American Le Mans

I will be going to Laguna Seca this weekend with Cali Kid, Saturday 10th of October, to see the American Le Mans series. Really, the only reason I'm going is to see this kid race named Conor Daly (LINK), which I met at Indy MotoGP. His mother, the owner of the suit the Powerslide gang stayed in, introduced him to us, and I've been following his racing online ever since. I figured being so close to Laguna, and having an excuse to go to the track, this would be a good opportunity to go and check him out live.

If anybody is interested, here is some info:

The race will air on SPEED TV from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, October 11. Live coverage will be available via American Le Mans Radio presented by Porsche via americanlemans.com, which also will feature Living Timing & Scoring on Racehub. Live coverage also can be heard on Sirius 126 and XM 242. You can follow the Series on Twitter (almsnotes) and on our Facebook page.

I'll take a few pics so you guys can get a different perspective of the track when cars are in town.
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Cool Jum, thanks for letting us know. I hate you for living so close to Laguna.....Damn You!!!!

Say hey to the RSR Jaguar guys for me. Paul Gentilozzi is a great guy.

hope you have fun

Just got back from a great weekend. Cali Kid and I got treated to an amazing race and even more amazing was the hospitality by the suite owners we met at Indy: Beth, Conor Daly (her son) and his father Derek Daly.

Seeing cars run around Laguna was strange being that I have only gone there for motorcycle racing. I got there Friday afternoon and saw all the practices. Turns out there where several classes running this weekend and I had no clue until I read up on the event.

Conor Daly #22 had been running 3rd during practice all weekend but something broke on his car during qualifying and ended up 15th. He needed to finish 10th or better in the race to solidify his 3rd in points for season end overall standings in the championship (this race was the season finale). Making up positions would be a tall order. But this kid (he’s only 17) was very impressive. He made up positions like gangbusters, one by one throughout the race he moved forward. He ended the race in 4th!

We went down to visit before and after the race. His family is some of the nicest people one can ever meet. Seriously, I can’t overstate this point. This kid's mom and dad are stacked with racing genes, even his mom Beth, won a Novice Jet Ski World Championship in 1990. We also met Conor’s father, a man named Derek Daly. This guy is no joke; here is his site, check him out. LINK He treated us like royalty. He genuinely took the time to get to know us and was very attentive. For those who went to Indy, basically Conor’s father is like his mom, both extremely down to Earth and friendly.

I’ll add some pics when I upload them onto my computer.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jumkie @ Oct 12 2009, 10:35 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Just got back from a great weekend. Cali Kid and I got treated to an amazing race and even more amazing was the hospitality by the suite owners we met at Indy: Beth, Conor Daly (her son) and his father Derek Daly.

Seeing cars run around Laguna was strange being that I have only gone there for motorcycle racing. I got there Friday afternoon and saw all the practices. Turns out there where several classes running this weekend and I had no clue until I read up on the event.

Conor Daly #22 had been running 3rd during practice all weekend but something broke on his car during qualifying and ended up 15th. He needed to finish 10th or better in the race to solidify his 3rd in points for season end overall standings in the championship (this race was the season finale). Making up positions would be a tall order. But this kid (he’s only 17) was very impressive. He made up positions like gangbusters, one by one throughout the race he moved forward. He ended the race in 4th!

We went down to visit before and after the race. His family is some of the nicest people one can ever meet. Seriously, I can’t overstate this point. This kid's mom and dad are stacked with racing genes, even his mom Beth, won a Novice Jet Ski World Championship in 1990. We also met Conor’s father, a man named Derek Daly. This guy is no joke; here is his site, check him out. LINK He treated us like royalty. He genuinely took the time to get to know us and was very attentive. For those who went to Indy, basically Conor’s father is like his mom, both extremely down to Earth and friendly.

I’ll add some pics when I upload them onto my computer.


Man... you didn't even know who Derek Daly is? He's an ex Formula 1 driver. He sometimes appear on the F1 racing grid interviewing drivers for Speed TV.

man when you 1st talked about this when at indy the name daly rang a bell but i never made the connection... how cool is this man! very cool!!!

Ok, here are a few pics of the weekend.

...Uh WTF? I don't see the upload button.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jumkie @ Oct 13 2009, 05:53 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Ok, here are a few pics of the weekend.

