FHR runs WRL at BIR

The Fart-hinder Saab 9-3, a.k.a. Fart-kontroll, survived another full race weekend with nary a bobble. World Racing League sanctioned a pair of 8-hour endurance races at our home track, Brainerd International Raceway, and we were there with the ONLY Saab currently competing in the World Racing League.

In addition to the Saab, team member Mark Fitzpatrick had just completed work on a 1994 Mazda Miata R. Eric Peterson, who had done the welding on the Miata roll cage, was invited to drive as well. Due to lack of track experience, Eric signed up for the BIR Performance Driving School a few weeks prior to the race. Unfortunately, the Miata, which had been driven to the track, suffered an engine failure. With less than three weeks to the race, Mark scrambled to figure out options. Fortunately (it's always nice when there's a "fortunately" shortly after an "unfortunately") he was able to locate a "ran when removed" used engine of unknown mileage near Milwaukee for about half the going salvage yard price. Even more fortunately, a work related meeting took him to Milwaukee and he was able to borrow a pickup truck for the trip. With one week before race day, the substitute engine was fitted to the Miata and fired up. All looked promising to make the start of the race.

There were three new drivers as part of the Fart-hinder group for the weekend. New to the team and to endurance racing, that is, but not to competition.

Jeff Gadbois was used to Formula Fords, Spec Racers and Sports 2000, and had seen success in those purpose built racing machines. It had been several years since he had been behind the wheel and he was anxious to give it a try again.

Paul Moormann had done some ice racing, including setting pole position for an ice race in his initial year of racing and earning him Rookie of the Year honors. He had also helped to build and co-drive a Saab Sonett with a Saab 900 turbo drivetrain, and later drove that car in a few regional rallies with some success. Paul has worked out of his home as a mechanic and is quite familiar with the Saabs of our era. His expertise as a Saab tech has already been valuable to the team.

Our third newbie was mentioned above: Eric Peterson.

The Saab gets up to 110 to 115 mph before turn 3 at BIR

The Saturday event was slated for 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p. m., and the green flag did wave at the appointed hour. However, the race was red flagged, then black flagged only eight laps in due to a timing problem. The track's timing and scoring transponder antenna loop under the start/finish line was not picking up signals. About the time a new cable had been run through conduit under the track, the WRL timing computer hit a glitch. More time was lost while software was loaded onto another computer. The green flag fell again at 12:30 p. m., but the race was shortened by a half hour as the track policy is to end all racing by 8:00 p. m. in order to placate neighbors on nearby lakes.

Tim started originally in the 9-3, but Jeff was behind the wheel when the second green flag was waved. He had an obligation that evening and didn't want to be late. On fresh Yokohama tires, it wasn't long before Jeff set a lap at 1:58.884 and hit a top speed of 114 mph. That turned out to be the fast lap of the day for the Saab.

About to get passed by the Tubby Butterman BMW.
In the meantime there are dragsters on the old main straightaway.

The Miata was entered under the team name "Gensoku" in class GP3. It ran well on the replacement engine, but the alignment seemed to be changing. The car had been aligned by a local racing shop earlier in the week and all was set to spec including the recommended torque on the bolts. In talking with another Miata racer later it was found that slipped alignment was a common issue with Miatas under race conditions. The fix is to nearly double the torque on the bolts for the alignment eccentrics.

Paul was the second driver in the Saab and quickly fell into lap times around two minutes as well. Travis McCormick was back to drive third, while Tim took the cleanup position.

Over in the Miata pit (which was right next to the Saab pit) Eric drove the second shift, followed by Mike Mandy. Mark was back in the roadster for the checkered flag. While the Miata ran lap after lap without any new issues, more experienced teams in GP3 were not having much luck, The Team Hackcent Hyundai spent a lot of time in the paddock and dropped well down in the pack. The usually reliable JAB VW Golf succumbed to a blown engine, with piston rods hanging out of the block like one of the zombies on The Walking Dead. Difference was the Golf engine was truly dead. That elevated the Miata to first in class, the position it held until the finish.

Team formation at the checkered flag.

On the final lap, Mark slowed a bit to allow Tim in the Saab to catch up, and the two crossed the finish line in team formation.

A couple of other cars failed in the final laps - the Team Generations Nissan 300ZX suffered a blown engine in the final 15 minutes, and the North Loop BMW 325 lost a ball joint just before turn 2 - which elevated both the Saab and the Mazda in the final standings. The Saab finished 7th, and 7th in class GP2 behind the race winning Honda Civic and five BMWs. The Miata was classified in 8th place overall and the winner in GP3.

