[Brolzy] It's time...
[Brolzy] Welcome to the first edition of Steak Night at the CogCafe with our first guest, Sylvain Tremblay. Welcome Sylvain!
[Patrick] Hello! (who's KDT?)
[KDT] GTO
[Patrick] ah.
[Brolzy] We have lots to talk about tonight, so lets get to it. Anyone can chime in with a question, but just remember that there are more of us than of him…
[rodamerica] Woooo! Sylvain rocks
[Brolzy] Who want's first question for our esteemed guest...
[SylvainTremblay] Thanks for having me as your first guest
[ObinRobinson] i got a question about the RX-7s....
[ObinRobinson] are you planning on rnning RX-8s when they are okayed by Grand-Am, considering your expeience with rotaries?
[ObinRobinson] sorry for the typos :(
[SylvainTremblay] The cars have been approved for about 2 months
[rodamerica] Well, not that I am complaining but is there any fear among the team that you may be spreading your resources a little thin with the duel effort?
[Brolzy] that's 4 RX-8's and 2 DP's.... :)
[SylvainTremblay] We have solid people for both programs and we have always run multiple programs in SCCA and CUP
[Patrick] Do you have past experiance with rotary Mazda's?
[ObinRobinson] sorry, bad connection here
[KDT] Sylvain, How would you feel about a double header weekend at Laguna Seca?
[SylvainTremblay] We have raced professionally with Mazda since 1995, winning the team championship in 98 with PSCR
[SylvainTremblay] I have never raced at laguna and would love to go
[ObinRobinson] if a rotary was allowed for the DP class, would you run a 3-rotor instead of the ford?
[MarathonMan] Will Joe Varde be part of your R24 DP effort
[KDT] Sylvain, What class does the RX-8 fall in ST or GS?
[SylvainTremblay] The rotary would be interesting, but it would not have the grunt of our Yates powerplants
[Patrick] Can you put two Renisis engine together?
[Patrick] For a DP...
[rodamerica] What has been the most challenging aspect of driving the Multimatic
[SylvainTremblay] Joe will not be part of our line up at the 24, but may help us out at a later date
[SylvainTremblay] The RX-8 is an ST car
[MarathonMan] Will Multimatic be providing any drivers for the R24?
[ObinRobinson] how tunable is the Multimatic? is it easy to work on compared to the Porsche 996s?
[KDT] Well, I had looked forward to competeing with you in GS...but good luck anyway.
[SylvainTremblay] The car is very different to drive, lots of torque and aero grip and awesome brakes
[KDT] Sylvain, Why did you choose the Multimatic over the Doran?
[SylvainTremblay] Multimatic may provide some help for the 24,
[SylvainTremblay] The DP car is very well built and well designed, so it is easy to tune
[Brolzy] How would you rate the 2003 performance of SpeedSource's DP program?
[SylvainTremblay] I like Kevin's car, but our sponsors have a relationship with Ford and we have worked with Multimatic for 7 years and knew what they could do
[KDT] aside from the pogo stick action
[Patrick] How did you get into racing? Carting, Solo event's etc?
[racerx] how many DP's buy the season's end?
[KDT] Sponsors do call the shots and steer the ship sorta speek...
[SylvainTremblay] 03 was a test for the car and the team, the experience gained will pay off in 2004
[ObinRobinson] sorry if i keep getting booted, there is something really bad with my connection here
[ObinRobinson] is there a track NOT on the Grand-Am calendar that you'd like to race at as part of the schedule?
[KDT] Sylvain, Have you had drivers from ALMS contact you about a seat? If so can youdrop some names?
[SylvainTremblay] I started in solo when I was 16
[SylvainTremblay] We have had many inquires and are currently working with two ALMS drivers.
[SylvainTremblay] We'd like to race Road America
[KDT] Would one of them have the initials JW ?
[Patrick] Id love to see GA run Road America..
[SylvainTremblay] Sorry, cannot comment furhter on drivers at this time.
[Brolzy] Have you sent motors back to Yates? How has it been working with them?
[KDT] ok thanks
[SylvainTremblay] Yates has been fantastic. It is a shrine to horsepower and they are behind this program
[Brolzy] How do you rate the power of the Ford engine compared to the other DP engines?
