Yea BONNIE!!!!

[conedriver]

Just got this word:

"Word from Utah last night was 219 mph on a run yesterday which they accomplished at 2 miles( Record was 211 I think). Car was in impound last night and was to run today for second run in order to make the record official".

[cougarchee]

Very sweet indeed!!

[johnkatos]

From a crew members relative: Unfortunately, they were not able to back it up this morning. Steck aborted the run after the first mile due to overheating issues. He said the water temp gauge was rising as fast as the tach needle.... he bailed when it got to 240 degrees. Last I heard they are back in the pits trying to get more air to the radiator.

John Katos

[Nicola]

Keep us posted. Any news is good news. This story is really cool.

[NotEnoughToys]

As mentioned earlier, the team has enjoyed some early success at Bonneville this year with an amazing 219mph run Sunday evening.... their FIRST run since arriving on for SpeedWeek on Friday. But as usual, they have been plagued with calamadies. In the weeks leading up to the trip to Wendover, the turbo motor suffered some minor damage on the dyno when a valve shim "fell out" and nicked the valve and valve seat, requiring a new valve and regrind..... the tow vehicle spun some crank bearings 100 miles east of Salt Lake City, and then as an additional kick in the groin, they spent all day Saturday trying to get the motor to fire (usual gremlins) and managed to grind most of the teeth off the ring gear (now they have to push start Bonnie). I guess if one believed in these things, these "setbacks" would be considered "Offerings to the LandSpeed Gods". For this crew, its just standard operating procedure.

Even though the first run Sunday night was supposed to be a "shakedown run" (to acquire data and dial in the motor), Steck was able to get Bonnie up to 219 during the measured mile, with a terminal velocity of 221.4mph. (The record of 211 in G-BGMS, set by a P-car, looked to be history.) Unfortunately, they were not able to back it up Monday morning. Steck aborted the run after the first mile due to overheating issues. He said the water temp gauge was rising as fast as the tach needle.... he bailed when it got to 240 degrees.

Steck took Bonnie out again late Monday afternoon hoping to re-qualify, but the temp shot up to 250 and Steck bailed again, tripping the clocks at a ‘mere’ 208 mph. Cooling issues seem to dominate this year. The crew decided to rig a windshield washer spritzer to spray water on the radiator during the run hoping the evaporation process will cure the excessive temps. Meantime, the crew did a leakdown test and verified there were no blown gasket issues. Whew! They had Bonnie in the staging lanes for about four hours Tuesday afternoon before SCTA shut the course down. NO runs for Bonnie yesterday but boys expect BIG things today.

John Katos e-mailed me today with bad news: Bonnie’s LSR in G/BFMS of 203.108mph (with Craig Bielat at the wheel) fell yesterday (8/15/06). The record has now been increased to 221.252mph. (Yikes... so much for Mike's hopes to bump up Bonnie’s fuel record.) Steck is optimistic that if they’ve solved the overheating problems, they should conceivably take BOTH the fuel and the gas records. Okay, everybody needs to bow to Mecca, say five Hail Mary’s and throw some salt over your shoulder…. and whatever else you think might appease the gods.

They're lined up on the Short Course now (since the Long Course is all backed up) to give Bill Lightfoot a licensing run. They hope to get in another qualifying run before the day is over.

Darren Besic (“watching” from the sidelines 1500 miles away, through the eyes and ears of my brother Mike, who IS there)

[fetta78]

Hail Mary, Hail Mary, Hail Mary, Hail Mary, Hail Mary.....
Salt....shake, shake...there, hope that helps!!!

Thanks for the updates, best of luck to all!

[turbolarespider]

Bill managed to limp through the qualifying run at 166 (I can't recall what his target speed was, but this was to get a licence requirement). At the end of the run, the car started to act very odd, and it took the team an additional 2 hours to diagnose a bad circuit breaker yesterday.

Last Ed and I heard before boarding the plane in Salt Lake City, the course was shut down for high winds.

Hopefully, we hear some good news from Jim today.

ugh- it's been a frustrating week- seems like the lines were moving way slower than they have in the past, but that's what you get when there are 500+ competitors.

We are still getting some incredibly positive responses from the racers and the spectators- they all seem to love this little yellow Spider!

I'll post info as I get it from Utah, too.

Eric

Jim called... 214 in a head wind today goes for the back up run Friday morning.

[turbolarespider]

Quote:

Originally Posted by VeniVidiVeloce Jim called... 214 in a head wind today goes for the back up run Friday morning.

[conedriver]

More neat information. Thanks Eric.

For others, the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) web page is http://www.scta-bni.org/ There's a shortcut to Bonneville Speedweek and daily results, but they seem to lag by a day or two. Bonnie's car number is "2001".

Quote:

Originally Posted by turbolarespider A little more on this. The car still has her issues- it's hard to start, and still requires bump starting.... So, they made a run in the afternoon, and had to pull off at 205, still worrying about overheating. Jim called, and we discussed some ideas, and one thing reminded me of the Alfette (Bonnetta)- how fast it was overheating. Bonnetta suffered with a very loose water pump belt, which stopped the pump from turning at high speeds. While not as drastic, this engine suffered the same problem, and after dressing the belt and cleaning the whole thing- 214mph. While in imponund last night, they were going to do some more to make sure the belt is working well. The goal is really in reach now! Eric

On his back up run Jim drove an average speed of 219.770MPH for the timed mile thus setting a new worlds record for B/GMS with the average speed being 217.xx MPH.

Water temp was still a little bit of an issue hitting 220* at the end of the run. According to Jim the radiator is just too small for the amount of power they are making.

So, it is official now... not only the WORLDS FASTEST ALFA ROMEO but a new classs record!

Congratulations Jim and the Bonnie team.

[conedriver]

WONDERFULL!!!!! thanks for the timely update.
Will this get Jim into the 200MPH club?

Quote:

Originally Posted by VeniVidiVeloce On his back up run Jim drove an average speed of 219.770MPH for the timed mile thus setting a new worlds record for B/GMS with the average speed being 217.xx MPH. Water temp was still a little bit of an issue hitting 220* at the end of the run. According to Jim the radiator is just too small for the amount of power they are making. So, it is official now... not only the WORLDS FASTEST ALFA ROMEO but a new classs record! Congratulations Jim and the Bonnie team.

[turbolarespider]

Quote:

Originally Posted by conedriver WONDERFULL!!!!! thanks for the timely update. Will this get Jim into the 200MPH club?

[Wil Painter]

This is so exciting, congratualtions to the whole team!!!
Wil

The goal next year is 230MPH.