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Supersport Mk2 Race Report From Mid Ohio!

On the July 4th weekend the Supersport Mk2 made it’s North American racing debut at Mid Ohio Sports Car Course racing with NARRA in the GT1 class.  The competition in GT1 was all Dodge Viper Comp Coupes running V10 engines.

I was again surprised how much the performance bar is raised when you are racing a sanctioned event as opposed to testing at our home track.  I was also a bit surprised by the higher than expected level of competition from the very well driven and professionally prepared cars at NARRA.

Friday was a test day.  We started off running very old tires just to get a feel for the track and the car.  Craig Stanton, our pro driver, did a fantastic job  of getting up to speed quickly.  The second session was skipped to give the crew time to work on the other car we were supporting at the event.  One thing about NARRA, they give you lots and lots of track time for your buck!

For Friday’s third session we mounted new Hoosier tires.  Craig started pushing hard, running fast times but reported the handling was going away.  We returned to the trailer and started inspecting the car.  Another big surprise! The rear lower control arms are bent.  This is the first time we have run the car with improved aero for more downforce and stiffer rear springs.  The control arms were simply not able to handle the increased loads.  We decided to repair and reinforce the control arms, using the trailer landing gear as a press and straightened the arms. Craig went to Home Depot to acquire material to reinforce and strengthen the arms. A late night of cutting and grinding had everything ready for welding in the morning.  The repair and strengthening was rather agricultural but certainly appeared capable of doing the job.

We skipped Saturday’s warmup session and were ready for the qualifying session.  Craig was being very conservative, not being too sure of the control arm repairs and qualified 4th in class.  Inspecting after qualifying showed that indeed the repairs were all holding up just fine. Now we started setting the car up for the race.  Saturday’s race showed us right away that having the lowest horsepower but best handling car on the track was a challenge, especially with Craig’s instructions to “take it easy, we really want to run Sunday!”. Craig was held up by the cars ahead in the curvy bits but when he got to the straights the Viper’s top speed allowed them to pass. Without diving hard in the corners Craig could not negate their top speed advantage.  The half hour race was the longest we have run the Supersport Mk2 in anger.  Craig’s smooth consistent driving earned the car it’s first podium appearance!

Sunday dawned with new enthusiasm from both driver and crew.  Today we would push harder!  Spring changes, aero changes, shock changes, alignment changes, all were made.  After the morning warmup session Craig’s immediate response was “better,better,better!”.  For qualifying a new set of tires yielded Craig a quick time right out of the box.  We are fastest in our class so far so we sit in pit lane and watch the competition.  Craig says he has more left in the car.  On the last qualifying lap Saturday’s GT1 winner just nips us for the pole.  Craig says “No problem, I have plenty left”. He will get them on the start and push hard enough to gain enough in the corners to be able to maintain his position and move up.

On the race start Craig does a fantastic job easily passing the GT1 pole sitter on the outside and starts after a GTU car just ahead.  The GTU car is leaking lots of fluid and Craig cannot run too close without risking the car.  He is pulling away leading the GT1  class when the handling goes away.  He pits and the crew finds that the rear sway bar link is disconnected so we decide to retire.

We learned so much over the weekend.  First, we learned that Craig loves the car.  His common refrain after getting out of the car was “You have a really neat thing here” and “I just love driving this car!” Secondly, we are really close. We need to design and manufacture new rear control arms, thoroughly test them, and retrofit the existing cars free of charge.  Thirdly, racing will push us to refine our setups.  The car is very responsive to changes so optimizing it is achievable and easy to do and changes don’t kill the crew.

The engine, transmission, and electronics performed flawlessly and are proving to be state of the art and very reliable. This complete car is truly a drivers car.

As we work towards building our one-make series for the car we are enthusiastic and very confident that the Supersport Mk2 Spec Series will prove to be the best GT series for drivers on the planet.

-Jackson Stewart

QUALIFYING LAP VIDEO

PHOTO GALLERY

Come See the Supersport Mk2 at Auto Club Speedway Saturday Jan. 10th!

The final developments to the Supersport Mk2 are complete! After the last test we determined that the engine required a larger intercooler to better control air inlet temperatures. The new larger intercooler was installed and was 100% successful on the dyno.

 

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The performance of the Supersport Mk2 was proving to be so good that we decided using a better shock absorber would give us even better results. The new 2 way adjustable state of the art shock designed by Jerome van Gool of MCS gives us confidence that the performance of the Supersport Mk2 is absolutely the best it can be.