Both cars were in generally good shape after nearly eight hours of racing. Some checking of fluids, swapping of tires, and they were ready to face another day.

Since Jeff and Paul had only signed up to drive one day, that left five drivers. The Miata had only been entered for Saturday, so all five would be driving the Saab.

Eric was first out, and ran a clean stint. His lap times were consistent, and competitive with what the other drivers on the team were turning. His quickest was just under two minutes, at 1:59.68. Darn good for a rookie.

Second up was Tim, who also set consistent laps right around two minutes, with a few that just broke the two minute mark. Mike also ran in the 1:59 to 2:03 range during his stint.

Leaning hard for turn 4, Travis McCormick at the wheel.

Mark took to the track next and ran similar lap times, with the official fast time of the day for the Saab at 1:57.031. Unfortunately that was still ten seconds a lap off the the pace of the race winning Honda Civic and most of the BMWs.

When Travis got behind the wheel for the final stint, the Saab was in a solid tenth place. His instructions were to run consistent laps as the chance of catching the car ahead were nil and the 11th place car was about 20 laps behind. By now the tires were going away, too. Even so, his lap times were only a second or two slower than the others on the team, and he held on for tenth overall, eighth place in class GP2.

Fart-hinder Racing is now better equipped to record data during the races, with apps such as Harry's Lap Timer and RaceChrono recording lap times, speeds at various places around the track and g-forces during acceleration, braking and cornering. The 9-3 still has a stock gearbox, with an open differential, so the inside tire often lifts enough during cornering to spin a bit. The suspension is better than it has been, but can be better still.

Our next race is at the end of July, a ChumpCar sanctioned weeked consisting of two 7-hour races at Brainerd. There are several conflicting endurance races in the region within a week or two, so entries at all are low. Both the Saab and Miata will be competing at BIR.

A Great Beginning for 2016

April in the Upper Midwest is a mixed bag when it comes to weather. It can be as snowy as any day in winter, or it could be warm enough to be doing yard work in t-shirt and shorts. At Fart-hinder Central in northern Minnesota, the race cars are often still under a pile of snow or hidden away in a garage that can't be reached by anything short of a sled dog team. Since the first ChumpCar race at Road America is usually in April, Fart-hinder Racing has usually chosen to skip this event.

Photo by Trisha Spettel,  Ace Photography.

This year, however, was different. Following a mild winter, temperatures in March were often warm enough to work outdoors. In addition, Snowbird Mike Mandy was anxious to get a start on racing and returned to his summer home near Ely several weeks earlier than usual. The team's primary race car, a 1999 Saab 9-3, was in pretty good shape at the end of the 2015 season, in need of a clutch after an early failure at the autumn race at Road America. The car had been left over the winter with team member Aidan Hicks to do the necessary repairs at his place of employment, a car dealership in the Minneapolis area.

The decision was made to enter the ChumpCar Landjaeger Cup at Road America, a pair of 7 hour races at America's first and still the best road racing facility.

Some changes in the ChumpCar rules meant we could use something other than OE springs, though there were still restrictions. Some measurements to the assorted coil springs in the parts cache found that the front springs from a classic 900 were the same outside diameter as those on the NG900/OG9-3. However, the wire size was a little larger, meaning a stiffer spring rate. That spring rate would be increased further by trimming a few coils. There is not much available for the rear springs due to their conical design, but Hanover European Parts had given us a pair of Eibach lowering springs for the rear. They weren't quite racing springs, but lowering the rear end would also lower the center of gravity.

Photo by Trisha Spettel,  Ace Photography.

The front brakes were upgraded to the larger rotors found on the 9-3 Viggen, 308mm vs. 288mm that came on lesser 9-3s. The calipers and brake pads are the same, just moved out a little with a slightly different mounting bracket. The rotors were cryogenically treated for longer wear, sourced from series sponsor Frozen Rotors.

Minnesota Saab Club member Jim Hickstein happened to have a complete Viggen clutch package that he donated to the race effort. While the stock clutch has generally not been a problem, the beefier Viggen clutch would give an additional margin of reliability.

Race weekend looked promising weatherwise, with clear skies and temperatures around 70 degrees. We zipped through registration and tech with little difficulty, met the new Central Region Chump Staff, did a few final checks on the racer, then went to dinner in Sheboygan, where we usually stay.

