A Very Special Subaru

Those who follow this blog know that the Demaras family is a habitual subject here and the reason is simple, they are one of the most active bunch of gearheads in town. I eagerly follow their adventures on Demaras.com and if you like racing, you should too.

It is well known that every gearhead has a favorite automotive brand to which he or she devotes unconditional love, in the case of the Demaras, the brand is Subaru. The car from this very traditional Japanese automaker has been in the family for generations. Nowadays, they have two Subies in their garage, a 2003 Impreza WRX, and the other one is a model that, in my opinion, is the coolest Subaru ever built, the SVX.

Besides being a very rare model, Chris’s SVX received some very tasteful modifications, making it even more special.

No one is more suitable to talk about a car than the owner himself, and that is why I asked Chris to write about his Subaru. It is a great story, I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

Text by Chris Demaras.

When I was a kid, my dad bought his first Subaru. It was a white 1986 Subaru XT with a 5-speed manual and a turbo-boost gauge on the dashboard. I loved it! After six years and 350,000+ km, dad returned to Scarboro Subaru to check out the new model; the SVX. This Subaru was more powerful, more beautiful, and WAY more expensive. It was nearly $28,000 in 1991 (approx. $60,000 in today’s dollars). We went out for a test drive, and I remember the car was just so futuristic looking to the eyes of 17-year-old me. But there’s NO WAY my first-generation Greek-Canadian dad was going to spend that kind of money on a car. We quietly returned the vehicle to the dealership after the test drive, and thanked our young salesman, Guy. I stored the memory of that test drive in my brain for a couple decades.

I always liked that SVX and cherished the memory of my dad and me doing car stuff that day, since he’s not much of a ‘car guy’. Over the years, my father bought 5 more Subarus, and I got a WRX for my wife. I’d mentioned to Scarboro Subaru that if a good-condition SVX ever came up for sale, they should let me know.

Twenty years went by, but the same salesman Guy (the General Manager now) called with good news. A mint condition 1992 SVX was just sold back to the dealership. The original owner, Mr. Wagman, had passed away. The car was ‘babied’ since new, and needed a new owner. Mr. Wagman’s widow asked that the car be sold to a new owner on the condition that they don’t mess with the car, don’t paint any idiotic flames on it, and don’t put a big dumb spoiler on the rear end like you see on all the other Subarus. If I could refrain from doing any of that… the car would be mine. I hustled over to Scarboro Subaru and didn’t even ask how much. Guy just handed me the keys for a test drive, and I didn’t come back for two days. That’s how it all started.

It really turns heads! Being such a unique car, it attracts attention from people who recognize what a rare bird it is, and people who have no idea what they’re looking at but couldn’t help but be attracted to the sleek body. Acquiring the car also gave me the chance to become part of the car scene, to be part of the shows I had been attending for years. My SVX was one of two or three at the Toronto Subaru Club’s annual ‘HyperMeet’ event, compared to the hundreds of WRXs and Foresters. It was definitely the only one playing ‘Speed Racer’ cartoons on DVD in the Kenwood.

The Subaru SVX is a rare car. It was manufactured from 1992 to 1997, but my early production example was actually built in September 1991. Total production was just over 14,000 cars during the 5-year run, and less than 1,000 ever made it from Japan to Canada. This specific car was originally sold at Scarboro Subaru in Toronto’s east end and continues to be dealer-serviced to this day

The SVX (called the Alcyone in Japan) is a front-engine, all-wheel-drive, four-passenger, two-door Grand Touring coupe. This was Subaru’s ‘halo car’ and was meant to compete with other GTs like the Jaguar XJ-S and Mercedes-Benz 500 SEC cars of the era.

Not quite a high-performance vehicle, the SVX was powered by a naturally aspirated 3.3 L ‘boxer’ engine rated at 230 HP / 224 TQ. The 24-valve, DOHC flat-six engine was only available with the 4EAT four-speed electronic automatic transmission, and an all-wheel drive system called ACT-4 which varied the amount of torque sent to the rear wheels. The torque split was normally 65% front / 35% rear, but based on driving conditions, the split could reach 50% / 50%.

The original SVX transmission is its weak point (torque-converter clutch and high-clutch failures) so the first modification to my SVX was to install an updated “Phase 1” 4EAT transmission from a Subaru Legacy. A big difference is the ‘new’ transmission has a 4.44 rear gear ratio (compared to the original 3.90 gears) which means the car now launches off the line way harder but revs a little higher at highway speeds. This was a complex modification, as the original LSD carrier from the SVX had to be swapped into the new 4.44 rear differential housing.

Over the years I made other minor modifications like lightweight engine pulleys and braided stainless-steel brake lines. The stock 16″ wheels were replaced with bigger 17″ BBS wheels from a Subaru WRX STi and a set of Yokohama Advan tires. The original ‘waterfall’ grill was replaced with a more modern-looking 1996 SVX grill, plus some clear corner lights.

A Delta Speed body-kit (knock-off) was installed, including side skirts, front splitters and the taller JDM rear spoiler. Last year I finally had the windows tinted, and then wrapped the roof with black vinyl, emphasizing the ‘jet-fighter cockpit’ look that famed Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro (also responsible for the BMW M1 and DeLorean DMC 12) was aiming for when he sketched out the SVX in the late 1980’s.

The SVX is long, low, wide and heavy; at 3,500 lbs it is no lightweight! The soft springs and comfy shocks made for a very smooth ride on the highway (it was designed as a Grand Tourer, remember) but all that weight caused some serious body-roll on twisty roads. The original suspension components were old and tired, and new components were no longer produced, so the second major modification I made was a set of coilovers, plus a stiffer anti-roll bar. The car sat about 2″ lower, and the stiff springs really kept the car planted. The coilovers had adjustable valves to fine-tune the bounce/rebound of the shocks, but the ride was just never comfortable. And those coilovers were just so noisy! It got to the point where I’d only bring the SVX out a couple of times over the summer. Very sad…I even thought of selling it.

As with many things in life, I solved the problem by throwing money at it. Two years ago, I contacted NV Auto in Hamilton to discuss retro-fitting an AirLift Performance series air-suspension kit (originally designed for the 2002 – 2007 Subaru WRX) to the 1992 SVX. Some components from the SVX are interchangeable with the WRX, but it would still take a lot of cutting, welding, trial and error. Many months (and many dollars) later, the SVX was back on the road. There’s a 2.5 gallon aluminum air tank in the trunk, taking up all the space, but who cares! With the bags ‘aired-out’ the body rests flat on the ground with the wheels tucked up into the fenders. It looks amazing now, and at 45 PSI, the car rides like a Cadillac.

Every time I drive the SVX, I feel like a movie star. People stare at the car and give me thumbs up. Drivers of more common Subarus will always chat me up at the coffee shop, since this is a model many have never seen in person before.  Now that the car has some custom touches, like the suspension and body kit,

Chris and his son, Daniel, proudly posing by the SVX.

The SVX finally feels like it’s mine, and not like a car I’m looking after for Mr. Wagman. I bet he’d be proud to see his baby is still cruising the streets of Toronto more than 30 years later.

Note of the editor

On Friday, Sep/22, Chris invited me to attend a Toronto Subaru Club meeting, in Newmarket. There I had a chance to hang out with the guys and Chris even allowed me to take the SVX for a spin. The car drives amazingly and it sounds like an F-One.

Thanks, guys.

Ontario Regiment Museum

Life in Ontario, CA has become extremely difficult, since the cost of living has gone through the roof. However, every now and then we can take advantage of so many attractions the province has to offer. After all, this was one of the main reasons we chose it to call home.

For a history buff like my wife and I, Ontario is a paradise of museums, and this summer we discovered one more, the Ontario Regiment Museum.

WWI era ambulances

The museum is housed on the South Field of the Historic Oshawa Executive Airport. The airport opened in June 1941 under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan as No. 20 Elementary Flying Training School RCAF Station, Oshawa. Only three of the original buildings are still standing. Potential military pilots from Commonwealth and Occupied countries were trained there during WWII.

A WWII Ford light truck, powered by the omnipresent Flathead V8.

The Museum was established to preserve the story of the Ontario Regiment RCAC from its beginnings in 1866 as the 34th Ontario Battalion of Infantry, through WW1 as the 34th and 116th Battalions, 11th Armoured Regiment in WW2 and the Ontario Regiment (RCAC) today.

The Ontario Regiment Museum holds a collection of more than 100 operational vintage military vehicles, including jeeps, trucks, tanks, and motorcycles, making it the largest collection in North America.

WWII Triumph TRW 500

Throughout the warmer months of the year, the volunteers put on a series of themed events called Tank Saturday. It is a wonderful opportunity to see those monsters in action.

Before the show, the public can buy rides on certain armored transports and even a German-built, Cold War-era Leopard tank. (video above).

The Blitzkrieg

The event we chose to attend was about the German Blitzkrieg. The team of volunteers brought to the track a few German and Allied vehicles for a parade.

