yet.
Of course Brent was fast, you've seen him drive. With better tires and a little more experience, he will be a force in ice racing. If you have the choice, Mayhem Racing could use your help more on Sunday than Saturday. The driver change for the enduro requires extra hands. Mark Utecht
Mayhem Racing wins with large margin The Mayhem Racing Subaru is continuing it's winning ways. This weekend, we won the 2 hour endurance race by ten laps. Two of the faster 2WD cars had mechanical issues but we were WELL in front of them (by laps) when they broke. This is the third race of the year and we have won them all. We are shooting for winning the number 1 for next year. It is a goal we have never accomplished before. Things are looking good so far. I want to thank Mark Holden, Brent Carlson, Carrie Carlson, Harry Beck and his girlfriend Carrie for coming up to help this weekend. Next weekend is at BIR so come on out and watch! Pics from the first two events can be seen here, http://www.jimsracing.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=82827 . This is my favorite so far.
