WORKS Motorsports

WORKS at 24 Hours of Lemons!

2011-03-28T12:37:00.000-07:00

On March 26-27 the WORKS Motorsports team raced in the 24 Hours of Lemons here at Infineon Raceway!
Our team included:
Pete Kang
Lars Wolfe
Troy Budde
Nick Neil
Kirk Harper
Jan Mahler

Senior Assistant Crew Member: Aziz

Now, we are proud to introduce our beast of a car:
THE MITSUBEASTIE

The Mitsubeastie doing work, scaring the competition.

Redline Time Attack Pro Challenge! March 6th and 5th

2011-03-09T13:44:00.000-08:00

We had a very successful race! It was a lot of fun, we meet different teams and racers and saw their cars. This race is going to be shown in the premiere of the new show on Versus Channel, called "Circuit Battle" Be sure to tune in and watch the episode when it airs on March 26th at 11am Pacific Time.

Our Time Attack Evo X Looking Good

On the track

Lined up with the Subaru

Our driver, Lars Wolfe, being interviewed for "Circuit Battle"

Some late night work

WORKS at Redline Time Attack in PRO TRACK CHALLENGE!!! THIS WEEKEND March 5th and 6th at Willow Springs Raceway!

2011-03-02T11:02:00.000-08:00

WORKS Motorsports will be attending the REDLINE TIME ATTACK at Willow Springs Raceway in Willows, CA. THIS WEEKEND March 5th and 6th! We are going to be competing in the Redline Time Attack Pro Track Challenge: Round One on March 6th. This will be the first official tapping of the 'Circut Battles' TV Show that will be airing on Versus Channel March 26th at 11am!!! If you can't make it out, please set your recorders for some AWESOME Time Attack Racing!!!

WORKS in-house Rally and Time Attack Driver, Lars Wolfe will be driving the WORKS Time Attack Mitsubishi Evo X, as seen in the BFGoodrich commercials with Shaun White.

You can get a free admission on Sunday if you just print out a ticket here: http://www.redlinetrackevents.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/redline-willow-tix.pdf

Outline of the map:

We hope to see our fans out at the track supporting our team on Saturday and Sunday! Especially SUNDAY FOR THE TAPPING OF THE SHOW!

WORKS Meet and Greet! February 12th

2011-02-04T11:46:00.000-08:00

WORKS Motorsports will be having a Lancer and EVO Meet on Saturday February 12th! This is to celebrate the DEBUT of the MITSUBISHI/WORKS Motorsports Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart Touring Car. After several years of painstaking work, WORKS and Mitsubishi are finally going Touring Car Racing! The car will be entered this year into N.A.S.A.'s USTCC (US Touring Car Championship). With USTCC Champion Dave Brown behind the wheel we aim to WIN! Saturday will be the very first day for the car out on track, known as the 'Shakedown'. Please come out and support Mitsubishi and WORKS with the release of this new one of a kind chassis!

How does a 5 spd in a Ralliart sound?
WORKS made it happen!

You will also have the chance to meet WORKS Touring Car Driver - Dave Brown, as well as meet with WORKS Pro Rally Driver - Lars Wolfe and other Lancer/Evo enthusiasts from all over. WORKS Professional Drivers, Lars and Dave will also be signing autographs for all attendees of the meet and greet. And WORKS will be giving out free gifts to those that show up before 11am.

In addition we will also be having a WORKS Parts SALE for all new and used WORKS Parts that are IN STOCK. We will also have Non-WORKS parts for Lancers, Ralliarts, and Evolutions 8/9/10's on sale. ALL PARTS WILL BE AT SUPER LOW PRICES! Some rare parts for sale will include an ARC Intercooler and the C-West Carbon Hood and Trunk as well as many other rare and hard to find parts. WORKS deals in "cash and credit" ONLY, no personal checks please!

Depending on the amount of people that will be attending, we may also barbecue so be sure bring friends, family, and other Lancer/Evo enthusiasts alike.

We are located here:

WORKS Motorsports
Infineon Raceway
(Formerly Sears Point)
29673 Arnold Drive
Sonoma, CA 95476

See you there!

Check out Episode 1: Shaun Meets The Team!

2011-02-04T11:18:00.001-08:00

Shaun White wants to drive fast, we're here to help.

BFGoodrich Tires/ WORKS/ Rally Driver Lars Wolfe/ Pro Snowboarder Shaun White= ?

2011-01-31T12:27:00.000-08:00

Lars Wolfe, Pro Rally Car driver for WORKS Motorsports got an invitation from BFGoodrich Tires earlier this year to take X- Games Pro Gold Medalist Shaun White out in the WORKS Time Attack Mitsubishi Evolution X and show him what the WORKS TA Evo X can do when teamed up with BFGoodrich R1 tires. '.....Shaun wants to drive.....' they said, well fortunately he has WORKS Pro Rally driver Lars Wolfe to help him out with that.

Here is the end result.

This is the same WORKS Evo X that took 2nd place at the second to last Redline Time Attack event at WORKS' home track Infineon Raceway this past October. Shaun learned what its like to be taught by a Pro Rally driver, and man does it look like he's having fun. We can't get enough of Shaun's face in this video!

WORKS would like to give a BIG Thank You to; BFGoodrich Tires for giving us the pleasure of teaching Shaun a thing or two about Driving.

More to come soon............

WORKS wraps up the season at the New England Forest Rally

2010-08-11T16:13:00.001-07:00

Newry Maine, July 19th 2010 - WORKS Motorsports traveled across the United States to compete in Round 6 of the Rally America National series. With two month between their last event in Mt hood Oregon Lars Wolfe, motorsports director and driver of the WORKS 2010 Mitsubishi RalliArt, made the decision to go for the last round of the 2010 calendar. “It’s a long drive for us and we do not have a chance for a championship or anything, but its important that we go.” Said Lars after arriving at Sunday River resort, the head quarters of the New England Forest Rally.