[SylvainTremblay] Right now, I think we are definitely in the top 3.
[rodamerica] Sylvain, I assume there is a Yates rep. at each race or am I wrong about that?
[KDT] Sylvain, With Yates helping you in the engine dept could this lead to further co-operation in say the marketing/sponsorship area?
[Patrick] And elvis has left the building... lol
[ObinRobinson] is there something going odd with the chat server?
[Brolzy] Obin, this is by far the most people we've had in it....
[Patrick] Obin throw the web tv in the garbage!
[Patrick] lol
[SylvainTremblay] I am back
[KDT] Sylvain,With Yates helping you in the engine dept could this lead to further co-operation in say the marketing/sponsorship area?
[Brolzy] [rodamerica] Sylvain, I assume there is a Yates rep. at each race or am I wrong about that?
[SylvainTremblay] Yates has their plate full with the Cup side, but Ford racing has been very helpful.
[ObinRobinson] how long can the Yates motors go before a rebuild?
[KDT] Wonderful, it's great to see the others taking interest!
[SylvainTremblay] Yes, Yates sends an engine support technician to each race for each car
[SylvainTremblay] Right now we are well over 30 hours between rebuilds and hopefully will get better as we get more data.
[ObinRobinson] that's pretty good!
[KDT] Sylvain, Where do you see Grand American in 5 years and 10 years?
[ObinRobinson] if you don't mind saying... are the Yates motors more cost effective than say, the Porsche flat-6?
[razor] Sylvain, I must log out...thank you so much for your time this evening
[SylvainTremblay] With the growth that we have seen in the past six months, who knows where it will be in five years, but we are optimistic.
[Patrick] So how much HP are they(Yates DP engines)cranking out???
[SylvainTremblay] We felt the Ford package was more cost effective than the Porsche by a good margin.
[mazdadriver] How many cars will SpeedSource run in Grand Am Cup for 04? All RX8's?
[Brolzy] How hard did you look at the Porsche FABCAR?
[ObinRobinson] I personally think that Yates builds the best Fords out there, bar none. i'm glad to see that they are working with you guys!
[SylvainTremblay] Not quite enough HP but very close, ha ha.
[KDT] Sylvain,Have you had any ALMS Car Engineers(Chiefs) contact you for a position?
[ObinRobinson] is the Multimatic Focus easy to drive? i mean does it have a steep learning curve?
[SylvainTremblay] We will run four cars in Cup and provide drive train and suspension work for two other Porsche teams.
[SylvainTremblay] We have been contacted by top people in the ALMS and CART series
[KDT] Sylvain, What do you feel about GARRA tweaking the engine specs for 2004 the way they did, after all your now down on RPMS?
[rodamerica] I'm really looking forward to seeing the Mazdas in Cup. I may have missed who will be driving them. Can you shed some light on that?
[SylvainTremblay] The Multimatic is relatively easy to drive. It just takes a different style than what I am used to.
[ObinRobinson] who originally came up with the yellow-and-black paint scheme? it looks great on the Multimatic!
[Brolzy] Sylvain, you were quick in it on a number of occasions this year...
[SylvainTremblay] Competition adjustments are something we are used to, being successful in the Cup.
[SylvainTremblay] Mears Motor Coach has hundreds of yellow and black, so they get the credit for the colors
[ObinRobinson] ok. that makes sense! ha! i never thought of that before!
[SylvainTremblay] Oops. Vehicles, as in buses and taxis.
[ObinRobinson] right
[SylvainTremblay] In our Mazdas, the #66 car Benoit Theetge of NXS fame has joined our team
[ObinRobinson] i for some reason drew a connection with the old Boss mustangs with the yellow paint and black decals
[Brolzy] Will the 300 less RPM that you will have in 2004 be that much of a difference for you?
[KDT] Sylvain, What do you feel about GARRA tweaking the engine specs for 2004 the way they did, after all your now down on RPMS?
[SylvainTremblay] We will have a surprise for the paint scheme on the #70 DP.
