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October 31, 2004
Afterglow...
Sitting in the Ontario, CA airport typing this allows me the chance to reflect on a great weekend. I'll detail our exploits as we move into the week; suffice to say that our goals were solidly met!
YORK Motorsport, in teaming with Compass360/Racing, took ninth place in The Lexus Grand American 250's ST class! In an overall field of forty-eight cars, we placed twenty-first - ahead of a lot of big teams and great drivers!
I'm very proud of our collective achievements - the Compass360/Racing crew of: Ian, Derek and Aaron had great enthusiasm and ingenuity. Our co-driver, team principal, Karl Thomson, qualified and took the start with great style and swiftness. My nearly two-hour drive to the finish was a blast! The BMW Z3 2.8 coupe' NEVER missed a beat!
Alaska Airlines is calling my flight - ah, but the afterglow still burns
Posted by YORK Group at 07:24 PM
October 30, 2004
Saturday morning, race day...
The crew of Compass360/Racing worked late last night in an effort to make some suspension repairs and adjustments. Ian McQuillan's ingenuity was in full force with creative solutions...! It is possible that we will qualify the car - Karl and I will talk again this morning about that. If we do, then we'll start the race and Karl will take over and run the second portion. Our pace is close to where we need to be...But we could sure shave a second and a half of our time and be happier... All, in all, we're having a good time!! More later! - KevinPosted by YORK Group at 06:45 AM
October 29, 2004
First Practice
Well, I sit here sipping water and making track notes. The little coupe' feels good. Karl and I are running similar lap times. The car does have a wee bit of turn-in push (understeer) and the crew is making adjustments now. Karl and I too, will make adjustments! ;) More later! - KevinPosted by YORK Group at 03:12 PM
October 28, 2004
Leaving on a jet plane...
EARLY morning flight on Alaska 472 will bring us to Ontario, CA and then a quick jaunt to California Speedway in Fontana in the rental box, erm...car.
The weather is predicted to be quite nice - 70s and sunny.
As of this writing, 48 cars are scheduled to take the green flag with 18 of that number being in our ST class. (The other class being GS).
On the other side of practice, I'll provide some (albeit short) updates from my mobile device to this site.
Special hello to Dr. Jo' and Evan and Chelsea - I love you all and wish you were going to be with me at the track! - Kevin/Dad
Posted by YORK Group at 09:37 PM
The time is near.
Greetings. This time tomorrow, we'll be at the California Speedway and preparing for our first practice session at 1:00pm (PST).
Karl Thomson of Compass360/Racing and I will be checking the car and the track (and ourselves) out around the sports car road course of the Speedway.
We'll have a second practice at 3:40pm (PST) to confirm our findings and work on any subtle changes we may have made to the car or changes we as drivers need to consider while negotiating the course.
The rest of the weekend's schedule is this:
Saturday, 30 October
9:00-9:50 Third Practice
11:15am Qualifying
2:00pm-5:00pm start of the Lexus Grand
American 250 race. (250
miles, 89 laps, 3 hour
time limit)
The anticipation of a great weekend is the current mindset here! We'll offer updates as time (and connections) allow. On to Fontana!
ps - For those of you interested in following our progress, ZIPPO sponsors a live timing and scoring section of the Grand American website. You can check it out here and monitor our (rapid) progress.
Posted by YORK Group at 11:09 AM
October 27, 2004
Racing, then walking...
Since, as in racing itself, we are always looking forward, let's consider what we'll be doing after the Lexus Grand American 250 Grand Am Cup race this Saturday...
Early Sunday morning, just a few hours before the green flag drops on the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series season-ending Lexus Grand American 400k at California Speedway, race fans and competitors (one will be me!) will have the rare opportunity to walk the 2.88-mile road circuit during the 13th Annual Inland Empire Heart Walk.
The event gets underway at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, October 31, five-and-a-half hours before the final battles for Rolex Series supremacy begin. The goal of the event is to raise $650,000 for the Inland Empire American Heart Association from race fans, heart disease and stroke survivors and community members who will participate in the three-mile fun walk. Participation supports cardiovascular and stroke community education and research.