The team is coming off a disappointing 2009 season with 2 major crashes that set them back the entire season. But when Mitsubishi Motor America presented them with 2010 RalliArt there was only one direction to go. Along with BFGoodrich and GO PRO HD Camera’s a new team was built from the ground up. The first 2 rallies were shake downs for the car and the crew on figuring out what combinations would make the team faster. The team’s normal crew was not able to assist the team this year so a whole new team had to be put together. And with the help of WORKS employee Josh Hellem, friend Scot Langford, and Gary Grahn the team was complete for the trip to go cross country and compete.

Throughout the season there was the looming question of the new Mitsubishi SST duel clutch transmission. This transmission has never been driven under these conditions and was a big concern for the team. With help from South Side Performance the transmissions’ internals were enhanced to take the rigors of Rally. Next was the team in the car. With many ups and down pairing driver and co-driver this year, Lars’ biggest concern was getting the right Co-driver for this event. A chance introduction paired up Jake Blattner and Lars. Jake, a retired Pro Snowboarder turned rally Co-driver, has had success in many high level teams in past years and took it upon him self to help complete with this up and coming team. “I’ve seen Lars and his team for some time now at rally events; and after talking with him it just felt like the right thing to do, there’s an energy and excitement that I think is a perfect match for me and that I don’t see in many teams any more” Jake said before starting Recce on Thursday morning.

After a long 12 hours in the car together during Recce, or stage reconnaissance, Jake and Lars perfected the notes and communication that would make them fast during the event. This is by far the most important time for a new pairing. It’s when the driver and co-driver to learn what motivates each other at a comfortable pace and allows them to perfect certain corners, creating a language that will in the end enhance trust. And after two months of tireless car prep the team was ready for the 2010 New England Forrest Rally.

With the starting of 64 cars in the field, the largest turnout in years, the team found themselves starting 26th on the road. The first day went surprisingly smooth. At the first reseed, or reposition of start order, the team moved up to 23rd. A thunderstorm moved in late in the day keeping everyone on their toes and adjusted pace to meet the changing conditions. “That’s the most difficult thing about rally,” Jake said after stage, “you can start a stage in perfect dry conditions and half way threw it can start poring and we have to totally change our driving style to match the new conditions.” The heat and humidity was a huge surprise at over 100 degrees F and with 95% humidity. “Rally is a constant test, not only driving but weather and road changes, and focus has to be on at all times. That’s what keeps me coming back to this sport.” Lars said at the end of the first day of competition.

Saturday was the final day of competition for the rally. Jake and Lars’ communication rose to the next level and speed increased as they found themselves climbing up the leader board. Every stage was a challenge to the car and the team. The roads were rough and the choice had to be made on the fly to pick a path through the rough stages or power through risking a broken car and not finish. With over 100 miles of competitive road passed, Jake and Lars made their way back to the finish and after two days of grueling heat and humidity sporadic thunderstorms that changed stages from dust to mud, move from 26th to 11th overall and 5th in class. “This has been a huge learning experience this year. It has been a year of finding the right people and putting them in the right spot. I think we have that now and all we are going to do is get better.” Lars said at the finish of the 2010 New England Forrest Rally.

WORKS Motorsport would like to extend the greatest thanks to BFGoodrich this year for supplying the best bolt on performance and give them the biggest advantage possible. Go PRO cameras for giving us the ability to show the world what type of sport Rally is. This event would not have been possible without their help. We also thank Mitsubishi Motors for the car to show the world what it’s capable of competition. SSP Performance for giving us the best possible parts for an untested transmission, Hot bits suspensions, Lab 17 vinyl graphics, Whiteline suspension components, All points Petroleum, Anzo Lighting, As well as to all the family members, friends and co-workers without them this season would not have been possible.

Thank you and see you all next season.
WORKS Motorsports Team

WORKS Ralliart TR-333 specs

2010-06-04T16:47:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, we have been receiving some questions and interest about the build of our rally car so we decided to go ahead and post the spec list for the ralliart! Let us know if you have any questions!

Engine:
Mitsubishi 4B11T motor
• WORKS High Flow Air Filter
• WORKS Cold Air Intake
• WORKS P2 ecu Flash (with anti-lag)
• 3” straight pipe exhaust made by WORKS
• EVO X turbo/piping/intercooler
• Royal Purple racing oil

Transmision:
• Mitsubishi TC-SST Twin Clutch Transmission
• SSP Transmission Cooler
• SSP 400 HP Power Package Clutch Packs
• SSP Oil Pan

Suspension/Wheels:
• Hot Bits Rally Coilover Suspension
• Whiteline Front and Rear Sway bars
• OZ Rally Wheels
• BF Goodrich Rally Tires

Brakes:
• WORKS Teflon-Kevlar-Stainless Steel Line Kit
• Front Endless Brake Pads

Exterior:
• Evo X Rear Wing
• Graphics by LAB17

Interior:
• Custom light weight dash
• Custom WORKS Roll cage built to Rally America specs
• Sparco Seats
• 6 Point Harness

WORKS finishes Oregon Trail Rally

2010-05-20T17:12:00.001-07:00

WORKS Rally participated in their second event in the 2010 Rally America season, The Oregon Trail Rally. This is a particularly challenging race and the attrition showed just that. The event started on Friday night at Portland International Raceway. Covering some of the famous race track and much of the surrounding service roads, that makes some of the best spectator stages on the Rally America schedule. 63 cars participated Friday night, and by the end of Saturday’s stages only 24 competitors were out of the race.

