Saleen Owners and Enthusiasts Club - SOEC

Contributed by Doug Nagy, Saleen Motorsports

Monday, October 28, 2002

This last weekend only had one Saleen competing.

John Young and Apex Racing were at VIR in Virginia for the Speed World Challenge final round.

John qualified on the front row only .025 seconds off of the pole due to a slight miscue on his qualifying lap. He traded the lead several times and finally took the lead for good on the second to last lap. He won the race by a margin of .44 seconds over second place. This win, combined with some poor results by other competitors, moved John to fourth in the final points standings. This is an excellent result for a driver in this series in his rookie year. John had already clinched the Rookie of the Year award at the previous round at Road Atlanta.

Tuesday, October 15, 2002

The last two weekends have been busy for teams racing Saleens.

Over the October 4-6 weekend in Miami, Graham Nash Motorsports S7R qualified sixth and finished sixth after brake problems caused by a sticking throttle cable during the race. The second GNM S7R crashed during practice and could not make repairs in time for the race. Konrad Motorsports S7Rs qualified on the pole with the #26 car and did not make qualifying with the #25 car as it was damaged during practice when it hit the wall. The #26 car finished 8th in the race with a failed clutch while the #25 car finished sixth.

The October 9-12 weekend at Petit Le Mans took place at the Road Atlanta circuit. Konrad Motorsports qualified third with #26, and ninth with #25. The #26 car led early and for most of the first hour before having mechanical problems that cost considerable time in the pits, finishing sixth in class. The #25 car also had lots of small mechanical problems and several off-course incidents that dropped it back to fifth in class.

Graham Nash Motorsports qualified fifth with #84 and tenth with #83. The #84 suffered with engine problems in the warm-up and was not able to take the green flag. The #83 car suffered from several small problems that kept it from running to its full potential and only finished eighth in class.

The same weekend at Atlanta the Speed World Challenge ran with Apex racing qualified in eighth on a set of inconsistent tires. During the start of the race John was caught up in an incident between two other cars and was put in the gravel trap. He lost a lap while being extracted and finished the race in 13th one lap down. John has now clinched the rookie of the year title with one race remaining. With a good finish and some luck he may be able to edge back into the top five in points championship.

The Spanish GT championship was awarded this weekend in the next to last round in Jerez, Spain. The pole was set in the Graham Nash Motorsports Saleen S7R with Pedro Chaves and Miguel Ramos driving. They won the race and set fast lap on their way to the podium. This gives them the driver's championship and Miguel has won the Amateur Standings championship for their efforts this year.

The next race is the World Challenge finale in Alton, VA the weekend of October 25-27.

Monday, September 23, 2002

This weekend was busy for Saleens around the world.

In Spanish GT, the Graham Nash Saleen S7R qualified on the pole for both races, and with 65 second success penalties in each race finished Second in both races. The drivers Miguel Ramos and Pedro Chaves have increased their lead in the driver's championship points. The next race is October 11 in Jerez, Spain.

In ALMS at Laguna Seca, Terry Borcheller qualified second in the Konrad Saleen S7R. They finished second in the race and Terry was short of the fast lap of the race by only one tenth of a second. This should move Terry to 5th in Driver's points in GTS. The next race is in Miami the first weekend of October. There will be four Saleen S7Rs at this race.

In the Speed World Challenge at Laguna Seca John Young Jr. qualified 10th with an engine problem in his Saleen SR, and battled his way to sixth in the race with a less powerful back up engine. John was awarded the Rogaine Hair Raising Pass of the Race award, and extended his lead in the rookie of the year points standings. There are two races left in the season with the next one being at Road Atlanta in three weeks.

In the British GT Championship, Tommy Erdos won the Top Gun Championship for most pole positions of the year and Graham Nash Motorsports won the Team Championship. The Driver's Championship was clinched last weekend by Tommy Erdos and Ian McKellar. Saleen S7Rs qualified 1st and 3rd and Tommy and Ian finished second after an unscheduled stop for a damaged tire. The second Saleen S7R had an incident on the first lap and did not finish the race.

Monday, September 16, 2002

This weekend Graham Nash Motorsports ran in the British GT with 2 Saleen S7Rs at Thruxton in England.

Tommy Erdos and Ian McKellar qualified second and won the race clinching the Driver's Championship for Tommy and Ian as Co-Champions. Robin Liddell and Justin Law qualified third and finished second to give Graham Nash a 1-2 finish with S7Rs this weekend. The last race of the year for British GT is next weekend at Donington and the team will be trying to win the Team and Top Gun Championship for most pole positions this year.

In Mont Tremblant, Canada this weekend the TF Racing team qualified third after working all night to rebuild their car after a fire. They retired the car after 5 of the 6 hours of the race in third place. Saleen currently leads the manufacturer's points in GTS and Chris Bingham has clinched the Driver's Championship in GTS. Chris won the championship driving an S7R this year. He is also 2001 Driver's Champion, making this a back to back championship for Chris and Saleen.

Tuesday, September 3, 2002

This weekend Graham Nash Motorsports raced at Snetterton in the British GT series. Tommy Erdos and Ian McKellar qualified the Saleen S7R in second position and finished the race in second spot. Robin Liddell and Nathan Kinch qualified in fourth and finished in First, and Robin Liddell set fast lap and a new lap record on the way to the front.

The TF Racing/ Zippo Saleen SR qualified sixth and finished eight in a rain soaked weekend at VIR in the Grand Am Cup series.

Monday, August 12, 2002

The weekend of the 1-4 of August Saleen customers raced in Trois Rivieres, Canada.

