November 12, 2007

Beauchamp Debuts New Car in Top 10

Mike Beauchamp made his first appearance in 2007 and it was a weekend of firsts. Much of this season has been spent building a car to compete in the newly-created Formula 1000 class in SCCA racing. This new class combines chassis rules that are similar to those of Formula Continental with 1000cc engines removed from sportbikes. Beauchamp and his crew chief Craig Jarosinski have been busy converting a Van Diemen RF93 chassis, which is similar to the car Beauchamp used to win the 2004 regional championship. The conversion involves removing the 2.0 liter engine and gearbox and adapting a Yamaha R1 engine, the chain drive, and a specially designed differential. The car was completed just days before leaving for Road Atlanta.

The car's debut would be at the American Road Race of Champions held this past weekend at the famed Road Atlanta circuit. This would be the first time the unproven car would see a race track, and the first time Beauchamp would see this race track.

The pre-event practice day would be mostly to learn the track and also provide an opportunity for Jarosinski and the team to evaluate the reliability of the new design. Early in the day, there was a problem with the engine. Below 10,000 rpm it would sputter run poorly. Once it reached 10,000 rpm it would rev cleanly and strongly right up to the 11,700 rpm redline. After changing a carb setting and rerouting some vent lines, the engine was cured and pulled smoothly from any rpm. There was also a problem with the rear sprocket bolts loosening up but a quick modification to the differential overnight also cured that problem and the car would be ready for qualifying.

Due to the repairs during the practice day,Beauchamp was not as familiar with the challenging track as he would've liked and ended up gridded 11th after qualifying with a disappointing lap of 1:32.1. The race would be conservative to keep the car in one piece and continue learning the track. At the start, Beauchamp kept his position and made it through the first lap cleanly and settled into a groove. On the fifth lap, a major incident brought out the black flag and the field was parked on pit lane for nearly 40 minutes while the workers cleared the track. When the green flag flew it was more of the same. Beauchamp continued learning the track, staying out of trouble, and getting some valuable test time on the new car. He even picked up a couple positions and finished 9th. "The reliability of the new car exceeded all of our expectations. We're now in a position that we can hit the ground running next season and start developing the car right away," said Beauchamp.

Beauchamp will start the 2008 campaign at a track that he's more familiar with so the team can focus on setting the car up. The first event will be in May, 2008 at Blackhawk Farms.