Finishing the Olympus Rally a month earlier WORKS Motorsport was really excited to get to Oregon and show that the car and the team was ready to take the fight to the remaining Rally America season in Pennsylvania and Maine. With only minor servicing to the car by the team the car and Lars Wolfe WORKS rally driver was ready for the race.

Thinking the team was firmly in place, a scheduling conflict took Jon Burke out of the right seat. In the last moments before the cut off for not being able to make the event Tina Warner, a local of sorts, stepped into the co-driver’s seat. And once at the event Lars and Tina recced the stages and were super excited about what was to come.”The stages start super rough and are going to be car killers if not careful, but if you make it past those the rest of the weekend stages will be some of the most fun stages so far!”Lars Wolfe was heard saying after recce Thursday night.

Friday night at PIR was conservative for the team. “On these types of stages you can never win the Rally but you can lose the whole thing.” Crew chief Scot Langford, said after the only service of the night. WORKS went out on the new BFGoodrich KDW T/A to see if the aggressive design of the tire could stand up to the rigors of multi surface stages. The tires showed that they were up for anything as we clicked off consistent times for the night. By the end of the night the car and crew were in good shape and with only a quick check over they were ready for the two days of forest stages to come. Unfortunately, Tina Warner did not fare so well and came off the nights stages with a 104 temp and a visit to the local hospital.

Park expose started Saturday at 10am in The Dalles, Oregon. Fans came from all over to see off the 62 competitors to the day’s stages. Even after a visit to the hospital Tina Warner, the team’s co-driver, fought through what had happened and jumped in the car eager to start the days stages. The weather wasn’t going too much of a factor this weekend; sunny and hot was the forecast and we made the perfect choice of tires with the help of BFGoodrich.

As predicted, the first stages were some of the roughest encountered so far for the car and the team opted to pick and choose the carful path through the rough stuff to make it to the fast stages, where they know the car can really show its design. And by the end of the day, with no major issues, Lars’s prediction of the days stages being a car killer were seen by many competitor with nearly 1/3 of the racers out, Ken Block and Dave Mirra being just a couple of the names out for the weekend.

The last day started; much like the first at 10am but now in Dufur, OR. The sleepy little town pulled out all the stops for us. We made our way out to the stages where the fun was about to start. We battled our way up to 5th in class as Lars and Tina started to get a rhythm in the car. But with a communication error we received a 3:30 penalty for speeding on a transit from stage to stage. With this error we found ourselves drop to 9th in class. Without the race mileage left in the weekend we knew the only way to make up positions was to stay consistent and position ourselves for further attrition. With the weather getting hotter in the car communication became tougher and tougher for Lars and Tina. We did not find out until later that Tina had a case of pneumonia, but even through that she stayed in the car and gave her best. Communication between the driver and co-driver is of the most important aspect of this type of racing. These few mistakes can drop the confidence in the driver and slow them down. But in the end we finished the race moving up three more positions resulting in a 6th in class and 13th over all.

We are still learning how hard we can push the car and the transmission. The Mitsubishi RalliArt SST has been an exciting car to start rallying and we are looking forward to making it to the rest of the Rally America events. Special thanks to BFGoodrich, SSP, Hotbits suspension, Allpoints Petrolium, Royal Purple oils, Whiteline suspension components, and Lab 17.

Oregon Trail Update

2010-05-15T20:58:00.001-07:00

The car is performing well so far. We have some photos and videos we will be uploading soon. The car sounds a lot different from every other car out there!

Oregon Trail Rally

2010-05-14T16:24:00.000-07:00

WORKS will be at the Oregon Trail Rally with Rally America this weekend. Tonight the event will start at Portland International Raceway at 6. We have WORKS Grab shift knobs, license plate frames, and boost hoses for Brain Flashes. Come watch the Ralliart in it's second event!

WORKS Ralliart spotted on Youtube

2010-05-04T09:55:00.000-07:00

WORKS Rally made it into a few video collages made by fans at the Olympus Rally. Check em out!

At 2:19

At 1:28

WORKS Ralliart makes it into the Rally America photo contest

2010-05-03T17:38:00.000-07:00

Every event Rally America holds a photo contest, which is open to all who attend. The WORKS Ralliart made it into the Olympus Rally Photo Contest! Cast your vote and help WORKS gain more notoriety!

http://rally-america.com/contests/2010_olympus/entries/935

WORKS finishes debut event with their experimental 2009 Lancer Ralliart

2010-05-03T14:49:00.000-07:00

Sonoma, California - April 30, 2010

WORKS Rally finished our debut event for the 2010 Rally America Series at the world famous Olympus Rally in Washington. It has also been almost a year since our driver, Lars Wolfe, had been on the trail. 51 teams entered in the event this year, but only 18 made it to the end. WORKS Rally was one of those lucky 18.

The choice to prepare a Lancer Ralliart instead of an Evolution was well thought out but we knew that certain preparations needed to be made right from the start. The two main hurdles were the TC-SST twin-clutch transmission and the rear suspension. We took the necessary steps to reinforce the transmission clutch packs since no one has yet to successfully run a twin-clutch transmission in rally. We saw this as a risk worth taking since many rally cars in WRC utilize sequential shift transmissions, so we wanted to get as close to that technology as possible that the Rally America Series would allow. Also, the rear suspension of the Ralliart does not allow for the same amount of travel as an Evolution. With several airborne experiences during Olympus, this was a trial by fire.