Team captain, Tim Winker, decided to see if there were any German restaurants in the area, since that region was where many German immigrants settled in the 1850s. A place called Al & Al's Steinhaus looked promising, so Tim, Mike and Mark found their way there. All three have spent time in Germany, and were hoping the menu offered more than bratwurst and kraut. It exceeded all expectations, with a full German menu and a salad bar full of pickled this and creamed that. Al & Al's will likely see the Fart-hinder gang at future Road America race weekends.

In addition to the four drivers who would also act as crew, John Hicks brought his 17-year-old daughter, Shania, for her first race weekend. She was pressed into service to maintain notes on what happened during pit stops and to check tire pressures. She also took some photos of the Saab in action.

A smear of red paint left by an errant MR2.

It was a cool spring morning when John Hicks took to the track in the 9-3. His stint behind the wheel had only one incident, a tap on the left rear door by a Toyota MR2. The Toyota driver was given a Black Flag and had to spend several minutes explaining to race officials why he hit another car. In the meantime, John continued to reel off laps until time for the driver change.

Mike Mandy was the next driver and again there was nothing serious to his shift behind the wheel. Mark Fitzpatrick took over at his designated time and started to reel off some quick laps. However, the low fuel warning light came on earlier than expected, and Mark cut his time at the wheel short, returning for the final driver change of the day with two hours left.

Tim Winker also had no issues aboard the Saab, but with 20 minutes remaining in the race, the low fuel light came on again. The earphones had become dislodged enough that Tim could no longer hear what the crew had to say, but radioed to them that he would be coming to the pits in a few laps. As he drove past the pits, the other drivers signaled that he should stay out. Tim cut back his speed a little to preserve fuel. He made it to the checkered flag with no difficulties; nary a bobble from the engine. When he pulled into the paddock, team members informed him that if he had come in for fuel, they would have dropped at least one position in class and several places overall. As it was, they did not lose any positions in the final standings, ending up 12th overall and 6th in a class full of fast BMWs.

The 9-3 performed well, and all drivers ran faster lap times than in previous years. Mark Fitzpatrick ripped off one lap at 3:02.50, the quickest we have ever turned in this car. The transmission gearing was perfect so that the drivers only had to use 3rd and 4th gears, topping out at 120 mph, higher than most of the cars competing. The new rear springs helped the Saab to set up for corners with a touch of trailing throttle oversteer. The larger brake rotors allowed for shorter stopping distances, hence quicker times at all corners of the track.

Photo by Vasil Zhmendak

The Dunlop Direzza ZII Star Spec tires showed a bit of wear on the outer edges from hard cornering, so were swapped around, with a couple of better used race tires installed on the front. The brake pads, however, showed a bit more wear than we have seen in the past. The combination of medium friction EBC Yellowstuffs racing pads and the new Frozen Rotors may have been great in stopping the car, but also caused them to wear faster. The pads on the rear were worn down to the metal backing. We had some decent used pads for both axles and installed those, hoping to get through Sunday's 7 hour race.

Tim was first in the driver's seat for what he referred to as "a leisurely Sunday drive." In the process he set a personal best lap time in the 9-3. But it was not without some drama. The brake lights insisted on staying on as the Saab left the pits for warm up laps. Rather than risk a black flag, the team called Tim in during the pace laps and rearranged the brake light switch ever so slightly. Problem solved and Tim hit the track again before the green flag, though he was way behind the pack.

YouTube Video: Swapping positions with Mazdas.

John was the next driver, for what was likely his final chance to race with us for a few years. He has taken a job in Italy and will be moving there soon.

Mike took to the wheel for his stint, followed by Mark. All still looked well for the team with quick pit stops and no need to change anything. As the race headed into the final hour, Mark chose to use the brakes less in an effort to save what little brake pad material remained. Even so, he set the fastest lap for the Saab in Sunday's race at 3:03.57.

Flagger Bob Kosky gives Mark Fitspatrick the
checkered flag on Sunday. Photo by Shania Hicks.

The checkered flag dropped on schedule and the Fart-hinder team began the celebration, along with all other finishers. Our overall position of 13th was satisfactory considering that our Saab has the original engine as installed at the factory in Trollhattan. We were again 6th in class, behind a bunch of modified BMWs. Our pit stops were better than in past years, very close to the five minute minimum required by ChumpCar rules. There was no extra time spent in the pits for repairs, and the brake pads lasted to the finish, though the pad material on the rear was paper thin.

 A successful race weekend, by our account. After our dining experiences at Al & Al's Steinhaus and the Saturday meal at Schwartz's Supper Club, we're thinking about changing the team name to "Fart-hinder Racing and Dining Society."