Konrad Motorsports drivers Franz Konrad and Terry Borcheller qualified third and finished sixth after losing an engine in their S7R. John Young Jr. and Apex Racing qualified seventh and finished fourth in a close race in which John missed the fast lap of the race by less than 2 tenths of a second. John was driving his Saleen SR in the Speed World Challenge.

The following weekend Konrad competed under the Park Place entry with Chris Bingham and the Bully Hill 250 at Watkins Glen. Chris qualified on the pole, set fast lap and the Konrad Saleen S7R finished first in class and eighth overall. The next day (Saturday) the Zippo/ TF Racing Saleen SR finished third in the Grand Am cup race at Mid Ohio race course. This race was a support event for the CART Mid Ohio round.

Tuesday, July 23, 2002

Some mixed results from around the world this weekend.

In Speed World Challenge John Young Jr. qualified 9th and finished 5th in the Washington DC round in his Saleen SR.

In Washington DC round of the ALMS series Terry Borcheller and Franz Konrad qualified 3rd and finished 4th after making two stops to the penalty box during the race in the Konrad Motorsport Saleen S7R.

In the British GT championship Thomas Erdos and Ian McKellar qualified on the pole, won the race and set fast lap in the Graham Nash Motorsports Saleen S7R. The team of Tom Herridge and Nathan Kinch finished a close second in Graham Nash Motorsports second Saleen S7R. This race took place at the Rockingham Speedway in England.

SALEEN S7Rs PODIUM ON TWO CONTINENTS:

FIRST IN ENGLAND & THIRD IN CANADA

IRVINE, Calif., August 18, 2002 -- Saleen S7s were sighted around the world this past weekend, including a Lizstick Red road version at Detroit's Woodward Dream Cruise and a Speedlab Yellow supercar at Concourse Italiano and the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Four other Saleen S7Rs were busy with their assault on several sports car championships on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

In spite of a terrific downpour at Oulton Park, Graham Nash Motorsports' team of Brazilian Tommy Erdos and Brit Ian McKellar continued to dominate the British GT Championship with a victory yesterday. The duo has been on the podium eight out of nine races this year winning an amazing seven of them. McKellar was the 2001 European Le Mans GTS Drivers' Champion and one of the teammates is certain to win the British GT Championship this season.

Not quite as lucky has been the Konrad Motorsports' team of Terry Borcheller and team owner Franz Konrad in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS). In spite of Borcheller being the "fastest gun in the West" by claiming most of the GTS poles last year and finishing is the 2001 ALMS GTS Drivers' Champion, the car has been hampered by an ACO imposed restriction that has reduced performance by approximately 100 horsepower.

So it was a huge surprise to everyone, especially Corvette driver Ron Fellows who was going for his seventh-straight pole, when Borcheller pulled off a record breaking time of 1: 15.xxx in Saturday's qualifying session. "That one belongs to the Pirelli guys who raced back to their transporter during the session and re-balanced the wheels for me and let me set that flyer just as the checker fell," commented Borcheller. "We've been struggling all year with that restriction and the pole and our third-place podium finish felt real good."

The next race for Konrad Motorsports will be at Laguna Seca on Sept. 22 live on NBC-TV. There is some hope that the ACO will lift the restrictions by then and Borcheller and Konrad will be allowed to race the Corvettes and repeat their victory of last season at the beautiful Monterey Coast circuit.

Konrad Motorsports Saleen S7R Looking for Score at RFK Stadium

WASHINGTON, D.C., July 19, 2002 -- After two heart-breaking race weekends at Mid-Ohio and Road America, Konrad Motorsports is still looking for its first victory of the 2002 American Le Mans Series (ALMS) season at this weekend's Cadillac Grand Prix of Washington, D.C.

After breaking a half Shaft while racing nose-to-tail with the two factory Corvettes at Mid-Ohio, Terry Borcheller, the 2001 ALMS GTS Drivers' Champion, was leading both Chevrolets at Road America in the #26 Konrad Motorsports Saleen S7R when his engine expired. He did manage to salvage fastest lap at Mid-Ohio. But he and team owner, Franz Konrad, are looking for a little of Lady Luck Sunday in the 2-hour, 45-minute race on a 1.9-mile, 10 turn temporary racing circuit constructed in the parking lot of RFK Stadium. The race will be televised live nationally on NBC beginning at 1 p.m. (EDT)

Besides Lady Luck, Saleen would also like the ACO restrictions of 10% air reduction and 50 kilos of weight decreased but that likely won't happen until late August when the 12th Saleen S7 road car is due for completion. Then, hopefully, the Saleen S7Rs will return the their 2001 form when they were recognized as the fastest guns in the west. The first Saleen S7 road car was delivered on June 6th to Jerry and Kathy Ritzow of Milwaukee, Wisc., who had the opportunity to witness Borcheller's short-lived lead at Road America.

Elsewhere in the unrestricted race world, Saleen S7Rs are piling up victories in a mode similar to last year's inaugural season when four S7Rs set 27 poles and fastest laps, won 19 out of 32 races and four GTS Drivers Championships in four different series. Racing again in four different series, Graham Nash Motorsports currently leads the British GT and Spanish GT Championships with three Saleen S7Rs, while Park Place Racing is out in front in the Grand-Am Rolex Cup for the second straight year.

In addition, Ford Motor Company announced earlier this week that Saleen would manufacture the production version of the Ford GT40 concept car -- the supercar that dominated Ferrari and Porsche at the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1966 through 1969.

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