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From speedarena.com Team & Driver Features
On Monday of this week I spent the afternoon and evening at the Team Lexus shop located near Baltimore, Maryland. Wandering around the shop and speaking with members of the crew and team one thing was completely evident, they are excited about what lies ahead of them. Chuck Goldsborough, the team owner and driver, had one particular quote in the press release announcing the program that perfectly embodied all that I witnessed that day. “Developing and racing two brand new cars in a series new to us will be a major challenge, but one that we relish. We’ve been building our team along with the new cars this year and are looking forward to some of the most exciting and competitive road racing in North America.” This one quote seems to sum up the team and their entire attitude as they prepare their Lexus IS350s for the upcoming season. They are thrilled about where they are headed, but they realize how much work they have to do to get there. They are being billed as a fully factory backed team and this is truly the case. Lexus is providing funding for the team, technical help where needed and is fully behind them as they make their way into the new series.
When I arrived that snowy afternoon I walked through the door of the shop and was immediately greeted by a host of trophies and awards that the team has collected through seven years of competition in the Motorola Cup and Grand American Road Racing Series. Their pride and joy came in 2002 when they took both the drivers and manufacturers championships in the Grand Am Cup series with their Lexus IS300 sedans. In addition to the trophies, the area is decorated with posters, photos, prints and displays of advertisements for Lexus featuring the team. The next immediate thing that I noticed was motorcycles. They are everywhere, in the entranceway, in the office, and in the conference room. I don’t want to go as far as saying there are more cycles than cars, but it might be close. As it turns out, Chuck is also into antique motorcycles and has some of his collection there in the shop with him. They add a wonderful feel to the shop and provide any motorhead that visits one more thing to drool over. Race cars and motorcycles, what more could a guy ask for?
But the main purpose of this shop is race cars and that is what I was here for. I was able to wander around the shop for the afternoon and make myself at home. I was given a quick tour and told a little about the team and their plans for 2006. I was also instructed on what I could and could not take photos of. There were three IS350 chassis in the shop, one of which was completely stripped down to its basics and two other bare chassis with full roll cages installed. As I was there, they were continuing to prepare the bare chassis for its eventual cagework, taking measurements off one of the caged chassis’ transmission tunnel and starting to fit suspension to the third. At this point only the barest chassis was allowed to be photographed, but I can assure you all three chassis are there and being readied, and they are going to be cool.
In addition to the three cars being prepared for the ALMS, the shop also had the two original GS400s that entered Motorola Cup competition back in 1998 sitting in the corner, as were several of the IS300s from the past few years. The team plans to also take another run at the Formula Drift series and there was one of the IS300s there that had been converted to a drift car. Also scattered amongst the lifts, engines, transmissions, and other various car parts you find in a race shop, were several Lexus street cars, a 1964 Meyers Manx dune buggy, the team transporter and an old Austin Healey that looked like it might be waiting for someone to make it their next project. It was everything that a race shop should be. As of right now, there is an engine on the dyno that they are evaluating and will continue to develop. The engine is being built and prepared fully in house as is the rest of the car. Technical information is being given as needed from Lexus, but for the most part, Team Lexus and their engineers are entirely responsible for the construction of these cars, just as they have been since starting their relationship with Lexus. I would say this is not going to be a problem as they have more than proven themselves capable of developing race cars through their Grand Am accomplishments.
The cars will use the Lexus 3.5 liter, direct injection, V6 in some form or another. They are very confident that the car will make the horsepower needed to compete with the likes of Porsche, Panoz and BMW. Upon completion of the initial testing, if it’s not showing what they want, they can turn to several other design options for the engine that are available to them. Additionally, the IS will at some point be available with a V8, which opens up even more possibilities for the future of this program. Hmm, future M3 with a V8 against an IS with a V8…sounds good to me. As it started to get on in the evening, Chuck got the troops together and called a team meeting. I was able to hang out for this and got to see and hear some of the inner workings of the team. Much of what was discussed was, of course, not to be repeated outside the room and Chuck made this very clear to the team as they sure don’t want to tip their hat too soon to the competition. However, this meeting made it very clear how excited this team is. As the meeting went on and details regarding the car and the series were discussed, I could see how much everyone in the room was looking forward to taking Team Lexus to the next level of competition. Chuck emphasized on several occasions how the ALMS was going to be nothing like they ever experienced in Grand Am and the crew responded with obvious enthusiasm. He also talked about how exciting and overwhelming it’s been for him, as he has had more crew people, drivers, media and sponsors trying to contact him than he ever had previously. The smiles stretched from ear to ear in the room and it was obvious this is a team that can’t wait for the challenge ahead of them.
The challenge however, is quite real and they have some serious work ahead of them. They got a late start in getting the cars together as they themselves only found out that Lexus would be approving the program about the same time the rest of us did. They had been working toward this for some time, but seeing as how they are counting on Lexus for factory support, they needed to wait for the approval from them to move forward. This kept them at bay till the official word came down and now they are working hard to get up to speed. They are confident the car will be ready for the 12 Hours of Sebring, however, having them ready for test days in January will be tight. They told me they weren’t sure if they were going to be there on track for the test days, but that they will be working their hardest to try to make it so. I would bet that even if the cars aren’t there running, you can be sure the team will be there to check out the competition. Of course, who will be driving the cars is still unknown, but with a stack of resumes that have come in from such countries as far away as Japan and Switzerland, Chuck has a lot of thinking to do. When asked if there was a short list already, there was just a smile and no real answer other then hinting at the fact that past drivers, with whom they have good relationships with, would be given first preference. With names like Ian James, Terry Borcheller, Jean-Francois Dumoulin and Andy Lally on it, that list is not a bad one to have to consider.
Team Lexus has built themselves on the back of solid work, quality teams and a great relationship with their factory partner, Lexus. They have cut their teeth in the competitive Grand Am Cup series and have proven that they have what it takes to win races. Lexus has shown a commitment to them through their support and backing and that commitment has been rewarded with trophies, victories and championships. Now they both embark on a new challenge into a series that will require them all to take their game to a new level. You can be sure that the likes of Porsche, BMW, and Panoz will not show them any mercy. If you were to ask Team Lexus about that, I’m sure their response would be that they don’t need it, and if history repeats itself, they won’t.
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