Atlanta Motorsports Group, in its 5th season of competing in NASA’s 25 Hours of Thunderhill, once again brings a solid driver lineup to attempt a 3rd win in the prestigious endurance road racing event being held December 3-4, 2011 at Thunderhill Raceway Park in Willows, CA. Todd Lamb, Ryan Winchester, Beau Borders, Darin Polsley, and Guy Laidig will co-drive AMG’s Mazda MX-5 in the highly competitive E2 class, with technical partners BFGoodrich and Cobalt Friction.
Todd Lamb of Atlanta, GA is a previous winner of the 25 Hour event. His extensive endurance racing experience includes the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona and numerous podium finishes in Grand Am GT, GS, and ST competition. Lamb has two national championships in Spec Miata, as well as a Pro Racing championship in the Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup series. His experience in the MX-5’s and his engineering background will be very beneficial to the team in setting up the car for the event. Partnered with SafeRacer and Cobalt Friction, Lamb will be posting live updates from the event at http://www.twitter.com/toddspeed and http://www.facebook.com/toddspeed.
26 year-old Ryan Winchester of Mason City, IA will be competing in his first 25 Hour race. He has experience in Grand Am endurance racing and is the NASA 2011 Midwest Driver of the Year as well as the Super Touring 2 Champion. Winchester attends Palmer College of Chiropractic. He is sponsored by Winsports Marketing LLC and Ligon Industries LLC. Winchester will be posting live updates from the event at http://www.twitter.com/WinchesterRyan.
Ryan Winchester: “It’s a great feeling to be a part of AMG in a Mazda for the 25hr. Jason Hoover has put together an awesome Mazda MX-5, and Todd has assembled a talented driver line up with champions from various series across the country. If we all do our jobs well, I don’t foresee any reason we shouldn’t be competing for the E2 class win at the end of 25 hours.”
Beau Borders is a regular competitor in the open-wheel Formula Mazda series. He was the runner up in last year’s Pro Formula Car Challenge series, and was crowned the 2011 ARRC Champion. This will be his third visit to the 25 Hours, and his first outing with AMG. Off the track, Beau is one of the youngest Sound Mixers in Hollywood, having recently completed work on “The Muppets”. He currently resides in Venice Beach, California. Borders is sponsored by SafeRacer, CRU DataPort, and NoisyBeau Inc.; his website is http://www.BeauBorders.com.
Another returning event winner is Darin Polsley, having won the 25 Hours in 2010 in the E1 class, and also finishing 3rd in 2009 in the E2 class. In addition, Polsley brings Spec Miata experience with a 2nd place finish at the 2010 NASA Nationals, and was the 2010 SFR Region Driver of the Year. He is sponsored by Buyers Brokers Realty and Race Engineering.
Darin Polsley: “I haven’t been able to race much this year, but I have won every race I’ve run. I think joining AMG for the 25 gives me the best chance to keep that streak going.”
Woodside, CA’s Guy Laidig brings his experience as the 2011 ITE Champion in a Mazda RX7, along with a class win in the 2011 Illgen 4-hour enduro. This will be Laidig’s first 25 Hour race, but he is no stranger to endurance as a mountaineer, having summated Denali in 2006 and Aconcagua in 2008. He is sponsored by Callouette Fabricators and can be followed at http://www.twitter.com/racerrx7.
Atlanta Motorsports Group is also fielding two other cars in the event in the E1 and E0 classes. AMG is headed up by Team Owner Jason Hoover, Team Manager Tony Silva, and veteran Car Chief Mark Woodworth. The team has three Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup Championships and is headed to World Challenge next season with Mazda.
Posted by Todd on 11/29 at 09:38 PM
Lamb, Lliteras, and Webb to drive for AMG at 13 Hours of VIR
Atlanta Motorsports Group (AMG) will be competing for the first time at the Bob Huff Memorial Charge of the Headlight Brigade 13 hour endurance race at Virginia International Raceway on October 29th. Drivers Todd Lamb, Michael Lliteras, and Kyle Webb will be competing for a class win in a newly prepped AMG Mazda.
Because the race has an open tire rule, teams are allowed to run whichever tire they choose. AMG will be running their Spec Miata on BFGoodrich tires, as BFG’s have proven to be an exceptional tire for the team in Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup competition. As well, the team is running Cobalt Friction brake pads, which is a testament to the low wear characteristics of Cobalt’s XR3 compound pad.
Todd Lamb has been involved with AMG for several years, winning the MX-5 Cup championship with the team in 2009, and coaching/driving with the team for the past 2 years. Lamb, from Atlanta, GA, won the Charge of the Headlight Brigade when he last competed in the event in 2008, co-driving with Andrew Caddell and Dwight Kelly. Since then he has competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona in Rolex GT and numerous endurance races in Grand Am competition on behalf of Mazdaspeed.
Michael Lliteras is a veteran kart racer, and has been racing Spec Miatas for the past two seasons, finishing second in the Teen Mazda Challenge series. Lliteras is a sophomore at Cardinal Gibbons High School in his hometown of Ft Lauderdale, FL, taking advanced and honors classes in preparation for working on a mechanical engineering degree in college. To prepare for the event, Lliteras has run numerous laps on the iRacing simulator.
