2008 Season Recap - Anthony Magagnoli - #007 KP
While I had a lot of fun last season, I also had an incredible series of bad luck, especially at the end of last season.
I started off the 2008 BMWCCA Club Racing series with a penalty at VIR that I thought would keep me from making a run at the championship. While I didn’t think a 20 point penalty was reasonable for going off by myself in practice and nosing a tire barrier, I’d have to work back from that deficit.
At Oktoberfest at Watkins Glen, our biggest race of the year, I pulled off wins in 2-of-3 races (I broke an axle in the 3rd), among the largest field we've ever seen in K-Prepared, and all the fastest guys were there. The points from those finishes launched me back into contention for the championship.
I went to Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham and just had to finish 1 of the 3 races. I broke a rocker arm in the first qualifying session and spent the day and night replacing it. On the next day, the motor totally blew up 1/2 a lap from counting as a finished race for me. I was 1/2 a freakin lap away from the championship!
I had a new motor built (to SpecE30 regulation, so basically stock) and installed over the next few weeks and went down to Roebling Road, in Savannah, GA, to take one last shot at the national championship. I brought in a soon-to-be pro driver, Mike Skeen, to co-drive with me. I planned to both to learn from him and figured he’d help me out in the enduro. There were a few quick KP cars in presence.
In Friday practice, I felt I had the speed to win, but I had an issue with the motor. It ended up being the Air Flow Meter. I had suspected it before, so I had a spare on hand. When I changed it, I needed to confirm it before qualifying, so I went out on the road with Katy and pulled through a couple gears a few times. It was fixed.
Unfortunately, when I got back to the track, a neighbor had come by, all irate over the noise and the speed at which I went by his house. Keep in mind that my car is street legal, registered, and insured. Well, they somehow came to the conclusion that I should be booted from the track, and there was nothing I could do about it. I couldn't race, and it left me in 2nd place nationally for the season.
What a way to go, huh?
I am the North Central K-Prepared Regional Champion for the 2nd year in a row.
I ended up 2nd in the K-Prepared National Championship, improving from 3rd in 2007.
I looked back on the 2008 season and saw that I had done everything that I had intended to do. My outright wins at Oktoberfest against the fastest guys left me feeling like I had proven myself. Here come the “what if’s?”… If it wasn’t for the penalty at VIR, I would’ve secured the championship after Oktoberfest. If I had blown the motor ½ a lap later, I would’ve secured the championship after Barber. If I hadn’t had a stupid incident at Roebling, well, that would have been some good racing! I was ready to move on…
Thanks for keeping up on my racing this year and thanks to all those who have supported me on and off the track!
-Anthony Magagnoli
Showing posts with label Barber Motorsports Park. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barber Motorsports Park. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Barber Motorsports Park
I am in disbelief…
Going into this North American Challenge event, I sat 2nd in the National Championship for K-Prepared. I had no one challenging me in class and all I needed to do was to finish 50% of the laps in ONE of the races (they were all worth 150% points) in order to secure the K-Prepared National Title. That should’ve been pretty easy…
In qualifying for the 90 minute Enduro on Saturday, I noticed the motor sounding rough in high rpms and it eventually lost some power, so I brought it in. I pulled the valve cover and spark plugs and found I had fouled a plug. While I sent my friend Eric to buy some plugs, I decided to gap the valves with my friend Julie (they were helping crew for the weekend). When I got to the #2 cylinder intake rocker, I noticed a LOT of play. Upon a closer look, the wear pad where the rocker contacts the cam lobe was worn completely down. I wouldn't be able to run the enduro that day, so I set to work on that with the help of Chuck Baader, who was paddocked next to me, as well as Eric, Julie, and a guy Leslie from work who had come to watch the race. We worked the whole afternoon and by the time we were kicked out at 7pm, it was put back together with a replacement rocker arm. We just needed to refill the radiator and top off the oil. We finished that in the morning and the car ran, but I knew the motor was hurt.