The Museum executive director, Mr. Jeremy Neal Blowers, was there, in the field, narrating the whole event and giving us very interesting details about each vehicle. A history lesson in real-time. (picture above)

Here are some of the most interesting vehicles we saw in action that Saturday:

M4 Sherman

This tank was the backbone of the American armored divisions, both in Europe and in the Pacific. At the beginning of the war, the Sherman was severely inferior to the German Panzer, lacking thicker armor and firepower. After heavy losses on the battlefield, the model went through many improvements, and by 1944 it was already a worthy opponent against the Germans. It is armed with a 76mm gun and powered by a 400 hp, air-cooled, 9-cylinder Continental aircraft engine.

Daimler-Benz Panzer III

“A German Panzer is worth 10 American Sherman. The only problem is they always show up with more than 11”. – (A popular joke among German tank crews)

Although the Panzer owned by the museum is a reproduction, built with original Panzer parts, it gives you a pretty good idea of how good the original one was. Low profile, fast, agile, and powerful. It is armed with a 37mm gun and powered by a 300hp Maybach V12 engine.

Canadian Military Pattern CMP-15

One of the most popular multi-purpose Allied trucks of WWII, the CMP-15 was mass-produced in Canada, at the Oshawa, ON plant, under British specifications, especially for the Commonwealth countries. It could be powered by either Ford or Chevrolet engines and it was regarded as extremely versatile and nearly indestructible. Those qualities made the CMP 15 highly desirable even to other Allied countries outside the Commonwealth.

One interesting feature of the CPM-15 is the windshield, mounted at a negative angle. The idea was to prevent snow accumulation on the glass.

BMM Jagdpanzer 38 (t)

By 1944 the tide of WWII had changed, the Allies were making considerable advances and Nazis were stretching thin to keep up the fight in so many different theatres. As Germany was running out of both equipment and manpower, their industry started to build more defensive weapons. This is the case of the Jagdpanzer, or tank hunter. This machine has a powerful 75mm gun and it is equipped with heavy armor, capable of withstanding some severe punishment. Besides those qualities, this vehicle wasn’t meant to face Allied tanks on an open battlefield, instead, it would hide, motionless, just waiting to ambush the enemy. Since the Jagdpanzer had no gun turret, it was a lot cheaper to build; a good sign that Germany was running out of steam at the time.

Picture by Ontario Regiment Museum

Ford Universal Carrier

For most of us, the “nonexperts”, every military vehicle equipped with tracks is a tank, which is not true. The Ford Universal Carrier is a good example, this little machine was created to be a multi-task, all-terrain support vehicle, capable of pulling a trailer full of equipment through mud and snow. Since the Allies had to rush the production of military equipment at the beginning of the war, they used whatever was available at the time. The engine, transmission, and rear end of this carrier came from “off-the-shelf” Ford commercial truck parts.

And yes, you guessed it right, the engine is a Ford Flathead V-8. It seems that before starting the Hot Rod movement in the late 1940s, the mighty flatty had another important mission: defeat fascism.

Picture by Ontario Regiment Museum

The guy you see in this picture (on the left) is retired CAF Sgt Steve Jordan, he was the driver of the Ford Carrier that day. A lot of details about the vehicle I wrote here came from a delightful chat we had before the event. Sgt Jordan is such a nice guy, I hope we’ll meet again in the future, for another interesting conversation.

Picture by Ontario Regiment Museum

Sd. Kfz 261 – Hanomag

Since I was a kid, I have been fascinated by the so-called half-track vehicles. What’s up with that? A truck that looks like a tank? Wow!

The picture above shows the German half-track Hanomag and we can use it as a good example of how Germany was preparing itself for war way before the Allies. While the American half-tracks look like commercial trucks adapted for combat, the Hanomag is a true war machine, with a low-profile design and armored cabin and engine bay.

The Parade

The video above is a short footage of the parade. I never thought I would see WWII-era tanks in action right in front of me but, there they are.

The battle

The next part of the show was a mock battle between the “Germans” and the “Allies”.

Starting with a few actors recreating the arrival of a group of German soldiers on the battlefield.

The climax of the event is the “tank battle”. The confrontation starts when all the vehicles withdraw from the field, leaving it for the infamous German Panzer III to face its challenger, in this case, the American light tank M3 Stuart. The public goes crazy, watching the two tanks, running up and down the track, chasing each other and firing blanks. In the end, it was up to the crowd to choose the winner, and we decided that the Panzer was the vanquisher. The Stuart crew fought valiantly but they were no match for the “Germans”.

A noble mission

French farmers and American GIs celebrate the liberation of their village with freshly made cider.

The Ontario Regiment Museum carries on the noble mission to preserve history, showing us the ingenuity of our industry and the courage of our veterans during horrendous times.

As Mr. Blowers said, these events are not intended to glorify war, instead, they are meant to show to the newer generations that thousands of soldiers paid the ultimate price to guarantee the freedom we so carelessly enjoy now.

Space Shuttle – Chapter 5 – The Columbia Disaster.

The orbiter Enterprise was the very first Shuttle built for the program, but the ship wasn’t even fitted with engines; it was exclusively used for gliding tests and it never left Earth’s atmosphere. It was the second ship, Columbia, that had the honor of being the first orbiter to reach space. In so many ways Columbia was the banner of the Space Shuttle Program.

Columbia, on the launch pad, waiting for the countdown. The red circle on top shows the location from where the piece of foam broke off and the lower red circle shows where the debris struck the wing.

On January 16, 2003, Columbia left Earth on its 28th mission, carrying a crew of seven. Although NASA was deeply involved in the construction of the International Space Station, Columbia’s last mission, STS-107, was purely for scientific research. The flight was originally scheduled to launch on January 11, 2001, but it was delayed thirteen times. Even after 20 years after its first flight, NASA was still fighting multiple problems that plagued the program.

This GIF shows the exact moment when the piece of foam hits Columbia’s left wing.

With all systems on the green, Columbia ignited all its engines and launched at 10:39 a.m. Once again, what seemed to be a perfect lift-off, was, in fact, a tragic one. At 81.9 seconds after the launch, a piece of foam, measuring approximately 21 to 27 inches (53 to 69 cm) long and 12 to 18 inches (30 to 46 cm) wide, broke off from the left bipod on the external fuel tank, striking the panels on Columbia‘s left wing like a cannonball, at a relative velocity of 573 mph (922 km/h), severely damaging the carbon thermal shield on the edge of the wing.

The thermal shield problem

The ceramic tiles used to protect the ships against the scorching heat during the reentry proved to be a headache from day one. There are reports of missing titles even during the gliding tests, in the late 1970s. Although the thermal protection around the orbiters received several improvements throughout the program, by the early 2000s it was still very fragile against the impact of debris.

The solid rocket boosters and the external fuel tank also received a thermal shield but with a different purpose. They were covered with insulating foam, meant to keep the liquid hydrogen (LH2), stored at −253 °C (−423 °F), and a smaller tank for liquid oxygen (LOX), held at −183 °C (−297 °F). The insulation also prevented ice from forming on the tank’s exterior. 

This foam performs quite well as a thermal shield, but it can be extremely troublesome to endure the hardships of ascending. Speed and vibration cause the material to crack and break apart. Foam strikes occurred regularly during Space Shuttle launches; of the 79 missions with available imagery during launch, foam strikes occurred on 65 of them, resulting in damages to the ship’s thermal shields, from minor to near catastrophic, as was the case of Atlantis in 1988. Once again, the years have passed and NASA didn’t take a more effective approach to fix the problem.

The doomed mission

It was only on the second day after the launch that NASA, during a routine review of videos of the lift-off, noticed the debris strike. None of the cameras that recorded the launch had a clear view of the incident, leaving the group unable to determine the level of damage sustained by the orbiter.

Boeing engineers (1) replicated the incident on modeling computers and they concluded that the damage to the thermal shield was severe enough to compromise the integrity of the wing during reentry. On the other hand, NASA downplayed as much as possible the severity of the situation, after all, foam strikes were a common occurrence and so far, they had managed to bring the crew safely back home.

The engineers and a few NASA officials proposed a request with the Department of Defense to reroute its orbital spy cameras to take a closer look at the damaged wing. The idea really got some traction when the DoD said it would gladly do whatever was necessary to take those pics. However, NASA Mission Management Team Leader Linda Ham declined the offer, saying the procedure would interfere with the ongoing science operations.

The crew spent their 16 days in space conducting some 80 experiments before preparing to return home, on the morning of Feb. 1, 2003.

Debris from the space shuttle Columbia streaks across the Texas sky as seen from Dallas on Feb. 1, 2003.
Jason Hutchinson/AP

During the reentry, as predicted, the damaged thermal shield allowed hot gases to penetrate the left wing, melting its internal structure. The wing started to disintegrate and after a few minutes, it completely broke off, causing the shuttle to spin violently and eventually break apart over northeast Texas, near Dallas. All seven astronauts perished in the accident.

In the chaotic minutes that preceded the disaster, NASA was receiving confusing data from the sensors placed around the ship, and after that, they lost communications with the crew. Mission control was still scrambling for answers when they received a phone call saying that a television network was showing a video of the shuttle breaking up in the sky.

This amazing shot of the STS-107 crew was on a roll of unprocessed film that was later recovered during searches of fallen Columbia debris. From left (bottom row) Kalpana Chawla, the mission commander Rick Husband, Laurel Clark, and from the Israeli Space Agency Ilan Ramon. From left (top row) David Brown, William McCool, and Michael Anderson.

