Octane Report and the Internetz

I was sent a link about a story on the new Jag from the good people at the Octane Report. Which was a great video, be sure to check it out! Also check out the super cool contest going on there!

But after two clicks of videos on the side, I found this.

Wow, you know you are something special when what you are working on has been dubbed over with such an awesome, classy song. The Internetz, so groood,

LBGP Craziness

Spring marks the beginning of nature's renewal process during which seedlings sprout, snow thaws, and of course, people do crazy things at the Long Beach Grand Prix.

As I have traveled to many race venues across the country, I have yet to have experienced one that is remotely close to LBGP in terms of overall craziness.

Sure, Sebring has The Zoo and its "animals" but do the Sebring "animals" display, ahem, "courtship" in full public view? Well, during LBGP's Saturday ALMS race, a couple atop the Hilton Hotel's balcony, located conveniently behind pits, decided to put on a show.

Needless to say, everyone up and down the pit row was switching between Speed Channel and Animal Planet for quite some time.

Get your tickets to the 2011 LBGP now!!!

Sebring ALMS Race

Sorry to all our rabid fans (cough, Yokohama employees, cough) that were anxiously waiting for the Sebring installment, but I have been swamped at the office and trying to get in as much snowboarding as possible before the snow melts. So without further ado.

What I forgot to bring: Baby powder for the feet, I love the dirty South

What I brought but did not use: Used everything (sometimes more than once) since we were there for so dang long.

Worst Sky Mall Item: SkiZ– See above, I have to laugh at this since as a snowboarder I can walk in my boots and carry my own gear, suckas

Best Sky Mall Item: Litter Kwitter – should be classified as worst item but the image in the ad moves it all the way across the spectrum

Now for the race info:

The big show was kind of a bummer for the GT2 team of the Yokohama-equipped RSR Jaguar. If you were watching the race on SPEED, you got to see the Jag loosing its fluids about every twenty minutes for 12 hours on the recap section. If only they zoomed out a little, we could have had the Yokohama logo on there for the repetition effect. But from a marketing aspect the car was a hit, it was on the cover of the program, the poster and everyone was talking about it. And the guys on the team really worked hard to keep the car going.

Ahhh, the growing pains of the first year. To put it in perspective, last year one of the BMW’s would not fire up at the Start Line at its second race That same car took Second place at Sebring this year so back off naysayers!

One of the other “rookie” cars did not fare well during the race either. Sorry to my friends at Falken, but I just happen to have my camera ready when it drove through the pits. Plus it was framed with a wall full of Yokohama banners.

For us the highlight of Sebring was the official debut of the season-long GTC class. And what a way to start, the good people at Alex Job Racing swept the podium . For us tire guys, this is a huge compliment: "The car ran great," Kelly said. "We were able to double stint our tires. “

To double stint tires means confidence in the product by the team and the driver because even in a 12-hour race the time to put in an extra pit stop can mean not making it to the podium. So thanks guys!

We also had the first two sessions of the Patron GT3 Challenge by Yokohama which were great and a press conference and a video shoot and as for all the shenanigans that went on during a week spent in Sebring that will have to wait for another post.

Although here is a picture of Ad Visor and I enjoying some down time during the race. Things to notice, delicious Mission Food products (a proud sponsor of one of the GTC cars), my comfortable shoes (c’mon Adidas, I need shoe deal!) and the motor oil ready to go (not the official track tip, but remember…be prepared)

Track Tip:

The grease pen is your best friend! Why because it can do anything and can help you out. See it in action used to mark where the air valve is on the tire for quick pressure checks. Much easier to spot when you are jumping out of a car after a run to take a pressure check, huh!


Can’t find you notepad, left it in the car, don’t have one? Write it down on the ground, grease pens can do that! You can come back to it and add it to your notebook when you have time. Genius!

Notice that I am not even going into the grease pen for set up use because there is a great article in the April 2010 issue of Roundel magazine for you to read on the topic.


That is all for now. Long Beach is right around the corner.

Sebring 2010

Good morning from Sebring.

The 2010 ALMS/GT3 race season is here.

Looking down at the clock on the computer (west coast time) reads 4:32 AM.

Let the games begin!

2010 Season Starts

January is a time of resolutions and typically a slew of empty promises to make things better in the following months. Those of us in the Yokohama Motorsports crew are no different. Here is the new plan for more content inspired by Delta’s SKY magazine and the ever present Sky Mall that greeted me on my flight out to Sebring for the Support Series Winter Test.

SKY magazine has a section that asks famous people what they travel with on their spins around the globe. We aren’t famous nor do we have designer luggage but we do travel and that means misadventure. So here is my plan, to document more of where our heads are during our travels. So without further delay….

What I forgot to bring: Driver’s patches

What I brought but did not use: 1 T-shirt and car decals (awesome packing this time)

Worst Sky Mall Item:Head Spa Massage – Repels the opposite sex and people in general because people will think you are crazy

Best Sky Mall Item: Wonder Woman cuff bracelet – no explanation needed, awesome on multiple levels

Rental Car Misadventure: Dodge Challengers have an electronically adjusted pedal assembly...that is controlled by a switch on the seat....without a lockout when you are driving...soooooooo you can leave your foot stationary and move the pedal assembly to accelerate. Very entertaining on the drive from Sebring to Orlando.

As for the test, all went well working the good people of PMNA and the super talented Patrick Long. It was also great to meet some of the new competitors in the Patron GT3 Challenge by Yokohama series. The 2010 season will be great to watch, trust me!

One more addition to my posts, tips from the track. As an enthusiast, grassroots driver and tool geek, the paddock is always eye opening and features tricks and tools that anybody can use.

Tip from the Track

Tape on the back of the air pressure gauge. This allows you to write down the pressures in the chaos of pit lane without fumbling. Then you can take the tape off and add it your clipboard or toolbox for your data input source of choice.

Season 2010, here we come!