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PARTNERS
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News For September 5th, 2009
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Excitement At Gingerman Leaves The Championship In The Balance |
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South Haven, MI – Co-op Racing completed the sixth weekend of the seven weekend
NASA Midwest racing series at
Gingerman Raceway. With the series championship at stake, the team
put their best foot forward for Gingerman. Rules infractions, inverting of the grid, aggressive driving, and some racer’s luck
resulted in two second place finishes for Andy Berberich and the Eurosport 944. The two second place finishes turned the series
championship lead over to 944 Spec Series Director and 2008 National Champion Eric Kuhns.
Prior race weekend at Blackhawk Farms really |
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put the pressure on Berberich.
Not giving up, the team made the necessary changes to the Eurosport 944 in order to raise the level of competitiveness. New sway bars
and improved exhaust eliminated some of the weak points of the car. Bringing it all together was accomplished with the help of
Kauth & Mayeur and owner Michael Benèt. Co-op Racing utilized the expertise
of Benèt and the premium facilities of Kauth and Mayeur in order align the suspension and set the corner weights; details that are
critical to success.
The team headed to Michigan early to take advantage of the Friday test and tune time. Having only been at Gingerman previously to provide support to Eurosport Racing, Berberich took the test and tune opportunity to learn the track as well. A day of learning and tuning showed promise for the team. A couple calls to George Weathered of Eurosport Racing to discuss some setup options helped make even more progress. At the end of the day, the team was excited about the possibilities. Saturday morning started with a conversation with the Series Director notifying the team of potential disqualification due to a rules infraction. The point of contention revolved around the front control arms of the Eurosport 944. The modified control arms added no performance advantage, but per the class rules are deemed illegal. The arms were carried over from the previous year’s configuration when the Eurosport 944 competed in 944 Cup. In order to avoid being disqualified, the team started in to remedy the situation. Acceptable control arms were taken from the team’s spare parts bin and with the help of Jim Hartman, they were swapped out in an hour and just in time for qualifying. The control arm swap resulted in unknown caster setting, which resulted in about an inch and a half of toe out, where deal toe settings are close to zero. The swap also resulted in not being able to connect the front sway bars. With the messed up alignment and no front sway bar, the Eurosport 944 was about three seconds slower and qualified third. In order to connect the sway bar to the current control arms, the team needed two mounting brackets and hardware that were left in the shop about four hours away. Not having time to make the round trip in time for the race, Data Aq Guy Collin Mizeur made the four hour trip with the handful of bolts and adapters. “We really owe a lot to Collin” Shawn Berberich remarked. “We were very lucky that he was able and willing to make the trip. He is also a true competitor and understands the situation 100%. Collin showed up about 35 minutes before the race, which was close, but still plenty of time.” Bryan White helped Berberich set the front toe. It was truly a team effort. Even though it was a mixed grid start, all the 944 spec cars were within a couple rows of each other. The Eurosport 944 started on the right side of the two-by-two line up. On the start, Berberich was able to peddle his way to the lead in class. As Eric Kuhns began his pursuit, Berberich was able to keep another car between the two as a buffer. Berberich was able to maintain the lead until lap 12 of the 17 lap race when Berberich spun the Eurosport 944 while avoiding another car. A BMW had spun right in front of the Eurosport 944 and Berberich’s evasive action resulted in his own spin. This allowed Kuhns to pass for first, resulting in a second place finish for Berberich. The first for Kuhns and second for Berberich tied the two drivers for first place in the series championship. Upon completion of the race, Berberich, was especially grateful for the 20oz bottle of Gatorade he received while waiting in impound, when his car came in 1 pound over the class minimum. In hindsight, it was the different and lighter control arms that resulted in the weight difference. Before the race began, the team added extra fuel just to be safe. They didn’t realize how close it would actually be. After making some early morning repairs, Berberich qualified the Eurosport 944 for the second race of the weekend. Kuhns had spun in qualifying and did not get a qualifying time. The initial mixed grid was posted with Berberich starting 17th and Kuhns in 31st. Unfortunately for Berberich, the 944 Spec grid was scheduled to be inverted. The 944 Spec cars were pulled from the mixed grid and started in the back of the rest of the field. Berberich was now starting in the third row of the five-car field and Kuhns was starting in the front row. Right at the start of the race, the 944 Spec leaders were on top of the trailing cars in the mixed grid. After a couple laps, the class shook out to be Kuhns in the lead, followed by Ray Freundt, and then Berberich. In order to catch Kuhns, Berberich had to get past Freundt first. An aggressive battle ensued and body contact was made, as the two were side-by-side coming out of turn ten. “Trying to avoid additional body contact, it took me a while to get past Ray (Freundt)” Reflected Berberich. “Gingerman is a tight track and really has one line. This made passing safely very challenging.” After several failed attempts, traffic helped Berberich pass for second place. Which he held for a full lap until a split second hesitation in the braking zone of turn 10 caused the Eurosport 944 to spin. The hesitation was caused when Berberich’s foot barely caught the back of the brake pedal when he was transitioning from throttle to brake. This relatively minor change in timing was enough to throw off the entire turn and resulted in the spin. Realizing there wasn’t enough time left in the race to make up for the spin, Berberich settled in for the third place finish. Freundt was later DQ’d due to a technicality, moving Berberich up to second. The last two races of the season are scheduled for October 3 at Putnam Park in Central Indiana. The Midwest 944 Spec series championship will come down to the last two races to be run on Saturday. The end of season banquet will be held in Plainfield, IL where the end of season results for most of the classes will be announced. |
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SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR RACING PARTNERSEurosport Racing is a premiere Midwest Porsche street and race specialist. They specialize in Porsche service, track support and transport, engine design and rebuilding, dyno tuning, and suspension setup and alignment. They also offer a full line of OEM, aftermarket, and high performance parts and accessories. More information on Eurosport Racing can be found at www.midwesteurosport.comKauth and Mayeur provides the finest import services in Peoria, IL. They offer a wide range of maintenance and repair services for import cars. Specializing in high performance streetcars. Kauth and Mayeur can be reached at (309) 673-1412 or http://www.kauthmayeur.com. |
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