The investigation board reporter

NASA recovered 82,000 pieces of debris from the disaster. In total 84,800 pounds or 38 percent of the dry weight of Columbia. Among the recovered materials were the remains of the seven astronauts, which were identified with DNA.

In the week that followed the disaster, The Columbia Accident Investigation Board released a multi-volume report on how the orbiter was lost and what led to it.

Besides the physical cause, CAIB produced a damning assessment of the culture at NASA that had led to the foam problem and other safety issues being minimized over the years.

“Cultural traits and organizational practices detrimental to safety were allowed to develop. Reliance on past success as a substitute for sound engineering practices and organizational barriers that prevented effective communication of critical safety information”

“The shuttle is now an aging system but still developmental in character. It is in the nation’s interest to replace the shuttle as soon as possible,” the report stated.

The orbiter Atlantis docked at the International Space Station. May 2010.

NASA kept the Space Shuttle program going until the completion of the International Space Station. The ISS was also viewed as a safe haven for astronauts to shelter in case of another malfunction.

The space shuttle program was retired in July 2011 after 135 missions, including the catastrophic failures of Challenger in 1986 and Columbia in 2003.

Conclusion

It is not easy to criticize a program that is so emblematic. For more than 30 years the Space Shuttle was a matter of pride not only for Americans but for mankind. For me, it is impossible to look back in time and not picture it; if I bring the 1980s back in my memory, the first flight of Columbia will be there, side by side with Tears For Fears and the fall of the Berlin Wall.

But a cold analysis of the number will show a somber reality: a total of five orbiters were initially built: Enterprise, Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, and Atlantis. A fifth operational orbiter, Endeavour, was built in 1991 to replace Challenger, and when we consider that 2 ships were tragically lost, that’s a 40% vehicular failure rate and a flight failure of 1.5%. This would have grounded any other vehicle permanently.

Each Shuttle was designed for a life span of ten years. Keeping the ships flying for twenty years past the expiration date stifled creativity and innovation. The end of the program marks the end of the reusable spaceship dream, a sci-fi concept that engineers and designers have nourished since the 1950s.

In a very ironic turn of events, NASA brokered an agreement with the Russians to use the Soyuz spacecraft to ferry American astronauts to orbit until the private Space X rocket program became operational.

(1) – Boeing became the company responsible for providing engineering assistance for the program after the acquisition of Rockwell International, in 1996.

My Hometown Racetrack

If memory serves me well, I shouldn’t be older than 14, I spent the weekend at my grandma’s home, and when I came back, my best friend told me that he and the gang went on a journey to the city’s abandoned racetrack, which had been, at this point, closed for several years. My friends had to cross a few neighborhoods and once there, they threw their bikes over the fence, jumped in, and then they rode a few laps on the track before leaving, afraid that someone had seen them and called the police. I was devastated. We had been planning this adventure for a while, and when they finally decided to go, I wasn’t there.

Little did I know that racetrack would be an integral part of my professional life in the future.

Before we move here, let me tell you where my hometown is. For the most part of my life, I lived in the town of Curitiba, in Parana state, located in Southern Brazil, a region predominantly populated by descendants of European immigrants. All those wonderful people who crossed the Atlantic pursuing a better life in South America naturally brought their traditions and their passion and among them was the love for speed.

The finest of the Brazilian auto industry at the time, a DKW leading the pack, followed by a Simca, and an Alfa Romeo.

Organized racing before and after the Great War, in Brazil, happened mostly on city streets or highways, from one town to the next and back. As the interest in auto racing kept growing, the authorities and the private sector saw a good business opportunity.

The birth of the track

The father of Curitiba’s racetrack was Flavio Chagas Lima; a businessman passionate about motorsports. In the 1950s he came up with the idea of a racetrack surrounded by a multi-sport complex that even included an artificial lake for aquatic activities. This mega arena would be built in one of his properties, located in the city of Pinhais, on the outskirts of Curitiba.

Finding investors for such a grandeur enterprise proved to be an impossible task, and Lima had to scale down his dreams, sticking with the racetrack only.

The construction began in 1965 and in 1967 it was done, or should I say almost done, since they ran out of money before paving the track.

The top pictures show the racetrack right after its inauguration, in 1967. The bottom left, a Formula-Ford race in 1970, and the bottom right is a touring car race in 1988. Picture courtesy: nobresdogrid.com.br

Oh well, who needs asphalt, right? Races were held at the new facility almost every weekend while the investors were scrambling for more money.

In 1968 a rich businessman driving a slightly modified 1958 Ford Galaxie won a race there, receiving the checkered flag ahead of some of the most powerful purpose-built cars in town. He was so happy with his victory that he decided to pay for the stone foundation of the track, making it ready to receive the asphalt.

The track was finally paved by 1969, and it started to receive competitors from all over the country. Unfortunately, the so-called first phase of the track was short-lived, Mr. Lima was a short-tempered guy, with a “It is my way or no way” attitude, and he didn’t take long before getting in trouble with the Brazilian Motorsports Association (Federacao Brasileira de Automobilismo). Lima was not happy having the FBA telling him how to conduct business and in a rampant outrage, he closed the track, 3 years after its inauguration.

The second chance

The circuit remained dormant for nearly 17 years until a consortium of a few investors and the government of Paraná signed an agreement for a 12-year concession. An initial sum of 2.5 million dollars was spent on renovations and in 1988, the racetrack reopened its gates to the public.

The facility was officially named after Raul Boesel (pictured above), a race driver who was born and raised in Curitiba. Boesel was a former F-One driver when he won the 1987 World Sportscar Championship.

During the 1990s, the Circuito Raul Boesel flourished with activities, even hosting events at the national level. The picture above shows the Carpizza – Chevy Opala during the 1993 edition of the 12 Hours of Curitiba.

Another businessman who got seriously involved with the racetrack was João Alexandre de Abreu, my ex-boss from the time when I worked for Powertech (check out the post: Best Job of My Life). In the early 1990s, he brought a team from the National Hot Rod Association to provide all the technical information for the construction of a concrete drag strip on the racetrack, right in front of the stands. It was also equipped with a state-of-the-art timing system and for many years it was the best drag strip in South America. Drag racing always brought the largest number of fans to the track, between 30,000 and 40,000 during the Festivals, in December. In the picture above, the Powertech top fuel #13 is going for its final match, during the Brazilian Drag Racing Festival, 2014.

The new administration never stopped improving the Circuit. In the early 2000s, it was homologated to host international events, like the World Touring Car Championship. (picture above). The track was renamed: Autodromo Internacional de Curitiba.

The South American Formula 3 Championship was a very popular attraction at the AIC.

The AIC was also the stage for some memorable races, like the one when the former F-One driver (and national treasure), Rubens Barrichello, won the 2014 Brazilian Stock Car title.

All good things come to an end.

The AIC became the second busiest racetrack in the country, only behind the iconic Interlagos, in São Paulo. The people responsible for the administration were truly passionate and they kept improving the facility, elevating it to the top 5 racetracks in South America.

But as early as 2010, the AIC started to face its biggest threat, urban development. Back in 1967, the city of Pinhais, where the track is located, was nothing more than a collection of small farms, but after more than 40 years the landscape of the region changed drastically. The farms were given away to residential neighborhoods and noise levels during the races became a nightmare for the local population.

The City of Pinhais and the AIC administration fought a fierce battle over the public disturbance. The authorities even threatened to take the case to court and shut down the facility for good, but in the end, money settled the dispute. Developers made an offer for the land that the owners just couldn’t refuse.

In December 2021, the AIC was officially closed and the demolition started a month later.

If speed is our religion, a racetrack is our temple. When a friend sent me the video above, I just couldn’t believe what was happening. My heart was crushed. There is even a story that a race fan placed himself in front of the machines that day, trying to stop the workers.

That is me, as happy as one can be, while working. This picture was taken at the Brazilian Southern Nats Meeting, held at the AIC, in 2015.

Yes, the AIC was my temple, but I didn’t go there just to worship, I had the privilege to be part of a team that worked in backstage. For me, it is still hard to grasp with idea that next time I go visit my hometown, the track won’t be there. I just hope the new homeowners living on that piece of land will be as happy as we were, during those magical years.

Space Shuttle – Chapter 4 – The Atlantis Close Call

On the 2nd of December, 1988, the Orbiter Atlantis successfully took off from Kennedy Space Center at 09:30 EST, carrying a crew of five. The STS-27 mission was top-secret, one of those rare occasions when the Space Shuttle program was used for military purposes. Tucked inside the cargo bay was a surveillance satellite, commissioned by the US Department of Defense.

NASA launched Atlantis right on schedule, and the lift-off procedure was flawless. It was the second Space Shuttle flight after the loss of Challenger and tensions were very high.

The ship reached its orbit as planned but there was a minor hiccup during the deployment of the satellite and the crew had to perform a spacewalk to fix it. At the end of the day, the secret device was released and the current progress of the mission has been satisfactory.

On the third day in space, the crew received dreadful news from ground control; footage of the launching showed that a piece of the insulator from the right side solid rocket booster broke away and the debris damaged the fragile thermal protection of the orbiter. The crew used the camera installed on the robotic arm to assess the damages. They found out that one of the thermal titles was missing, and several others were damaged. To make matters worse, the arm couldn’t reach the area on the leading edge of the wings, the part of the orbit that experiences the most heat during reentry.