THE END.
(The license plate was a "trophy" won by Tim at the 1991 AlCan 5000 Rally. Photo by Shania Hicks.)

Preparing for Season 7

The Fart-hinder Saab 900
 on the pace lap of its first race.

It was six years ago that Tim Winker got a message from Darrell Peterson asking about a Saab 900 that was hiding in Tim's garage. Tim had posted a note about maybe turning it into a racer for the inaugural ChumpCar World Series race at Brainerd International Raceway in June. That was in early April, 2010. Eight weeks later and the Saab was on track. Other team drivers and car builders were Greg Wold and John Hogdahl, and all were looking forward to their return to racing during a pair of seven hour races in a $500 crapcan Saab. Alas, it was not to be, as something apparently went wrong in assembling the engine to the gearbox (the gearbox sits below the engine and also acts as the oil pan). The rod knock death rattle put the Saab behind the wall after only a couple of laps. Rather than swap for another engine, the team chose to pack it in and race again another day.

Thus begins the tale of Fart-hinder Racing. Though most of the drivers have changed, Team Fart-hinder is now preparing for a seventh season of endurance racing, still with Saabs. That original 900, a non-turbo 2.1L hatchback, remains with the team and is likely to see some action during 2016. It is estimated to have over 10,000 racing miles on the chassis during its six years since becoming a race car.

The primary team car now is a 1999 Saab 9-3, powered by a 2.0L turbo, acquired from Team Cougar Bait in 2014. The 185 HP engine is believed to be original to the car, has never been modified, and has an estimated 160,000 miles on it. The oil pan was removed last year to see if there was evidence of sludge, a known killer of Saab engines in street use, but the inside of the engine looked new, thanks apparently to frequent oil changes by previous owners.

The first race on the Fart-hinder calendar for this season is a ChumpCar dual-7 at Road America in mid-April.

A 30 degree work day at Fart-hinder Central

The 9-3 did not need a lot of attention over the winter as it had succumbed to an early clutch failure during its last race in 2015. A few upgrades should make for improved lap times in that racer. The failed clutch, a refaced OE disc done at a local shop, has been replaced by a new Saab Viggen clutch, donated by Minnesota Saab Club member Jim Hickstein. In addition, the brakes should improve with the larger Viggen rotors (308mm vs. 288mm for standard 9-3s) and steel braided brake lines. Frozen Rotors have proven to be outstanding on both the 9-3 and 900, so they were again the source for the Viggen rotors. Mike Mandy, Mark Fitzpatrick, the father and son duo of John and Aidan Hicks, and team captain Tim Winker will do the driving and act as crew.

Installing wheel studs. Note the larger diameter brake disc.

The 900 will need a bit more attention, as the gearbox took a lot of stress last season thanks to the welded ring-and-pinion. It still works in all gears, but there was a good sized wad of metal shavings on the magnetic drain plug when the fluid was last changed. The front motor mount also needs repair or replacement as the mount to the body punched through the two bolts that anchor the gearbox to the chassis. That made shifting difficult, particularly into 5^th gear. That car also suffered a broken exhaust and failed clutch at last year's final race. To do the transmission repair properly will require that the drivetrain be removed from the car. The team has gotten pretty good at removing and replacing the engine/gearbox assembly, now able to do a complete swap in about five hours. The planned debut for that car this year is the World Racing League weekend at BIR in May. The 9-3 will still be the primary car, but the 900 will see action if enough drivers sign on. Saturday's race will be 9 hours, with a 7 hour race on Sunday.

Two drivers with competition experience will join Fart-hinder Racing for the first time at the BIR race. Jeff Gadbois, who has raced competitively in Formula Ford, Spec Racer and Sports 2000 will take to the track after a long time away. Paul Moormann's primary background as a competition driver is behind the wheel of a very fast rally car, a Saab Sonett powered by a 900 turbo engine. In addition, Paul has extensive experience repairing Saabs which will be a valuable asset. Both should be a good fit for the team.

Fart-hinder Racing will once again be a part of the eEuroparts Motorsports Program. eEuroparts.com will share our blog entries with their customers. Cartons of Saab parts from eEuroparts arrive regularly at Fart-hinder Central to keep both Saab race cars, and several street Saabs, running at peak performance.

Hanover European Auto Parts in Hanover, Minnesota, continues to be a major backer of the team. The vast inventory of quality used Saab parts keeps us on track within our meager budget.

But Wait, There's More....