Certainly a worthy cause...now if I could just hang around on the track and find an empty Daytona Prototype to jump into for the 400... ;)
(Some of the above information provided courtesy of Grand American Road Racing)
Posted by YORK Group at 08:51 AM
October 26, 2004
Looking forward to Fontana, in my mind...
This week, as we move towards our entry in the season-ending Lexus Grand American 250 at California Speedway, we are transitioning our preparation for the event away from the business side to the actual needs of racing.
The coordination of logistics and the financial consideration for any motorsport event are very taxing. The requirements necessary to drive the racecar in the event become a source of relaxation to be sure!
Going back over my notes from the last time I competed at California Speedway's sportscar course has me performing the process of mental imagery.
This process, applied to motorsports, has me recalling each nuance of the track - to include bumps and surface changes, as well as "the line" - and "driving" the track in my mind. The brain actually cannot tell the difference from the real thing when this process is done honestly.
I will say though that it might look a bit funny to an observer who sees me sitting down, eyes closed, making faint "car noises" and moving an imaginary shifter!
More later...
Posted by YORK Group at 08:40 AM
October 25, 2004
YORK Motorsport wins the Eight Hours of the Cascades
Well, the 29th Annual Eight Hours of the Cascades sports car endurance race as come and gone for another year.
This year, we partnered with TC Motorsports and their beautifully prepared P3-classed Spec Miatas. Much of the work is done by team owner and lead driver, Carlo Sparacio. The additional work (along with some LeMans quality lighting system for the cars!) was provided by Group2 Motorsports of Seattle, Washington.
Our seat time was a wonderful (but seemingly short!) two and one-half hours (2:30pm-5:00pm)...
Our driving team in the winning #21 car consisted of: Carlo Sparacio, Sean Hester, Kevin York, and Taryn Sparacio.
Chief timer and my driver manager was my eleven year-old son, Evan York (a stalwart driver in his right at the local indoor kart racing center!)
TC Motorsports' team owner, Carlo Sparacio, had this to say: "After the last full course caution (~30 minutes to go), class P3 first and second place were only 15 seconds apart. We were leading with the #14 Acura right behind us. Once it started to really rain, we pulled away and finally lapped them. After that, the Acura pulled in and did not finish, I think. Our team car, the #20, Group 2 Motorsports/TC Motorsports Miata came in third.
Great race and we are VERY happy to have the win in P3!! Thanks to my awesome co-drivers, Sean, Kevin and Taryn and all of the hard working crew that got us the win.
Group 2 Motorsports really set the car up nice for the event and we had arguably the best lighting package of the entire grid thanks to them.
No matter what, this was a great event as usual and the WIN made it even more special."
We all had a blast - winning made it only that much more sweet!
Check out TC Motorsports' recap here.
Now, on to Fontana, California and our entry in the Grand American Road Racing event at California Speedway. We'll be joining Compass360/Racing from Toronto, Canada with a very well-sorted BMW Z3 coupe'! Details to follow soon!
Posted by YORK Group at 04:59 PM
October 23, 2004
Kevin York racing - to a class win - the TC Motorsports P3-classed Mazda Miata at Portland International Raceway, Portland, Oregon. October 2004.
Posted by YORK Group at 03:34 PM
October 22, 2004
Kevin York Signs with Compass360/Racing
22 October 2004 – Seattle, Washington Sports cars will race through the road course with its tight turns and fast straightaways when the Lexus Grand American Champions Weekend wraps up the Grand American season at California Speedway on October 29-31.
Kevin York, of YORK Motorsport, will be joining Compass360/Racing for the Grand-Am Cup Lexus Grand American 250 on the Saturday, October 30.
Karl Thomson, Team Principal and Lead Driver of the team’s BMW Z3 coupe, said in reference to signing York with the team, “Fontana’s going to be a blast!” Thomson, who won the 2003 Ontario (Canada) Regional Championship, has had a remarkable first season in the Grand Am series. Ian McQuillan, Compass360/Racing’s Crew Chief will again present an extremely well-prepared car for the event.
