Media coverage of Wayne Baker Racing - Summer 2013

Great photo & article in this Summer's 356 Club magazine about the All Porsche Swap Meet & Car Display in Anaheim March, 2nd. 2013.
In the featured photo below Wayne Baker, race car driver and business owner (on right with straw hat on) with Hal Thoms (in the middle) Photographer and editor of  the 356 Club of Southern California www.356club.org  and Joe Cogbill , two-time SCCA champion (on left with baseball cap on).
Also nice photo credit and mention of Wayne Baker's 1983 12-Hours of Sebring champion race car: the No. 9 yellow 934 nicknamed "Fred's school bus" - owned at the time by Jay M.
For official race statistics and further info about the 12 Hours of Sebring race go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12_Hours_of_Sebring

 Photo and article credit: Hal Thoms photobyhal@aol.com

 Wayne Baker Racing provides vintage Porsche race support, transport and mentoring. 

Call Wayne Baker for more information (619) 743-1356 or e-mail waynebaker@earthlink.net

ALMS media footage of Wayne Baker's 1983 12Hours of Sebring win

"Sebring Through the Decades: The 1980s

Porsche’s dominance continues into the GTP era

The 1980s saw steady growth and continued domination by Porsche at the Sebring 12 Hours. The race’s most successful manufacturer added nine more overall victories – four for the 935, one in 1983’s upset for the 934 and four for the 962. The end of the decade though brought a new power to Sebring in the form of Nissan as GTP cars came to the forefront into the ’90s."

Click on the following link the check out the great video where Wayne Baker's 1983 12Hours of Sebring win is also highlighted:

http://www.alms.com/articles/sebring-through-decades-1980s

The 1983 12H Sebring winner "Fred's school bus" with Wayne L. Baker Racing

Wayne Baker Racing provides vintage Porsche race support, transport and mentoring. Call Wayne Baker for more information (619) 743-1356 or e-mail waynebaker@earthlink.net

Wayne Baker Racing by Hal Thoms

"Flash from the past" all these photos were taken of Wayne Baker at various race tracks during the 1980s and 1990s. We just love these photographs because they truly represent what vintage Porsche racing is all about: the passion and respect of the automobile and the comradeship between race car drivers, the teams and fans.

Wayne Baker Racing provides vintage Porsche race support, transport and mentoring.
Call Wayne Baker for more information (619) 743-1356 or e-mail waynebaker@earthlink.net

Wayne Baker in the 1958 RSK at Monterey Historics in 1998 - on the pole (fastest qualifier for the race competing against 16 other RSKs and 550 Spyders)

Wayne Baker at the 1998 Coronado Speed Festival

Wayne Baker in the former Ken Miles' RSK at Sears Point in the late 90s (next to the RSK is the 910 also raced with Wayne Baker Racing)

Wayne Baker racing at Sears Point in the former Ken Miles' RSK

Wayne Baker in the 1983 Sebring winner at Riverside raceway ( in that turn going 190 miles/hr) and Wayne also won the GTO 6 Hours at this raceway in 1983

Wayne going through the "corkscrew" at Laguna Seca in 1983

All photos above are credited to and copyrighted by Hal Thoms Photography

 contact photobyhal@aol.com or go to http://www.356club.org/ThomsPics.htm

Wayne Baker Racing's overall win at the 1983 12Hours of Sebring

Wayne Baker and his 1983 12Hours of Sebring historic victory is always being retold coming Sebring's annual March anniversary. This one is a nice story about the yellow Porsche 934 nicknamed as "Fred's school bus".

Wayne Baker in his winning Porsche 934  in 1983 (photo taken at Mid-Ohio by Jack Webster)

  Wayne is on Fire! Winning the 12 hours of Sebring in 1983 with "Fred's school bus" 
Photocredit: Jim Vandercrake

 

Here are some excerpts of the article that has been published on the official website of American Le Mans Series.You can read the full article when you follow the link:  http://www.alms.com/articles/underdog-upset

 

The Underdog Upset

Charles Dressing’s retelling of Sebring’s 1983 race

 Americans love underdogs but hate losers. And we really love upsets because they turn reality inside out and generally make the mighty look weak.
So when anyone demands a prediction, I try to hide because I always remember some races that didn’t quite go the way the experts reckoned...
...
And then … there was the 1983 12 Hours of Sebring.
 ...
 But no one picked Wayne Baker’s No. 9 Porsche 934 to win the 1983 12 Hours. No matter. Wayne, ace vintage and historic racer Jim Mullen and Kees Nierop did just that in the well-used  – and 1981 Daytona 24 Hours-winning – 935 that Wayne converted to 934 specs and then back again later.