Mark Fitzpatrick has acquired a couple of Mazda Miatas in the past year, and is converting one to meet the rules of ChumpCar and WRL. It is not yet complete, but the roll cage has been installed. It is likely that the Miata (still seeking a good name) will be competing sometime this summer.

Travis McCormick continues to work on his “Molasses” Firebird, and hopes to have the gearbox woes that sidelined it at it's last race sorted out.

Tim has some ideas about replacing the original FHR 900 with another Saab, especially since derelict Saabs seem to keep finding their way to his compound in the hills west of Duluth. That means the 900 race car is for sale, with a large load of spare parts and a complete spare 900 with a freshened engine. It's a great way for a new team to get started in the exciting world of endurance racing.

Falling behind

It has been awhile since the Fart-hinder Racing blog has been updated. A major reason was a computer issue whenever that machine was connected to the Internet. Instead of the usual 4GB/ month, it was consuming 4GB/hour. A new computer has finally been acquired and editing of the remained of the 2015 race tales is happening... slowly. Patience, fans. And watch for the stories on the 2016 races.

RPM means Raceway Park of the Midlands

Our first race this season was in early May. The next race close to home was in mid-August. That's a lot of time between races, so the Fart-hinder Racing troupe decided to take advantage of several incentives offered by World Racing League and entered one car for the July race at Raceway Park of the Midlands in western Iowa. The 2.2 mile track, formerly known as Mid America Motorplex, is located just off Interstate 29 a few miles south of Council Bluffs. Towing distance was roughly the same as to Road America from our northern Minnesota headquarters. Iowa in July can be hot, very hot, and it seems we managed to pick the hottest weekend of July to go racing.

We chose to race the Fart-hinder 900 instead of the much faster Fart-kontroll 9-3. The 900 had been geared lower for quicker launch out of the corners, plus WRL had dropped it into the GP4 class, the slowest of their classifications. The 900 drivetrain is very stock, though the engine and transmission had been overhauled with new bearings and seals over the winter. There had been a few minor issues with the car at the May race which required work in the paddock, but nothing really major. Those had been corrected and we figured the 900 was ready to go mechanically. In addition, it received a new coat of paint to cover the black streaks left by an encounter with a tire wall. In addition to the Spa Blue that also graces the 9-3, we chose a deeper green shade for the lower part of the car. Tim was trying to get it as close to U.S. Forest Service Green as possible, but it ended up a little darker. Still a nice shade that compliments the blue. A yellow stripe separates the main colors, matching the yellow wheels.

We arrived on Friday for registration to sweltering heat. Air temp was in the high 90s, with a temperature index of 110 degrees. Some teams that showed up early for a test day reported they had gone through several cases of water that afternoon. Just after the Friday evening drivers' meeting and social, a violent thunderstorm hit the area. High winds wrecked several teams' pop-up canopies, including ours. On the plus side, the rain dropped the air temperature into the low 80s.

Tim was the first driver scheduled and he was on the line and ready to go with the rest of the cars for a 9-hour battle. He hit the starter button... and all of the lights blinked off. A couple of tries, wiggling the battery wires, and it finally caught. He took the green flag, but it was quickly evident that there was a misfire in some corners. He brought the Saab in and the team opened the battery box to check cables. Sure enough one was loose again, it was tightened, and Tim went out to play, last in a class of five cars.

The Saab seemed to be holding up well and turning consistent laps, quicker than a couple of cars in the category, but lagging behind a VW GTI and a Miata. Then another disaster... Mark reported that the exhaust was suddenly very loud. He came into the pits and the problem was quickly obvious. The exhaust downpipe had broken at the weld just below the manifold, where two pipes merge into one. John Stachnik from JAB racing offered to weld it back together, but a patina of rust and 110 volt power made the job more difficult. In addition, the crack had to be sealed completely as it was right next to the inner axle driver. Eventually it was sealed, though hardly pretty, and we were back on track, an hour behind the third place Mercury Bobcat (a badge engineered Ford Pinto). Due to the early transmission failure of the 4-cylinder Mustang in our group, we had moved up to fourth in the standings.

Though the temperature was not as hot as on Friday, in the mid-80s and overcast, it was still plenty warm and we were rapidly consuming the water and Gatorade that our crew, Larry and Cyndi Walter, had picked up for us. They were staying in Council Bluffs and loaded their Fiat Abarth with as much refreshment and ice as it could hold.

We began to strategize.

As the end of the race approached, if we were still running last we would bring the car in early and just head out for the final few laps to be classed as a finisher. If, however, another car should drop out, we would stay out and collect a third place trophy.

