Great Show at Daytona

The final minutes of the 2013 Rolex 24 at Daytona with the proper commentary.  Grand-Am put on a hell of a show at Daytona but Speed TV sure did their best to ruin it, cutting to commercial constantly in the final phases,  I'm sure I was not the only one who felt like throwing something at the TV if I heard about rednecks one more time...

In DP there was much grumbling about the performance advantage of the Ganassi BMW Rileys,  not to mention some allegations of funny business when the 02 stopped on track, causing a yellow flag which allowed the winning 01 car to un-lap itself.

Despite some heroic driving by AJ Allmendinger, you can see from the video that, in the very final phase of the race, it was no contest, Montoya just put the hammer down and that was that.

In GT, Audi almost pulled out an incredible 1-2-3 finish but the RumBum AudiR8 ran out of gas on the final lap giving the AIM Autosport Ferrari 458 the final spot on the podium.

GT was up in the air to the final minutes, Magnus looked like they might have been able to repeat last year's win but they ran low on gas and could not attack. Earlier, the AIM and the Scuderia Corse/Michelotto Ferraris looked in control but they came together under braking into turn 1 and the Scuderia Corsa car got hit with a stop and go.

Earlier still, the #30 Momo Motorsport looked like it was in the catbird seat. Kuba Giemaziak had the GT lap record with a 1:47.983 but then, disaster on the fastest part of the track when the front left suspension came apart at 180mph. Giemaziak did well to not hit anything but their hopes for a win were dashed. Gutted for Momo and Ramez at NGT, the home of the Axis GT3 cup car, and Henrique Cisneros, Sean Edwards and Patrick Pilet.

Hard luck for the second Alex Job car, 2012 Team Axis co driver Damien Faulkner was so close... I know my friend Declan must have been close to tears!

But it was the best day ever for AJR when Portuguese DTM star Felipe Albuquerque made a final splash and go and took the win, celebrating with some great donuts.... shame drivers cannot do that in F1, who does not love a good victory donut? ( I guess they are so close to weight limist they are afraid to vaporize any rubber at all)

Albuquerque drove the AUDI Sport Customer Racing/ AJR R8 Grand-Am with fellow DTM drivers Italian Edoardo Mortara and Briton Oliver Jarvis. What a great team to be on for American Dion Von Moltke whose future looks bright.

The first ever GX winner was the Napleton Porsche Cayman in the historic Hippie Livery you know from the Cayman Interseries. They also get the award for the cleanest car after 24 hours of racing.

Behind them, playing hooky from their usual Bimmerworld gig were James Clay and Seth Thomas in the Canadian Bullet Racing Cayman. Well done guys!


DP:

1. Chip Ganassi /Felix Sabates BMW Riley. Montoya, Dixon, Kimball, Pruett, Rojas
2. Velocity WW Corvette DP. Angelilli, Hunter-Ray, J.Taylor
3. Michael Shank Racing Ford/Riley Allmendinger, Ambrose, Negri, Pew, Wilson.

GT:
1. Audi Sport Customer Racing/ AJR Audi R8. Albuquerque, Jarvis, Mortara, Von Moltke
2. Audi Sport Customer Racing/APR Motorsport LTD.UK/ Baas, Basseng, Rast, Stippler
3. AIM Autosport Team FXDD with Ferrari Ferrari 458. Assentato, Lazzaro, Longhi, Wilkins

GX:

1. Napleton Racing Porsche Cayman, Canache, Donohue, Lewis, Norman
2. Bullet Racing Porsche Cayman. Clay, O'Young, Rogers, Thomas, Thompson
3. BGB Motorsports Porsche Cayman. Davis, Eversley, Foss, Mosing, Tecce

Full Results HERE

For anyone tuning in from Portugal or Brazil,  the final minutes of the race with Portuguese commentary in after the break.

Photos by Halston Pitman. MSM

Riley Mk XXII: Ultimate Track day tool, tested

It would be awesome to have a test between all the contenders for the track day world championship, imagine Ferrari FXX vs Zonda R vs the Riley MK XXII...wait, what's a Riley? Hmm you don't follow Grand Am do you?

My magazine stack, like yours, is littered with the corpses of ambitious constructors who have built machines that on paper were to blow the doors off of any Mclaren F1 but that in reality either did not work or were impossible to drive. Bill RIley formed Riley Technologies with his father Bob who was one of the principals in RIley & Scott of Trans Am and IMSA GT fame.
We are not talking Pagani here, we are talking solid, American engineering built to last. Riley tube frame cars have ruled Daytona Prototypes and pretty much every tube frame silhouette racer running in Grand Am comes out of their shop in Mooresville, North Carolina. The Grand Am Mazda Rx8 and BMW M6 are Riley chassis as are the ALMS and ACO Corvette GT2 and Camaro GT4. Riley has an 80% win to start ratio, impressive.



So that is the pedigree of the Riley MK XXII track car, a Daytona Prototype re engineered to cost about half as much and simplified for easier setup and running costs. Gone is the carbon fiber body, in comes the optional air conditioning but one look at the MK XXII and you see it's not something made to be pretty, it's made to go fast. The question is, do you need to be Scott Pruett or Juan Pablo Montoya to drive it and enjoy it?

Now Axis is not in a position to get press cars or free rides but as luck would have it, Riley has an interesting program for its investors and (here comes the full disclosure) CG is one. So last Friday I accompanied him up to Monticello Motor Club where he got to run the car for two half hour session.

I would urge you to take the time to read professional reviews of the MK XXII by Jalopnik's Mike Spinelli and Fast Lane Daily's Leo Parente, We can only add our usual tracktard prospective and give you the Traqmate data file to download and play with.
Sadly we could only get both data and video to work on the very first session then the GPS never locked up, possibly because of the big storm which hit towards the end of the session.



