Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/565367
September / October 2015 51 like the last race at Hast- ings when the control arm let go. Control arm failure is a fairly common occur- rence for 944. It's not so common on a BMW. With a 944 the car cannot be driv- en, and requires a flat bed and jacks to move it. The BMW can be driven, at very low speed, and you mustn't use the brakes. Having been through it once recently, I knew what to do and limped back to the pits. Before this race I had two spares, one for each side. Problem was the one that failed had been the new one, and I had no spare. Again fellow racers came to our rescue. Hank Arth Owner of Pool Shark was at the track with a simi- lar car to ours but wasn't racing. He let us use his for the race. So Now I have two control arms to remove and replace, and as it's to be re- used I have to be careful not to damage the boots. Not having a spare lost at least an extra 45 minutes. As nor- mal with Endurance racing other cars such as Car 54 with the 944 were having issues also. Car 54 had lost an alternator. They had a spare, but it wasn't a bolt on replacement. Porsche does a good job of keeping things interchangeable, so it was unusual the alternators were different. One of my big- gest complaints with BMW is the subtle differences be- tween what could be an inter changeable part, so it would not have surprised me had it been a BMW. With the control arm fixed, we are back to running again. Now I am concerned with the control arm on the other side. I had installed a pair of new arms from the same manufacturer. I was now concerned that the other side could fail the same way, and vowed to change it Saturday night. Unfortunately I didn't have to wait till the evening when I got the call that the car was off track with an ex- ploded brake rotor. I figured it was a rotor and more like- ly the other control arm. The driver was being cautious not knowing the feel of a failed control arm. So there she sat until rescued by the tow truck. Luckily I had a spare fac- tory arm for this side, so changing didn't take as long as the first one. Unfortu- nately, we were out of the running for Saturday. Look- ing for the positive in the day. Everyone got to drive. The car was running great and we were competitive. Time to put the day behind us and prepare for Sunday. We check pads for wear and put new rubber at all corners, and we are ready. A nice dinner and a good night sleep always help to repair the spirits. The motel we were staying wasn't the most luxurious. Our room was in the basement. Dark, dank and musty. Complete isolation from the new storm that was raging outside. We wake bright and ear- ly and head to the track, unaware of the overnight storm. That was until we ar- rived at the track to find our canopy trashed and water in the car. Just how bad could this weekend get? I guess we were about to find out. Jason Whitney takes the first stint on Sunday. The car is running great. Just