It was the latter scenario that developed. The leading VW snapped a rear spindle and lost the wheel, brakes, everything. JAB, who has suffered the same fate on their VW more than once, and has since upgraded to more robust components, offered spare parts so the VW guys could get back on track, but there wasn't enough time left for such a major repair. The Saab held on to receive the third place trophy.

Since RPM is in the heart of farm country, with corn and soybeans growing pretty much everywhere, and herds of pork and beef in abundance, it only made sense for the team to visit a steak house. Instead, we went to a Mexican restaurant. We were, after all, south of the (Minnesota) border.

Another huge storm rumbled through early Sunday morning, but the forecast indicated that the rain had passed and there would be no rain during the day's 7-hour race. The Mustang and VW were DNS, which meant the Saab should be able to be in the podium group again if the car would last to the checkered flag. We knew that the Miata was considerably quicker than our steed, and that we were faster than the Bobcat. Attrition could make the difference. We also planned to make much quicker pit stops, dumping just one 5-gallon can of fuel at each stop. With four drivers, each would use up only six or seven gallons in their stint, so the 18-gallon tank should still have gas at the finish. Our fastest stop, dumping one fuel jug, making the driver change, and checking tires and under the hood, was one minute, 45 seconds.

Aidan Hicks, the youngest driver on the team, was first behind the wheel for Sunday. He went out and drove a steady pace, eventually setting what would be the fastest lap for the Saab over the weekend. As the tires wore down and the heat of the day caused the track to become a bit slippery, lap times dropped a little throughout the race.

Like many good plans, our strategy blew up on us. Once again the Saab sputtered and died on the track while Mark was driving. He was able to get it re-fired and brought it into the pits where the diagnosis was loose battery cables once again. It finally dawned on us (after several seasons of racing this car) that the battery was sliding back and forth in the plastic battery box. The decision was made to fix the problem once and for all. A spare battery cable was located to replace the rather frayed positive cable in the car. It took some finesse and about a half hour, but it did not give us any more trouble all day. On the down side, we were now many laps behind the Bobcat in third place.

Due to the heat and the odds that we could not finish higher than third, we offered the chance to take the Saab to the end to John Stachnik, who had repaired our exhaust, and who had done his first race driving the day before in the JAB VW. Our instructions were to go out, have fun, and don't break anything. We had found out that the Saab did just fine in fourth gear around the entire track when in survival mode, so the clutch and synchros should get little abuse.

Sure enough, John drove it under the waving checkered flag a little after 3:00 PM, and we were presented with a pair of 3^rd place trophies for our weekend's efforts.

Our next outing is back at our home track, Brainerd International Raceway, for a 12-hour ChumpCar World Series race. The 9-3 is the only team car getting prepped for this race, as we only have a few drivers. The plan is to race on the original 3-mile Donnybrooke track, which opened in 1968. Unfortunately that section of the track has been converted nearly exclusively to drag racing. The surface has a coating of tractionizing compound that becomes slicker than black ice when wet. If there is any hint of rain prior to the start, the race will revert to the 2.5 mile Competition Course. If it were to rain during the race on the old track, it would have to be immediately red flagged. Since our front wheel drive Saab loves the rain, we are hoping for rain in the forecast.

Three seconds a lap.

Last minute prep the morning of the race.

Three seconds per 2.5 mile lap of the BIR Competition course.

Easy.

Consistently.

That was the pay-off for our winter's work. Not bad at all. Many race teams spend lots more money to drop a fraction of that amount of time.

But we are getting ahead of the story.

May 2-3, 2015, saw the popular two-Saab Fart-hinder team roll in to Brainerd International Raceway for the World Racing League's Intercomp Speed Festival, a pair of 8 hour races 16 hours of wheel to wheel budget endurance racing.

Over the winter, the Fart-kontroll (Swedish for Speed Trap) Saab 9-3 dozed in Mike Mandy's shop near Ely, Minnesota, until he returned from Florida in mid-April. Since the car was in reasonable mechanical condtition after last season, we focused on suspension upgrades allowed under the latest ChumpCar rules. We ordered new Bilstein Sport shocks from eEuroparts for the front and rear, we swapped our home-made double rear anti-roll bar for a 25mm ARB from GenuineSaab.com. We ordered new Dunlop Direza ZII tires all around. Brake pads were a bit more difficult as there are few racing pads made for the 9-3. We were able to locate EBC Yellowstuff brake pads front and rear, not our first choice but they would get us through the weekend. With good used parts donated by Hanover European Parts, Mike replaced the damaged front bumper, hood, one fender, and rear hatch, and we installed Lexan in the rear windows for better aerodynamics. He topped it off with a quickie paint job using the same Rustoleum Spa Blue that was on the 900