 

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Yesterday was spent at the Danzio Performance dyno, analyzing the engine tuning with the new intercooler in place. Performance was on target, with the air inlet temperatures well under control. Click HERE to view a dyno pull.

 

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This coming Saturday, January 10th, we will be testing the Supersport Mk2 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA. Our professional driver Craig Stanton, who last drove the car at Big Willow, will be putting the Supersport Mk2 through it’s paces on the roval at Auto Club.  The event is a Speed Ventures track day which affords plenty of track time to thoroughly test and tune on the car.  This will be the first test with the new MCS shock absorbers and we are anticipating Craig will really like the new set up.

This test will be the final development test on the Supersport Mk2. After this the design and specs will be frozen for production.

Come on by Auto Club Speedway on Saturday, January 10th and let us show you the car and explain why we believe this car is the best value in racing today offering a level of performance that far exceeds the purchase price! We will be in the north end of Garage 2 all day and would enjoy showing you the car.

 

Life Racing, XAP Wheel

The “Race Ready” Supersport Mk2

The Supersport Mk2 is only sold “race ready”.  What do we mean by “race ready”? We mean that you literally can take delivery of the Supersport Mk2 and after spending the delivery day with us, take the car to the track and race it with all the tools to do well at your disposal.

A modern race car is a very complex machine.  The brain of that machine is the electronics.  The Supersport Mk2 is equipped with a state of the art Life Racing Electronics package, including the F88 GDI4 engine control unit, the PDU 32 power control unit, and a nifty touch pad switch panel.  Being truly race ready we include a full software suite providing professional level data analysis.  The Life Racing software is easy to learn and is capable of helping the driver and engineer answer all those questions that ultimately make the car and drive one running fast lap times consistently at every track.

Life Racing Screen Shot

 

The screenshot shows an example of a driver page.  Vehicle speed, gear, engine rpm, throttle position, brake pressure,  and longitude and latitude g-forces, along with oil pressure are shown on this screen.  The ability to reference the track map gives the driver the information he needs to really improve his lap times.  Dozens of other channels are available to closely monitor other systems.

The purchase of a Supersport Mk2 is only done direct, with no middlemen.  This helps us both insure the quality and keep the price low for the buyer.  Every Supersport Mk2 purchase includes a full day of track testing here at Willow Springs Raceway, training on maintenance procedures, and several hours of instruction to learn the use of the Life Racing software.

Our #1 goal is a customer leaving with his new Supersport Mk2 ready to compete and win!

Supersport Mk2 Runs Auto Club Speedway!

IMSA Continental Tire Challenge racer Rob Ecklin flew out to California to run the Supersport Mk2 in the Speed Ventures track day event at Auto Club Speedway. With the long off season just beginning, Rob wanted seat time in a GT race car with current technology and a state of the art drivers environment. Rob normally drives an Aston Martin in IMSA, so the Supersport Mk2 was a perfect choice to develop driving skills and learn a new track.

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After getting familiar with the Life Racing touchpad and XAP Electronique steering wheel display, Rob was ready to take the car out on track.

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Auto Club Speedway is a roval with lots of time on the banking and a very challenging twisty infield section. Speeds are high and Rob took it easy in the first session, learning both the track and the car.

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The 3MOP 6 speed sequentially shifted transmission makes shifting effortless. The Supersport Mk2 is paddle shifted with no lift upshifts and auto blip downshifts. “The shifting in this car is a luxury!” according to Rob!

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Designed as a pure GT race car, the Supersport Mk2 excels as a track day car. The car requires very little in the way of crew and support, and the data provided by the Life Racing electronics makes improving driver performance very easy. Every aspect of the engine, transmission, and braking systems are monitored and very clearly and easily read and analyzed after each session.

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The GM 2.0L Ecotech GDI turbo engine provides 420 horsepower and 420 lb./ft torque, more than enough to get around the banking.  According to Rob, “It was definitely fun to pull the Porsche’s!”

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At the end of the day, Rob felt that he had gotten quality seat time in a car with performance equal to a Porsche GT3 Supercup car.  The purchase price of the Supersport Mk2 is less than half of the Porsche, with running costs less than ten cents on the dollar.  Rob and his IMSA co-driver plan to run the Supersport Mk2 as much as they can over the winter and also utilize it to practice at tracks that are on the IMSA schedule next year. For drivers wanting to keep sharp in the off season as well as between races, the Supersport Mk2 is unparallelled in the racing world.  999 Motorsports USA offers a program to keep your  Supersport Mk2 at our facility and run it at Willow Springs International Raceway whenever you desire at a moments notice.