The No. 9 Porsche 934 was the biggest surprise winner in Sebring's history. Photo: Leonard Turner

 They started 14th – outside row seven and right in front of the No. 7 upset contender Mazda RX-7 of Pete Halsmer and Rick Knoop. The yellow “school bus” 934 just plugged around trying to stay within sight of the GTO podium. When the third “hourlies” were published, old No. 9 had eased into the overall top 10. The rest of the field – including a few new GTP cars – suffered bouts of chemical and mechanical illnesses, plus the typical wicked Sebring fates that make us love the race. By the end of the seventh hour, the school bus was being widely ignored – despite its top-10 performance – as Halsmer and “the Knoopster” had the amazing Racing Beat Mazda up to second overall. And it wasn’t even dark yet.
...

Deep in the eleventh hour, the “school bus” (as many now called Wayne’s stout yellow No. 9 935/934 GTO Porsche) eased into the lead. But it was low on fuel and its handling had decayed. The 31st annual 12 Hours of Sebring was about to become the biggest upset since 1954 (if you count any race won by Stirling Moss an upset).
Wayne’s crew didn’t tell him he was leading overall. When they directed him to Victory Lane and the flashbulbs started popping, he had a few moments of confusion. Hardly the first of the bizarre race day.
 ...
But in three decades and through three sanctioning bodies – and I forget how many circuit modifications – it never got as weird as the night of March 19, 1983.

 1983 Sebring winners (from left) Jim Mullen, Wayne Baker, Kees Nierop. Photo: SIR Archive

Charles Dressing is one of sports car racing’s foremost historians and is a walking, talking encyclopedia on the sport. Part of the ALMS broadcast and production crew, his blog appears every other Wednesday.

Also read the detailed story about this  famous Sebring win by Wayne Baker previously posted on the blog  

 http://personalizedautohaus.blogspot.com/2012/09/an-inside-championship-by-wayne-baker.html

Wayne Baker Racing provides Vintage Porsche Race Support, Transport and driver Mentoring. Contact Wayne Baker for more information waynebaker@earthlink.net  (858) 586-7771 or Cell (619) 743-1356

What it takes to wear out a Porsche

Enjoy the article by Tony Callas and Tom Prine from the upcoming February Circuit of Porsche Club of America Grand Prix Region

A 24 hour race. The 24 Hours of Le Mans or the U.S. equivalent, the 24 hours of Daytona, are both incredible endurance races, where just finishing is a cause for celebration.

An intense race like the Daytona 500 takes roughly 3-1/2 hours to complete. This is a “Walk in the Park” when compared to running a car flat out for 24 hours. Consider this — operating a street car under these same conditions would be the equivalent of a lifetime of wear and tear, every mechanical system in the car would be completely used up.

Like the wear and tear on the racecar, the people involved are also pushed to the limits. The rules allow for a minimum of 3 drivers per car (some teams will have 4 to 5 drivers per car to complete the 24 hour race). The drivers all take turns at the wheel rotating in one hour driving stints and even double stinting on rare occasion for the drivers that are in incredible physical condition. When they are not in the car, they are trying to sleep as much as possible. In the case of teams with three drivers doing 1 hour stints, this only leaves each driver with a little less than 2 hours until the next driving stint, that isn’t much sleep.

The mechanics usually get even less sleep than the drivers. Typically, the mechanics stay up for about 40 hours, from early Saturday morning until the race festivities have concluded on Sunday night and the transporters have been fully loaded. If the car is doing really well, the mechanic may be able to catch a 10 to 20 minute nap here and there, but if a problem arises, they must be awake and with a sharp mind at a moment’s notice, literally.   

The racecar basically starts out with all new components for a 24 hour race. The engine, gearbox, suspension, brakes and wheel bearings — nearly every mechanical part on the car is new and/or has been inspected for flaws. During a 24 hour race the racecar will be completely refueled every hour with approximately 100 liters (26.4 gallons) of fuel. The racecar will usually require a new set of tires every hour (that’s roughly 24 sets of tires), sometimes more (usually due to driver error).