Bringing a prototype car to scrutineering is always exciting. The car was examined under a microscope by the judges. After a couple of very minor adjustments the car was off to the park exposé. WORKS Rally showed up to the event with only 3 crew members; driver Lars Wolfe, co-driver Jon Burke, and technician Josh Shutz-Hellam. Many rally fans were surprised to learn that our car was not an Evolution. And since many fans were familiar with sequential-transmission technology used in WRC they were very interested in our decision to use the TC-SST gearbox. At the exposé the team was approached by two fans: Tino Fortunato and Nikki Saetre. They offered their services as crew members, which could not be more appreciated for WORKS Rally on a gloomy weekend with foul weather forecasted.

It was at this point that the team began to develop a relationship. This was the first time that Lars Wolfe and Jon Burke had worked together as driver/co-driver, technician Josh Shutz-Hellam has only been with WORKS for about a month, and now there were two complete strangers in the crew. And since the co-driver acts as the brain of the rally car and the driver acts as the nervous system the two of them needed to find a common ground in their communication. And taking into account that this would be a shakedown for a brand new car, this was forecasted to be an interesting weekend.

Lars and Jon set off for Stage 1, Wreck Creek, at 8AM. The TC-SST’s quick and aggressive shifts shot the Ralliart off the starting line much quicker than anticipated. Since Lars had his hand in every modification made to the car he was particularly in focused on every creak and squeek it made. They reached the second service stop at the end of Stage 2 with no mechanical issues. By the end of the day only minor repairs needed to be made. This was alone was cause for celebration for the team. Already we had passed a milestone no other company had done yet. Our upgraded twin-clutch transmission had held for a full day of competition.

That night the team began their routing maintenance in the hotel parking lot. As it began to rain, a local by the name of Harry Buckman saw the techs wrenching on the car and offered his garage to the team for the night. Without his help, our team would have had a much longer and harder night. We owe a very special thanks to Harry.

After the team-building crash-course that was Day one, Lars and Jon began to find their rhythm. Comfort and familiarity for the Ralliart was improved and the team started clobbering 30-40 seconds off their previous times. They were looking forward to test the car’s true power on the dry and infamous Brooklyn stages. However, it was in this stage that WORKS Rally ended the race last year. Lars describes how he felt as he approached the very turn that claimed our Evo IX. “It felt like I was playing Gran Turismo with my kids on their Playstation. As I drove past the spot, I was watching the old car’s outlined shadow roll off the road. It was like passing a ghost. At that point, I felt like I could really let go of that experience and move on.”

WORKS Rally finished 8th out of 13 in a prototype vehicle. We are excited about the information we gathered about the car and know what needs to be done to earn our spot on the podium. It has been a year since Lars has been behind the wheel; the cob webs are coming loose and his spirit was revived this past weekend. He admitted that he was nervous and apprehensive because of both the car and his hiatus. We look forward to working with Jon Burke again at the Oregon Trail Rally in a few weeks and hope to see some of you there.

WORKS Rejoins Rally America Series

2010-04-23T17:14:00.002-07:00

Photo courtesy of Olisim.com

WORKS Rally will making their debut this year in the third round of the 2010 season with intent to successfully test a first-of-its-kind vehicle for the Rally America series, yielding nothing less than a podium finish.

Last year at the Olympus Rally, driver Lars Wolfe and Michel Hoche-Mong entered the WORKS Rally Evo IX in the Super Production class. It was WORKS’s debut for a national rally event. Company owner and founder Peter Kang had always been a rally enthusiast. “One of the main reasons I started WORKS was my passion for Rallying. Mitsubishi has always maintained a strong tradition in the sport and I wanted to help bring that to the US market.” And the team was in good hands. Lars Wolfe’s training began seven years ago at the Team O’Neil Rally School. Positioned as the driver and mechanic he had a strong history with racing Volkswagens, driving a 2000 Jetta 4Motion to a class victory at the NASA 6 Hours of Thunderhill in December 2008.

Last year at the Olympus Rally in 2009, Lars Wolfe and Michel Hoche-Mong were gaining momentum with each passing stage. Starting Stage 6 they were 2nd in class, 7th overall. This was a huge milestone for a company making a debut in a sport with less than eight employees. By the end of the day they stood 7th in class. Day 2 began with optimism as WORKS Rally moved up two places crossing the line at Stage 10 with only six more to go. They started Stage 15, but another vehicle was claimed by the infamous Brooklyn West. The car caught the inside edge of a turn and went into a sensational roll. But this was not to be the end of WORKS Rally.

They were back on their feet with a 2009 Lancer Ralliart in November. This time, WORKS will be setting the bar again in the Mitsubishi community. When given the choice to build a new car for this year’s Rally America series it was decided to go with a Lancer Ralliart, not an Evolution. With proper preparation, Mitsubishi’s new TC-SST twin-clutch transmission made by Getrag was seen by Lars Wolfe to be a competitive advantage. With the help of South Side Performance transmission upgrades, we set off for the 25 Hours of Thunderhill to see where the car stood against the competition. It was the first attempt anyone had made to run the SST transmission for this long. It held at full power for almost 6 hours of continuous racing until we encountered engine overheating issues and the plug was pulled.

The bar is still set high for WORKS Rally. This is an experimental car’s maiden voyage onto the dirt. Lars Wolfe has spent his time in the trenches, following the steps to perfecting the mechanical tuning of the car and his skills as a driver. The team plans on attending many more events this season and is planning to secure a spot on the podium.

WORKS back-to-back track review

2010-04-23T17:14:00.001-07:00

Photo courtesy of Olisim.com

During the NASA season opener here at Infineon Raceway, Pete Kang, chief engineer, had the unique opportunity to sample all of Mitsubishi's latest and greatest creations back-to-back on-track. All three cars had the WORKS touch to them, but the core characteristics of the cars still shined through.

