| Factory Five Spec Racer Posts Impressive Second Place Win at the SCCA Mid-Atlantic Road Racing Series (GT-1 class) |
|
July 7, 2002 Summit Point, WV |
 |
| Factory Five Racing's
(FFR) popular Spec Racer competed in the SCCA Mid-Atlantic Road Racing
Series (MARRS) race on July 7 at summit Point's famed two mile road
course. The Spec Racer is classified in the top GT-1 class where
it is forced to run against purpose-built race cars such as Corvettes,
Camaros, and Porsches capable of close to 200 MPH and 1000 HP. A
little luck, good performance, and consistency helped propel the eVisory-sponsored
Spec Racer to an impressive second place finish.
The FFR Spec Racer was driven by Dan Elam from Richmond, Virginia and qualified 26th overall. "We just upgraded the suspension to Factory Five's new 3-link and used the qualifying sessions to learn the car", according to Elam. "We knew that we would do better in the race than our qualifying position suggested". A key tenant to the Factory Five Racing Spec Racer program has been it's reliance on industry standard 5.0L Mustang engine parts. In addition to being inexpensive, the parts are extremely reliable - in contrast to some of the GT-1 engines costing as much as $65,000 with high failure rates. "We might only have 225 HP, but we can count on having it for the whole race", notes Elam. Elam used the FFR Spec Racer's superior low end torque at the start of the race to accelerate past some cars and settle into the race. After a few laps, he caught the factory-backed Panoz Esperante GTS and used the Spec Racer's light weight to outbrake the custom made race car at the end of the Summit Point's long straightaway. As the race stretched on, the reliability of the 5.0L Mustang platform proved to be a strong point of the Factory Five Spec Racer. Competitors had trouble with the demanding race conditions and several cars dropped out or were involved in accidents. Elam kept the car at a steady pace throughout the race and was rewarded with an unexpected second place finish with the only car in the field that was street legal. The Spec Racers typically compete with NASA, where all competitors use FFR Spec Racers. "Certainly luck was on our side today, but we proved that a reliable, inexpensive race car can be competitive with cars costing $150,000 or more", said Elam. "It was a nice experience to bring the FFR Spec Racer to the SCCA crowds, who loved the classic look and sound of the roadster". |
| Congratulations Dan! |