The crew sent the pictures taken by the robotic arm to NASA, but since this mission was highly classified, they had to use encrypted software and the images received had a very low resolution, making it impossible for the engineers to access the extent of the damages.

At this point, there was nothing the crew or NASA could do other than pray. On December 6th, Atlantis started its journey back home, the reentry was initiated while the ship was flying over the Indian Ocean, as the Commander was aiming to land at Edwards Air Force Base.

To everyone’s relief, they made it through the atmosphere and safely landed at Edwards. When the technicians came to ship and inspected the damages, they were in disbelief, the level of breakage was way worse than what they were expecting. The fact that Atlantis didn’t burn during the reentry was nothing short of a miracle.

“Darn!!! I don’t think the insurance will cover this, guys!!!
The crew of the STS-27 inspect the damaged heat shields.

Now that we know how close the mission STS-27 came to a disaster, we can only speculate that the loss a second orbiter in such a short period of time would have caused the termination of the entire program.

Paul Newman

Even if you are not a movie aficionado, chances are that you have already heard the name Paul Newman.

Paul Leonard Newman was born in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, on January 26, 1925. According to his family, he showed talent for the stage as early as 10 years old.

The actor

During WWII, Newman served in the US Navy, as a radio operator, for 3 years, in the Pacific. He started to pursue an acting career right after the war but the stardom only came in the 1960s when he starred in movies like The Hustler-(1961), (pictured above), and Cool Hand Luke-(1967).

The movie Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid-(1969), in which he starred with Robert Redford, propelled him to the status of a superstar. Newman had already been nominated 10 times for an Oscar when he finally got one for best actor in The Color of Money (1986).

The philanthropist

Paul Newman was one of those rare Hollywood superstars that used his fame and fortune to do good. In 1982 he created a brand of salad dressing named Newman’s Own, which became a huge success all over North America. Over the years, the company expanded its product range with items such as pasta sauces, cookies, lemonade, and popcorn, resulting in a larger market share.

Since day one, Newman made a declaration that all profits generated would be donated to charitable causes. The mission continues today through Newman’s Own Foundation. In total, more than $600 million has been donated to good causes since 1982.

The race driver

“I’m not a very graceful person. I was a sloppy skier, a sloppy tennis player, a sloppy football player, and a sloppy dancer with anyone other than Joanne. The only thing I found grace in was racing a car.” – Paul Newman 

In 1969, Newman was offered the leading role in the film Winning, directed by James Goldstone. The movie follows the story of a fictional race car driver named Frank Capua, as he strives to win the Indy 500.

Goldstone convinced Newman to attend the Watkins Glenn Racing School and learn how to properly drive a race car. Having the leading actor perform some stunts himself would greatly simplify things on the production set. Additionally, taking classes has also helped him to perform a more convincing “race driver” attitude in front of the cameras.

Paul Newman and Robert Wagner enjoy a break during the shooting of Winning, 1969.

Paul developed a passion for racing during the time he spent at Watkins Glenn. The movie was filmed in an authentic Indy 500 setting, and interacting with individuals such as Bobby Unser, Tony Hulman, and Dan Gurney strengthened his newfound interest in speed.

The SCCA experience

Newman’s debut as a professional race driver happened rather late in life, when he was 47 years old, at Thompson International Speedway, in 1972. In an attempt to avoid unwanted attention, he signed the entry form as P.L. Newman, a practice that he kept throughout his racing career.

It didn’t take long to show that he possessed the qualities necessary to become a champion. Newman won the 1976 Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) D-Production National Championship, at the wheel of a 1971 Triumph TR6. (picture above).

In 1979 Paul was invited to be part of the Bob Sharp Racing Team, establishing a long and successful partnership with Datsun/Nissan. In the same year, Driving a 280ZX, he dominated the season, winning races at Summit Point, Watkins Glen, Brainerd (Minn.), Lime Rock, and Road Atlanta, culminating in an SCCA National C-Production Championship.

Le Mans

Porsche was the dominant brand at the 1979 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans in the 1970s was a much less glamorous event than what it is nowadays. The global oil crisis forced some drastic rule changes, causing an exodus of the official factory teams and big sponsors.

The 1979 edition of the iconic race was no different. The grid was filled up with privateers and Porsche was the only works team, competing with the 936 prototype. The Germans were the favorite to win the race; the only challenge would come from the Ford-Cosworth-powered Mirage prototype.

But the biggest fuss that year was the presence of the Hollywood superstar Paul Newman. He joined the Dick Barbour Racing Team, sharing the driving duties with German Formula-One driver Rolf Stommelen and Dick Barbour himself. They qualified their IMSA class Porsche 935 in 16th position.

The race was a festival of breakdowns, all the Porsche 936s and the Mirages had to retire, most of them with mechanical problems, leaving the race to be decided among the lower classes.

The Kramer K3 Porsche #41, driven by Klaus Ludwig and Brothers Whittington won the race.

Followed by Dick Barbour Porsche #70, driven by Newman, Stommelen, and Barbour. Both cars experienced significant mechanical issues towards the end of the race, which nearly prevented them from crossing the finish line and receiving the checkered flag.

Finishing the 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans in second place was a major boost in Newman’s racing career.

The man ended the 1980s by winning two additional SCCA championships in 1985 and 1986, while driving a Nissan 300ZX.

The Indy/CART years

Mario Andretti at the wheel of the Newman-Haas Lola/Ford, in 1983.

Paul Newman started his enterprise in the F-Indy community in a unlikely way. In 1982 he received a call from Carl Haas, inviting him to be partner in a F-Indy team, which Newman refused up front. Besides being fierce competitors within the CanAm series, Haas was an occasional supplier of race car to Newman, who claimed they typically arrived late and overweight.

Carl Haas was a persuasive guy, he told Newman the team was pretty much good to go. The man was the official distributor of Lola race cars for North America and as such he had secured the brand’s come back to F-Indy and also a contract with Ford as the engine supplier. Newman was still not convinced but when Haas told him that Mario Andretti would be the team’s driver, he finally changed his mind. For anyone with little knowledge in motorsports, Andretti needs no introduction, an extremely talented and versatile driver, also know for being a real team player, always committed to make things work properly.

The Newman-Haas Racing was officially born in October 1982, with high hopes for the next year season. But things were happening too fast, Lola assumed the team’s debut would be 1984, giving them a whole year to develop the car. With a such short notice, the Brits delivered a less than impressive car for the 1983 season.

Paul Newman, Lola’s manager Nigel Bennett, Mario Andretti, and engineer Tony Cicale.

Thanks to Andretti’s experience and the determination of the technicians, the Lola-Ford T700 was entirely revised and greatly improved, becoming a real contender. The result for all that hard work came with Mario finishing the season in third. Not bad for a rookie team with a car that was rushed into development.

The gorgeous Lola-Ford T800

In 1984 Andretti dominated the season with six wins, nine poles and scored a total of 10 top-ten finishes to win Newman/Haas’s first CART season championship. (picture above)

Another superstar that was part of the Newman-Haas history was Nigel Mansell. The British driver became the 1992 Formula One World Champion, driving for Williams. Thanks to a disagreement with the team’s management, he not only quit Williams but the F-One circus all together. He packed his things and crossed the Atlantic to become the number one driver at Newman-Haas team.

Paul Newman and Nigel Mansell.

Mansell took the F-Indy by storm. In his debut season, 1993, he won five races, scoring the championship and also the title Rookie of the Year. His aggressive driving style conquered hearts and minds of the American fans.

Thanks to a coincidence in the calendar, Mansell was the only race driver in history to hold both world titles at the same time, F-One and F-Indy, even of it was for only 3 weeks.

Brazilian driver Cristiano da Matta celebrates after winning the 2002 driver’s title for Newman-Haas.

Newman/Haas became one of the most successful teams in Indy/CART history, clinching 107 race victories, 109 pole-positions, and 8 driver’s championships, between 1983 and 2011.

The final years

Certainly the job as team’s owner/manager kept Paul  busy but he always found time to step into a race car and hit the track.

In 1995, Paramount Pictures sponsored Paul Newman in the 24 Hours of Daytona, driving a GTS-1 class Mustang prepared by Roush. Literally showing to the world that age is just a number, his car carried the # 70 in honor of his age. Newman managed to win his class and finish 5thoverall, becoming the oldest driver ever to be part of a winning team in a major sanctioned race.

Newman went back to the Daytona once more in 2006, driving a Crawford-Ford prototype. Following his personal tradition since 1995, the car received the #79, reflecting his age at the time. The Crawford belonged to Newman-Haas but it received sponsorship by the Disney Pixar animated film “Cars”.

Paul provided his voice for the character Doc Hudson, a retired anthropomorphic race car in the first movie of the franchise (2006). This was his final role in a major feature film, as well as his only animated film role.

In June 2008, Newman made public that he was diagnosed with lung cancer and was receiving treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, in New York. He was a heavy cigarette smoker until he quit in 1986. Paul Newman died at his home in Westport, Connecticut on the morning of September 23, 2008. He was 83 years old.

Newman’s racing career was greater than what I wrote here, but if I wanted to tell every detail of it, I should have written a book instead. 

The guy lived his life to the fullest but he always considered himself a common man. The title of his memoir reflects exactly that: The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man. I haven’t read the book yet, but it is on my list.