Synopsis:

CY4A Lancer GTS (5-speed):
WORKS P1 Flash
WORKS Drop-in Air filter
WORKS Short Shifter with WORKS console bushings
WORKS Stage 1 Suspension Package (springs and rear sway bar)

Track conditions:
Session 1 - wet with light drizzle. Rained hard during the morning
Session 2 - dry with multiple puddles and runoff

The Lancer GTS is actually a very fun and capable track car. Everything is well balanced with the power, handling, and braking. Can't get into too much trouble and it does what you tell it to. In some ways the lack of power is a blessing in disguise as you can keep it in 3rd gear with your foot to the floor over 80% of the time and focus on the line and carrying momentum through the corners. The short shifter and bushings actually made shifting much crisper and quicker compared to driving previously on track without them. During the wet, first session, the Lancer pushed (understeered) as expected but got right back in line during the dryer second session.

Ups: Balance and predictability
Downs: Brakes & tires
_______________________________

CY4A Lancer Ralliart:
WORKS P2 Flash
WORKS Drop-in Air filter
WORKS Charge Intercooler
WORKS turbo-back custom exhaust
SSP Performance clutch packs, cooler, and fluid
Hot Bits coilovers
WORKS custom cage
Whiteline sway bars front and rear
WORKS SS brake line kit
WORKS/Brembo Big Brake kit (front)

Track conditions:
Session 3 - dry with few puddles

The Lancer Ralliart shares the same chassis as the Lancer GTS but adds AWD, a small turbo, and a TC-SST transmission.
There is good, instant power with no turbo lag to speak of. Great point and shoot car. The SST transmission is amazing. Drove in Sport mode and manual mode. Banging through the gears was effortless and instantaneous. This alone is probably worth a couple of seconds per lap.
Handling was flatter and stiffer compared to the Lancer but this had coilovers and big sway bars. These showed what the chassis is capable of. The Brembo big brakes did the trick compared to the stock brakes previously experienced.

Ups: SST Transmission
Downs: not much but could always use more power
_______________________________

CZ4A Lancer Evolution EVO X GSR:
WORKS T2 Flash
WORKS/Garrett 3076 EVO X turbo kit
WORKS Drop-in Air filter
WORKS Charge Intercooler
WORKS cat-back exhaust
WORKS Short Shifter
WORKS console bushings & hybrid cable bushings
AST coilovers
Autopower roll bar
WORKS sway bars front and rear
WORKS SS brake line kit
WORKS Orange brake pads

Track conditions:
Session 4 - dry with runoff across Turn 1

What can I say that you don't already know? The Evolution X is everything you would expect and then some. It was better in every respect with regard to power, handling, and braking. The CZ4A chassis is noticeably different than the CY4A chassis. Powerband was very broad with virtually no lag on-track. Very well balanced in every regard and the obvious winner of the bunch but at a cost.

Ups: Power, handling, braking
Downs: Fuel consumption

Badass MR2 stops by WORKS Motorsports

2009-10-07T10:08:00.000-07:00

Check out more of this MR2 on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=160230&id=64605780820&saved#/pages/WORKS-Motorsports/64605780820

Having Fun at Wednesday Night Drags

2009-09-30T13:24:00.000-07:00

Drift Day with WORKS Motorsports

2009-09-30T13:04:00.000-07:00

Drift Day with WORKS Motorsports from Nation of GO on Vimeo.

WORKS Drift Evo 8 in action!!!!

2009-09-09T12:22:00.000-07:00

Check out this vid of the WORKS Drift Evo 8 getting a little slideways.

New Pics of the WORKS Carbon Fiber Evo X!

2009-08-17T10:10:00.000-07:00

Simply beautiful in our honest opinion. The WORKS TR-444 Evo X dripping in Carbon Fiber!

WORKS Motorsports featured on Octane Report

2009-08-10T14:03:00.000-07:00

Web Shots of the KDW Challenge website. Check it out at www.kdwchallenge.com

KDW Challenge

2009-08-10T11:28:00.000-07:00

Teaser for the new vids on KDWChallenge.com:

Trailer for KDW Challenge WORKS Motorsports from joey hille on Vimeo.

BMW Club Racer tuned at WORKS Motorsports

2009-08-05T15:10:00.000-07:00

When the passion for racing meets the dedication of engineering, you know you've reached WORKS Motorsports. Check out this uber cool E36 BMW M3 Club racer being tuned at WORKS!

2009-08-05T14:27:00.000-07:00

What makes 485 whp on e85 with a FP Red Turbo? the Evo X we just tuned! Here's a little glimpse of it on our Hunter Precision Alignment rack.

Join us on facebook!

2009-07-29T14:10:00.000-07:00

Become a fan of WORKS Motorsports on facebook!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=140404&id=64605780820&saved#/pages/WORKS-Motorsports/64605780820

Prepping the Evo X before the KDW Challenge

2009-07-27T10:58:00.000-07:00

We had to work all night, but our efforts paided off. She's a beauty thanks to our friends at SEIBON Carbon!

Congrats Geoff

2009-06-26T15:05:00.000-07:00

We'd like to congratulate WORKS Sponsored driver Geoff Clark with his amazing 2nd place finish at the SCCA Nationals in his STU (Street Touring Ultra) Evo. Using a WORKS flash and tune Geoff finished a mere .260 seconds behind the leader! Check out his Championship run!