The original Fart-hinder 900, entering its sixth season as a race car, needed more work, so team manager Tim Winker dug deep. He overhauled a spare 2.1L motor, and rebuilt the manual transmission under the guidance of a seasoned Saab tech. While the transmission was apart, he took the time to install a lower primary gear set for quicker acceleration out of the corners (a 30/27 gear set out of an early 99/900 turbo 4-speed for a ratio of 0.90 instead of the standard 0.78 ratio), and also welded the differential. Suspension work consisted of new Bilstein HD shocks all around, and a general refreshing of the front end pieces (some bushings, a wheel bearing, new control arms, steel braided brake lines and so on). If Tim didn't know eEuroparts phone number by heart before, he does now. New Frozen Rotors for the front, with Hawk Blue racing pads, and a set of Yokohama Advan Neova AD08-R tires made the car track ready as well as preparing us for potential contingency awards from WRL sponsor Yokahama. Lexan windows are now allowed in the various race series that we run, so the 900 was fitted with windows as well.

Tim, along with veteran Fart demon Travis McCormick, and virgin racers Ben Wedge and Larry Walter were assigned to the 1992 Saab 900 on Saturday. Four veterans - Mike Mandy, Aidan Hicks, John Hicks, and Mark Fitzpatrick would pilot the faster 1999 Saab 9-3.

The first test of the day came when Tim decided we needed to change the power steering pump on the 900 in the final hour before the green flag. The steering was exceedingly heavy when the car was stopped, so it was assumed the pump had failed. Tim had remembered to grab a spare from his seemingly endless cache of 900 parts just prior to leaving home for the weekend. Aidan and Ben jumped to it, and managed to get the replacement pump in place and topped off with fluid, and only miss one of the parade laps.

When the green flag dropped, Mike in the 9-3, and Tim in the 900 began clicking off laps and smoothly working down their times. Both agreed to drive conservatively to get used to the changes, but it wasn't long before it was obvious that all the extra time and effort had paid off.

900 leads 9-3 into the Cloverleaf.

After the traffic separated a bit, we started to see quicker laps than either car had ever turned. The previous year, the 9-3 managed one single lap of the 2.5 mile BIR short course below 2.00 minutes (1.59.383). This year's best came in at 1.56.383, but more importantly, the car was consistently below 2 minutes. In 2014, the 900 bested the track at 2.06.077. This year, 2.03.077. Again, consistently faster than last year.

Ideally, we could claim a massive increase in drivers' skill, but anyone who took the time to read this far knows better. More likely, it was the suspension work. The Bilsteins really buttoned down the cars. In combination with the bigger rear ARB, they made the 9-3 rotate much better. In the 900, the welded differential certainly helped in the tight corners.

Mike had a terrific battle with one of the BMW 325s for many laps. The 9-3 accelerated quicker out of the turns, but the BMW driver always managed to keep ahead of the Saab, until Mike was able to sneak by. A couple of laps later the BMW was ahead again, but only on the track, not on laps. It had made a pit stop and came back on course just ahead of the Saab.

While the cars ticked away laps, Lisa Fitzpatrick set up the first ever Fart-Hinder Finnish-style Smorgasbord in honor of our Scandinavian race cars (or at least Mark's birthday). We ate pulla, justo cheese, pickled herring, smoked trout, pickled cucumbers, pickled beets, Swedish meatballs with noodles, and more.

We'd like to say it all went without incident, but there were a few issues, mainly with the 900. Nothing major, but enough to spend a few extra laps in the pits for repairs. A snapped wheel stud on the 9-3 meant a longer than usual stop while the broken stub was drilled out.

Travis seems to hate the mirror on the driver's door. Last year, he tipped the 900 on it's side right in front of the pits with only 20 minutes remaining in the race. This year, he walloped a tire wall in a one-car incident coming out of turn 13. No serious harm done other than black streaks on the entire left side, though Trav did get a free physical by the track's medical team. After a quick inspection, the 900 was deemed drivable and Aidan was sent out to finish the final hour The car got a donor mirror borrowed from Tim's daily driver/rolling parts 900. Post race inspection by the team found a torn inner axle boot. Once again a serviceable spare was among the boxes of parts and it was easily replaced.