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After the last session Rob was getting comfortable and fast. Our favorite comment of the weekend came from two Corvette drivers who came by to ask “How much horsepower does that f$#*ing thing have?”  Plenty, obviously!

 

Craig Stanton Tests the New Supersport Mk2!

Professional race car driver Craig Stanton came out to Willow Springs International Raceway yesterday to test and help fine tune the new Supersport Mk2. Craig is fresh off his successful 2014 season driving a Porsche 911 GT America in the IMSA GTD class.  In the off season Craig is a recognized driving coach and test driver. We were extremely lucky that Craig was able to fit us into his busy schedule.

 

After taking the Supersport Mk2 out a few minor changes were made according to Craig’s feedback.

Some of Craig’s thoughts?  ” Over time I’ve driven a lot of crap.  It’s so fun to drive a really good race car”,  “You’ve got a really neat thing here”, and  “This car is magic!”

We really enjoyed having Craig drive the car.  When we set out to develop the Mk2 we set some lofty goals.

1. Performance equal to a Porsche GT3 Supercup car.

2. Purchase price less than half that of the Porsche.

3. Running costs of 10 cents on the dollar compared to the Porsche.

It has been really satisfying that with the help of great professional drivers like Craig Stanton and Stu Hayner we are achieving all of our goals.

A couple more minor changes to the car are in development.  A larger intercooler for more safe power and some tweaking to the shocks. After those changes are made watch out! This car is a weapon!

We are looking forward to the upcoming 2015 racing season as plans are coming together for our works team as well as customer teams.  2015, the year of the Supersport Mk2!

We are located on the entrance road to the Willow Springs International Raceway so if you are coming out to the track please make sure to stop by and check out the Supersport Mk2!

“HOLY CRAP!” - Cal Kalishek

Cal Kalishek, owner of Supersport chassis #008 visited Willow Springs Raceway to test drive the new Supersport Mk2.

Cal has put quite a few miles on his original Supersport, both at Hallet, his home track in Oklahoma and Road America where he competes annually with his brother and other family members. Driving coach Allan Crocket was brought in to assist Cal in quickly coming up to speed on the Big Willow course. Not only did Cal have to learn a new track but he also had to familiarize himself with the new level of horsepower and paddle shifted transmission in the all new Mk2.

After a couple of lead follow laps, Cal was getting the feel of the incredibly quick up and down shifts and beginning to get a good sense of the increased horsepower and torque of the Mk2.

The new XAP steering wheel display was a favorite. Cal really liked the visibility of the shift light bars and gear indicator.

After a debrief session with Allan, Cal was ready for more!

Cal’s impression of the new Supersport Mk2? “HOLY CRAP!! Driving this is like going from riding a horse to jumping on a tiger!”. We think he liked it!

We heard from Cal in his own words:

“Just returned home from testing the Supersport Mk2 demo car, chassis #005 at Willow Springs race track, Rosamond, California. All I can say is “WOW” what a tiger. Upgraded turbo, brakes, steering, wheels, tires, transmission, and electronics. The 3MOP sequential transmission and 420 wheel horsepower transforms the driving experience. Car leaps forward with each full power paddle shift gear change. Auto blip downshifts were so smooth I had to check XAP steering wheel readout to verify the gear change. My Supersport chassis #008 is currently being upgraded to Mk2 standard. Will keep you posted upon completion.”

Cal’s Supersport is undergoing upgrading to the Mk2 specs and he can’t wait to turn it loose on Hallet!

Mk2 2.0L GDI Turbo and World Class Suppliers

SUPERSPORT MK2’S 2.0 l GDI TURBO CONTROLLED BY LIFE RACING ELECTRONICS

 

2.0 Liter GDI turbo producing 430 hp and 385 lb.ft. of torque sounds like the press release from the new Indy Lights program but it’s not. It’s the new Supersport Mk2. Like the new Indy Lights car the engine in the Supersport Mk2 is controlled by Life Racing Electronics. The Life Racing products used in the Supersport Mk2 are truly state of the art. The ECU, the PDU and the Touch Pad Switch Module along with the DanZio Performance produced MIL Spec wiring harness create a very reliable system that is found only in very high end professional race cars.

As a complete package engineered from the ground up, the Supersport Mk2’s drive train gives the driver a truly cutting edge driving environment. With multi-season reliability the Supersport Mk2 is able to offer this experience for pennies on the dollar when comparing real world operating costs to other GT cars in the same performance category.