Kyle Webb is relatively new to racing but his talent, dedication, and ability to learn quickly have allowed him to score his first wins in Spec Miata this season. As a resident of Dayton, OH, Webb races at Mid Ohio frequently but has done many track days at VIR in the past. This is his first venture into endurance racing, but he is already making plans for other events in the future.
Driver Todd Lamb: “I’m looking forward to being back in a Spec Miata at VIR - one of my favorite race tracks in the country. It will be fun to run with Kyle and Michael for the first time, as well as coaching them throughout the race weekend. We should have quite a bit of grip with the BFG’s so I may have to adapt a bit to what I have come to expect from these spec cars. AMG puts together a great car and with the pro crew I think we’ll have an advantage over some of the other teams, but either way the entry list looks like a who’s who of racing so it’s not going to be easy.”
Team Owner Jason Hoover: “This is AMG’s first shot at the 13 Hours, but I feel we are well prepared after several winning runs at the 25 Hour event. We have two cars entered into the event with two Mazdaspeed ladder drivers, so our other drivers have good mentors to coach them through their first endurance events. The team is looking forward to representing Mazda, BFG, and Cobalt and hopefully furthering their marketing efforts with a win. “
About AMG
Atlanta Motorsports Group is based in Atlanta, GA. AMG competes in the Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup series and also supports various teams in Grand Am and World Challenge competition. AMG has won the MX-5 Cup championship the past three years, and won the Team Award in 2011. The team has several wins at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill as well as a National Championship at the SCCA Runoffs. AMG is currently planning for the 2012 season in MX-5 Cup and other forms of professional racing, as well as finalizing driver lineups for the upcoming 25 Hours of Thunderhill in December. For more information email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Posted by Todd on 10/27 at 09:00 PM
October 2011 Blog
It’s been a while since I updated my blog. I took some time off to reconnect with my friends in Atlanta and overall just focus on making 2012 the best it could be.
However things are already starting in the off-season. I recently went up to Brainerd, MN to race with AMG in the Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup series doubleheader. I’d never been to Brainerd so I figured it would be a good opportunity to try on a new track.
The first race we struggled to get the setup right on the car with the new BFG tires. We got close and I wound up with a third place finish. For the second race, we got the car dialed in much better and I qualified second. On the standing start, I got a great launch and led into the first turn. It was a mad scramble up front as it started to rain in the first few laps. Eventually I found myself the only car out on slicks while the rest of the field pitted for rain tires. I finished second on slicks to my teammate on rain tires - the 2011 series champion, Michael Cooper. Congrats to Michael on a great season, and congrats to AMG for the third championship in a row and the team award! Congratulations are also in order for Scott Shelton, series Rookie of the Year, who ran with AMG as well.
I was able to attend the series awards banquet in Atlanta after Petit Le Mans, and it was great to socialize with the folks from Mazda, BFG, and other teams in a relaxed setting. And of course, Deanna and Pilar from Playboy made for some lovely scenery as always.
Just after the start of the Petit Le Mans race, I actually started a different kind of event. The 24 Hours of Booty at Stone Mountain in Atlanta is a charity bike ride that raises funds for the Lance Armstrong Foundation to find a cure for cancer. I joined Team Pirate Treasure to ride in the event, and rode with over 400 other riders who rasied $220,000 for the cause. What a great accomplishment!
And now I’m in the midst of planning for the off-season endurance races. I’ll be running with AMG at the 13 Hours of VIR in a Spec Miata – we’re going for the class win with a fast, reliable car. As well, I’m in the planning stages for the 25 Hours of Thunderhill, with a few different options on the table.
2012 is looking to shape up really well in Grand Am competition, with some options opening up in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge series in both ST and GS….soon there will be some tough decisions to make regarding teams/cars/drivers. Hopefully things will be sorted out in time for some pre-season testing.
Don’t forget to follow me on FaceBook (/toddspeed) and Twitter (toddspeed) for frequent updates.
Posted by Todd on 10/04 at 02:59 PM
April 2011 Blog
I had the opportunity to re-enter Grand Am competition and co-drive with a friend of mine from Spec Miata, Skip Brock, during his first ever Grand Am race at his home track in AL. Skip and I partnered up with APR Motorsport to drive the ST #161 VW GTI in Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge.
Skip did a great job getting up to speed, in the process learning a lot about pro racing with front wheel drive, high pressure driver changes, autograph sessions, ABS braking systems, and the unique feel of FWD cars. I was able to go out in the first practice session and set the fastest time for the majority of the session, until we were bumped to second fastest by the eventual race winning Kia.
Our race ended early with a motor issue, but we had a lot of fun. It was nice to have the support of the Spec Miata racers from OPM Autosports, with many drivers in attendance to cheer us on. For me personally it was great to be back in Grand Am competition. I have a lot of discussions in the works with various teams to run the next race at VIR and other upcoming races this season. Things are looking promising!