Podium Finish for WORKS Sponsored driver Geoff Clark

2009-06-26T14:54:00.000-07:00

Want to know what it takes to get to the podium of the SCCA National Championship in Topeka Kansas? Have a look:

WORKS Rally Videos from the Oregon Trail Rally

2009-06-11T18:09:00.000-07:00

On Board video with the WORKS evo 9 rally car at the Oregon Trail Rally.

Teaser:

WORKS Motorsports Rally Evo 9 at Oregon Trail from joey hille on Vimeo.

Longer Edit:

WORKS Rally at Oregon Trail (longer edit) from joey hille on Vimeo.

WORKS Rally Videos from the Olympus Rally

2009-06-11T18:02:00.000-07:00

The first one is a teaser video of Lars Wolfe flipping the WORKS evo 9. second video is a longer edit

WORKS Rally from joey hille on Vimeo.

WORKS Motorsports Rally Flip in Rally America from joey hille on Vimeo.

The Pains of Rally

2009-04-28T17:14:00.000-07:00

In our defense..... It was a pretty spectacular crash :)

Video of the roll will be uploaded shortly, but for now..... enjoy.

A day in the life of rally

2009-04-21T16:23:00.000-07:00

WORKS RALLY USA

It’s Only New Once.
One almost feels bad sending a shiny new race car out to get beaten in the dirt, but when you see it come in for its first service with a bit of that Northwest mud on its flanks, it’s just right.

The start of a rally is both a blessing and a curse. After the blur that was the last month and a half, passing tech inspection Friday evening with no issues and sending our shiny new Evo 9 out to its debut Parc Expose on Saturday morning meant that all the long hours and lost sleep while building and preparing the car were over. On the other hand, it meant the start of what will undoubtedly be a long weekend of work for all involved.

Our car seems to be receiving a warm reception, especially as we’re the only Mitsubishi among a sea of Subarus in Rally America’s Super Production class. We’ve made fast friends with the other Mitsubishi teams in Open and Group 5, a couple of which are already customers of WORKS.

After three stages and two services, all is running well. Lars is getting comfortable with the car but not pushing too hard and has had no major issues. Other than having to make a slight “revision” to a turn-down in the underbody gravel shield, a recurring check engine light, and making a change to the front upper shock mounts (which seem to be taking a beating), the car is holding up well. So far, it seems to be pretty frugal with regards to brake and tire wear, though that will likely change as we pick up speed. It’s a learning experience for everyone, even though a few of us have rallied for years. This is our first outing in a powerful AWD car, one capable of generating a lot more force in all directions, so development will come with time as we learn how the car behaves (read: fails).
The end of day one brought a few issues with the car, all of which were repaired in Taholah before heading back to the hotel. The car came in dragging the exhaust on the ground because the resonator (not a WORKS part)came apart at its flanges and required a welding repair, the center gravel tray required some cutting to make it more service friendly, and the mudflaps needed to be trimmed and re-fastened all around. Really, as far as rally cars go, this is incredibly minor stuff. The mechanics of Tanner Foust’s Rockstar team suffered a hard night’s work on their new Evo X, including a deft welding repair to their broken downpipe by our own Lars Wolfe, and repairing some serious issues with their transfer case. So all things considered, it could have been worse.

The second day dawned bright and sunny, a good sign. We made the hour long transit to service in South Bend, on the Willapa River, found ourselves a prime spot and settled in. The first service went as smoothly as any, with only a couple of rattles in the suspension noted. These were due to the top shock nuts backing off front and rear despite being tightened at every service opportunity, so we’ll have to come up some means of locking them down for Oregon Trail. Other than that, the car is running fast and reliably, and is still the same shape it was when we started so I’ve no reason for complaint. There’s only one stage before Service 2 so hopefully it’s more of the same. In the meantime, it’s a beautiful day in South Bend, much better than the cold and wind of Taholah yesterday.

This was the single smoothest service in my rally career. No complaints, car in the air and wheels off, once over on the suspension, brakes, and fluids with no problems to report, and a splash of fuel. We even had time to wipe the car down before sending it off for the final stages of the day, including the famous “Brooklyn.” Well done all around. This rally was a good shakedown for Oregon Trail in a month, which will undoubtedly be much more challenging.

WORKS Rally Car

2009-04-16T12:02:00.000-07:00

After spending countless nights building the WORKS Rally car, we decided to have a little fun. what do you guys think of the new camo livery?

Rally America here we come!

2009-04-09T14:07:00.001-07:00

The shop has been a mad house as we get everything in order to compete at the next stop on the Rally America tour, Olympus Rally. Using the Evo 9 chassis WORKS will be the only Mitsubishi in the Super Production class competing against a number of subarus. Shop foreman and hot shoe Lars Wolfe will be performing double duty as both driver and lead mechanic responsible for car preparation. With a strong history rallying and road racing Volkswagens Lars is looking for a strong showing from the WORKS Mitsubishi.

Some pics of the build:

The car getting ready

Gutting the car

fabbing the uber awesome cage

This thing is going to be tough as nails

Driver vs. Co-driver seating position

The car is getting vinyl done tomorrow, I think you guys will appreciate the new WORKS Rally livery {thumbup} I'll be sure to update this as the build progresses.

Sno Drift Day 3

2009-02-19T11:59:00.000-08:00

Day 3: Saturday
Sno Drift Day 2
Outline
1. Ken Block Retires
2. Wake up a bit late
3. Biscuits and Gravey!
4. Morning Staging Area at Local High School
5. See Type R
6. Walk around morning lineup
7. Go Find Crew (no where to be found)
8. Find crew in cafeteria
9. Get Ready for Service
10. Mirra’s tranny get replaced
11. We replace tires
12. Go Watch Special Stage
13. Take Photos and Videos
14. Return
15. Service Car Once More
16. Go Watch Special Stage Again
17. Go to the Podium
18. Award Ceremony
19. Then off to Bar
20. Award Dinner!