...Uh WTF? I don't see the upload button.
under which rock have you been sleeping lately

ben has disabled it cause he's uploading new forum and stuff you can only use the [ img] [/ img ] thing

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Marijke @ Oct 13 2009, 09:29 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>under which rock have you been sleeping lately

ben has disabled it cause he's uploading new forum and stuff you can only use the [ img] [/ img ] thing
Ah. Well I noticed inam uploaded some pics, so I didn't think it was a prob.

What is the "[ img] [/ img ]" thing?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Jumkie @ Oct 13 2009, 06:34 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Ah. Well I noticed inam uploaded some pics, so I didn't think it was a prob.

What is the "[ img] [/ img ]" thing?
yeah inam is using the [ img ] [ / img] thing. if you let that topic load you see on the left below the adresses of where the photo's are stored. you have to upload pics on another website like photobucket or something, and insert the link between the tags get rid of all the space too and you'll see the photo

or just wait till ben puts up the new forum

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Marijke @ Oct 13 2009, 09:41 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>yeah inam is using the [ img ] [ / img] thing. if you let that topic load you see on the left below the adresses of where the photo's are stored. you have to upload pics on another website like photobucket or something, and insert the link between the tags get rid of all the space too and you'll see the photo

or just wait till ben puts up the new forum

Sounds complicated, I'll just wait on Ben. Thanks Mari.

Back to the Racing!!!! Laguna kicks ass even when cars are racing on it, plus all the red bull US GP swag was half off (how cool is that). I had a great time with Jumk and the gang! The Kid Connor Daly was very impresive. he had told us before the race Laguna is a very hard track to make passes and he ended up passing 11 other drivers!!! The whole family was great. From what i hear Formula 1 drivers have known to be a little stuck up, but Derek Daly is a great guy. This weekend also opened up my mind to maybe trying my hand at racing cars(not the expensive ones) in the future when i become an old fart or have a kid, but for now Ill stay on two wheels for as long as i can.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (The California Kid @ Oct 14 2009, 06:28 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Back to the Racing!!!! Laguna kicks ass even when cars are racing on it, plus all the red bull US GP swag was half off (how cool is that). I had a great time with Jumk and the gang! The Kid Connor Daly was very impresive. he had told us before the race Laguna is a very hard track to make passes and he ended up passing 11 other drivers!!! The whole family was great. From what i hear Formula 1 drivers have known to be a little stuck up, but Derek Daly is a great guy. This weekend also opened up my mind to maybe trying my hand at racing cars(not the expensive ones) in the future when i become an old fart or have a kid, but for now Ill stay on two wheels for as long as i can.

Sorry kid... but when it comes to motorsports racing 2wheels takes the backseat for 4. But yeah, I still can't believe you two got to meet and hang out with Derek Daly, the guy is a big name in motorsports. Current F1 drivers ARE stuck up.... but not the old skool guys, that is why I can't stand all these primadonnas in F1 right now, they go around acting like their shiit don't stink and as if their too good to give interviews and meet fans, etc. That is one thing I like about MotoGP..... all the riders seems very down to earth, minus Kallio. Kallio seems to belong in F1, though I doubt he got the skills for it.... or even MotoGP for that matter, but certainly it seems his attitude fits right in with the current crop of riders in F1.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (SuperShinya56 @ Oct 15 2009, 07:00 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Sorry kid... but when it comes to motorsports racing 2wheels takes the backseat for 4. But yeah, I still can't believe you two got to meet and hang out with Derek Daly, the guy is a big name in motorsports. Current F1 drivers ARE stuck up.... but not the old skool guys, that is why I can't stand all these primadonnas in F1 right now, they go around acting like their shiit don't stink and as if their too good to give interviews and meet fans, etc. That is one thing I like about MotoGP..... all the riders seems very down to earth, minus Kallio. Kallio seems to belong in F1, though I doubt he got the skills for it.... or even MotoGP for that matter, but certainly it seems his attitude fits right in with the current crop of riders in F1.

Listen to Mark Webber and you`ll change your narrow mind.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (DRILL @ Oct 15 2009, 04:26 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Listen to Mark Webber and you`ll change your narrow mind.


