This is the place where you will find quick reports directly from my race weekends, plus a lot of other fun stuff going on, not always about racing.
Cheers! /Carl
Pic of the week
Grid before the race, Nordschleife 2008.
Songs to check out
1. Foo Fighters - Let it die
2. Foo Fighters - The Pretender
3. Adam Tensta - My Cool
4. Outkast - Take Off Your Cool
5. Sia - Breathe Me
Food and Drinks
1. Vino Pasta, Gothenburg, SWE
2. The Standard, Hollywood, CA
3. Redondo Beach Brewing Co, CA
4. Heaven 23, Gothenburg, SWE
5. Nic's, Bevery Hills, CA
Other things
Spot to be filled with useful content.
24H: Saturday, race (onboard video)
Sunday, May 24, 2009
In the race it was immediately obvious that our camber adjustments had done a massive impact. All of a sudden it was possible for me to hang on to and pass several cars that we were behind in qualifying. Very fun.
In short I did 1,5 stint to start, handed over the car in 25th place. Within the next two hours we had an oil/water heat exchanger that broke (almost new), the team fixed it in the shortest time possible and we went out again. Then a few hours later the clutch/bearing somehow jammed and/or started leaking, also a new assembly, and we decided to withdraw from the race and focus on upcoming races.
I can't believe having these misfortunes this year with all parts attended to, replaced, all the really careful preparations of the car. Incredibly disappointing for everyone on the team.
Pics to come. In the meantime here is an onboard video from the opening laps of the race (turn it up and use the fullscreen mode!):
Photo: J. Shin. I was doing the qualifying, and as mentioned before, there is only one shot to get it right before the track is full of cars from slower classes.
We had made some changes to the car compared to the first practice, but obviously since it rained on Thursday night it was difficult to know how good they were for dry conditions.
The team had the car out early on the qualifying grid. Pretty predictable the most hectic part of qualifying was the formation lap when everyone battled on cold or semi-cold tires, to be the first around the GP-lap, before entering the Coca Cola turn around the pits that leads out to the main straight again (this is how a timed lap at the 24H is started - so that we don't have to do a full lap on the Nordschleife to start a timed lap). My Hankook tires were great during the formation lap and I had a pretty good position to hit the Nordschleife.
With the setup changes I couldn't really push 100% on the Nordschleife (the GP track is very easy with wide margins comparably), but still had to go for it pretty hard in the fast sections and hope that the car would swallow any bumps and be balanced enough to stay on the track. Still lacked grip in low speed turns but the car was definitely alright compared to before on the bumpier parts.
Photo: J. Shin.
Some car caught fire after Schwedenkreuz and I was both lucky and unlucky to be the 3rd car behind. The first one went off on the oil, the second car sneaked by. As car number 3 behind that broken car I wanted to sneak by as well but the first Porsche that went off was aggressively working his way back onto track and I had to hold back. Good thing I did since he came flying in over the kerbs diagonally over the whole width of the track (it's not too wide) - I would have had him in my door if I had followed through behind car number 2. The logger showed 3.0 seconds lost in this section compared to a later lap.
The rest of the lap was undramatic and I came in with a 9.16, decent and a good bit closer to the fastest in our class last year. I knew though that there was still a lot to be found since I had lost a lot to the cars I followed in smooth low speed turns and in the high speed sections the car was just not as good as it could be.
I did two more laps directly following the first one just to see how grip developed. Early in my third lap I started getting oversteer in 200+ km/h turns. Back to pits to adjust the setup.
As long as there is time, there is a chance to improve the setup. Photo: J. Shin
We adjusted aero and did more work on the alignment and suspension. Looking at the data logger from a couple more test laps we first had the 3.0 second accident avoidance I mentioned above to knock off for a comparison, and we could also pick several sections on the track where I had major improvements with much higher highspeed cornering speeds.
After the final analysis of the overall lateral G we discussed with the Hankook representatives about what margins we had on the tire wear and decided to do a good bump up on the negative camber all around the car.
Our grid position became 32, just like our car number. 8th in class and 13th looking at SP6, SP7, SP8 for a reference to our position last year, means it was the team's best qualifying result so far at the Nürburgring Nordschleife (the FIA GT class SP9 GT3 that was added for this year saw several very fast cars merging in between all SP6-SP8 teams, as well as clinching pole - Ford GT SP9 GT3 - ahead of three time winner Manthey Racing's Porsche 997 RSR. Interesting and racing star-studded field to say the least.
The single best lap from two qualifying sessions determines the grid. Thu night which was the first session, it started to rain just before it was time to roll out. We had been ready with tire warmers on our Hankook slicks to roll out in front, to not be blocked on the first lap like last year (which is THE lap to set a time w/o the risk of being slowed down while lapping traffic).