The next morning, the crew moved their service station to Atlanta High School where they were positioned for the remainder of the rally. An intriguing morning parade of the cars revealed a nice mixture of WRXs, EVOs, Neons, a Dodge Shadow, a Jetta, an Integra Type R, and a rare Hyundai Tiburon AWD.
During the length of the day the ACP vehicle was strong. Most of the efforts were made to make only incremental changes in order to alleviate minor issues with the car. Our service to the car mainly consisted of tire change, fuel refuel, de-icing, and light pod attachment. Unfortunately Dave Mirra, in the Subaru Sti, had to perform a transmission change during one of the service stages.
The reliability of the ACP vehicle allowed the WORKS crew to enjoy the opportunity to get familiar with their surroundings and allow them to watch the stage. There was a large turn out of fans for all the different cars, even the Dodge Shadow! A few members of the crew were able to watch ACP during the last stage where they secured a third place podium finish for the season opener. See the included pictures to see photos of the last stage.
In the end ACP shared the podium with Travis Pastrana, in the factory-backed Subaru Sti, and Tanner Foust, in a ex-factory Hyundai Tiburon.

Sno Drift Day 2

2009-02-19T11:52:00.000-08:00

Day 2: Friday
Sno Drift Day 1
Outline
1. Muffins
2. Shake Down
3. Meet Crew
4. Replace Clutch
5. Stalling Problem
6. Off to Stage one
7. We drive to Staging Area
8. Get Acquainted with Field of Cars
9. Grab Pizza (Early Afternoon)
10. Help Set up Service Area
11. Team grabs lunch
12. Car Comes in for service for Night Runs
13. Team Cleans up
14. Puts Item away
15. Team Grabs Dinner
16. Go Back to Garage to Service Car
17. Oil Change
18. Service Car
19. Figure out Idle Problem and Go Over Data Log

ACP and Goldfarb started off Friday morning with drivetrain difficulties which emerged during shakedown. The crew needed to replace the clutch after a few runs and 3 hours until the start of the rally. Lars Wolfe, the WORKS technician, jumped in and assisted the crew of ACP with the replacement. Due to their teamwork a typical 8 hours service, was executed in just under 3 hours! During the same time David, WORKS engineer, worked to resolve some idling issues with AMS owner, Martin Musial.
During shake down the crew noticed a braking problem. Due to the higher priority of replacing the clutch, the team waited to sort out the problem until a later service stop. Fortunately with a bit of nurturing from the driver and a watchful eye from the crew, the brakes survived to run the length of the rally.
After the first day of events, ACP was within the top 5. Ken Block, in Car 43, was stuck on SS10 and later retired the race. During the nighttime maintenance, the crew with Lars Wolfe changed the fluids on the car. While David and Martin worked to resolve the idling issue once more, which eventually turned out to be a faulty idle stepper motor.

Sno Drift Day 1

2009-02-13T23:43:00.000-08:00

Day 1: Thursday
Traveling
Outline
1. Airport
2. Oakland-Denver(Colorado)-Detroit
3. Rent Car
4. Drive To Showcase Mitsubishi
5. See SCCA National Car
6. Drive To Bed-in-breakfast

Rally driver Andrew “ACP” Comrie-Picard started a strong season at Sno Drift Rally in Atlanta, Michigan. Sno Drift Rally is the first of 9 circuits on the Rally America Series. This year around the rally had plenty of snow, averaging mid to low 20s, giving way to slippery conditions without the benefit of studded tires. (Rallies in North America prohibit the use of studded tires.) Within these challenging conditions ACP and co-driver, Marc Goldfarb snatched third place in NOS Energy Drink Mitsubishi Evolution IX.
The WORKS crew started its first day flying into Detroit. After renting a car from Hertz, we drove four hours north to Atlanta, Michigan where the Rally was to take place. Along the way we had the opportunity to stop by Showcase Mitsubishi, an authorized WORKS dealer. We got to spend some time with Andy Lieber and see their national SCCA EVO. See pictures.

WORKS Track Day Lunch Get Together

2009-02-10T14:33:00.000-08:00

INFINEON RACEWAY February 15

After a couple track sessions we're sure most attendees of the NASA track day will be looking for a place to relax. Given this, WORKS is hosting a lunch get together for friends and family between track sessions on Sunday, February 15. WORKS will be open all weekend to tune your track vehicles and provide support. If you're curious what a track day is like or you just love to watch racing; stop by the shop this weekend to hang out, watch classic rally racing videos, and catch lunch with us on Sunday.

WORKS sponsored driver ACP takes podium!!

2009-02-09T16:35:00.000-08:00

Podium finish for ACP at Rally America season opener

ATLANTA, Michigan (ACP Rally) – Rally driver Andrew “ACP” Comrie-Picard made a strong start to the season this weekend with a podium finish at the Sno*Drift rally in wintry northern Michigan.

He and co-driver Marc Goldfarb overcame early handling problems with their NOS Energy Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX to pull into third place late on Day 2.

“It was a classic snow rally,” says Comrie-Picard. “We stayed in it and didn’t make any big mistakes.”

Sno*Drift is the only true winter rally in the series, and the typically slick conditions reward a measured approach and excellent tire choice. The rules for rally competition in North America prohibit the use of studded tires and finding traction at high speeds poses a particular challenge on ice and snow.

