Going back home!

So, I posted less than planned. And raced less.

But learnt more and made more friends.

Fair deal if you ask me.

A great 2011 LCP!!
Adrian

The Zacatecas team finish

Missing Lalo in this one - he had to return early.

All happy to have completed the race and ready for next year.

Adrian

Zacatecas!! Finished!!

This has been a huge adventure. We'll be back for more and to win.
Adrian

The little green car that can!

Well, day 6 of the race and the car is finally running well well well!

Had 2 really good sections - the last 2. We did super well on the oval at Aguascalientes and very fast on the road.

Car feel powerful again and tires are at their best.

This year there is no chance of winning anything anymore, but we've learnt a ton and know we have a really good car in our hands. Now a matter of preparing better.

Adrian

Entering Guanajuato!

Co-driver on the roof! (?)
Adrian

The pit crew!

Adrian

Day 5 - stage 2 mil cumbres

Adrian

Toward Panamericana - TAKE 2!

Adrian

Alive again! Ready for day 4

Adrian

Structure straight! Now some small apperance changes!

Adrian

Almost there in fore aft

Adrian

The face is coming back - and she is a smiling!

Adrian

Operating room

Adrian

Starting order! Day 1

Starting 3rd in our group, 32nd overall and feeling good about this position for day 1. All set to race!!

Adrian

Drivers meeting

Drivers meeting and dinner!

Adrian

Panam cars ready for racing

Adrian

101 on tie downs for the support team!

Adrian

Pits dry run!

Adrian

Gas for day 1 of the race

Afternoon before day 1, getting the final touches ready. Fresh gas with some potent additives to get the octane # up!

Adrian

Qualies - done!

Car did really well!! Much more power this year!! super fast!! and the updated steering geometry is doing wonders!
Adrian

Last minute co-pilot setup for the qualies!!

Qualies in 30min! So copilot is wrapping up the instruments and getting ready!

The pilot... Meditating!
Adrian

Starting spot for the qualies and the final members of our category!

13 'Historica A plus' cars ths year!

Adrian

Valve lash and head bolt check

Checked valve lash - per Jeremy from Ireland Engineering .008" and never! Less than 0.006" - so that is what we have.

Checked head bolt torque and all is good.
Adrian

914?

Adrian

The 2011 art work

Adrian

Adrian

288!

Adrian

Tech inspection done!

All set for racing! Just missing the medical check for the co-driver.

Adrian

Final race livery!

Adrian

The team shirts

The 2011 Design Inspired Innovation Racing team shirts! Looking sharp we think!!
If you want one send me an email.
Adrian

All setup for tech review

Adrian

Quick story about trailers...

Turns out the trailer we rented / borrowed was a touch to wide between the two planks or ramps and the car wouldn go on correctly... Or at all for that matter

Ended up doing a road side imrpov and added spacers on eachside to pull the wheels out 3/4in and get it on..!

We need a good trailer for next year or even the way back! Anyone??
Adrian

Unloading car in Huatulco!!

Drove all monday from Mexico City to Huatulco - arrived 1am! But all is good and we are ready to unload and go through tach inspection!
Adrian

First of many.. PEMEX gasoline

Adrian

Toward Puebla

A great view of the volcamos Popocatepetl and Iztlazihuatl.
Adrian

We're off!

Adrian

Packing madness...

A small single file of things waiting for a spot on the truck!

Just a few hours to go!
Adrian

Race ready and packing!

After many details we are finally packing. We will leave a half day late, but should still arrive tomorrow night.
Adrian

Pre-race alignment session

Car now ready for alignment and with its initial race livery.
Adrian

Race ready

288 is ready to race in the 2011 La Carrera Panamericana!

Next week it get its racing stripes and other rece decorations. In the past few weeks we have done a lot of testing with different exhaust systems and have found significant improvements in our wheel hp output and acceleration times in 2nd and 3rd gear.

In addition we have had to swap the steering box due to excessive free play and a few other details here and there.

Overall we are very happy with this years car and the improvements.

12 days to racing!!

Adrian

Almost ready to drive once more!

We have a pair of details to take care of, but overall the car is ready to drive again. We changes the location of the rear suspension travel limiting straps and they are looking much better than last year - front and rear look nicely even. This weekend its out to the track to test the car in its new configuration!

Adrian

Engine start!

Finally! We are back in business. Many small details have been delaying this, but we are now ready!
Adrian

Engine in!

Adrian

Brake lines in place!

The final detail on the brake booster removal (brake pump relocation) is done! Brake lines coming from the master cylinder have been changed and re-routed to the new location. Pretty happy with how it came together.

Adrian

Airbox in place and final details on engine

New airbox for the DCOE Weber 45mm is now in place as well as new return springs for each carburetor. Both things should help with some minor details we found last year - difficulty to have both carburetors come back to fully closed position consistently and inadequate air filter system for the engine.

Adrian

Pedal box installed

Finished installing the pedal box in the BMW 2002. Took much longer than expected due to a few details - adding the return spring, positive return stop and final alignment of the brake pump to the modified pedal assembly.

Also found out that the new brake pump was slightly different and did not fit in the same location as the original one. This resulted in some additional work retro fitting the old pump with new bits and pieces.

Overall the pedal box looks good, and now we only need to verify the feel and actuation force is correct.

Adrian

Engine ready for install

Progress was somewhat slower than expected, but we achieved some important things:

- Cleaned combustion chambers and cc'd each cylinder
- Installed engine head along with timing chain, cover and the carburetors
- Installed / modified return springs for each carburetor
- Prepared the induction airbox for instalation

Engine is looking great and is now ready to go back into the car. One important change is that we've decided to leave the cold air induction for a bit later in the build given the potential complications.

Adrian