Waiting in my loaner suit from Stand 21 (my personal one was in for a warranty repair). Photo: J. Shin
We decided to wait for it to dry up, or at least until there was a dry line. Setting a time in the 11min range is pointless when a little bit of dry will make most cars go below that. About halfway into this night session skies cleared up a bit and laptimes came down to within a minute of the dry practice times. We still had the slicks on and were just about to roll out to get a decent time, when the drizzling started again... quickly we got the intermediates ready but reports from around the track said lots of rain.
So we put the rains on and just did our mandatory night session laps. There were really some severe showers and as usual on the Nordschleife, different amounts of rain in every section of every lap. Now we were really needing dry weather for Friday's second qualifying.
First practice revealed that the car was at first pretty nasty to drive, too low in the rear made it hit the bump stops pretty often due to the extremely bumpy track. Naturally this was happening in high speed turns when building up a lot of lateral G and running over a bump or bumps mid turn. Car was also too understeered in smooth low speed turns. We made some adjustments on the height, tire pressures and toe angles and it got better. 9.23 with the new mandatory restrictors (= minus 70hp from last year) was actually a very good first impression from our new Hankook racing rubber. Race engineer and suspension specialist Fredrik, owner of FEKE Engineering, and I discussed a lot together with the other drivers to get the car faster in every section. Photo: J. Shin.
The Hankook Levin Racing team took the car to pre-race tech inspection today, no problems there. Here's a pic. Behind our RSR is a supercharged BMW Alpina. We'll work to keep the positions like this throughout the race weekend. Photo: M. Fasth Hankook Levin Racing
Took the City Tire / Kallusive Clothing 350Z Twin Turbo out for a drifting demo last Saturday night in San Bernardino. Ran on my old tires from Atlanta with really high tire pressure so the Hankook RS'3 smoke was massive... They got all bald and slippery since they were already worn, they got burned up in no time. Check out the video John filmed.
Thanks for watching, reading, now I am about to get on the flight to Germany, to race the #32 Hankook Levin Racing Porsche 996 GT3 RSR. Follow live timing etc on www.24h-rennen.de !
Ready to hit the mother of all racetracks, Nurburgring Nordschleife. Under the shell, there are a lot special parts necessary to cope with the mind-boggling speeds, the bumpy surface and the night racing in one of the greatest 24H races there is.
Came back from Atlanta today, eventful Formula D competition for us this time with a Fri night gearbox change, but also a lot of positives such as a super great Georgia crowd and me getting a OMT in top 32 tandem by outrunning McNamara's 6,7 litre V8 Saturn Sky.
It was very close this time that I moved up to top 16. Even though the City Tire / Kallusive Clothing 350Z is still a little bit the heavy side, it is very competitive thanks to the impressive Hankook tires and our superfast Carbonetic diff. I will link a video asap from my lead run and you will see just how good these products are. I love the Carbonetic diff btw, I can't hear it, at low speeds it never makes any fuzz or puts any noticeable strain on bushings and suspension components, I can't feel any sort of snap when it engages or disengages. It is almost funny, like I can't feel it is there. But when I go for it, it just does what it is supposed to. I'd say this was the biggest performance boost we added during the winter.
Rundown of our event:
Thu: Had some struggling with the setup during Thursday practice, car was sort of snappy. Lowered the rear end a bit, it got better but the car was still not responding well to aggressive driving. I was feeling calm for qualifying anyway.
Fri: During Fri pre-qualifying practice I had a couple decent runs but the gearbox started to give me a hard time going from 2nd to 3rd gear. This was becoming a big problem as it is much needed at this track.
During my first qualifying run I was both conservative and wanted to make a line that would allow using only 3rd gear around the horseshoe, in order to keep some momentum and drive around the gearbox issue. It wasn't very great but I just had to get a score to get into top 32 and I did. The 2nd run I wanted to try a normal run and bump up a good bit of points, went in with a good entry, hit the clipping points, better line around the horseshoe... But at the upshift 2nd to 3rd the gearbox completely refused and my run was lost.
The team started the hunt for a new gearbox and in the meantime I went to night practice (for top 32 only) to try and make something useful of using only 3rd gear around the horseshoe, I had time to make it work. However, in my second practice run, 3rd gear completely broke though, it was just like neutral.
Sat: At 5 am Saturday morning, the car had a new gearbox, with the help from a lot of parties, most of all Carey from Team Dynamics for taking the lion part changing the box for us, and Drift Emporium for helping us out with a gearbox. There are not enough ways to say thank you for the help through the blog, but it is being taken care of elsewhere, however huge props for those guys. Also huge props for Michael Essa Tech Trix and Taka Aono for having all tools and lights necessary, so we could do the job. Obvisouly also major props to City Tire John for working it all out with everyone and both him and Charlie Kallusive Clothing for staying as we all worked with Carey on through the night.