WORLD CLASS SUPPLIERS

 

The Supersport Mk2 is the sum of its parts. By carefully selecting components from our world class group of suppliers while always keeping in mind value for our customers, we have created a complete system offering performance and reliability that equals or surpasses high end GT cars and does it for less than half the typical price.

COMPLETE CUSTOM WHEEL —  FUEL SAFE —  3MO PERFORMANCE —  OMP

XAP ELECTRONIQUE —  YOKOHAMA —  AASCO MOTORSPORTS —  GOODRIDGE

ZZPERFORMANCE —  WILWOOD —  WOODWARD —  LIFE RACING —  FK BEARINGS

DANZIO PERFORMANCE —  HRP WORLD —  VP RACING FUEL —  NEW GM PARTS.COM

 

The final touches are being put on the Supersport Mk2. Appointments to test drive this amazing new car are available!

Supersport Mk2 Rotating Weight Improvements

 

There is an old adage in racing concerning parts weight that goes like this, “Light, strong, cheap, you can only pick two”. The Supersport having been designed with strength and safety as the main priorities was admittedly not the lightest car on the market.  At approximately 2300 pounds it is lighter than the IMSA GT cars so it is not heavy by any stretch.  Rotating weight is an area of particular concern on any race car.  The energy required to speed up or slow down the rotating weight can have a measurable effect on overall performance.

Two areas that have received particular attention in developing the Supersport Mk2 are the brake rotor and wheel combination and the clutch and flywheel package.

 

 

First the brakes.  Everybody that has driven the Supersport has been impressed with the braking performance.  The large 6 piston Wilwood front calipers and the 4 piston Wilwood rear calipers provide plenty of stopping power.  Brake control is positive and no fading was ever experienced.  The one fault that appeared was premature rear rotor wear.  We decided to improve the brakes by using Wilwood’s Premium Spec 37 iron discs mounted on aluminum hats. The new Wilwood discs are a very high quality material providing better cooling and have the added benefit of being lighter than the original rotors previously used. The front rotors are 4.8 pounds lighter and the rears are 2.2 pounds lighter.  Coupled with the new larger but lighter wheels the total savings in rotating weight is 15.8 pounds.  This savings has a cost but we chose light and strong over inexpensive and heavy.

 

 

Secondly, the clutch and flywheel.  With the change to the 3 MO Performance transmission a change to the clutch and flywheel was necessary.  The original OE flywheel on the LNF engine weighed a whopping 32.4 pounds.  We had already changed to an aluminum flywheel that with the OE type clutch brought the weight down to 21.6 pounds.  Now by again choosing strong and light over inexpensive and heavy the new one piece steel racing flywheel and Alcon clutch weigh only 14.4 pounds. This weight savings is all rotating weight at engine speeds.  The huge reduction in MOI will have a measurable effect on the performance of the Supersport Mk2.

The final touches are being put on the Supersport Mk2. Appointments to test drive this amazing new car are available!

 

Supersport Spec Series in Asia!

999 Motorsports Asia has announced  Supersport Grand Touring Thailand (Supersport GTT) will be a spec class for Supersports and will run with the Pro Racing Series Championship in 2014!

“In  2014, Supersport Grand Touring Thailand (GTT) will be one of the competition series in the Pro Racing Series Thailand Championship, Thailand’s most prestigious motor sports event established in 2009 that includes all types of professional car racing classes such as Production Car, Production Truck and Touring Car 2000 CC.

SUPERSPORT GTT will be a competition based on a strict one make spec series concept. Strict adherence to “as delivered” specifications in both the Sprint and Endurance formats and will eliminate expensive up-grades and modifications to the cars. Our professional team is pleased to provide full information and consulting for clients who are interested in racing. Full parts and tech support also will be provided.”

With the Race of Champions being held in Bangkok in December of 2013 and using the Supersport as one of the cars, we predict the spec series will be a very popular class!

Having Fun at Hallett Motor Speedway!

Supersport owner Cal Kalishek took his Supersport out for a run on his home track, Hallett Motor Speedway in Jennings, Oklahoma. He reported “First track day with chassis #008. Can easily run with V8 powered street cars. Still more potential in chassis, suspension, and engine. Need to sharpen my skills to take advantage of all 999 Supersport has to offer. >8O”.

We are excited to see owners beginning to really experience and enjoy the Supersport. Cal has been invited to run with the Comma Series in wheel to wheel racing at his next outing but has decided to run a couple more High Speed Touring days before stepping up. His next outing will be in mid June with the Midwest Ford Shelby Club.

View the photo gallery HERE.

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