(VIDEO of crash)

At the end of day one, the faster 9-3 finished 8th overall, and the 900 finished 12th overall.

The changes to the 900 gearbox worked well in most respects. Instead of using primarily 3^rd and 4^th, with a desire to drop into 2^nd for the tight turn 12, the car now did well in 4^th for much of the track, with a shift up to 5^th for the 100+ mph turn 2, back down to 4^th or even 3^rd for turn 3, 4^th for much of the back section, and a drop into 3^rd again for turns 12 and 13. As any 900 owner knows, the 900 transmission can sometimes be finicky shifting into high gear, and some drivers had difficulty finding that gate. But since 5^th is not that much taller than 4^th, the difference was negligible.

For day two, the plan was for drivers to switch cars Ben is a person of the XXL persuasion, and was unable to squeeze into the tighter seat on the 9-3, so was relegated to the 900 again. Mike, John, and Mark would share that car with Ben. Aidan, Travis and Tim would be in the 9-3, with a substitute driver. Larry succumbed to dehydration, a couple of hours driving on the edge, and general stress of his first time racing, so was not feeling 100% for high speed driving on Sunday. Colin Walter, Larry's son who normally drives a VW Golf with JAB Motorsport, agreed to fill in. On a wet track, Colin was able to catch and pass the JAB Golf, which made him even more popular with both teams.

Everything went smoothly until the race was red flagged for lightning. While waiting to be collected by the pace-car, John noticed the temp gauge on the 900 creeping up. Once sitting on pit lane, waiting out the storm, we saw something dangling under the car. It turned out to be one of the two alternator/water pump belts. Under red flag, time stands still and no work is allowed on the cars, so we collected tools and spares while waiting for the race to restart, then set to work. The problem turned out to be the alternator adjustment pivot bolt. It was still hanging in place but had allowed the belts to pop out of place. The belts were replaced, the bolt got a dab of Loctite, and John was sent back to the battle.

The 9-3 never wavered. It just kept clicking off laps. Even when Travis spun between turns 6-7, he just got back on track and kept pushing. After he spun again coming out of turn 2, at about 100 mph and right in front of the 900, two tires were seriously flat spotted, but the car itself was unharmed. He drove in, took on a couple of spares, and sent Tim out to finish the race.

(PHOTO tire swirl)

The charging system on the 900 didn't seem to be 100% after the repair. The adjuster didn't want to hold a position, so for the last 4 hours the alternator light would come on at odd times. The volt meter showed a steady 13+ volts, so we checked on it during pit-stops and kept driving.

Until about 45 minutes from the end when Ben radioed in that the throttle was stuck wide open in the 900. Mark asked if he could pull it up with his foot.  No luck.  Tim suggested stomping on it to free it up. That closed the throttle, but then were was nothing. The cable snapped and we had no spare.

It looked like the race was over, but Mike, Aidan and Travis managed to MacGuyver a fix. A nut, a bolt, and a couple of big washers pinched the parts together. It couldn't be adjusted to allow full throttle, but we only needed to turn a few laps to be classified among the finishers. As a failsafe, Travis also rigged up a hand throttle cable, just in case.

(PHOTOS of fix)

The rule in World Racing League is that the cars must take the checkered flag to be classified as a finisher. With this in mind, and with Tim bringing home the 9-3, Ben gingerly wheeled the 900 on track. Two laps later, both cars crossed the line with the 9-3 finishing 13th and the 900 in 15th.

The final standings weren't quite what we were hoping for, but the race was still considered a success. Everyone got to drive both days, both cars finished with no major issues, and we won some prizes: $100 credit for the "very pretty Saab 9-3" and a set of Yokohama tires from their contingency program.

So back to the Fart-Hinder compound somewhere near Duluth. We will regroup, place a few more orders with eEuroparts.com, and prepare both cars for the next race.

A big thanks to the rbankracing group, especially Robin Bank, for preparation advice and for helping to get us discounts on safety gear. Mike attended the ChumpCar race at Road Atlanta earlier this year to observe and learn from their experience. Given that our 9-3 is essentially the same as the Saabs they are running, we know that car is capable of running competitively. All we need is for our drivers to get more experience so the lap times can drop a little more.

Three seconds more would be mighty nice.

Mark G. Fitzpatrick

Tim Winker

Staying Busy During the Off Season

Snow and cold tend to keep summer racers indoors, making plans for the upcoming warmer months. So it is with the drivers of Fart-hinder Racing.

There have been regular emails, text messages and phone calls between team members.