I would like to finish this article on a lighter note, telling a couple of interesting stories involving Newman.

The Hot Rod Volvo

Paul Newman developed a curious interest in souped up Volvo station wagons. He owned more than a couple of those and at some point, he even convinced his pal, the famous TV host and notorious car guy, David Letterman to order one. Here it is the story, told by the man himself, David Letterman.

“One day Paul called me at home with an interesting offer“.

“Dave? I’ve got a deal from a guy in Maine,”

“It’s a custom Volvo 960 station wagon, OK? But it’s different. He’s going to take a small-block Ford V-8 racing engine, strip out the transmission and suspension, then supercharge it. My guy’s gonna make it for me. Would you like one?”

David Letterman was stunned, but in a split of second the car guy took over the sensible guy.

“Well yeah, Paul,” “Wouldn’t we all?”

“Supercharge the Volvo. Swedish safety be damned! Go nuts!”

“So, Paul eventually brings the car over, drops it off and this is the kind of car that people would stare at streetlights,” Letterman told his TV audience after Newman’s death in 2008. “It was like an atomic furnace under the hood. I used to love driving it. It would go 170 miles per hour (270 km/h) and underneath the exhaust system would glow bright orange.”

Then one day Letterman was in the Volvo on a New York Interstate with his girlfriend when she asked: “What’s that smell?”

Letterman turned to her and said, “Raw power and speed, baby.”

Wrong. The Volvo was on fire.

“We had to pull over, the car was shooting flames everywhere. It couldn’t handle the power,”

“I call Paul and say ‘ . . . Everything is on fire.’ But, wow, what a car!”

The most expensive Rolex in the world

In 1972, Joanne Woodward was seeking a present for her husband, and in a New York ‘Tiffany’ store she purchased a Rolex Daytona Chronograph, model 6239, for about $300.

She had the case back engraved with the words ‘Drive Carefully, Me’. A thoughtful gift indeed.

Newman really loved his Rolex, and he wore it daily, as hundreds of pictures taken through the 1970s and 80s can prove. But one day, in a burst of generosity, he gave his beloved watch away.

The year was 1984 and Nell, one of Newman’s daughters, was dating James Cox, a high school classmate. During the summer of that year, Paul hired Cox to rebuild a treehouse in the family’s property. One day Cox arrived a little late to work and Newman asked him – “What time is it?”, which the guy answered – “I don’t have a watch, I don’t know what time it is.” Paul unstrapped his Rolex and handed it to Cox. “If you remember to wind this, it tells pretty good time.”

No doubt it was a very generous act, not only because it was a Rolex, but because it was a gift from his wife, a gift that he loved very much. Perhaps Paul had the feeling that Cox would, eventually, became his son-in-law.

James and Nell broke up a few years latter but they remained good friends ever after. As for the Rolex, he kept it like a treasure, until 2017 when he decided to sell it.

Nell Newman and James Cox, in 2017.

It took less than 12 min for the iconic time piece to fetch the mind blowing sum of $17.8 million, setting a new record for the highest price ever achieved for a wristwatch at auction. As one would expect, a good portion of the money went to charity, through the Nell Newman Foundation.

What goes around, comes around.

 

The Ghost Camaro

This passion that we, gearheads, nurture for cars and motorcycles is, in most cases, a shallow one. Besides the cheap thrills of speed and the idea that by saving old cars from the junkyard we are preserving history, there are not a lot of good deeds in this hobby.

But every once in a while we stumble upon a story of selfless people at the wheel of powerful cars, on a mission to help others in need.

This story that I found on Demaras.com has all the ingredients of an amazing action movie, a fearless special ops soldier driving a Camaro that looks like it came straight from the Mad Max movie set, and a bloody war in the background. This is the proof that real life can be much more spectacular than fiction.

Ghost Camaro on a Mission from God

Space Shuttle – Chapter 3 – The Challenger Disaster

It was unusually cold on the morning of January 28, 1986, and orbiter Challenger had spent the overnight on the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The first thing the engineers noticed that morning was ice crystals around the ship and the equipment. That was not a good sign.

The ship was (supposedly) ready for the 25th mission of the STS program. The purpose of the flight was to deploy a communication satellite and also to study Halley’s comet. At 11:39 EST, the orbiter took off, carrying a crew of seven, and among them one civilian, Christa McAuliffe, a school teacher from Concord, New Hampshire. After 73 seconds on its flight, a malfunction in one of the solid rocket boosters caused an explosion, disintegrating the whole craft. None of the crew members survived.

A Teacher among the astronauts

In 1985 NASA created a project called Teacher in Space, hoping that sending a teacher into orbit would increase public interest in the program, and also reassure the reliability of space flight at a time when the agency was under continuous pressure to keep its financial support. President Reagan said it would also remind Americans of the important role that teachers and education serve in their country.

McAuliffe was chosen among 11,000 applicants; she went through proper training and received the title of Payload Specialist. She was 37 years old when boarded the Challenger on that fateful morning.

The “O’ring” problem.

The two Solid Rocket Booster provided most of the thrust necessary to send the shuttle into orbit. Each one of them is a massive piece of equipment, with 45.46 m (149.16 ft) in height and 3.71 m (12.17 ft) in diameter.

The boosters were built in four segments at Morton Thiokol Company and then shipped to Cape Canaveral; once there, NASA would put them together and attach them to ship. Each segment is sealed with two O-rings, one primary and one backup, and since the beginning of the program, those O’rings proved problematic. Under extreme pressure, the seals would extrude from their seats rather than compressed. The Thiokol engineers warned NASA that the O’rings and their seats needed improvement but the agency always judged the matter was within acceptable safety parameters.

Many problems plagued the orbiters up to this point in the program’s development and perhaps, the O’ring issue was one of the easiest to be fixed.

The magnificent Challenger, at the launch pad, waiting for the countdown. NASA had the chance to postpone the mission, saving the lives of the crew members, but they decided to go ahead.

The morning of the Challenger launch was bitter cold, it had reached -8°C (18° F) overnight, and around 9 o’clock it was -3°C (26° F), a record low for a Space Shuttle launch. The Thiokol engineers expressed their concern that the cold weather could have harden the already problematic rubber seals, diminishing even further their capacity.  Thiokol was in favor to postpone the launch, but NASA insisted to go on. After a brief phone call between the two parties, the engineers changed their opinion and gave NASA the green light for launch.

One booster breaks free and escapes the explosion, continuing its unguided flight.

As predicted, at the takeoff, one of the O’rings failed, on the right side booster, causing hot gas and flames to travel through the joint section. After 73 seconds into the flight, the ship exploded.

A televised catastrophe

The decision to take a civilian into space sparked a higher-than-usual interest among the population and the media around the world. The disaster was seen live by millions of people. I saw the video of the explosion later that day, at the evening news, and even after 37 years, I still remember the gut-wrenching feeling of it and how hard was accepting that a NASA’s space ship had been lost.

President Ronald Regan had been scheduled to give his 1986 State of the Union Address on January 28, 1986, the evening of the disaster. Some people believe that NASA was under pressure not to postpone the mission because Regan wanted to talk about it in his speech. Needless to say, the President canceled his discourse and he addressed the nation about the disaster instead.

The aftermath

NASA spent months recovering pieces of the wreckage from the ocean floor and also human remains of the seven astronauts. A series of investigations and safety commissions were launched. The government put the Space Shuttle program on ice for 32 months.

The result of the investigation just made official something NASA and Thiokol knew all along, the faulty O’rings were the culprit of the explosion.

The agency finally allowed the engineers to address the issue; the joints and the gaskets on the booster were redesigned and greatly improved.

The world always regarded NASA as the zenith of engineering, we always admired them as the most capable and efficient professionals on the planet. For me, and I believe for many others around the world, it is hard to believe that NASA allowed money and politics to interfere in the agency’s affairs.

The picture above shows the Space Shuttle Challenger Memorial, right after a wreath laying ceremony that was part of NASA’s Day of Remembrance, Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012, at Arlington National Cemetery.

It was tragic that seven people had to die in order to get such a simple issue fixed. In the years that followed the accident there was lot of blaming going around but no criminal charges were ever filed.

As one would expect, the Teacher in Space program was canceled after the disaster.

Vintage Wheels and Wings

The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, in Mount Hope, Ontario, is one of my favorite places in Canada. They have an impressive collection of vintage warbids, and one of the only two flyworthy WWII Avro Lancaster in the world.

Every summer the museum hosts the Vintage Wheels and Wings, an amazing show where the visitors can cherish a gathering of classic cars and airplanes at the same time.

The 2023 edition of the show happened on Sunday, July 16th and the TCM crew (my wife Estela and I) went there to check it out.

The meeting starts at the parking lot, with some interesting cars that didn’t make the pre registration, like this 1973 Brazilian built Chevrolet Opala. The car belongs to Bruno “Chumbinho”, a Brazilian gearhead that moved to Canada in 2019 and the idea of leaving his classic Chevy behind never crossed his mind. You can check more about the car in his You Tube channel: https://youtube.com/@OpalaInCanada

Another cool car at the parking lot was this super wicked Buick GN.

It was an overcast Sunday morning, with chance of rain but fortunately it didn’t happen. We took quite a few pictures and also made a short video. I hope you will enjoy it.

