Brian Lock Takes Third at the Hankook USTCC Round 1
03-17-2005, 08:16 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Scotts Valley, CA
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Car Info: #93 Koni Challegne Subaru Legacy GT, 96 Impreza L
Brian Lock Takes Third at the Hankook USTCC Round 1
3/13/2005 Fontana, CA – The teams in the Hankook US Touring Car Championship did battle for the first time in Southern California with the first round of the series this weekend at California Speedway. New cars, new rules, and new sponsor support made this the most anticipated USTCC opener since the series started in 2000. 21 teams representing 6 manufacturers were on hand to begin their quest for the 2005 Championship, and the weekend did not disappoint.
For Brian Lock and the crew of GOTO:Racing, the season seemed to start out on cold tires. Friday’s pre-race testing failed to yield much more than a blown radiator hose and an ailing timing belt. Parts were flown in from Santa Cruz Subaru, and arrived early Saturday morning, forcing the crew out of bed in the wee hours of the morning to get the WRX ready for the day.
Saturday morning was cool and visibility was a problem as the morning sessions had a heavy fog sitting over the track. Lock was out on track for only a minute when he reported that he was boosting only 8psi, instead of the normal 14.7. A neglected sensor connection was suspected since engine work had just recently performed that morning, but upon a visit to the hot pits for inspection, the crew found nothing amiss, and the WRX was retired to the paddock. The problem continued to elude the team for the first qualifying session, placing them in an uncharacteristic 10th position.
Just before Saturday’s practice race, a solution was found when the crew got ahold of a scan tool and was able to get at the ecu codes for the troubled turbo. Lock took the rolling start of the practice race with full boost at his command. The team was hoping for some good fast laps, and hopefully some feedback as to how the car was handling. This was not to be, as an SU entry would make contact with the Subaru on the first lap. The impact caused immediate alignment and braking problems, and the team was once again forced to retire a session early for repairs.
Sunday morning’s practice finally went well. Lock was able to get the car into the open and get some handling feedback for his crew. The new Hankook tires were performing well, but the car had some snap oversteer issues. The problem was first corrected with a toe adjustment, until loosening upright locators were found to actually be at fault. With the problem corrected, Lock was able to do much better in the Sunday qualifying, and took the 3rd spot.
Sunday afternoon, and Race time had finally come. The atmosphere was electric as fans filled the bleaches to see the start of the first USTCC race of the year. Never before had so many cars been so close to the pole time, a position occupied by Tom Lepper in the Special Projects Acura Integra, and everyone knew this would be a race to remember.
The standing start caught a lot of drivers, rusty from the long winter, off their guard. Tom Lepper didn’t get away like the rest of the field thought, and they were forced to swerve around him. Lock, not yet tuned to his new clutch, nearly stalled the car, but recovered quickly and was able to get enough power to the road to pass Lepper and Hotchkiss in his Toyota Celica to chase Meris into turn 1. The rest of the field went three wide into the first turn, with Jeff Lepper making a run on the front of the field with his new Dodge SRT. Jeff Lepper was able to pass Meris and Lock into the 3rd turn, while Lock managed to squeeze under Meris at the same time, taking 2nd place behind Jeff.
The first few laps had too many changes to keep track of. The field was tight and every position was being contested, but by lap 3, things were stabilizing, and Lock was in a battle for 2nd with Meris with Jeff Lepper a few seconds ahead. While trying to make his way through slower traffic, Lock locked up his brakes and severely flat-spotted two of his tires. This was what Meris had been waiting for. He hounded Lock and his ailing car, until he was able to sneek underneath into the final turn.
Lock gathered his senses and battled back, running his fastest laps times of the weekend with the damaged tires and hitting over 145mph in his pursuit of Meris. Meris was eventually was forced to push too hard, and a poorly timed shift caused a fatal over-rev. Meris slowed with a damaged engine, and Lock began his pursuit of Jeff Lepper and the Dodge.