[racerx] Sylvain, would you expand on the different driving style for the DP's
[SylvainTremblay] The 300 rpm affects our top gear, which in turn changes all of our gear stack selections.
[mazdadriver] Who does your rotary engine work on the Mazdas?
[SylvainTremblay] The car is fast and changes direction very quickly, much different than a Cup car.
[ObinRobinson] do you find the DP class more appealing than the old SRP1 class?
[SylvainTremblay] David Haskell has built and will continue to build every race winning rotory engine out of our shops.
[Brolzy] as well as drive them, too...
[SylvainTremblay] Yes, because of the price point and the near daily team announcements prove this right.
[SylvainTremblay] Yes, David is a hell of a driver and the best co-driver I have ever had.
[MarathonMan] What happened to the Porsche that won the most ST races in 2003?
[ObinRobinson] what do you think about the Ganassi team? do you think they'll be a factor from the start?
[mazdafan] Will the same performance parts for the RX 8 be available to customers?
[SylvainTremblay] It is for sale and in our shop still filled with champagne from Daytona.
[SylvainTremblay] Ganassi is a huge boost to the series and I look forward to competing against them and have no doubt that they will be a factor from the start.
[SylvainTremblay] We have sold rotory parts since our inception and after the initial development of our race cars we will see what the market can bear, but we have already been approached by other companies to sell our expertise.
[ObinRobinson] Do you see speedsource teaming up with or helping the Essex team?
[SylvainTremblay] All of the Multimatic teams will share info to get to the front. The Essex group is a great bunch and Tony Dowe is a legend in endurance racing.
[Patrick] Have you done private testing, or are you waiting till Homestead and Daytona to test?
[Brolzy] How is work progressing on getting the new RX-8's ready?
[SylvainTremblay] We were at Moroso on Tuesday shaking down the #9 car and we will be at Homestead with both cars.
[ObinRobinson] With the smaller fuel tanks for the GT class, do you think that Buckler has a chance at a podium finish for Rolex 2004?
[SylvainTremblay] We have two RX-8s built and tested and we are working on chassis 4, awaiting chassis 3 from the paint shop on Monday (the only thing we do not do in-house).
[KDT] Sylvain, Do you feel that the first few races could be an issue with the GS1 cars moving up into SGS, and some of the drivers not being use to getting passed?
[SylvainTremblay] Kevin has a great team and the GT3RS has won the race before, so it could happen again. The car will not break.
[SylvainTremblay] I have raced with most of the guys in GS1 and they are all pretty good. It will take some adjustment, but I'm that we'll figure it out.
[Patrick] What will the Rx8's look like. Fairly stock or "GT" style?
[ObinRobinson] how does the RX-8 compare to the 3rd generation RX-7? is it a better platform from the start for racing (even with the lack of a B-pillar?)
[SylvainTremblay] We will run the full Mazdaspeed body kit on our cars.
[Patrick] cool.
[SylvainTremblay] The '8 drives like a 2nd gen car, very well balanced with good brakes.
[KDT] Sylvain, With the SGS drivers being slower, and soe not being able to adapt as fast will this affect your driveing at the 24hrs?
[SylvainTremblay] Traffic is there for everyone, but I am sure that by the race day, everyone will be comfortable with each other.
[MarathonMan] Great to see you teamed up with Mike Borkowski. Has he been in the car yet?
[ObinRobinson] is the "3rd door" still functional on the RX-8 race car, or did you weld them shut?
[SylvainTremblay] We have left the 3rd door fully functional. Makes it easier to work on the car.
[mazdafan] I see a 07 mazda listed on your website--possibly a fifth car?
[Brolzy] Cool...so the car can still give you a hug like in the commercial!! :)
[SylvainTremblay] Mike will have his first run in our car at Homestead after a seat fitting the day before.
[SylvainTremblay] We plan on building about 10 RX-8 race cars in 2004.
[mazdafan] All for GAC
[Patrick] 10... wow. For sale?
[KDT] Sylvain, IT's been great talking to you, but I have to go spend time with the wife, I hope to see you at Daytona as I will be working for a team out of Ohio. Good Luck.
[SylvainTremblay] No. We are building two cars for a team in Europe and the rest for North American use.