1968 Pro Touring Camaro

With the prices of a vintage VW Bus reaching the Stratosphere now a days, some people are improvising. This guy converted a Japanese micro van (I couldn’t figured out the brand) into a VW Bus look alike. The job was well done and the tiny van looks awfully cute.

FIAT Bertone X1/9
Me: “I am gonna wait for the people to leave to Cobra alone, so I can take a good pic”. Estela: “Good luck with that!”

A Coyote powered 1972 Torino
1967 Shelby Mustang
1967 Thunderbird
The next generation of gearheads.
Willys was a bit pretentious when they named the Jeep engine.
1964 Mercury Marauder
The interior of the Mercury Marauder.
Canadair CF-5
McDonell CF-101 Voodoo
The cabin of a de Havilland DHC-5 Buffalo
1967 Austin-Healey 3000
That little fella on the left was genuinely excited with the Oldsmobile. He went “wooooow“ when he saw the car.

Space Shuttle – Chapter 2- The Challenger Close Call

The emblem of the mission, showing the names of the Challenger crew. Every mission had its own emblem, used as a patch on the sleeve of the space suit.

On the 12th of July, 1985, on the launch pad of the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, the orbiter Challenger was getting ready for STS-51-F, the 19th mission of the program. Besides the constant flight delays and cancelations, NASA had secured government funding and it seemed like Americans were back in love with space exploration.

Challenger was the third orbiter built by Rockwell for the STS program, and after seven successful missions, it had proved to be a reliable one.

This amazing picture shows the Spacelab 2 inside Challenger cargo bay, ready to perform a series of experiments.

The purpose of the STS-51-F mission was to put in orbit the Spacelab 2, a reusable laboratory developed by European Space Agency (ESA) and used on certain spaceflights flown by Space Shuttle program. However it was a far less import assignment that really caught the public attention: the Carbonated Beverage Dispenser Evaluation, which was an experiment in which both Coca-Cola and Pepsi provided specially designed soda cans for the astronauts to enjoy while in space.

With all systems showing green, the countdown started but at T-3 seconds the launch was aborted, the computers detected a malfunction in the coolant valve of the #2 main engine. The launch was postponed to July 29, the closest day with favorable weather conditions.

On the scheduled date for its second launch attempt, (after a delay of 1 hour 37 minutes, thanks to a software glitch), Challenger ignited its engines and started the journey, roaring towards the final frontier at full throttle. However, the ship was not out of the woods just yet.

At 3 minutes 31 seconds into the ascent, the temperature sensor on the high-pressure fuel pump failed. A few minutes later, the supplementary sensor also failed, causing the system to shut down the center engine. Around 8 minutes into the flight, the same sensor on the right side engine also gave up, and the supplementary sensor was showing temperatures near red line.

At this point, the solid rocket boosters had already been jettisoned but Challenger was still attached to the external fuel tank. The loss of a second engine would have been catastrophic since the orbiter couldn’t be able to keep its ascending with only one engine. A worst case scenario would have prompted the crew to disconnect the external fuel tank much sooner then planned, causing it to fall over a populated area instead of the ocean. Ground control immediately ordered the commander to disable the automatic shutoff, keep the pedal to the metal, and pray for the two engines to hold.

The two remaining RS-25 engines carried out their obligation and put Challenger into orbit, although at a much lower altitude. NASA instructed the crew not to push their luck and bring the ship to a lower-than-planned orbit of 265 km when the original flight plan was 385 km.

The mission came very close to a total disaster, but thank God it didn’t happen. The Spacelab 2 task was considered successful, but the space soda cans received mixed reviews from the astronauts and the project was canceled.

IMSA in Canada

From July 06 to 09, the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park hosted the sixth round of the 2023 IMSA/Weathertech season, the Chevrolet Grand Prix.

The Thienes Racing LMP3, without the nose section. (photo – The Classic Machines)

The iconic Canadian circuit has the honor to be the only track to host an IMSA race outside the USA. It is the most important event in the Mosport’s calendar and I have been planning to go for a long time.

Photo – IMSA.com

The IMSA championship is divided in 3 prototype classes, GTP, LMP2, LMP3, and 2 GT/production classes, GTD PRO, and GTD. It can be a bit tedious to keep up with all the details that differentiate them, but it is fair to say that IMSA is pretty close to the European WEC. For example, the new top-class GTP is similar (if not the same) as the European Hypercar. That makes things a lot easier for the teams wishing to compete in both sides of the Atlantic.

Photo by “The Classic Machines”

My plan on Sunday was simple, leave home at 10 o’clock, and get there around 11, giving us plenty of time to go to the open grid/fan walk, for a closer look at the cars and to take some nice pics for the blog. But the place was absolutely packed, we took forever to find a parking spot and when we finally arrived at the paddock, the open grid event was over.

But we were determined not to miss anything else. We crossed the bridge as fast as we could, just in time to catch the start of the race.

This could have been a great pic if it wasn’t for the fence.

It is amazing to see those machines in action so close; feeling the thunder of the engines into your chest and the sweet smell of burned high-octane fuel.

Estela, my wife, and I recorded a very amateurish footage of the race, check it out.

We decided to leave a bit before the end of the race, to avoid the traffic jam. I was hoping to take some pictures of the race cars at the paddock but most of the teams had already packed their stuff and were ready to hit the road.

There were some different classes racing over the weekend as well.
Photo by IMSA.com

When the checkered flag was dropped, the #60 Acura ARX-06, driven by Colin Braun and Tom Blomqvist (picture above) won the GTP prototype class and the BMW M4 driven by Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow won the GT Daytona class. The video below is a 6-minute-long race highlights.

This was my very first time watching a live sports prototype race, and it was a fantastic experience. To wrap up this post, I would like to share a beautiful description of our beloved Mosport that I found on the IMSA website:

-“The 10-turn, 2.459-mile circuit tucked into the woods northeast of Toronto is both loved and feared by competitors. With blind turns and deceptively fast stretches, CTMP can send you to Victory Lane – or send you off course”.-

Space Shuttle

The Space Shuttle, or as it was officially named, Space Transportation System (STS), was one of the most emblematic chapters in  NASA’S history and also the most catastrophic. In this series of 5 articles, we will go through the concept, execution, flaws, and tragedies that haunted the program.

July 21, 1969, at 02:56 UTC, the world watched in awe when the Apollo 11 commander, Neil Armstrong, left the lunar module Eagle and became the first man to set foot on the Moon. The successful mission was, in fact, one giant leap for mankind, as Armstrong later said, but for NASA and the American government, it represented something else. For years, the Americans had been mercilessly beaten by the Soviets in the so-called space race but that day, the crew of the Apollo 11 redeemed their pride, proving that hard work and the good ol’ American ingenuity can be unstoppable. Well, hard work, ingenuity, and a whole lot of money too, NASA funding peaked, by the late 1960s, at a staggering 4,5% of the federal budget.

When the crew of the last Apollo Moon mission came back home, in 1971, the public interest in space exploration had already wined down and Congress decided to drastically cut the flowing of money to NASA.

The minds in charge of NASA knew that the days of meager funding would inevitably come and as early as 1969, they started the development of a cost-effective program called Space Transport System or STS. The idea couldn’t be simpler, instead of one-time-use rockets, this program consists of a series of spaceships that could be reused time and time again. It would take off like a rocket, and land like an aircraft.

Ernest Von Braun, the father of the Apollo program (and also a former Nazi engineer), didn’t like the idea, he thought NASA should keep pushing the rocket technology and send a manned mission to Mars as soon as possible. But the concept of the STS gained hearts and minds among the government and in 1972, the Nixon administration gave NASA the green light to go ahead with the program.

The Space Shuttle idea also had a very important ally, the military. The guys in uniform saw it as the perfect vehicle to transport spy satellites and, who knows, maybe a couple of nukes into space too. “What the heck, let’s scare the bejesus out of those atheist commies!!!“

The Space Shuttle was never meant for deep space travel. As the name implies, the ship was designed to transport astronauts and equipment from Earth to a space station in orbit around the Earth and from this station, a different ship would travel to the Moon and beyond.

NASA received almost 30 different designs of the space shuttle from all the American air and space companies and after careful examination, they decided to go with the one from Rockwell International.

In 1974 the prototype was ready for some initial atmospheric flight tests. At this point, the shuttle was still without engines and had to piggyback a heavily modified Boeing 747 to take off and reach operational altitude. This first orbiter was christened Enterprise.

The picture above shows the moment when the space shuttle Enterprise is detached and starts a test glide. The 747 used as a carrier was a second-hand purchase from American Airlines and it was still wearing the company’s livery at the time.

The details of the machine

Simplicity and efficiency ruled the whole project. The shuttle or orbiter was designed to be powered by 3 main engines but to escape the Earth’s gravitational force, it needs the help of two solid rocket boosters. The ship is attached to the humongous fuel tank, in between the rockets. At a certain altitude, the boosters are released and after the ship consumed all the fuel, the tank is also jettisoned, leaving the shuttle free for a gracious space flight. The rocket boosters were also to be recovered and reused after each flight.