His battle with Meris had brought him within sight of Lepper, and he was making ground during these last few laps. From somewhere in the field, Tom Lepper had found his way back to the front, and was now 5 seconds behind the chase for the lead. When the white flag fell, Tom Lepper decided it was time to make a move. He moved into the draft of the WRX through California Speedway’s high banks. Lock later described the pass that lost him 2nd place. “All of the sudden, Tom was there, he literally came out of nowhere. I knew he was going to try to pass me into the first braking zone. Even in normal conditions, I knew he could out-brake me, and with my tires flat-spotted, my only choice was to drive the defensive inside line. He went outside and got position on my right instead, but it was enough to win the next straight away. After that, he was gone.”
The race ended with the Lepper family in 1st and 2nd, followed closely by Lock in 3rd and Dave Brown in the Opak RSX taking the runner-up spot. “The series is totally different now,” said GOTO:Racing Founder Chris Lock after witnessing the tight battles, “It used to be that if you bought a fast car and had a decent driver, you could get a USTCC podium. Now, with the quality of the efforts we saw today, that might only be good enough to get you a top ten position. The teams are going to have to work a lot harder this year on tuning and executing at the track if they hope to win races. Our team went above and beyond this weekend, and I am glad they are going to be rewarded with a trophy from this historical event.”
*****
GOTO:Racing is in it's 4th year of road race competition in Northern California. Along with building the fastest Hondas in the region, GOTO:Racing is the main suppliers of roll cages and safety fabrication to the Norcal Honda Challenge Series. Now interested in moving upward from its Grassroots origin, the team has set new goals for itself in Road Racing. "As a business, I’d like to see GOTO:Racing's work in more cars and series, and the quality of the work recognized. This is already starting to happen, but having a car in USTCC is still a great way to gain exposure." Says Co-Founder Chris Lock, "But in the end, we are racers, and our aspirations are more competitive then entrepreneurial. In the near future, I would like to continue the legacy Brian left, and dominate H4 with our Integra and delSol. I also want to continue our success at NASA's 25 Hour enduro, and someday land the overall win. Of course, we want Brian to win a USTCC Championship, and as for plans on the horizon, I see us hitting a Grand-Am race or two this year, provided we can get the WRX up to speed. If we continue to chance upon opportunity and exploit the talents of this team, who knows what we might accomplish."
For Brian Lock and the crew of GOTO:Racing, the season seemed to start out on cold tires. Friday’s pre-race testing failed to yield much more than a blown radiator hose and an ailing timing belt. Parts were flown in from Santa Cruz Subaru, and arrived early Saturday morning, forcing the crew out of bed in the wee hours of the morning to get the WRX ready for the day.
Saturday morning was cool and visibility was a problem as the morning sessions had a heavy fog sitting over the track. Lock was out on track for only a minute when he reported that he was boosting only 8psi, instead of the normal 14.7. A neglected sensor connection was suspected since engine work had just recently performed that morning, but upon a visit to the hot pits for inspection, the crew found nothing amiss, and the WRX was retired to the paddock. The problem continued to elude the team for the first qualifying session, placing them in an uncharacteristic 10th position.
Just before Saturday’s practice race, a solution was found when the crew got ahold of a scan tool and was able to get at the ecu codes for the troubled turbo. Lock took the rolling start of the practice race with full boost at his command. The team was hoping for some good fast laps, and hopefully some feedback as to how the car was handling. This was not to be, as an SU entry would make contact with the Subaru on the first lap. The impact caused immediate alignment and braking problems, and the team was once again forced to retire a session early for repairs.
Sunday morning’s practice finally went well. Lock was able to get the car into the open and get some handling feedback for his crew. The new Hankook tires were performing well, but the car had some snap oversteer issues. The problem was first corrected with a toe adjustment, until loosening upright locators were found to actually be at fault. With the problem corrected, Lock was able to do much better in the Sunday qualifying, and took the 3rd spot.
Sunday afternoon, and Race time had finally come. The atmosphere was electric as fans filled the bleaches to see the start of the first USTCC race of the year. Never before had so many cars been so close to the pole time, a position occupied by Tom Lepper in the Special Projects Acura Integra, and everyone knew this would be a race to remember.