[ObinRobinson] is the Multimatic just as it was delivered, or have you customized it a bit?
[ObinRobinson] i mean the interior
[SylvainTremblay] The cars are well put together. We have to put our "touches" to the inside for driver comfort.
[ObinRobinson] does the interior get uncomfortably hot? do you have cool suits?
[SylvainTremblay] Yes. It gets hot, so we are working on cool suits, helmet blowers and heat shielding
[Patrick] I see on multimatics site they have dive planes for the car. Do you plan on useing them next year?
[group44] I noticed some of the newer Fabcars have a "fits all" seat already installed for all drivers. Does the multimatic have anything similar?
[SylvainTremblay] At some tracks we will use the dive planes
[Brolzy] hey g44...didn't see yo usneak in!
[group44] I thought it was 11;00 not 9:00. (head is where the sun doesn't shine...sorry)
[SylvainTremblay] The Multimatic is delivered with a Recaro race seat
[mazdafan] What weight did the RX8 get?
[Patrick] I need some Recaro's for my Hyundai.. lol.
[SylvainTremblay] The car weighs about 2580 lbs without balast.
[Brolzy] 10 more minutes of "official" time left in the chat....
[ObinRobinson] is the car twitchy in the rain? it almost looked like you guys were tip-toeing in the corners at the Watkins Glen sprint race
[Brolzy] Sylvain, did you look at any other cars while investigating DP's?
[ObinRobinson] was that because of tires? or just unfamiliarity with the cars?
[SylvainTremblay] I was scared to wreck the car in my first race, ha ha.
[group44] What was the biggest reason for going with the Multimatic instead of anything else. (sorry if I missed this as an earlier question)
[ObinRobinson] oh, heh heh. that makes a lot of sense!
[Patrick] Hey Steve you sleeping?!
[SylvainTremblay] We did look at the Fabcars
[rodamerica] My last comment, Sylvain. Despite the dectractors, I happen to like the looks of the Multimatics. I am glad you have decided to move up and bring some excitement to the series (both of them!) Have a great season. I'll see you in Daytona!
[SylvainTremblay] We have a 7-year relationship with Larry Holt and the folks at MTC, so it made sense
[Brolzy] Did you get to test a FABCAR?
[SylvainTremblay] We did not get to test the Fabcar. I would have liked to
[rodamerica] No, Pat. Thought I'd let him catch his breath!
[ObinRobinson] feel free to check out photos i took of your car racing at watkins glen
[group44] What made you make the switch to the DP class fropm where you were?
[ObinRobinson] http://209.4.91.164/Watkins_Glen_events/2003/NASCAR/Rolex_Sports_Cars-friday/
[group44] from...
[SylvainTremblay] Our customers, Paul Mears and Selby Wellman wanted to move up and the DP class provided the right format.
[group44] Where do you see the DDP class in 5 years or 10. (not to bring that common number up)
[Brolzy] Sylvain, do you get time to check out websites like GA's or ours?
[SylvainTremblay] I hope the NASCAR consistency pays off in road racing
[ObinRobinson] i for one can tell you that there were MORE fans watching the Rolex race at the Glen than the Busch series race
[SylvainTremblay] I have been on this site many times and try to go to all road racing sites. I guess I'm an information junkie.
[ObinRobinson] and they were more enthusiastic too
[Brolzy] sweet... :)
[mazdafan] An word on added drivers for 24hrs
[SylvainTremblay] We are working hard to get the "right" drivers.
[ObinRobinson] what is the biggest misconception about the DP series that you see written online or in magazines?
[ObinRobinson] DP class, oops
[group44] can I reccommend Davy Jones..........lol
[SylvainTremblay] That they are slow. I was going 185+ before touching the brakes at Daytona. Definitely not slow.
[Brolzy] What's it like to go 185? Can you put it into words?
[ObinRobinson] wow, that's pretty fast. do you offhand remember your speed before the chicane at watkins glen?
[ObinRobinson] i mean your top speed on the back stretch
[group44] At this point with the car and getting your feet down with it.....is this where you want to be?
[group44] racerx...are you alive?