The journey back from space is not an easy task. The reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere is extremely dangerous since, at this point, the shuttle will be traveling at an incredible Mach 23, or 17,500 miles per hour or 7 km per second. The pilot must start the reentry at a 40° angle of attack and slowly bring the craft parallel to the ground and fly it like an airplane as soon as it starts to gain aerodynamic controls. Talking about working under pressure.

The friction of the air against the ship is so intense that without a thermal shield, the whole spacecraft would simply melt away. The bottom portion, most of the nose section, and the edges of the wings are covered with special ceramic tiles, measuring 6×6 inches and the thickness is between 1 and 5 inches. The tiles provide efficient thermal isolation to temperatures up to 1,260° Celsius, but they are extremely fragile against impact. (picture above).

A flawed spacecraft

Is hard to say if NASA was just being overly optimistic about this new program or if they were trying to guarantee the funding for it, but one thing is for sure, they certainly promised way more than they could deliver. NASA said the shuttle would make orbital space travel accessible to the masses and it would be so cost-effective that the agency could afford to send a shuttle to space twice a week.

To enhance the concept of a reusable spacecraft, the orbiter was conceived to be powered by three main engines, which considerably reduced its cargo capacity. To make the matter even worse, the cost of rebuilding those engines after each flight proved to be more expensive than the engines that equipped the rockets of the Apollo program. Some scholars argue that the shuttle could be more useful if it was originally designed as a glider, powered by detachable engines.

The first mission of the program was the STS-1, the orbiter Columbia took off on April 12, 1981, and came back 54,5 hours later, having orbited the Earth 37 times. Columbia carried a crew of two, mission commander John W. Young and pilot Robert L. Crippen. (picture above).

The launch happened on the 20th anniversary of the first human space flight, performed by the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. This was a coincidence rather than a celebration; a technical problem had prevented Columbia to take off 2 days earlier. That was the first of a series of flight delays and cancelations that marked the program during its existence. All sorts of technical gismos plagued the orbiters throughout the years, from falling heat shield tiles to frozen software.

A breathtaking picture of the shuttle Atlantis, in orbit around the Earth. The first flight of this ship was on October 3, 1985.

During the first half of the 1980s, the shuttles performed many different missions; launching and repairing satellites, taking astronauts to and from the space station, and so on. Those missions were more or less successful but the constant flight delays were a source of frustration among the team. NASA was still trying to show the world they were able to keep a regular flight schedule, even if it was a much lower pace than the unrealistic 2 flights per week originally promised.

The technical problems faced by the team were perfectly understandable; they were dealing with a new and complex machine that needed time to adjust and improve. It was the rush to keep a steady schedule of flights that proved to be a catastrophic mistake.

In the next chapters, we are going to revisit a couple incidents that almost ended in tragedy and also the two horrible disasters that claimed the lives of 14 astronauts.

Justice for Felipe Massa

The 2008 Formula-One season will always be remembered by the crashgate scandal when the Brazilian race driver Nelson Piquet Jr deliberately crashed his car during the Singapore Grand Prix, helping his Renault teammate Fernando Alonso.

But for me, what I remember the most is how heartbreaking it was to watch another Brazilian driver, Felipe Massa, coming so close to winning the world championship and losing it in the last lap of the last race of the season, the Brazilian GP.

I never realized how that crash had significantly harmed Massa in his battle to win the championship. It was only when I read a couple of articles published on Demaras.com that I came to know some important detail about that infamous F-One season. Here is the original post:

#JUSTICEforMASSA

 JUNE 18, 2023 

Brazilians! Race fans! Get mad! GET ANGRY! Something must be done about the injustice done to Felipe Massa. It doesn’t matter how many years it’s been; justice never sleeps!

This inspiring driver who wore his heart on his sleeve was robbed of the Formula 1 World Championship, We’ve all been treated unfairly in our lives, and no matter how much time has passed, we’ve all hoped for justice. Felipe Massa must be retroactively awarded the World Championship for the gross injustice that occurred at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.

Renault went beyond teamwork to win at Singapore in 2008. Many involved in the crime including Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds faced severe punishment for their actions…but has justice been done?

Massa has this year started investigating legal action, saying it was the comments of those in charge of Formula 1 at the time that got his interest.

“It’s not like I woke up at the start of this year and was looking for that result in 2008. But we saw some interesting interviews from Bernie (Ecclestone) and also from (former FIA race director) Charlie Whiting, from (former FIA president) Max Mosley’s series that he did. And after that I thought what happened at the end was not correct. So I’m looking forward to understanding everything that happened.

Because to be honest I fought them to the last lap, I fought them to the last moment. I used a lot of my heart to celebrate that moment. We fought until the end. I won the race in Brazil, but maybe something that happened in that race in Singapore was not correct, for the sport and for the justice I would say.”

Felipe Massa

The powers-that-be in Formula 1 kept the scandal quiet until the end of the season, even though they knew that race fixing had occurred in Singapore. They tried to solidify the tainted championship and prevent Massa and Ferrari from appealing. Many people question whether a legal challenge to a sporting event from 15 years ago would be worth the paper it’s written on.

For Formula 1 to regain any credibility on the world stage, to maintain its tenuous grip on the title as ‘the pinnacle of motorsports’ the FIA must untangle this web of lies and do what is right.

We demand #JUSTICEforMASSA

Military Common Sense

Those who follow this blog know that every now and then I post an article that is related to militarism. I am not an expert in this subject, I just enjoy reading as much as I can about it.

This passion also led me to join the Brazilian Air Force, back in 1988. In the picture above, I am the first punk on the left. Oh boy, time really flies.

Not long ago I found an awesome blog, The Pacific Paratrooper, dedicated to exploring the history of the Pacific War. In their latest article, the author decided to lighten up a bit and he posted a series of memes and quotes about military common sense. Even if my experience in the barracks was short, it was impossible not to relate.

I was granted permission to repost the jokes here. “Sir, I hope you will enjoy it, Sir!!!”

A lot of life’s problems can be explained by the U.S. Military and its applications of common sense …

  1. “Sometimes I think war is God’s way of teaching us geography.”
    (Paul Rodriguez)
  2. “A slipping gear could let your M203 grenade launcher fire when you least expect it. That would make you quite unpopular in what’s left of your unit.”
    (Army’s magazine of preventive maintenance ).
  3. “Aim towards the Enemy.”
    (Instruction printed on US M79 Rocket Launcher)
  4. When the pin is pulled, Mr. Grenade is not our friend.
    (U.S. Marine Corps)
  5. Cluster bombing from B-52s is very, very accurate. The bombs always hit the ground.
    (U.S. Air Force)
  6. If the enemy is in range, so are you.
    (Infantry Journal)
  7. It is generally inadvisable to eject directly over the area you just bombed.
    (US Air Force Manual)
  8. Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword obviously never encountered automatic weapons.
    (Gen. MacArthur)
  9. Try to look unimportant; they may be low on ammo.
    (Infantry Journal)
  10. You, you, and you . . . Panic. The rest of you, come with me.
    (Marine Gunnery Sergeant)
  11. Tracers work both ways.
    (US Army Ordnance)
  12. Five second fuses only last three seconds.
    (Infantry Journal)
  13. Don’t ever be the first, don’t ever be the last, and don’t ever volunteer to do anything.
    (US Navy Seaman)
  14. Bravery is being the only one who knows you’re afraid.
    (David Hackworth)
  15. If your attack is going too well, you have walked into an ambush.
    (Infantry Journal)
  16. No combat ready unit has ever passed inspection.
    (Joe Gay)
  17. Any ship can be a minesweeper… once.
    (Admiral Hornblower)
  18. Never tell the Platoon Sergeant you have nothing to do.
    (Unknown Marine Recruit)
  19. Don’t draw fire; it irritates the people around you.
    (Your Buddies)
  20. Mines are equal opportunity weapons.
    (Army Platoon Sergeant)
  21. If you find yourself in a fair fight, you didn’t plan your mission properly.
    (David Hackworth)
  22. Your job is to kill the other person before they kill you so that your national leaders can negotiate a peace that will last as long as it takes the ink to dry.
    (Drill Instructor)
  23. In the Navy, the Chief is always right.

The original post has more material, check it out: https://wp.me/p2IfOX-5qN

The Centennial 24 Hours of Le Mans

On Jun 11, 2023, at 4 PM (local time), the Ferrari Hipercar #51 driven by Alessandro Pier Guidi receives the checkered flag, winning the 100th anniversary edition of the most iconic auto race on the planet, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This achievement  also marks the Ferrari’s first overall victory in the Circuit de la Sarthe since 1965.

The two Ferraris at the front row, at the start of the race.

A total of 325.000 fans from all over the world showed up for the party. The two Ferraris qualified P1 and P2 for the start but at the opening lap it was clear that the mighty Toyota came to what would be their 6th consecutive victory at this legendary circuit. The Toyota drivers went so eager to take the lead that it seamed more like it was the last lap instead of the first.

You might remember the quote from the movie Ford vs Ferrari: “It always rain in Le Mans”, and this year wasn’t different. Heavy rain in the Porsche curves caused chaos before night fall. The picture above shows the moment when a  Glickenhaus Hypercar stopped a spin, just in time to avoid being smashed by a GTE-Am Ferrari.

The all female race team Iron Dames brought their pink-liveried #85 Porsche (picture above) to a brilliant 4th place in the GTE class. Despite the good result, the team was deeply frustrated for missing the podium by one position, after fighting so hard through out the 24 hours race.

