Welcome back everyone. Hope you guys enjoyed Part 1 of the VTEC Club “Final Round” coverage the other day. It is a good event series that I feel is good for car guys/gals who are looking to track their cars without having to feel the pressures of having to compete with major brand-sponsored vehicles or cars that are so fast that you’d worry you were just getting in their way. It is a smaller event but quickly growing in numbers. I find it very interesting that there are so many people now who are interested in going to the track because it was never really something that just everyone did like 5-10 years ago, you know what I mean? Like there was always a small group of guys who would go and race their cars but now, at events like VTEC Club, you easily have 60 cars or more competing and it is still considered a smaller event. I think money has a lot to do with it. Younger enthusiasts who are looking to track their builds quickly realize how expensive some events can be. You add to that the potential of doing damage to your car or blowing it up altogether and it makes you weary of going. That just comes with racing. If you’re really into it or want to get into it, you’ll go and give it a shot. Guys like Duane Bada, Yuta Akaishi, Kristian Wong, and the rest of those who help to organize events like this are very helpful and willing to teach. VTEC Club is an event that doesn’t come with any intimidation and the costs aren’t outrageous. Shit, most of these guys don’t even have money and they organize the event, haha. If you own a Honda and are interested in taking your car out on the track, VTEC Club is a good option for you…
Now, for the proverbial elephant in the room. This is a matter that needs addressing so I feel like I should…
For those of you who heard the rumors or have spoken to people who were at the track that day, yes, someone did pass away unfortunately in an accident that occurred on the track. The driver, Ivo Mitkov, and a passenger crashed a E46 BMW M3 into a flag station towards the end of the day and Ivo passed away. I don’t know him personally but he has an incredible resume as a driver and was highly skilled. I have no idea how it happened or what happened in that car, perhaps no one will ever know, but this is one of those instances when a fluke accident just happened. 9/10 times it probably wouldn’t have happened or the two would have been able to walk away but it is sad to know that this wasn’t one of those times. It is an inherent risk that comes with racing and though it is never talked about, accidents do happen. These guys go out there with an understanding that situations like this may occur and so they try to be prepared as possible with the proper safety equipment. Even with everything in place, again, fluke things like this can happen, and unfortunately, people can pass away. From what I’ve heard and been told by people that knew him, Ivo Mitkov was a great guy and a family man. The only time I ever came across his name before this day was when I was supposed to write his Super Street magazine feature that was ultimately written later by Yuta. I would see his Subaru at the track occasionally and I even remember him being in the same cafeteria at Buttonwillow earlier that day when Der and I were eating lunch. It was incredibly saddening to see the accident at the track that day and it is definitely something that will stick with me in the future. In many ways, it was kind of a wake-up call. We go about it so casually sometimes that we forget that things like this can happen. It makes you think about your friends that participate and whether or not they are mentally and physically prepared. We don’t ever want to talk about reality, especially when it comes to life and death, but please, everyone be safe out there. My condolences go out to Ivo Mitkov’s family and friends. I know what it feels like to lose someone before their time. I can only imagine what you are going through.
Rest in Peace, sir.
Below is the second and concluding portion of the VTEC Club “Final Round” coverage. It picks up right where Part 1 ended…
Yuta Akaishi’s Civic back in the pit area…
Ryan Constantino’s Advan-look EF…
AP2 S2000 sporting a Voltex rear wing, CR front lip, and silver Volk Racing CE28…
Bobby Phoumine’s Civic with 949Racing 6UL wheels up front and classic Advan Racing RG in the rear. He ran in the Group N2 category and finished with a best lap time of 2:10.69…
Interesting to see a set of fender flares from NBC Racing out of France. These are +20mm wider and even have the additional bumper garnish piece to complete the look…
Edson Diaz in the #16 Acura Integra Type R on Volk TEs…
Matt from M’s JDM Motors avoided pulled pork sandwiches long enough to not get his usual food poisoning so he could compete at VTEC Club with his Japanese RHD CR-X…
Steven Chavez and his EF hatchback…
Don Tran’s S2000 wearing a Voltex front bumper, CG Amis front fenders, rear over fenders, ASM rear bumper, and Arcane Streetwalker wheels….
Phoumine entering “Sunrise” on CW13…
Juan Salcedo and his silver coupe…
Another shot of the Civic rocking NBC Racing fenders…
Phoenix Yellow Integra Type R representing Raceline USA…
Another of Bobby’s Civic…
Constantino and his EF…
Matt represents one of the enthusiasts who have just recently started to track their Hondas…
VTEC Club had a little bit of everything, even a 3.2 CL coupe was racing on Butonwillow CW13…
James Gonzalez and his 4-door Civic…
Michael Armendez and his PY ITR on 15×8-inch Volk TE37…
Duane Bada’s EF as piloted by Julie Yeh…
Xi Chen and his AP1 S2000 on Enkei wheels…
John Tran’s widened S2000 in the pits…
A couple more of Bobby’s Civic…
Again, really cool to see traditional liveries being used now on Hondas here in the U.S….
Andrew, his Civic, an the banana he’s eating…
Duane’s EF…
Roger Pompa and his Rocket Bunny Integra…you know, because of the lack of rear bumper. Get it? Haha, ah nevermind… He ended the day placing first overall in the Group N2 Class with a best overall lap time of 2:04.652….
Tom Attack/Tom Liang was the fastest of the day overall in every class, running a 1:56.224 lap time in his JHPUSA-themed EF…
Justin Yoo getting a little sideways with Sean Lucas riding along in Yoo’s S2000….
Jason Kim and his Integra Type R with JDM ITR front ran a 2:01.19 in the Group A class…
Jay Valle and his Ferio Vi-RS inspired sedan….
Tom coming back into the pit area for cool down…
More of Justin Yoo in action. He ran an impressive 1:58.02 best lap time…
Roger Pompa and his DC once again….
Tom won first place in the Final Round of the event and placed 2nd overall for the entire season of the VTEC Club 2015 series…
Yuta went out for his next session but quickly returned after running into car trouble…
It turns out that the head gasket had blown, ending our day prematurely….
Kristian Wong did not seemed bothered at all by the fact that Yuta had blown his head gasket…
Matt Rojana’s S2000 placed first overall in the series’ Group A2 category. He also finished 1st on this particular day in the class with a best lap time of 1:57.345…
Yoo’s S2000 offered Sean Lucas sanctuary from the beaming sun…
With no racing left to do thanks to the blown head gasket, plenty of cigarettes were smoked along with tons of squatting…
Kristian and Son pretending that they care about Yuta’s motor…
Tom utilizing dual jacks to check on the tires of his EF…
Brandon Cruz and his NSX that was recently featured in DSport magazine…
Son Vo’s S2000 with half-cut rear bumper and Voltex swan-neck wing…
Jay Valle ended the day placing second right behind Tom Liang’s EF with a best overall time of 1:58.006…
Santos and his CL coupe on Enkei RPF1…
BFFFFFFs Sean Lucas and Justin Yoo…
No aero, just an OEM hard top on this AP1…
Matt decided to start break dancing in front of his CR-X to entertain everyone…
A group of S2000 enthusiasts along with the guys from ASR hanging out in the pits…
And that is a wrap on that…
Thanks for looking everyone! Make sure to support VTEC Club and attend if you feel like tracking your Hondas or want to get an idea of what you need to do to start competing.
What are the stats on Tom’s EF? Do a special on some of these cars with there stats and setup. Thanks.
I’m loving that CL V6 must of sounded good !
How did the classes work, I’m assuming N2 was almost stock or were the classes based on power or amount of modifications?, could you provide more insight?