I went out in qualifying, shifting at no more than 5,000 rpm. I was slow, but I confirmed that it ran. The session was black-flagged after 3 laps for an incident, so we all went into the pits. I was going to go back out, but I decided to pull it in while it was still running. I pulled the valve cover again to look things over. Everything seemed ok. I just needed to nurse it through 50% of the first race…
I started the race from the back of the field. It was frustrating to shift at only 5,000 rpm, but after a couple laps I was ok with it and having a little fun with a couple other cars at the back of the field. I could hear a valve tick on the few left hand turns, which would have indicated oil starvation. I previously suspected a problem with the oil-sprayer that keeps the rockers and cam lubricated… On the 4th lap, coming out of the hairpin, the motor blew with a light bang and a huge plume of white smoke out the tailpipe. As it died, I coasted as far as I could, but I was only half-way around the track. I watched the race from over the fence until I was pulled in at the end.
Looking at the race results, I had finished 4 laps and the lead BMW’s had finished 10. Had I completed the lap that I was on, I would have completed 50% of the laps and the race would have counted for me. I was a HALF A LAP away from the National Championship.
I have one more chance at winning the championship and that is at Roebling Road, outside of Savannah, GA, in December. There will be some fast guys in my class there and I’ll have to either win the non-feature race, or place 2nd or 1st in the Feature race in order to still win the championship… By 1 point. Its going to be a lot harder than “simply finishing” a race. Stay tuned…
Going into this North American Challenge event, I sat 2nd in the National Championship for K-Prepared. I had no one challenging me in class and all I needed to do was to finish 50% of the laps in ONE of the races (they were all worth 150% points) in order to secure the K-Prepared National Title. That should’ve been pretty easy…
In qualifying for the 90 minute Enduro on Saturday, I noticed the motor sounding rough in high rpms and it eventually lost some power, so I brought it in. I pulled the valve cover and spark plugs and found I had fouled a plug. While I sent my friend Eric to buy some plugs, I decided to gap the valves with my friend Julie (they were helping crew for the weekend). When I got to the #2 cylinder intake rocker, I noticed a LOT of play. Upon a closer look, the wear pad where the rocker contacts the cam lobe was worn completely down. I wouldn't be able to run the enduro that day, so I set to work on that with the help of Chuck Baader, who was paddocked next to me, as well as Eric, Julie, and a guy Leslie from work who had come to watch the race. We worked the whole afternoon and by the time we were kicked out at 7pm, it was put back together with a replacement rocker arm. We just needed to refill the radiator and top off the oil. We finished that in the morning and the car ran, but I knew the motor was hurt.
I went out in qualifying, shifting at no more than 5,000 rpm. I was slow, but I confirmed that it ran. The session was black-flagged after 3 laps for an incident, so we all went into the pits. I was going to go back out, but I decided to pull it in while it was still running. I pulled the valve cover again to look things over. Everything seemed ok. I just needed to nurse it through 50% of the first race…
I started the race from the back of the field. It was frustrating to shift at only 5,000 rpm, but after a couple laps I was ok with it and having a little fun with a couple other cars at the back of the field. I could hear a valve tick on the few left hand turns, which would have indicated oil starvation. I previously suspected a problem with the oil-sprayer that keeps the rockers and cam lubricated… On the 4th lap, coming out of the hairpin, the motor blew with a light bang and a huge plume of white smoke out the tailpipe. As it died, I coasted as far as I could, but I was only half-way around the track. I watched the race from over the fence until I was pulled in at the end.
Looking at the race results, I had finished 4 laps and the lead BMW’s had finished 10. Had I completed the lap that I was on, I would have completed 50% of the laps and the race would have counted for me. I was a HALF A LAP away from the National Championship.
I have one more chance at winning the championship and that is at Roebling Road, outside of Savannah, GA, in December. There will be some fast guys in my class there and I’ll have to either win the non-feature race, or place 2nd or 1st in the Feature race in order to still win the championship… By 1 point. Its going to be a lot harder than “simply finishing” a race. Stay tuned…
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