Here are CG's random thought about the car:

-By far th fastest track worthy thing (lap time wise) you can buy for the money, quality also feels great from the driver's seat.

-By my 2nd lap I was driving at 8/10ths, lapping well under my fastest ever in the Porsche Cup at Monticello

-All controls are awesome in quality and precision, Porsche Cup Car level and beyond. Very easy to go fast 8-9/10ths right away if you are an experienced driver.

-Car is extremely neutral and compliant. has literally no handling vices and the engine is very tractable. Of course it can only get better if you can get it with a high revving, high tech BMW engine instead.

-The "driver aids" work and can be dialed off with predicability. The race ABS system is supreme, and allows DEEP threshold braking. It's a welcome thing to be able to left foot brake 100% of the time thanks to the paddle shifters as clutch is only for stop and go.

-Cabin has great visibility and extremely comfortable, a lot more effortless than drivimg a Cup car. Cabin Air Conditioning is a nice plus.

-It is probably how a Cayman RSR with a lot of Aero would feel like?



-Really hard to think about any negatives, other than not having a license plate to enjoy it everyday? Seriously, although you know you are in a racecar because of the 5pt harness, and dash and sterrig full of knobs, it is a machine thats so approachable, that you can go for full hour sessions easily.

-Only downside is that 99.9% of buyers or drivers will never get anywhere close to what the real limit of the car is. Such a great chasis, low weight and real downforce is another new level even for the experienced amateur racer.

-is it beautiful? I leave it up to you, but who cares!!! Seriously wanting for a Spec series to devleop around this car!

Check out the video with data overlay, don't miss CG's spin on lap 2! The Riley right seat minder was a lot cooler about it than the fellow who was riding with me when I tested the Gumpert Apollo at Paul Ricard! But CG recovers well and sets his fast lap on the very next try. It's a fast lap but, just for reference, Riley's test driver while setting up the thing lapped MMC in 2:04! Wow!



Traqmate DATA HERE. You can download the free software HERE

Riley Track Day Car

Let's say a Radical is a bit too common for you but you are not feeling the Ferrari FXX or 599XX programs. Perhaps you are a Daytona prototype fan or maybe you just want something even rarer than a Zonda R... Maybe you need to head not to Maranello or Stuttgart but to Mooresville North Carolina and see Bill Riley for some 650hp, sequential shifting, carbon fiber goodness.

Pictures and more info after the jump.

photos Collaging-Kristen
Objective:

To provide the potential series and recreational racer with a fast, safe, and reliable car, capable of
performing close to the same level as today’s most advanced purebred sportscars.

Standard Features
• Lightweight Composite Body Panels
• Motec M820 ECU (Programmed with No-Lift Shift and Traction Control)
• Adjustable rear wing to balance the downforce of the nose
• Cockpit Adjustable Front Roll Bar
• Adjustable Ride-Height
• Dual Dry-Break Style Fuel Receptacle
• Simplicity in Design
• Ergonomic Cockpit Layout
• Forced Air Driver Cooling
• Electric Power Adjustable Mirrors

Specifications
Length/Width 177.3 inches (4503mm) / 78.6 inches (1997mm)
Height 43.7 inches (1110mm)
Wheelbase 112.0 inches (2845mm)
Front /Rear Overhangs 36.2 inches (921mm) / 29.0 inches (737mm)
Engine GM Aluminum 6.2L LS3 V-8 (CRD Tuned to ≈ 500HP)
Chassis Steel Chassis, Replaceable Steel Safety Structures
Body Composite Bodywork
Cockpit FIA© Spec Seat (Driver Adjustable)
Steering Rack and Pinion with Hydraulic Power Assist

Gearbox 6-Speed EMCO© Sequential Dog Ring Transaxle
Suspension Front Double Wishbone, 5-Link Rear
Shocks Adjustable with Coil-Over Springs
Brakes 6-Piston Front and 4-Piston Rear Calipers, adjustable brake bias
Iron Rotors, 14” Front / 13” Rear
Wheels Front 18”x12.5”, Rear 18”x13.0”, 5/Lug
Tires Michelin
Fuel Capacity 24 Gallons / 91 Liters
Exhaust Stainless Steel with Mufflers
Data Complete AIM© Data System with Digital Display

Maintenance
• Emphasis on low maintenance
• Prepwork and repairs can be performed by local prep shops
• A full range of spare parts will be readily available and stocked at the Mooresville, NC factory.

Completion
The Riley MkXXII comes completely assembled, aligned, leak checked, and ready to run from Riley
Technologies. An engineer and assembly technician from Riley Technologies can be made available for the initial track
sessions.

Price
$196,000 (USD) Standard Build. Car delivered on new tires.

Terms and Delivery
Three payments. The first payment is 50% and secures the delivery date. The second payment of 25% is due halfway
through the build. The third payment of 25% is due two weeks before delivery.

Options
In addition to the options listed below, Riley Technologies is willing to discuss any requested options made by
its customers.

• CRD Tuned GM 6.2L V8 (600HP)
• 5.8L Dinan Tuned BMW V10 (650 HP)
• Paddle Shift
• Bodywork can be painted to customer’s specification before delivery (may delay delivery if this option is
chosen after initial order is processed and delivery date is established)
• FIA© Spec Passenger Seat
• Center-Lock Wheels
• Air Jack System
• Cockpit Air Conditioning
• F.A.S.T Driver Cool Suit System
• Electric Driver Drink System
• Windshield Wiper System
• Headlights w/Turn Signals
• Custom fitted bodywork bags and car cover
• Up-front spares package eligible for 10% discount, if paid in full prior to car delivery


Bill Riley
170 Overhill Dr.
Mooresville, NC 28117
704.663.6319 ext 302
bill.riley@rileytech.com