“I am very enthused to be a part of Compass360/Racing’s team for this race. Karl and his crew have made great efforts to blend having a competitive car that finishes races along with having fun.” noted York. “Further, Grand Am has continued to grow a series worth racing in and offers a high level of competitiveness and professionalism.”
YORK Motorsport also will use the event as a platform to announce a new partnership with Mascot Theory Design Services. Mascot Theory and CowanLange Associates will serve as YORK Motorsport’s supporting partners for the event.
Compass360/Racing looks forward to topping off a truly impressive year at Fontana, California’s California Speedway. Team sponsors include Compass360 Design + Advertising, Hockley Autosport, mmwave Technologies, W3 Connex and Nautical White Yachtwear.
Tickets are currently available for the Lexus Grand American Champions Weekend by purchasing them on line at www.californiaspeedway.com or by calling the Speedway’s ticket office at 800-944-RACE.
Grand American Road Racing Association, which sanctions the Rolex Sports Car Series and the Grand-Am Cup Series, is one of the fastest growing motorsports organizations in the United States. Established in 1999, Grand American's stated goal is to bring stability to professional sports car road racing in North America. The 10-race Grand-Am Cup calendar delivers professional sports car racing to many key markets throughout North America in addition to being televised in the United States and Canada on SPEED Channel and distributed globally through ESPN International.
SPEED Channel’s coverage of the Fontana Grand Am Cup Series race will be Sunday, November 7, 2004, 5pm EST and again on Thursday, November 11, 2004, 3am EST.
-30-
For details on Kevin York and YORK Motorsport, contact Kevin York at +1 206 310 9881, kevin@yorkmotorsport.com or visit www.yorkmotorsport.com.
For information on Compass360/Racing, contact Karl Thomson at +1 416 465 2299 X 21, racing@compass360.com or visit www.compass360.com/racing.
Posted by YORK Group at 01:10 PM
October 09, 2004
Internet Links
Sanctioning Bodies
Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA)
Driver Coaching Services
YORK Group, Motorsport Performance Coaching
Race Driver Training / Racing Series
Street Driver Training
YORK Motorsport Preferred Vendors
Posted by YORK Group at 04:02 PM
October 04, 2004
Biography of Kevin F. York
PERSONAL
|
 |
RACING CREDENTIALS / EXPERIENCE
Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), Licensed competitor, Grade B, with International Activities Authorization from ACCUS/FIA.
Grand American Road Racing, licensed competitor.
Renault-Elf-Winfield Ecole de Pilotage
Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, France
Five-day introduction to racing techniques using turbocharged Formula Renaults equipped with wings and slicks, March 1989.
Bridgestone Racing School (nee Spenard-David Racing School)
Shannonville Motorsport Park, Shannonville, Ontario
Two-day course in advanced racing techniques using normally-aspirated Formula Continentals equipped with wings and slicks, May 1990.
Russell Racing School
Advanced Racing Course and Driver Development coaching, Intensive, personal coaching and training in open-wheeled Formula Russell cars with wings and slicks. Infineon Raceway, May 2002.
Competitor: SCCA Autocross Series
New England Region (1985-1988) and Northwest Region (1990-1998).
TESTING EXPERIENCE
DRIVING INSTRUCTOR APPOINTMENTS
Staff Instructor/Coach
ProFormance Racing School, Seattle, WA.
Senior High-Performance Driving Instructor
Puget Sound, Inland Empire, and Badger Bimmers Chapters of the BMW Car Club of America (BMW CCA). Guest instructor for the BMW CCA Golden Gate Chapter.
Pacific Northwest Chief Instructor
BMW CCA Foundation's Street Survival Teen Driving Safety Program
Volunteer Guest Instructor
International Race of Executives. A charity, fundraising hi-performance driving event to benefit Seattle Children's Hospital
Instructor
International Race Drivers Club
Instructor emeritus
Speed Secrets Race and Performance Driver Coaching
MOTORSPORT PERFORMANCE COACH
Driver Coach
YORK Group, Motorsport Performance Coaching
REFERENCES
Recommendation Letter - Compass360/Racing
Recommendation Letter - BMW Car Club of America
Posted by YORK Group at 03:20 PM