The standing start caught a lot of drivers, rusty from the long winter, off their guard. Tom Lepper didn’t get away like the rest of the field thought, and they were forced to swerve around him. Lock, not yet tuned to his new clutch, nearly stalled the car, but recovered quickly and was able to get enough power to the road to pass Lepper and Hotchkiss in his Toyota Celica to chase Meris into turn 1. The rest of the field went three wide into the first turn, with Jeff Lepper making a run on the front of the field with his new Dodge SRT. Jeff Lepper was able to pass Meris and Lock into the 3rd turn, while Lock managed to squeeze under Meris at the same time, taking 2nd place behind Jeff.
The first few laps had too many changes to keep track of. The field was tight and every position was being contested, but by lap 3, things were stabilizing, and Lock was in a battle for 2nd with Meris with Jeff Lepper a few seconds ahead. While trying to make his way through slower traffic, Lock locked up his brakes and severely flat-spotted two of his tires. This was what Meris had been waiting for. He hounded Lock and his ailing car, until he was able to sneek underneath into the final turn.
Lock gathered his senses and battled back, running his fastest laps times of the weekend with the damaged tires and hitting over 145mph in his pursuit of Meris. Meris was eventually was forced to push too hard, and a poorly timed shift caused a fatal over-rev. Meris slowed with a damaged engine, and Lock began his pursuit of Jeff Lepper and the Dodge.
His battle with Meris had brought him within sight of Lepper, and he was making ground during these last few laps. From somewhere in the field, Tom Lepper had found his way back to the front, and was now 5 seconds behind the chase for the lead. When the white flag fell, Tom Lepper decided it was time to make a move. He moved into the draft of the WRX through California Speedway’s high banks. Lock later described the pass that lost him 2nd place. “All of the sudden, Tom was there, he literally came out of nowhere. I knew he was going to try to pass me into the first braking zone. Even in normal conditions, I knew he could out-brake me, and with my tires flat-spotted, my only choice was to drive the defensive inside line. He went outside and got position on my right instead, but it was enough to win the next straight away. After that, he was gone.”
The race ended with the Lepper family in 1st and 2nd, followed closely by Lock in 3rd and Dave Brown in the Opak RSX taking the runner-up spot. “The series is totally different now,” said GOTO:Racing Founder Chris Lock after witnessing the tight battles, “It used to be that if you bought a fast car and had a decent driver, you could get a USTCC podium. Now, with the quality of the efforts we saw today, that might only be good enough to get you a top ten position. The teams are going to have to work a lot harder this year on tuning and executing at the track if they hope to win races. Our team went above and beyond this weekend, and I am glad they are going to be rewarded with a trophy from this historical event.”
*****
GOTO:Racing is in it's 4th year of road race competition in Northern California. Along with building the fastest Hondas in the region, GOTO:Racing is the main suppliers of roll cages and safety fabrication to the Norcal Honda Challenge Series. Now interested in moving upward from its Grassroots origin, the team has set new goals for itself in Road Racing. "As a business, I’d like to see GOTO:Racing's work in more cars and series, and the quality of the work recognized. This is already starting to happen, but having a car in USTCC is still a great way to gain exposure." Says Co-Founder Chris Lock, "But in the end, we are racers, and our aspirations are more competitive then entrepreneurial. In the near future, I would like to continue the legacy Brian left, and dominate H4 with our Integra and delSol. I also want to continue our success at NASA's 25 Hour enduro, and someday land the overall win. Of course, we want Brian to win a USTCC Championship, and as for plans on the horizon, I see us hitting a Grand-Am race or two this year, provided we can get the WRX up to speed. If we continue to chance upon opportunity and exploit the talents of this team, who knows what we might accomplish."
03-28-2005, 08:33 PM
#3
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Car Info: #93 Koni Challegne Subaru Legacy GT, 96 Impreza L
Everyone take a look at the new USTCC site. www.ustcc.com. It is coming along great...
Keep an eye out for my in-car video from the race! Coming soon.
Keep an eye out for my in-car video from the race! Coming soon.
03-29-2005, 07:37 PM
#5
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There is supposed to be coverage on some tuner show on speed. I will let everyone know when it is official. And there is going to be a 30 minute "year in review" on OLN.
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