[SylvainTremblay] 185 is just a number. The car setup and the feedback that you get in the wheel gives you the real sensation of speed.
[racerx] just enjoying observing
[Patrick] Whats the theoretical(sp) top speed of your DP?
* Patrick wacks Obin's internet provider with a rubber chicken
[ObinRobinson] is the Multimatic rock solid at 185?
[SylvainTremblay] W e are now comfortable with the car. We understand it better and I can tell the crew what I want. So I guess yes, we are where we want to be.
[ObinRobinson] yeah, my connection stinks tonight! i don't know why i keep getting booted
[Brolzy] Patrick...try a herring...
[SylvainTremblay] Well over 200 with the right gearing.
[ObinRobinson] 200 is fast enough for me, more than fast enough!
[SylvainTremblay] The car feels great at Daytona. You have to look at the steering wheel to see the speed number.
[group44] Do you feel there is enough tinkering that can be done for teams to separate themselves from one-another
[Brolzy] Okay....it's now the official end to our chat with Sylvain....but obviously you guys can hang around and chat some more....
[ObinRobinson] do you think there is a lot of room left in the DP rules for tweaking speed, or is all the speed left just with proper setup?
[group44] some say the rules are justtoo tight
[MarathonMan] Will Homestead be much different with the banking for a sports car or DP?
[Brolzy] Thank you VERY much Sylvain for joiing us tonight!
[ObinRobinson] ok, thanks Sylvain for chatting with us!!!
[SylvainTremblay] There is so much you can do within the rules that the teams will stay busy.
[SylvainTremblay] I cannot wait to drive Homestead with the new banking.
[Brolzy] You did an awesome job....I'm sure your hands are sore now. :)
[group44] Best of luck in the next two months......
[ObinRobinson] i'll be glued to my computer reading the results of the test, good luck!!!!!
[ObinRobinson] and see you at Daytona!
[MarathonMan] Thanks, and see you next Friday!
[Patrick] Yep Thanks Sylvain. Look forward to meeting you at the 24.
[rodamerica] Thanks to Sylvain and Brolzy for making this happen. My only complaint is that I ordered my steak med. rare and it came out like shoe leather!
[SylvainTremblay] It's been a pleasure to be here with you this evening and I would love to do it again sometime. Come by the pits and say hi
[DPsbest] Just got home...any steak left?
[Brolzy] I can't wait to see pics and reports from Friday and Saturday...
[mazdafan] Thanks-see you in Daytona
[ObinRobinson] you managed to slip in at the end DPsbest
[racerx] Thanks Sylvain
[Brolzy] rod, I'll work on that....
[ObinRobinson] better late than never ;)
[Patrick] I got some cold Stroganoff for you DPsbest.. lol
[ObinRobinson] hey, who here isn't going to be at the Rolex 24 in 2004?
[MarathonMan] Glad you were taking notes...
[Brolzy] Yes I was MM...I have everything...
[ObinRobinson] i know that we are!
[rodamerica] Hey, Obin. I thought I had a bad net connection. Must be due to all the snow you've had. lol
[Brolzy] Obin, I'm about 60/40 no...
[ObinRobinson] we're flat broke, but that won't stop me from going to the 24!
[Patrick] The chat worked fairly good for its maiden run.
[Brolzy] It depends on ken may, believe it or not...
[group44] obin, all the technology you have and no cable
[ObinRobinson] bought my wife a BMW 2002 for rally. and i sank all my dough into it :(
[ObinRobinson] i'm WAY OUT in the boonies
[ObinRobinson] put it this way, i have runways in my back yard
[Brolzy] I'm in the middle of midwestern corn fields... :)
[Patrick] Does mayk actually have a extra seat for you tommy?
[ObinRobinson] for light aircraft
[group44] I'm in the middle of Daytona about a mile away
[Brolzy] he might...or we may drive.
[ObinRobinson] Airtran has awesome deals going on now!
[Brolzy] not from the midwest... :(
[ObinRobinson] $59 each way from rochester ny to orlando!!!
[group44] anyone wanting to walk to the Fla/Georgia border I'll pick you up....lol
[Brolzy] Guys, I gotta go....it's been AWESOME!!!