Category: Racing

Race report: my time at the 6 Hours of São Paulo 2024

It took a while, yet I finally finished my race report. There were a lot of photos to edit, which unfortunately, most were too crappy to use. In my humble opinion, cell phones are made to make phone calls, not great photos 😣. Either I’m right or too old to learn otherwise, the fact is that I need a reflex camera to make decent shots. Nonetheless, I managed a few (half) decent ones, and they are now ready to show. I also did a write-up on our whole experience, without being too boring (or trying to, at least). So if you wanna see some photos of the race or read about how it felt like, click HERE.

WEC is awesome!

What a blast! Honestly, one of the best three days I ever had! Expensive, yet totally worth it. Got back home this morning, and I’m currently editing my photos. I took a LOT of photos, and perhaps the one above is the one I liked the most. Pity the 9X8 underperformed (again!)… Nonetheless, since new models to review became kind of scarce around here (🙄), my idea is to write an article on the race where I’ll show the best shots.

And let’s start positive thinking for Spark to release at least a few of the those cars in 1:43… 🤞🤞🤞

The best Le Mans ever?

All right, that may be a bit too strong… So, maybe not the best ever but certainly the best in the last 10 years, then? Probably. The race had one of the most exciting beginnings ever, with lots of rain and drama. And after that, it was something or other happening all the time. Honestly, something happened every 15 minutes or so. Even so, the best part was Hypercar, hands down. Lead swaps occurred left and right, a VERY competitive race – so much better than the boring parades of the last five years. Moreover, the cars are absolutely gorgeous!

The bad part? A Ferrari won 🤣. Oh come on, it is bad – a Ferrari winning means that I’ll have to get an expensive Looksmart 😣. Yet, I’m NOT complaining – I was really dreading getting another boring white and red Toyota. And speaking of spending money, things will get expensive for the W-143 Garage: Ferrari 499P (Looksmart 🙄), Porsche 963, Peugeot 9X8, Cadillac V-Series.R, that Garage 56 Camaro, Oreca 07 #34 and the Corvette #33. And perhaps, because of the liveries, the “Dinosaur Porsche”, Nielsen Oreca 07 #14, a Glickenhaus and the Iron Dames Porsche. Oh yeah, the 2023 24 Heures du Mans will definitively be expensive.

Even so, all in all, and as expected, it was a FANTASTIC race! 🏆🏆🏆

Books – So-Cal hot rods

“So-Cal Speed Shop” – Mark Christensen

After World War II, many returning American servicemen turned their eyes onto motorsports. One such person was Alex Xydias, an ex-B-17 airman. Xydias opened his shop in 1946, in Burbank, California, initially selling parts for car owners to boost the performance of their race cars. With these cars achieving good results and breaking a few records mostly on the salt flats, the So-Cal brand became a trusted name among the land speed record community.

Christensen tells the story of how the So-Cal Speed Shop moved on from a small car parts shop to one of the most famous hot-rod brands. The book is a hardcover, and it’s chock-full of high quality photos, though most black & white. Unfortunately out of print, though you can find a used copy on Amazon. An easy and very interesting read, I’m sure it will appeal to the gearhead in general.