JPierce Posted December 31, 2009 Share Posted December 31, 2009 (edited) At 24 hours they’re only an hour short of NASA’s 25, but hey, they’re trying their best. I’ve always wondered how the other half lives. I mean, just consider the insane amount of preparation, the most amazing equipment on planet earth—and arguably the biggest field of talented drivers all coming together for one weekend at Daytona. These guys push it to the max, every second of every lap, and redline shift after redline shift. They do it the same way we do in the 25 hour, only with really nice equipment. Oh, and the budgets--$80,000 for tires, $30,000 for logistics, $35,000 for hospitality—it’s simply unbelievable! Now I LOVE endurance racing…it’s in my blood! I grew up driving desert buggies/trucks in Baja (still do the Baja 500 & 1000 almost every year). I drove rally cars for the last six years, and my favorites were the three day rallies. I dabbled with Paris Dakar trucks, Pike’s Peak hill climb cars, and I even got my roadracing license a few years ago so I could try my hand at the NASA enduros. One thing I’ve always dreamed of doing (and I think it’s on every racer’s top 10 list) is the 24 hours of Daytona. The only problem for me is that my budget is just a little shy of the $65,000 to $85,000 needed for a Rolex GT seat by, say, about $65,000 to $85,000 or so! So, until I hit the racecar lottery, I’ve remained in contact with the sport by preparing roadrace cars for competition. For the last few years it seems like I’ve gotten away from building offroad racecars/trucks and have focused more on rally and roadracing. Sadly, for the last two years I haven’t been driving as much as I would like, although coaching does get me in the seat regularly. Lately, I’ve been building primarily Porsche Boxsters and 996s. In fact, if you’re currently driving a Spec Boxster or Spec 996 and racing with SoCal NASA or POC, I probably built your cage. Or if I didn’t build yours, I probably built your competitors. And after building Porsches for the past several years, I guess it was only a matter of time before a Ferrari snuck its way in the door. The following is a short press release we sent out earlier this week on our latest build. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Piercemotorsports to prepare Ferrari F430 Challenge car for the 24 hours of Daytona This car is going to be run by Sigalsport (formerly RUM BUM racing) at the 24 Hours of Daytona in January, 2010. The FIA factory built Ferrari Challenge car will need to be converted to Grand-Am specs to be allowed to compete in the USA’s premier auto race. The Piercemotorsports team will remove the FIA roll cage and design and build a Grand-Am spec roll cage, adding both safety and stiffness to the Ferrari chassis. Additionally, Piercemotorsports will build crash support bars underneath both front and rear bumpers; replace Ferrari’s single rear air jack (which bolts to the nosecone of the transmission) with dual rear air jacks; remount and protect front radiators; build center console supports; install racing seat, safety harness and three window nets, plus a laundry list of other tasks. “We are excited and very fortunate to be a part of this effort, and look forward to seeing the car compete at America’s highest level of racing,” said Jim Pierce. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Basically, instead of taking the holidays off, we’ll be here at the shop converting a really nice racecar into a really nice Grand-Am GT spec racecar. For those interested, I’ll update this thread often, so you can see the progress and so you can follow the car on its trip to the 24 Hours of Daytona! Edited January 1, 2010 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard migliori Posted January 1, 2010 Share Posted January 1, 2010 Thanks for the nice story and keep it coming. Does the team need any support like transport driver, pit crew assistant. or resourse a truck / trailer? Richard www.pdg4.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPierce Posted January 1, 2010 Author Share Posted January 1, 2010 Thanks for the offer Richard, I'll pass on your contact info. So it's begun---after removing the back of the car to start rear crashbar/support work, we are now drilling holes into a car worth nearly as much as my home and with brakes which cost more than most of our racecars ($25k for brakes---oh and they aren't even legal for Daytona/they've gotta' go!!!----and my scrap guy wont even pick them up because they're carbon!!!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPierce Posted January 1, 2010 Author Share Posted January 1, 2010 More cutting away of the back---the goal is to make the transmission change quick by being able to have a removeable crossmember/crash protection/wing & Hatch mounts all come out very quickly. We found a "ferrari red" approved sawzall to do the job---truly a universal tool! By the way while you guys are nursing your hangovers, I'm slaving away at the shop!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPierce Posted January 1, 2010 Author Share Posted January 1, 2010 Got a factory Ferrari 430 bolt-in cage cheap if any one needs one! It would just feel weird giving it to the scrap guy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPierce Posted January 2, 2010 Author Share Posted January 2, 2010 My offroad days are influencing this build---ever wonder where the spare tire goes on a Ferrari? Why of course on the rear pre-runner bumper! But I hear you can only go about 97mph on the donut! Now where's my tire spinner... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPierce Posted January 2, 2010 Author Share Posted January 2, 2010 It's getting crashproof/stronger! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard migliori Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 LOOKING GOOD! RM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxer12 Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 Fun job. Sell or give away your take offs on Ferrarichat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbodleimages Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 "the USA’s premier auto race". Isn't that a little over the top? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlfpkrcn1 Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 Looks Great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPierce Posted January 2, 2010 Author Share Posted January 2, 2010 "the USA’s premier auto race". Isn't that a little over the top? Depends on your definition of "premier"...When you go to the Indy 500 you have Indycar drivers mainly, when you go to the Daytona 500 you have primarily Nascar Drivers---with Pikes Peak you get Hillclimbers mainly---BAJA 1000---mostly american Offroad racers...when you go to the 24 Hours of Daytona you get the best of the best from nearly every discipline above and then some...I'm calling it Premier...don't make me call the waaammmbulance on you!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPierce Posted January 2, 2010 Author Share Posted January 2, 2010 Ok---it's got rabbit ears... ur hoodpin mounts & wing supports---the crawford wing generates a bunch of downforce/load so they need to be pretty stout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbodleimages Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 pre·mier (pr-mîr, -myîr, prmîr) adj. 1. First in status or importance; principal or chief: an architect of premier rank. Is the Rolex first in status or importance in Racing in the USA? Daytona 500. Indianapolis 500. First in status or importance in Road Racing or Endurance racing? Sure. You can make a case for that. Press releases are about the words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard migliori Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 Rob, I can answer that for you.... The 25 hours of Thunderhill is the "Premier" race, but only a few know about it! However, as a "professional venue" of road racing, I would say it is the "premier" race. LOL! Now, in the future, a national endurance race could be the "Premier" race as it would crown a "national champion" LOL RM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robbodleimages Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 Sorry Richard. I dont buy it. Thunderhill is the premier race and the Daytona 500 Indy 500 12 Hours of Sebring and the Rolex 24 at Daytona could only hope to be so important. ok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPierce Posted January 2, 2010 Author Share Posted January 2, 2010 Ferrari was nice enough to weld in some threaded aluminum platforms (in the Challenge cars) to locate the cage mounts...We made some slighlty thicker plates using templates from the factory cage to meet reg's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlfpkrcn1 Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 You should post progress pics on garra-fans.com as well. They would love to see the pics. i posted the link to this thread, but you should join us Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPierce Posted January 3, 2010 Author Share Posted January 3, 2010 Everything starts with the hoop---a short/wide/squatty one at that...Kind of boring really! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPierce Posted January 3, 2010 Author Share Posted January 3, 2010 You should post progress pics on garra-fans.com as well. They would love to see the pics. i posted the link to this thread, but you should join us Thanks for the invite---I'll check it out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxer12 Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 What exactly is the cage pipe stock? Without F1 in the picture, I would say you could call it the premier road course event in America. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPierce Posted January 3, 2010 Author Share Posted January 3, 2010 The FIA cage had a 2" x .80 mainhoop with somewhere around 1 1/2" x .065 to .080 a-pillars and supports. Grand-am wants 1 3/4 x .095 and a very simple/traditional design that's similar to NASA rollcage specs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard migliori Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 Looks like a lot fun! I like to see the production parts go smooth and quick! It looks like "ALL BUSINESS!" It is nice that you throw in a few rule explanations too. thanks. Looking forward to the next installment! Richard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPierce Posted January 3, 2010 Author Share Posted January 3, 2010 It fits (these photo's are coming in real time for the most part---it's Sunday morning)! After a little trimming it popped right in! Tight!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard migliori Posted January 3, 2010 Share Posted January 3, 2010 Jim, Do you or are able to lay that back to a max degree as to follow the contour of the door pillar? RM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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