Jacob Meggers, our very own Punk Rock Chef has finished his recap video for the team, here’s a quick idea of how the weekend went,, at Punk Rock Speed!
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Flickr Photos
Whew,, we made it!!! (well so far)
So we’re now ensconsed in that which is Altamont Motorsports Park.
It is a crazy sight that is just tough to manage, so here are a few word based snippets (having trouble linking the video right now).
Pimps and Ho’s, the ride, a sweet CRX and their crazy crew (the video is awesome) they had one heck of an entrance at tech.
Everyone has been so nice to each other (wait till we all get on the track)
Every kind of car, with every prep level,, from tight paint masking and nascar level trim, to cars that looked like they were dropped off a cliff to look better.
Finding people you already know, (and didn’t know they were into lemons racing)
Getting to meet the famous Murilee of Jalopnik in person finally (after talking via phone and email for so long).
The owner over at AltaMont Motorsports Park, John,, a great guy! He took me for a ride around the track and showed me what’s where this afternoon (shhhhh!!!) Genuinely cares about getting people good information, being safe, and having a great time. His car is he and a bunch of first time lemons people (and they’ve got a supermodified wing on a miata!)
I’m bushed and have forgotten things all through the day (like to eat) so I’m going to do that now. If you see this post with any video,, it’s cause I finally got it to work.
Oh yeah, and the best news of all,,,
WE PASSED TECH INSPECTION!!!!
We’ll see you at altamont with an operational car!
Yes, we’re operational. Subscribe to us over at Youtube. Have fun ignoring it! (watch the next video!)
Altamont-The Track Map,, Seriously
Here’s what John says to do (I’d take his word for it!)
Cars exit from the pit-paddock area (Pit Out) just before T3 on the 1/2-mile oval and the track runs counterclockwise. Banking at T3 is 12 degrees and 11 degrees at T4. The LeMons track turns back into T4 of the integrated 1/4-mile oval which is 8 degrees, but because you’re now running the 1/4-mile track backwards, the corner is waaaaaaay off-camber. This corner is called “The Bank.” Up the 1/4-mile banking into “The Loop” (that Mickey Mouse looking ear between the two ovals) which is a double-apex corner, and getting this right is critical to owning the infield of the course. Exiting “The Loop” brings you back onto the 1/4-mile at the entrance to T3… again, you’re running backwards onto the back-straight to the transition is waaaaaaaaay off camber as you drop down. It’s trickier than it looks at speed but when there’s a lot of cars and traffic, any line will do — just get through it unscathed. If you can do it at speed, it depends on what kind of car you have. Rear engined cars (like my Porsche Turbo) hate the off-camber and slide all the way to San Jose before they stop. In my GTA car, (550 HP) the torque pulls me out of the off-camber roll okay but the power curve is short in order to get set up for the next corner. Front wheel drive cars are point and shoot… don’t lift… and trail-brake into the right-hander. It’s a quick reverse of vehicle dynamics for the sharp right-hander into “The X” and by the middle of the “X” get far right for the exit out of “The X” onto the front straight of the 1/2-mile (4 degree banking). T1 on the 1/2-mile usually has a man-made chicane to keep everyone honest. Out of T2 (on the 1/2-mile banking), the basic line is stay high to make an easy and fast transition into “The Esses.” However, staying low is the defensive line to block the entry apex. The esses can make you or break you. Most drivers screw these up so bad that I have passed three cars in our Miata before they know what hit them. The key: slow in and fast out. Too fast in and you miss the apex… which puts your car completely out of sorts and in the dirt. Slow in, hit the first two apexes solidly, then short shift to pick up the power curve for the exit. This should give your drivers a basic understanding of what to expect. BTW – in the Miata, we do 20 up-and-down shifts a lap, from 1st to 4th and back again.”All the best –John CondrenTeam Heavy Downforce and somewhat associated with AMP
UMIGO karting, green track and a good time now open in Livermore
Ok, so they’re not open till Wednesday the 23rd of so. Those Fire Marshalls are sticklers, but of course for good reason.
