Dean Martin's GT4 Mustang

[superman07]

60 has shown to be the best finisher this year in the mustang. 15 with Maxwell has been good too when the car was healthy. Kyle has a way of taking care of the tires and being smooth and fast. The 8 has done really well this year but its their first year in the car and I think they push the car a bit hard for their lap times. There never was an explanation for the Volt car, looked to hit something during or going into the caution. From Lime rock on the cars have had a tough go.

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[Mountain376]

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Ford as expected at their weight and power level were not competitive at the end of their stints. Top teams in better spec'd cars took the top 4. 60 was able to get passed the 28 due to that car taking a gamble on tires during the caution after an early cut tire. you cant really expect the heavier cars that cant even pull off a faster hero lap to be nearly as quick at the end of the stint.

How the 82 never received a drive through is beyond me, pushing and blocking several times on live TV. If there was ever a race winner that didn't deserve it, it would be James Clay in his stint. At one point I'm not sure a Porsche wasn't blocking him though. He tried to drive through the 15 and push the camaro off the course.

Unexceptional race in most every regard. Even the announcers were doing fluff interviews through much of the race. Poorly officiated by the stewards. Maybe CTSC wants to be like NASCAR.

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The 82 has been an aggressive bunch this season.

It’s beyond me how their actions are acceptable.

I watched the first half and for sure thought they’d 1. get penalized or 2. wreck-out...

...Then I see they WON.

WTF IMSA.

 

[superman07]

It does make you wonder, BM4 gets a new tune for more power, then they basically turn a blind eye to extremely agressive driving for 2 hours.

Last race the Porsche shenanigans spoiled what would have been an excellent finish.

The quality of the racing and product was good as the season began however it quickly turned into a shit show as the season progressed. Poor car balance stretched out fields. GT4 is pretty darned popular right now however IMSA needs to improve its consistency, transparancy, and data colection and analysis methods.

If it turns into PWC im out.

 

[Epiphany]

With miracles being so rare there really wasn't any sort of expectation to pull off a win at Road Atlanta in the GS class of the 2018 IMSA Continental Series that would somehow unseat the Mercedes in 1st place and ultimately take the 2018 team championship trophy for the season. The idea was still to try to win the race or at least preserve 2nd place in the overall team standings. Ford was also in a position to win the Manufacturer's Championship. This was the last race of the season and all I can say is it sure went by fast! I was thankful for the opportunity to attend along with my good friend George Ciamillo (the man behind Scudo wallets and MGW shifters). For him, this began with sponsoring one of Dean Martin's cars at Road Atlanta last year and continued through the 2018 season. This race also marked the series end for Continental Tire with Michelin taking over. A number of teams actually delayed returning home after the race due to an opportunity to start testing the Michelins at RA. They'll have another opportunity at Sebring in the near future as well.

I think I've documented the cars in previous posts somewhat so for this race I didn't worry about trying to capture much in the form of imagery and instead just enjoy the people and the race itself. I did take a few shots though.

A quick meeting of the minds. From L to R - Wendi Stacy, Mike Stacy, Nate Stacy, Dean Martin, Amy Martin.

While the cars were still in the paddock I wanted to take a closer look at a few things as I'm redoing a Fox body coupe and there's always something to learn from a study in how these cars are done. In this case, I was interested in how the GT4 cars were venting their fuel cells adequately. While looking around, my good friend Tom Wenstrom (who handles fueling among other team duties) came over to add fuel to the Kadima car.

Watch how fast (even restricted) fuel flows into the cell...


Regarding venting, the cars use a simple discriminator/roll over valve with a short length of hose - that's it!

I caught Jack Roush, Jr and Joey Atterbury practicing driver changes in the paddock.



The race was a story in itself and if you haven't seen it I encourage you to watch it. Here are two of the pit stops made by the Scudo car....



The lone Camaro entrant was pitting right next to Dean and the Scudo and Kadima cars. It came flying it with what looked to be a leaking brake line or caliper that fueled a hot fire upon hitting some really warm brake componentry. Just why I wouldn't want a CF wheel here, thermal barrier or otherwise.


Nate drove well in the first leg and Kyle absolutely tore it up at the end, charging up front.

In the end, Ford won another manufacturer's title, Kohr finished 2nd in the GS Class of the Continental series, and Dean won a "Continental Tire ExtremeSpirit Award" (link).

Some of the team from the awards banquet...

It was a great season. I'm thankful for the opportunity to have experienced it. Can't wait until next year!

 

[Mountain376]

I am pleased to see soo much positive things happening for KOHR and Dean. So much kinder, racing spirit and sportsmanship there!

I hope to see the same or better for them next season.

 

[Grimace427]

Thank you for sharing Epiphany!

 

[tedj101]

Thank you for sharing Epiphany!

This has been a great thread. I go to it first around each race event! Many thanks for taking the time to give us some inside scoop!

Best,
<TED>

 

[Mountain376]

I d

This has been a great thread. I go to it first around each race event! Many thanks for taking the time to give us some inside scoop!

Best,
<TED>

I do the same.

Matt Bell, who used to drive for Stevenson in the Camaros for GS, was an avid Camaro forum guy and would do a similar thing.

Definitely garners more fans and fandom for a team.

I hope Epiphany gets another opportunity like this next season.

 

[Mountain376]

Is Dean coming back as a driver!?

https://sportscar365.com/imsa/preparations-interest-building-for-michelin-encore/

“We are going to use the Encore race as a test session for next season,” said KohR Motorsports team owner Dean Martin. “It should give us some insight into what the car is going to want with the Michelin tires for Sebring in 2019.

“We’re trying to get a leg up on 2019 because we are very disappointed with our finishing position in the team championship this year (second) and we’re not going to let that happen again next year.”

Martin will field two Ford Mustang GT4s and will make his racing return alongside full-season drivers Kyle Marcelli and Nate Stacy.

Not "...and will make KohR's racing return...", but "his"...

 

[Epiphany]

The article is a bit ambiguous. Dean is planning on driving during the testing opportunity upcoming at Sebring. Doesn't mean he'll be driving one of the cars next year. Somebody needs to make strategy calls and Dean is pretty darn good at it. I've been there this season watching and listening carefully in the pits and he does a fantastic job in terms of decision making. And he doesn't gloat in any successes but rather is always focused on areas he feels he can improve upon. Dean is also a good businessman and it would make sense to fill an empty seat with money. Both Nate and Kyle are supposed to be back but I don't know about Jack or Joey.

 

[superman07]

Is Pat Gallagher getting a ride with multimatic? if not Dean needs to grab him. Wins in PWC and IMSA in his first year in the car. He is also an incredibly nice guy. I wonder if Trent is coming back to Volt? Jack diapointed me frankly. he had good pace in 2017, I didnt see much in 2018. Pual Holton drove a 350-rc?

Lots of drivers, dont forget Jade Buford. Jade and Pat could be trouble.

 

[traxiii]

Multimatic to Run Mustang GT4s in British GT

LINK:https://sportscar365.com/sro/british-gt/multimatic-to-run-ford-gt4s-in-british-gt/

 

[2morrow]

^^^ Amazing shot! I wish there was a poster of this so I could put it up on my garage.

 

[Epiphany]

So Johnson went from Gold to Platinum and then from Platinum back to Gold.

https://www.allfordmustangs.com/201...-cant-drive-the-multimatic-mustang-next-year/

https://sportscar365.com/imsa/2019-provisional-driver-ratings-released/

 

[JAJ]

Along with Christian Fittipaldi...

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