We got a few hours of sleep from 6am-10am and just after noon we arrived to the track to fill up gearbox oil. This box felt soooo much better right away.
A side note to the tranny swap, while working on that I also found something that was really off with the rear suspension, compared to how I set the car up during pre-season testing and how I had it for Long Beach. This was not how I wanted it for Road Atlanta. I fixed it and after this, the car was back to Long Beach performance again with much more grip, more smoke, more everything.
Did some good practice runs and some crazy ones to see just how far I could push the car, and some different things to vary the entry. I upped the boost in the Technoasquare VQ35 a bit to match the increased grip, Road Atlanta is tough, one needs a lot of power there, and it was hot and humid like crazy thoughout the whole weekend.
TOP32: Started top 32 against 3rd qualifier McNamara, he wasn't running at all as fast as rumors were saying. The weight difference between our cars was very obvious though coming into the first turn, man he slows down fast. But my Endless stoppers are wicked and his long e-brake ride only got me closer; knowing the sector times around the track I was feeling very confident. My only miss came later, I was getting too much on the inside around the horseshoe and I had to correct my line, this was completely my own fault.
Leading I created a gap early and I never really felt any presence of another car on the track. Later seeing the video I have no idea what he was doing. The judges voted one more time. Time to go again.
This time my tandem was closer at entry. I had a little wide first turn (I was just pushing it to - and a little past - the limit) but again with my Hankook rubber and the Cabonetic diff I had zero trouble to catch up without sacrificing too much angle. Coming out of the horseshoe, I was getting closer but unfortunately the transition down at the final turn didn't work out for me and I spun, which sucked big time (!). I felt I was getting a grip around this match, so this spin-out was a big disappointment.
My next lead run I just ran my line again but since I had spun he really just had to make sure to not get a zero. On the good side, this guy went on to win 2nd overall, losing only to Forsberg, after a One More Time there too.
Overall I am very happy about the outcome of the event. With several problems, we worked around it all and gave a podium winner a good challenge. We have learned a lot and we are making big progress each event. We are also seeing that the small improvements we make on our Hankook-shod City Tire / Kallusive Clothing 350Z each time is moving us forward step by step. And to be honest, in the tandem, there was nothing failing in the car, I was my error. I can make it a little easier for myself now by reducing the weight of the car, to at least be within a couple of hundred pounds to the competitors, but I will also make sure to get more seat time in the car before next event.
Now we are taking a short break to go to the 24 Hours of Nurburgring, where I will be racing the Hankook Levin Racing 996 GT3 RSR. During this break, the City Tire / Kallusive Clothing 350Z will be cleaned up, and as we come back there will be an intense, major weight reduction campaign and we will add some minor aero work. We also have some general stuff to do to tighten the car up. Preparation is everything.
Thanks to all who support the City Tire / Kallusive Clothing team; Hankook, Technosquare, Carbonetic, APR, Zeal, Endless, South Gate Collision, Everitt Boles Motorsports Insurance, all the awesome Georgia fans that came out and the FD and Road Atlanta organisation for another well run event. Congrats also to podium winners Forsberg, McNamara, Tuerck.
It is with great pride and excitement that I can now announce that Sweden-based Porsche team Levin Racing will partner up with Hankook Tire for the 37th ADAC Zurich 24H of Nurburgring Nordschleife. This means I and the other drivers of Hankook Levin Racing will be able to step the cornering speeds up even more for the 2009 race.
The #32 Hankook Levin Racing 996 GT3 RSR, that recently won a total 2nd place in the Toyo 12H of Hungaroring, has received a number of updates over the last couple of months to make it even more competitive and to conform with the new 24H regulations.
These regulations for all teams include a smaller tank, an inlet manifold restrictor on most high horsepower cars in the field and a special data logging system that the organizer can tap into at any given point.
For us it means that enginewise we will be even closer matched to the front running cars and gripwise it won't change more than immediately after a pit stop for fuel when the front of the car will be a bit lighter. Our performance improvements are in areas not affected by the changes in regulations, so we are looking stronger than ever.
The race takes place May 23-24, and tickets to Germany are currently very nicely prized so I suggest take the chance to go! The area around the legendary Nordschleife is really beautiful this time of year. I'll be back with more info soon. /Carl
Name: Carl Rydquist Age: 32 Home: Redondo Beach Web:CarlRydquist.com Reel:Click to watch Highlights: Winner of Swedish Endurance 8/12h GT Racing Championship (2001). Winner of Swedish Endurance 3h GT Racing Championship (2004). Winner of Zandvoort 500 (2005). Winner of Eurosport Super Racing Weekend Challenge (2001). 24 Hours of Nurburgring (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009). Memberships: FIA (intl racing license), Formula Drift, Performance Two Stunt & Precision Driving Team, Hollywood, CA.
