After our first race we decided our next race would be at the beginning of the 2025 season at Sonoma. Partially because we wanted time to continue refining the car and more so because I had a couple surgeries coming up that would sideline me from mobility for a while. The week after our race at Pacific I had knee surgery to repair some cartilage in my right knee to reduce swelling and instability issues I was having with it. Overall it felt pretty minor because about 2 months after that I got a full hip replacement on my left side because I had no cartilage left.
In between the surgeries we did make a pretty big upgrade to the race situation by purchasing an enclosed trailer. Our plans for the trailer involved not just being able to tow the convertible Cooper comfortably in most weather conditions but also gave us a spot to camp in at the track if we are traveling far like we were planning for the next race at Sonoma. The trailer is built for hauling motorcycles so its just under six foot tall inside and there are random D-rings install throughout the floor but we are able to make it work for us.
Our next off season activities, after getting my new hip up to speed, was focused around upgrades to the Mini Cooper. We took the time to replace the rear brakes and got a new set of wheels and tires for the car. Always good to remember brakes in Lemons is considered a safety item and not performance, so don’t be afraid to spend money on them to make it right. We also upgraded our livery for the car by strapping on the turtle shell to the back of the car and finishing up the bright green racing stripe around the base of the car. My brother also contributed to the theme with some stickers and an advertisement banner that he designed. If you are running a good lucky charms livery in Iracing, its probably one of his designs.
We also took the opportunity to relocate the battery to the back of the car and re-utilize the space it previously occupied under the hood to create a custom intake for the car. It was really fun watching Lauren attack the hood with a cut-off wheel and the aggression of a scared baby elephant.
We had the opportunity to take the car to The Ridge Motorsports Park for a track day with Turn2 Lapping. This was very fun but at the same time absolutely freezing since the high for the day ended up being somewhere in the 40s. The car ran great though and we were able to confirm that it ran well before taking it on the long trip down to Sonoma. Its always good to test out any changes on the car prior to showing up to a race weekend and we also enjoy getting extra days out on the track. Now it’s time to pack up the truck and trailer and get ready for another Lemons weekend. I almost forgot to mention that we chose to also put a new exhaust on the car so we could actually hear it when racing around all the other partially muffled race cars. Hope to see you there!
