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This time it was the other side that let go. Here is a picture of the issue:
Yep, a braided steel brake line just blew right the fuck out of its crimped fitting! Before I go off like a 1980's car alarm about how crappy this eBay purchased, Chinese made, imitation bling, junk brake hose is let me give a bit of history. This brake hose has been on the car since its first race in 2007. Since then we have done at least 400 hours of racing on it and been subjected to some serious overheating and literally dozens of hasty pad changes that flex the line at the fitting in a bad way. This sub-standard imitation car part has been through more abuse than it was ever even nearly designed for and this was the day it threw up the white flag. In the end the car was not really that badly damaged but there went our second opportunity to win nothing more than the idea of the win. Here is a view of the car after it came in off the track.
Note broken headlight and shreds of the undertray and splitter. The radiator was leaking as well due to a mount getting torn off one of the end tanks. Fixable though, so out came the tools and Tecates.
We worked into the night and got it pretty much good to go for the next day. The cracked radiator end tank was JB welded together and might never get replaced as the repair looks really good and the price was right. For the brake line we bought a OEM rubber line for a Toyota at a local auto parts store found right next to the track and that was good to go. We then just removed the headlights and splitter, accepting that it might not be helping on this track anyway. All this done, we locked up the truck, and left the car sitting right by the beach. The Mexican race organizer claimed that there would be security in the paddock and we figured if the car was already up on stands what would anyone steal? The next morning came and I'll be darned if it was all fine. Our car was good to go once we slapped some wheels on the lugs and a driver in the seat.
Here a bashed up Geo Metro-Gnome grids up for day two, race three of the Ensenada Grand Prix. Check out the collection of other low budget beaters we are competing with. A pretty fun mix!! In the end the third race was indeed a charm and we led from green flag to checker with no missteps. As a matter of fact the normally overheating brakes felt great due to extra cooling air allowed in by the lack of a splitter. Again the Honda CBR1000RR engine and trans just soldiered on, revs screaming and shifts popping for hours on end. I really should send a letter to Dr. Ferdinand Honda thanking him for making such a great powerplant.
In a way we were lucky to have our chances of taking the overall dashed early in the event because it kept us from the disappointment that befell the POS Team. These gents are really a well oiled machine. Tight. They bring just the right spares, have a really solid car, fast drivers and are really organized in the pits. All that isn't a sure thing on a course with 12″ curbs and K-wall surrounding it because one false move and you are going to break something and that's exactly what happened. With less than 1 hour to go and running in P1 by a good margin their driver managed to pack the curb in front of the Pemex station on the far end of the course. Once the car got back to the paddock it was obvious they were done. Bent, control arm, torn out sway bar mount, torn off tie rod. It was bad. Amazingly bad for a 15mph hit but those curbs are undefeated every year. Here are a couple of pictures that serve to drive the point home.
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