Mike, Shaun (our San Diegan), and yours truly (Fred) went on Saturday night to try out the new track, and to try out our driving gear. Here’s the results from driving, and of our gear.
In terms of UMIGO Karting, it’s on the north side of the Lawrence Livermore Labs
6538 Patterson Pass Road in Livermore
First of,, the track is HUGE!!! A lap runs over a minute!
The fastest lap of our group was half a second under a minute at full tilt. It’s that big!
When the grip comes in, I’d look to lap times nearing 50 seconds, possibly even as low as 45! For the distance travelled, it’s really something.
The karts are great! Electric start, Big red kill switch on top, and plenty of speed.
The parking is cake (all you East Bay folks, don’t worry, just come on down, you’ll always fit in the lot, and the security is top notch (there’s a national lab across the street with high level security doing driving sweeps often, you’ll be plenty safe!)
Best of all, it’s simply a great time! Click this link for more pictures of our time at UMIGO Racing in Livermore. 
Incident Report: Status, awesome! (we had a great time Karting last night)
Three Fifths’ of Scuderia Punk Rock Chef showed up last night to Go Kart Racer in Burlingame last night for a sustained pummeling.
We with our silly bodies made of flesh, stuffed in fiberglass skull bubbles, and view ports made of polycarbonate , while we sheathed ourselves in Nomex, Nylon, and leather, ready for 50 minutes of intense G-force induced bliss,, or maybe it was just me.
It was Mike, Jukka, and Fred (that’s me), ready to roll (once we all arrived,, ugh, crossing the bay can be quite a trifle). I myself took almost two hours to arrive, same for Jukka, so we were tense upon arrival, Mike made it all ok with the addition of the local fare,, In n Out Burger (if you’re not a Californian, you wouldn’t understand,, magical hamburgers,, mmm, (best secret, animal style fries!)).
But you’re not reading this for the burgers, you want to hear we piled up on the side of the road and crashed willy nilly into the walls.
Sorry to disappoint, but we did fine. Jukka did have to suffer through an ill handling car, but the three of us came through with flying colors. It was a fun test of fitness and rubber depletion. I’d post all the pics, but its a little hard to hold a camera going through the corners.
Best of all we got to try out some of the gear we’ll be driving Lemons with. Knowledge is power!
Murilee does it again, we’re paid up, and the cage is on the way!
So special “friend of team” Murilee Martin at Jalopnik (he’s not special in that needs a helmet way, more of a “helpful human who is cool way”) . Though yes, at the race we will have a picture of Murilee in a helmet (maybe even when he’s racing!) Murilee has found on one of his many junkyard forays (I’m surprised they haven’t offered him a yearly pass, no one goes there more, or sends them more traffic!)
We’ve got a new bumper sticker up (to complement the original (get it here!) (don’t worry, more to come)).
We’re paid up for the race (don’t worry Shaun, we’ll all pay ya back!)
Also, our autopower roll cage is ordered. Oh yeah,, protecting the team with the power of steel!!! Get your Autopower cage here!
Next task, to get the stuff in the Junkyard Murilee found (don’t touch it anyone else!) Also to order a race seat and safety belts.
Forza Porco!!
Tick Tock,, did we get in??? Oh yeah, and the car is in Patterson
So we wait,, not so patiently on this March 1 to see if we got in. Arrgh!! This is nervewracking!!!
Last weekend Mike and Fred brought (had the wrecker drag) the car out to Patterson and Jaime’s shop so that we can do the remainder of the work out there. The interior is stripped, but we’ve still got to find a way to get a new left rear hub so the darn thing will roll. (then little things like a hood, roll cage, and more!)
Hopefully we’ll have a big announcement soon (ok, that we’re in the race, then its safety gear buying galore!)
Wish us luck! 
Our best estimate so far of the 2008 track to be
Hmm, how close will this be? Who knows,, just food for thought. Hints here would be awesome.
ScuderiaPRC Punk Rock Chef 