Terry Fletcher also achieved some incredible laps times, turning a best of 1:28.00 in a production C-5 Corvette, still using the original shocks and leaf spring suspension. Terry plans to finish the season in this car, awaiting the arrival of his new C-6 Corvette.

A new track record for a CASC car was established on Sunday, when Blaise Csida turned a 1:17.6 in the Gateway C-6 Trans-Am Corvette on lap 5 of the second sprint race. The crew was ecstatic as this also represented a faster race lap than the Trans-Am record, set by Kenny Wilden in 2010 at a 1:17.9. Work continues to make Blaise and his car even more competitive in 2012.

Andrew Romocki, piloting his #291 Panos drove a brilliant, well-planned race to win the 3-hour endurance race overall and first in class. He went into fuel conservation mode from lap one, and was able to make the 3 hours on just one pit-stop. He also drove the entire race, no small feat considering the heat and speed of his GT Panos. Congratulations Andrew!

The SCCA Pro Trans-Am weekend started off very well for the four cars fielded by Gateway Racing. Elmer Shannon, Ian Patterson, Gregg Clifton, and Blaise Csida all dug deep, producing their best lap times in qualifying Sunday morning, Blaise with a 1:18.077 for second place. Special mention must also be given to Ian Patterson, who put in an incredible lap of 1:19.8 and is now a proud member of the very exclusive sub-20 second sedan club. And this was in legal Trans-Am configuration and with a pump-gas engine that is down at least 60-80 HP compared to his competitors!

Weather unfortunately ruined the race for Ian and Elmer, both of whom were involved in a first lap crash, the result of rain and slick tires. Blaise Csida, however, survived the mayhem, and drove a clean, uneventful, and fast race, finishing second behind Tony Ave and only 14 seconds down after 100 miles. It was Blaise’s career best Pro racing finish.

Gregg Clifton suffered a broken oil pump belt while running in 7th place and was not able to complete the race. Watch for the Gateway serviced cars at the next Ontario GT event.

While the car is entirely legal for SCCA GT1 or Trans-Am Pro racing, it was custom built for Ian. The chassis needed widening and the cockpit extended. In addition, custom features, such as a unique dash designed by Ian himself were incorporated. A high-tech Nascar based engine was used, running on pump gas, yet still producing incredible power (which we cannot precisely disclose here…).

The car’s maiden voyage occurred Friday, April 29th, under less than ideal conditions. But cold weather and sporadic rain didn’t stop Ian from venturing onto the track. Within a few laps he learnt how to shift a dog box (a transmission that does not require the use of the clutch while shifting) and handle this 700 plus HP purpose built race car. By the end of the day, he posted some incredible lap times, considering the traffic and point-to-pass rules of the day.

“I am so impressed with this Trans-Am car (aka MP-5), that Gateway built me, I’m finding it hard to put it into words. A giant “Woohoo!” comes to mind, of course, but that is hardly definitive unless you’ve had the experience yourself. In my first day with MP-5, despite my apprehension towards taking it onto the track without prior experience in such a machine of this caliber, I could not believe how well set up and functionally perfect everything was. The attention to detail for the build is unmatched, not to mention the personal consideration for making sure that what was being built was what I wanted, on time, and on budget. In the end, with only slight adjustments to the clutch and brake pedal distances and mirror position, and I was back on the track in what I can only describe as home (only way, *way* faster!) from what a pleasure it was to be behind the wheel. No details were missed; the fit, the handling, the gearing and shift points, all utterly perfect. And a damn nice wax job to boot.”

“I can honestly say that Gateway surpassed my expectations by leaps and bounds with this car, my heart is still beating double-time!”

The entire Gateway crew wishes Ian a successful racing season with his new car and are anxiously awaiting for the exciting development work that is yet to come! Watch Ian compete in the Ontario Regional Series as well as possibly trying a Pro Trans-Am race on the May 24 weekend.

Weather was gorgeous, sunny 80 °F every day, but the week was far from smooth! Winter car glitches that are usually worked out in the first practice session of the year, haunted the crew and resulted in almost no practice time, which meant being a day behind in set-up and driver training. “Robbie-the wrench” and his valiant crew never gave up and worked tirelessly to get the car ready for the race. It ran flawlessly thru the entire race, many thanks to Penny, John, Robbie, Martin,  Brian, and Rod.

The race itself was most eventful. Starting seventh,  the Gateway car was able to keep pace until a missed shift in turn 5 resulted in a spin and backwards contact with the tire wall, dropping us to 14th position. The car wasn’t too badly damaged, and Blaise was able to continue although the flat spotting of the tires resulted in some severe vibration and a loose condition for the balance of the race. Luckily for us, a full course yellow bunched the field up and we were able to pick up a few position after the re-start.  We actually made it to 4th, but a fuel pick-up problem in the last few laps lost us that position.

5th was an awesome finish for the team, proving that low-budget operations can successfully compete with the “big boys” with some luck and perseverance. Many thanks for all the support, and we look forward to our next Trans-Am race at Mosport on the May 24 weekend.

Drivers Ed Brown and Scott Sharp used Gateway’s Nissan Sentra at first, then jumped in the World Challenge Corvette rental car, with engineer Leigh Pettipas collecting data thru onboard telemetry. While they loved the cars and were very fast, they are looking forward to competing in their more sophisticated Ferrari GT cars on Aug. 28/29 at MIR.

It was a pleasure working with Ed, Scott and Leigh, their professionalism was only topped by their humble, friendly demeanor. The entire Gateway crew wishes them success.

The weekend was Gateway’s first participation in professional racing as a team, running two cars in the SCCA Trans-Am series. Both cars finished the 90 mile event; Elmer Shannon in 7th position and Blaise Csida made it to the podium with a 3rd place run. The finish was a testament to the crew’s talents and dedication, and the Gateway Racing Team is looking forward to to the next pro weekend at the Toronto Honda Indy, on the weekend of July 18th.

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The staff at Gateway Racing Inc. comprises dedicated professional racing mechanics, fabricators, designers, as well as accomplished racing drivers. We have been involved at all levels of motorsports: club racing, HSR & SVRA Vintage classes, IMSA, and Pro SCCA  Trans-Am competition. Our depth of knowledge and experience enables us to assist you with any and all of your motorsports needs.

We cordially invite you to visit us for a free consultation.