The two time Oscar nominated actor Michael Fassbender had a rather disappointing debut at Le Mans in 2022, when he crashed his car. Unfortunately, in 2023 it happened again, Michael run over some debris from earlier crashes at the infamous Porsche Courves, when he lost control of his GTE Porsche and crashed against the barrier (picture above). He was able to drive the car back to the pits but the damage was beyond repair.

The weekend was pretty awful for Porsche in general, with too many cars involved in accidents. Their best results was the Porsche Penske Motorsport #5, finishing the race in 9th overall.

Ferrrari had to share the spotlight with General Motors, which had an amazing  performance this year. Cadillac scored 3th and 4th place overall and the factory sponsored Corvette Racing won the GTE class. GM will be shutting down the GTE team at the end of this season so, winning at Le Mans was the perfect farewell.

Another memorable GM car was the Garage 56 NASCAR Chevy Camaro, racing in class of it own, called Experimental. The team qualified 3 secs faster than the fastest GTE car and the drivers delivered a solid performance through out the 24 hours race.

After 20 hours of racing, the Camaro was going strong at 27th overall, leaving behind all the GTE cars. But nine minutes later, the former F1 world champion Jenson Button had to pull over at the pits with a major mechanical issue. The Hendrick Motorsport team spent one hour and 21 minutes  replacing the gearbox. After that, the only goal was to finish the race, which they did superbly,  receiving the checkered flag in 39th overall.

The LMP2 class also had a historical moment. The #34 Inter Europol ORECA finished the race in P1, scoring the first-ever Le Mans win for a Polish team. (picture above)

During the 24 hours of racing, the leading position was occupied by a few different cars, but the race will be remembered by the battle between Ferrari and Toyota. As usual, the fighting was loaded with drama.

At end of the eighth hour, race leader Pier Guidi spun his #51 Ferrari into the gravel at the first Mulsanne chicane, beaching his car as two cars clashed right in front of him. Guidi told reporters he thought everything was lost but the marshals did an awesome job lifting the Ferrari with a crane and putting him back on the track.

Moments later Kamui Kobayashi brought his #7 Toyota to a near complete stop, avoiding two crashed cars in front of him, just to be abruptly  rear ended by Louis Prette’s GTE Ferrari. Unfortunately that was the end of race for Kamui.

The drama followed Guidi to end, testing the limits of ability and composure of the team. In two different occasions, the #51 Ferrari failed to restart during the pit stops. Thankfully the Italian driver had a good lead over the P2 Toyota, allowing enough time for the technicians to bring the engine back to life.

The #51 drivers, Alessandro Pier Guidi, James Calado, and Antonio Giovinazzi celebrate the historical win at Le Mans.

Not having Ferrari at the Sports Prototype competition for all those years just felt wrong, and I can not lie that I am thrilled to see them back. I was watching the onboard footage from the #51 car; Guidi was going on a parade lap, right after the checkered flag and when I saw the #50 Ferrari joining it, I just couldn’t hold the tears.

Congratulazioni alla squadra Ferrari.

A Very Special Race Car

The very first time my dad took me to an auto race I was no older than 12 years, it was way back in the early 1980s. It was the beginning of the Lost Decade, in Brazil; a time when the country dived into hyperinflation and economic recession. Naturally, a very expensive hobby like motorsports was not a top priority among the population, but for a bunch of genuinely passionate aficionados, the scarcity of money should not be an obstacle.

The race my dad and I went to see that day was at a dirt track, in the city of Mafra, Santa Catarina, and all I can say is we loved every minute of it. Throughout the 1980s dirt tracks became a massive success in Southern Brazil, it was the most affordable way to get into the hobby.

A Chevy Opala, a veteran of the Speed on Dirt, was rescued after being abandoned for 15 years.

The good memories I have from that time are, the camaraderie among the teams, the smell of strong coffee in the mornings and the churrasco (Brazilian barbecue) at lunchtime, the sound engines, the cars passing by in front of us, the dust and sometimes the mud when it was a rainy weekend. It is called Velocidade na Terra, or Speed on Dirt, and it is amateur racing at its best.

A couple of years ago I found Poeira na Veia (dust in the vein) a website dedicated to preserving the history of the Velocidade na Terra. The author of the page is the journalist and race driver Francis H. Trennepohl, probably the biggest supporter Velocidade na Terra ever had.

The dashing Francis, in 1997, posing in front of his first dirt track race car, a VW Gol.

Francis started in motorsport in 1996, competing in Go Kart, and soon transitioned to dirt tracks. The picture above shows his very first race car, a VW Gol that he bought in partnership with a friend. He never told his parents about the acquisition until the day he brought the car home. He was 16 years old at the time. Unfortunately, in his debut race, Francis blew the engine of his VW. Tough luck.

Promotional flyer of the TTC.

Francis is a Jack of all trades in this field. During his career, he was more than just a driver; he was also a track marshal, mechanic, race director, and vice president of the Santa Catarina Motorsport Association. He went far and beyond to stay close to his passion.

In 2009 Francis created the TCC- Turismo Clássico Catarinense, a special class that brings back to the race track classic Brazilian cars from the past. In 2010, he couldn’t get his VW Beetle ready in time for the first race of the TCC, but his friends stepped in to help. He raced that day with a borrowed VW Voyage.

Racing on a budget can be complicated but Francis has been blessed with some truly good friends. In this brotherhood, they are always helping each other, even financially. This is the kind of camaraderie that exists in the Velocidade na Terra.

In 2022 Francis found a structural crack in the unibody of his VW Passat (pictured above ). Since the car was no longer safe for racing (or anything else for that matter), he considered calling it quits.

But then again, his friends were there and they wouldn’t let him retire. Led by another TCC driver, Rodrigo Pupo, they teamed up and put together a new race car, a VW Gol, and gave it to Francis as a gift.

Since day one the #2 VW Gol proved to be a winning car. It is a 1993 year model but it is very structurally sound, which is extremely important for any race car.

Even if it was not the original purpose of the TCC, it became the entry-level class for many young talent drivers in South Brazil. The class also holds the largest grid in most of the events in the Velocidade na Terra.

To keep the cost low, the rules are strict. The car is very close to what left the showroom 30 years ago. The engine is a 1.6-liter, 4-cylinder, fed by a double-barrel carb. This little mill can produce 135 hp. By the regulation, the minimum weight is 830 Kg (1,830 pounds).

The technicians Cristiano and Vithor, from Colodel Racing, are responsible to keep the #2 Gol in top-notch performance, and then again, a financial boost from friends is much appreciated. With a small donation of 80,00 Reais (16.14 American Dollars), you can have an area of 15×25 cm to display your name on Francis’s car. At the end of the day, it covers a good chunk of each race’s budget.

Most of the pictures of the yellow #2 VW Gol you see here were taken during the first race of the 2023 Southern Nats season, which happened in São Bento do Sul-SC, on May 20th/21st.

Francis won both races in the “Light” class that weekend, proving that hard work, talent, and a little help from friends is a winning combination.

Velocidade na Terra is the most grassroots form of motorsport in the country, and the secret of its success is simple, passion and friendship. I can hardly wait to go back to Brazil and once again watch a race on the “dirt”.

*Note of the editor- Francis H. Thennepohl is the creator of Poeira na Veia, a website dedicated to Velocidade na Terra. With more than 35 thousand pictures published so far, his page is a photographic record of dirt track racing in Southern Brazil, from the 1950s until now. Make sure to check it out.

* You can also check my “Buy Me a Coffee” page. Thanks for your support. *

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/rubenshotra

Last Hemi V8 Howls with 1,025 HP of Alcohol-Fueled Fury in the SRT Demon 170

For better or worse, we are witnessing a major shift in the auto industry since… well, since the creation of the automobile; whether we like it or not, the automakers are going electric. I consider myself the most liberal car guy I’ve ever met, I have no problem with the EV, I just don’t like the way it has been shoved down our throats. We don’t have the necessary infrastructure for this change yet and the mining process to get the precious battery materials has proved a social and environmental calamity.  In my opinion, the government and the industry are putting the cart in front of the horse.

But enough with all this blah blah blah, the reason for this article is to talk about one of the first victims of this electrification, the muscle car. We have seen the rise, the fall, the almost extinction, and the renaissance of this beloved movement. But now, after an unimaginable amount of rubber and premium gas burned throughout more than 50 years since its creation, the most thrilling chapter in the history of the auto industry has officially come to an end.

Mopar has always prided itself on producing the most badass muscle car ever and they wouldn’t let us down in this time of need. They will leave the party in great style. Dodge is releasing a couple of special edition Challengers to mark the end of the production and it is a very important occasion to be taken lightly. I am not a writer by any stretch of the imagination and for that reason, I am republishing an article I saw in the Jesus Behind the Wheel . The author, Jesus Garcia, is a real auto journalist and I like his style very much. He captured the essence of the last Chally like no other. Enjoy it.

The seventh and final Last Call edition Dodge is the 8-second 2023 Challenger SRT Demon 170 featuring a 1,025 HP supercharged V8 Hemi.

Last Hemi V8 Howls with 1,025 HP of Alcohol-Fueled Fury in the SRT Demon 170