Tuesday, March 17, 2009

2008 KP Season Recap

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