 Engine Failure Ends Winning Streak for Team MGR Racing-WOT Performance
Rosamond, CA, April 7, 2008. The weekend started just as the team had ended the previous time at Buttonwillow... The #27 WOT Performance Ford Taurus and Manuel Gil del Real were on top of the time charts on each of Friday's test sessions. Then disaster happened...
"The car was running great. We were just making some minor setup adjustments to adapt to Willow Springs unique conditions, but other than that, we had no other problems. I started our third test session building up speed gradually. The intent was to limit each session to five or six laps to minimize tire use. On my sixth lap, I had sector times that were the fastest so far, and on pace to record a lap in the 1 minute 25 second range. I entered turn 8 at full throttle and building speed up to around 125 mph. Then, all of a sudden, I felt a brief vibration in the drivetrain and next thing I know, the rear axle locks up, the engine catches fire, and I'm in a series of uncontrollable spins that end up with the car drifting backwards into the run-off area entering turn 9... Let me tell you, that was one wild ride!" said Manuel Gil del Real afterwards.
Fortunately, Manuel was able to walk out of the car unharmed. The car was resting off the pavement with the tires flat as a result of the spins but the initial engine fire that was caused by oil coming in contact with the exhaust headers, extinguished itself just as the car stopped.
After the racecar was towed back to the team's pit area, Pete Andreas started to take the engine apart to assess the damage. Any little hope of being able to continue racing quickly vanished when he discovered that the engine failure was caused by a broken rod that had also cracked open the oil pan in two different areas.
"As soon as I saw the hole in the pan punched from the inside out, I knew our weekend was over. We didn't have a spare engine with us here, and the damage to our engine was too intense to try and fix it at the track without risking hurting the engine more in other areas," said Pete Andreas, the team's Technical Director.
The team's two race winning streak is over now, however, Manuel Gil del Real remains on top of the ASC-Unlimited Class point standings as they enter the next race weekend at Thunderhill Raceway Park on May 23-25, 2008.
For more information about the Team's 2008 schedule, please visit www.MGRRacing.net or www.WOTPerformance.com.
About WOT Performance:
Based in Riverside, California, since its inception in 2001, WOT Performance (WOT) has had the privilege of working directly with celebrities' cars, fleets and individuals to provide services from oil analysis and speed limiting to wheels-up drag racing to wheel to wheel short track, dirt, and road racing. Among other features, WOT's facilities include Fuel Injection services and a chassis Dyno bringing their passion for technology and custom tuning to continue "Taking Performance to the Next Level".
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