Who the heck would listen to Mark Webber? Anyways, each has their own different approach as far as racing goes. It's all a matter of personal preferences, but of course seeing how technology has taken the enjoyment out of motorsports racing, especially the 4wheeled kind, one could argue that car racing is less desirable to participate/watch than 2wheeled racing simply because of the principle of 2 wheels vs. 4 wheels and how technology has gotten the better of automobiles to made it to the point where driver input is far less important than it is on motorcycles. But slowly even motorcycles are starting to go the way of automobiles with all these electronics, traction control, etc.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (SuperShinya56 @ Oct 15 2009, 02:40 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Who the heck would listen to Mark Webber? Anyways, each has their own different approach as far as racing goes. It's all a matter of personal preferences, but of course seeing how technology has taken the enjoyment out of motorsports racing, especially the 4wheeled kind, one could argue that car racing is less desirable to participate/watch than 2wheeled racing simply because of the principle of 2 wheels vs. 4 wheels and how technology has gotten the better of automobiles to made it to the point where driver input is far less important than it is on motorcycles. But slowly even motorcycles are starting to go the way of automobiles with all these electronics, traction control, etc.

Hell, MotoGP right now is more technologically advance than F1. Only thing that is really modern in the 2009 cars is the gearbox. The carbon fiber bits involved, as well as the electronic gear selectors are the only new thing on the 2009 compared to 15-20 years ago. No TC, no driver aid what-so-ever.

It used to be where the rider was more important than the bike. Now, it is no longer the case. But Rossi on the privateer Honda, and he'd struggle for podiums. Put Stoner back on the LCR bike, and everyone would be calling for his removal from the series.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Hayden Fan @ Oct 16 2009, 11:12 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Hell, MotoGP right now is more technologically advance than F1. Only thing that is really modern in the 2009 cars is the gearbox. The carbon fiber bits involved, as well as the electronic gear selectors are the only new thing on the 2009 compared to 15-20 years ago. No TC, no driver aid what-so-ever.

It used to be where the rider was more important than the bike. Now, it is no longer the case. But Rossi on the privateer Honda, and he'd struggle for podiums. Put Stoner back on the LCR bike, and everyone would be calling for his removal from the series.


Now that is just stupid. He did great while at LCR.

Anyways, I can't believe you got to drive in Formula BMW.... how was that like spoiled brat? You were a back-marker huh? haha.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (SuperShinya56 @ Oct 16 2009, 02:18 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>Anyways, I can't believe you got to drive in Formula BMW.... how was that like spoiled brat? You were a back-marker huh? haha.

Still got to drive a race car. My teammate in 2006 was Robert Wickens (a Red Bull Junior Driver) who took the title and is now a front runner in F2. I've race against F3 winner Stefano Coletti. F2 driver Tobias Hegewald. Another F3 winner in Esteban Gutierrez. Alexander Rossi is probably the top American talent in Europe right now, taking a couple wins in Formula Master this past summer. Sebastien Saavedra took wins in F3 and Indy Lights.

I crashed in my heat (an incident that took 3 other cars out), but I competed in the FBMW World Final at Valencia.

I've had the chance to drive at amazing race circuits. I tested at Silverstone. Road America. Sebring. Road Atlanta. Gilles Villeneuve Circuit during the Canadian GP weekend (I shared a garage during the weekend with the Honda team in 06 and with Williams in 07). Valencia. Mosport.

Auto racing is about money. And unless you have parents who have a lot of it, racing near the top, no matter the abilities, is difficult. I wanted to race so much, I took the 80 grand my parents put away for college, and sold nearly everything I owned to buy a car from Eurasia Motorsport that Daniel Ricciardo took 2 wins in and a 3rd place title spot in '06 in FBMW Asia. And my father spent nearly every cent in his bank account to get me to the track each race weekend. And with an average car count of about 20 cars a race, I think 9th in the championship in 2007 was quite a good season. No podiums, but for being only 17 and listed as the car owner, I'd say I had fun.

2008 was trouble, as we sold the car and tried to get a deal for the season. I went to Germany for a Formula Renault test that never worked out.

And 2009 was almost a season that could have happened. I was working with former CART driver Richie Hearn and his Star Mazda team. But his cars had not run in nearly 2 years and to upgrade would have costed another 100 thousand to get the team in order. That is money I didn't have.

Cars were fun. They ran one of the BMW bike engines. Slow, but at some tracks you could use the track and keep in a good group. The drivers we got to meet working with BMW. All the guys who worked at BMW Sauber. Nick Heidfeld, Jacques Villeneuve. Sebastien Vettel, when he was an 18 year old who was still tearing it up in F3. Paul Tracy, Paul Newman, AJ Allmendinger, Justin Wilson during the races we ran with Champ Car.

But like I said, racing is about money. And if you don't have any, it sucks.

impressive HF! you had a great time & memories that few will ever get the chance to have. it's ashame that the money aspect is what ends so many promissing careers in motorsport but it's the same in other non motorspot as well.