“Winter rallies are a constant balance of deciding how hard to push against how to take as few risks as possible,” said Comrie-Picard. “Our Yokohama tires give us confidence across the whole range of these tough winter conditions -- from deep snow to glare ice.”

A braking problem with the team’s competition vehicle emerged early in the contest and cost them some time, but the crew of technicians -- supported by specialists from AMS, in Chicago, and Works, in California – were able to nurture the car to the finish.

Comrie-Picard and the NOS Energy Mitsubishi shared the podium with Red Bull-backed Travis Pastrana, the winner in his factory Subaru WRX STi, and second-place Rockstar Energy’s Tanner Foust in the ex-factory Hyundai Tiburon.

ACP Rally’s next competition will be at the Rallye Perce-Neige Maniwaki in Quebec next weekend (February 6-7). They are favored for a top finish at the Canadian season opener; they won the event in 2007 with a measured drive and finished second there last year.

Comrie-Picard and co-driver Marc Goldfarb contested Sno*Drift in the NOS Energy Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX. The team is also developing a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X that they debuted last November in Canada. They will run the Evolution X in select events in 2009.

The team is pleased to announce the return of key sponsors NOS Energy Drink, K&N Air Filters, Yokohama Tire Canada, and Mitsubishi Canada, who again partner with ACP Rally in the 2009 season.

Rally car racing is considered the extreme sport of automobile racing and is often described simply as “real cars, real roads, real fast.” This all-season motorsport sees drivers and their co-drivers take modified road cars to the limit as they achieve blistering speeds over courses that cover more than 100 miles of gravel, dirt or snow-covered roads.

The sport is featured in the annual X Games, the premier action sports event on the globe, featuring athletes competing for medals and prize money in sports including BMX Freestyle, Moto X, Skateboard, and Rally. Comrie-Picard has been among the dozen invited drivers every year since the rally discipline was introduced to the contest, and he has already secured an early invitation to return in 2009.

The Rally America national championship is a challenging, all-season series comprised of nine events across the country, beginning with Sno*Drift and wrapping up in October with the Lake Superior Performance Rally. The Canadian Rally Championship has six events in a cross-Canada season that extends from early February to late November. ACP Rally will contest a busy season, with championship events on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border, and the X Games.

GoPro Evo X tuned @ WORKS

2008-12-23T13:52:00.000-08:00

The GoPro Evo X is going to be more than a hero after we get done with it. Here's a couple shots so far. The X is going to be a full race car by the time we get done with it.

Tuning the Motec on the Dyno

2008-12-23T13:37:00.000-08:00

Just a couple shots around the shop. We're tuning the motec on a 2.3L stroker with a FP red turbo. This thing should be pretty fast by the time we get done with it :)

STATUS Seats Partner with WORKS Motorsports

2008-12-22T17:05:00.000-08:00

We love Status Racing's dedication to quality, so it seems natural that we've decided to partner with them. We'll be carrying their line of FIA approved racing buckets and FIA approved racing harnesses. The fit and quality of these seats are amazing and surprisingly comfortable for a racing bucket. Expect to see these buckets/harnesses racing in our SPEED World Challenge car and Time Attack car. I'll try and get a pic of the new harnesses they're offering asap.

Jim Russell Race Cars tuned by WORKS

2008-12-21T15:42:00.000-08:00

The guys at Jim Russell have a great racing program. Given this, it was an honor when they asked us to tune their formula 3 race cars. We spent a great deal of time on the dyno perfecting the tune for these amazing machines, so it's always a joy to see them running at the race track. Take a look at what they can do.

Jim Russell Racing Drivers School

One lap at Infineon Raceway with WORKS Motorsports

2008-12-20T01:35:00.000-08:00

Untitled from joey hille on Vimeo.

This footage was taken by Jamie @ WORKS in our 350whp evo X with stock injectors. The camera used was a GoPro wide angle motorsports camera. Even with the sunset and a lack of ambient light, you can tell this camera is very capable of getting great video. Again, this is one of many videos to come, so stay tuned!

~Joey

Evo X pics

2008-12-16T16:29:00.000-08:00

A quick glance at the WORKS Evo X.

Pictures taken by Spot 9 Studios.

Tarzan Yamada driving WORKS Time Attack car

2008-12-16T08:44:00.000-08:00

Found this little gem hidden away at work yesterday, so I thought I'd share it with you guys. It's kind of cool to watch because you can see how the G's and general vibrations of a race car effect a video camera using tape. I played with the RGB Balance on the video to make it slightly darker and a little more blue. let me know what you think.

Tarzan driving from joey hille on Vimeo.

WORKS partners with GoPro Camera

2008-12-10T22:20:00.000-08:00

WORKS is proud to announce their partnership with GoPro Camera. GoPro Camera's involvement in motorsports exemplifies the WORKS mantra of Passion, Precision, Performance. We've been playing around with these cameras at the shop and the quality is impeccable. WORKS will be using these little bad boys on all their race cars as well as tune the official GoPro Evo X. I should have some video posted shortly, so keep on the look out!

For more info on GoPro Cameras:

http://goprocamera.com/

Some Pics

2008-12-10T21:27:00.000-08:00

The pics were taken by Ken P. of Spot 9 Studios. As you can see, he's got some talent ;)

A Quick Introduction

2008-12-08T21:10:00.000-08:00

Over the years WORKS has competed in a lot of events and taken home quite a few trophies, but not too many people know the behind the scenes action. Hopefully this blog will help to enlighten you guys. We're usually busy testing new products on the race track, but with luck, this blog should be updated weekly. '09 is going to be a really exciting year for us at WORKS, so make sure to check in often!

To start things off I thought I'd post a couple videos of our old time attack car messing around. Let me know what you think.