Here is some in-car video from the weekend at Barber Motorsports Park:#161 Video
Photos from the weekend are here: Gallery
Special thanks to APR, Skip Brock, and Cobalt Friction for the opportunity to represent them for the weekend.
Posted by Todd on 04/15 at 05:12 PM
Conti Report - Season Ending
We’ve had a very trying time at i-MOTO with development of the Mazdaspeed3 since my last report following Mid Ohio, and I wasn’t ready (or quite frankly in the right frame of mind) to do much writing until we had something positive to report. Alas, after success at the recent Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race in Utah, happy days are here again!
We approached the race at New Jersey Motorsports Park in July with much excitement and enthusiasm. Indeed, the weekend started off right as I was able to set fastest time in the #31 Cybernation/Cobalt Friction Mazdaspeed3 during the first practice session. But in the very next session unknown engine issues begin, and subsequently caused us to miss the rest of the weekend. It was as if someone had flipped a switch, and the cars suddenly wouldn’t rev past 5500rpm. The i-MOTO crew was merciless in attempting to troubleshoot the issue, with SpeedSource, Team Sahlen’s, and a cast of Mazda engineers and mechanics giving their advice on troubleshooting and diagnosis.
Unfortunately, the problem was very elusive. Despite spending the past few months testing, swapping parts, logging engine data, rewiring, and otherwise pulling out our collective hair trying to find the cause and solution, we got nowhere. I even went so far as to buy a Mazdaspeed3 as a daily driver, and we used my car to assist in the diagnosis. We had to miss arguably one of the most fun races of the season at Trois Rivieres. This was a big disappointment to our Canadian driver Taylor Hacquard, as well as to the rest of the team.
We loaded up the cars, still undiagnosed, and headed out to Miller Motorsports Park in Utah for the season finale, hoping that further troubleshooting might lead to some conclusions. After swapping more parts on the test day, with the belief that sooner or later we’d find the answer, we ended the test day with the same issue, a cut off at 5500rpm.
We decided to head to the dyno late that night for further part swaps and diagnosis. At one point, someone suggested we pop the hood and observe the engine movement under load. Sure enough, to our amazement, we watched as the intake hose collapsed at 5500rpm and cut off the air supply to the engine! There was much cheering and back slapping as we identified the problem and worked on a solution for the following morning’s practice sessions.
And that was the end of our engine issues – a simple hose that had been heat soaked and fatigued under the stresses of racing.
We started off fourth fastest in the first practice session, and my co-driver Glenn Bocchino hopped in the #31 Mazdaspeed3 with an unproven setup to qualify second on race day. Taylor Hacquard started the race sixth in the #32 Mazdaspeed3; both Glenn and Taylor were in the fight for the lead during the opening stint of the race.
Pierre Kleinubing brought the #32 home in fifth place, a top finish on the season for both i-MOTO and the Mazdaspeed3. The #31 suffered teething issues while I was behind the wheel, and we’re already working on solutions for that.
All in all, it was a very difficult development season for i-MOTO. Certainly not the typical results the team is used to, but we are confident that with the promise that we ended the season with, we will be able to reap the rewards in 2011 and hopefully bring home a manufacturer’s championship for Mazda to match the GT championships (driver & manufacturer) that SpeedSource won this year.
I have to give special thanks to team owner Glenn Bocchino for the opportunity to drive with i-MOTO this season, and of course to the crew for forging ahead during late nights of development. Crew Chief Tom Badger probably works harder that any person I’ve ever met. Also thanks to technical partners Custom Performance Engineering, DPtune, SpeedSource and Cobalt Friction.
Mazda deserves special recognition for their efforts in putting the pieces in place to make the Mazdaspeed3 a contender in Grand Am competition. John Doonan, Steve Sanders, Jim Jordan, Robert Davis, Tod Kaneko, Tim Buck, James Painter, and a host of others at Mazda are working hard behind the scenes to make Mazda a success both on and off the racetrack.
i-MOTO competed in the World Challenge event at Miller Motorsports Park a few weeks ago and Pierre Kleinubing finished 2nd with a lot of extra REWARDS ballast on board. Now the R&D for 2011 begins in earnest, along with a Grand Am test at Homestead the end of November.
I recently had the opportunity to take part in the 24 Hours of Booty here in my hometown of Atlanta. The event is a 24 hour bike ride to raise funds for the Lance Armstrong Foundation and local cancer organizations - a cause that hits close to home as the racing community recently lost racer Tim Nickel to cancer. It was great to ride alongside many cancer survivors and people supporting cancer research. I’ll be back to ride again in 2011, and I hope we can get a full team of racers to ride as well. Check out the website at http://www.24hoursofbooty.org
Grand Am has released the preliminary 2011 schedule, and it is great to see the series is returning to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca next year. Test Days and the first race of the 2011 season at Daytona are just around the corner, and planning is in progress for i-MOTO to campaign three Mazdaspeed3’s at the season opener in January!
See you there!
Posted by Todd on 11/03 at 01:20 PM