The racecar will sometimes require one set of front and rear brake pads and occasionally the brake rotors. Changing out the brakes on a racecar that has just come off the track is not an easy procedure in the pit lane.  All the brake components are basically red hot. Sometimes the windshield will need replacement(also not as easy as it sounds). The engine and chassis cannot be replaced, but most other components can be. The engine will need oil added during the race (there is no stopping for an oil change). As the engine wears internally, its oil consumption will progressively increase and thus will need more and more engine oil added as the race transpires. After the completion of the 24 hour race, the engine, gearbox, suspension, drive shafts, wheel bearings and turbochargers (if equipped) are basically worn out.

The overall budget for competing in the Daytona 24 with a GT class car will usually be in the $150k neighborhood. This does not include the price of the car, tools and spare parts. The 24 hours of Le Mans with the same car will run in the $850k range (or more). The reason for the difference is the European air travel for the crew, the car and everything else that is brought along, plus the ground transportation of everything once in Europe. Add to this team accommodations, food and hospitality for sponsors, tires, fuel, etc., etc., plus the entry fees. Keep in mind that an entry in the 24 hours of Le Mans in by invitation only. These budgets are actually very basic and do not allow for anything extra (that could be considered extravagant).

Porsche keeps in close communication with every team racing their cars. They provide incredible support and access to anything that might be needed. For Porsche, every race represents a learning experience. Porsche racing management and engineers are always in close contact with the teams, both from the standpoint of helping, but also observing.

This is one of the reasons that Porsche racecars and road cars are so amazingly great. The knowledge gained from motorsport goes into every car they manufacture.

Enjoy Your Porsche

In memoriam Tony Kopacz

Today we have lost our true and loyal friend Tony Kopacz, after he put up a brave fight battling cancer for the past 3 years.

 

He was a fierce friend and competitor in life and on the race track. He has been our Porsche customer at Personalized Autohaus since 1975 and been professionally racing with Wayne Baker Racing since 2000.

He got "the racing bug" when he saw Wayne racing at Coronado race at the base in 1999; he got into vintage racing in 2000 and his last race was at Coronado as well in September 2012.

In these years he had raced on some of the best tracks including: Sebring, Road America, Road Atlanta, Willow Springs, Daytona, Las Vegas, Phoenix, California Raceway, Laguna Seca, Sears Point, Miller Motorsports, Barber Motorsports, Mid Ohio, Watkins Glen and at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium.

He will always be in our memories and his spirit will always be with us. Tony, you will be dearly missed.

Wayne and Tony at Road America in 2012

Tony thumbs up, excited to race a 914/6 for the first time. At Road America in 2012...

Tony finishing with the white 914/6 at Road America in September, 2012

Tony racing his beloved bordeaux 1970 911 at Coronado 2012 - Photo credit to John Straub 

 Suiting up for race at Coronado Speed Fest 2012 (after Wayne test drove car)

Getting ready for the race at Sebring in 2006

Tony at Road Atlanta  in 2006

Tony at HSR West PIR in 2007 (getting ready for race with the help of Glenn Roberts)

At HSR Sears Point  (right to left)  Tony and Ann Kopacz, Wayne Baker and Mike Eisele

 Tony with the crew at Buttonwillow

Tony with the crew at California Speedway 2009

Tony and his great smile at Willow Springs

Tony at Road Atlanta in 2006

Tony at Rennsport Daytona in 2007

Good-bye Tony

Footnote: We have selected a few of the countless photos of Tony at all the races we did together. Anyone of interest should contact Personalized Autohaus for photos of specific events to celebrate Tony's life. Call (858) 586-7771 or email waynebaker@earthlink.net

Porsche 914/6 Restoration Project at Personalized Autohaus

Our customer Thor B. has gotten a very sweet birthday gift from his wife: a 1970 Porsche 914/6 (without telling him!)  She bought the car from a picture; and lucked out. Thor used to own two other 914s before. The last one he owned broke in half  after going over a speed bump.
The car was modified for track racing and had racing seats and bars. Transforming it back to street car has been a pleasure. The mid-engine two seater 914/6 has great performance and is famous for being very economic (914s get up to 30 miles a gallon).

Engine and Transmission Restorations have been performed by Glenn Roberts Chief Porsche Mechanic at Personalized Autohaus

Headlights got turned back into original pop-up lights

Vehicle is being taken apart by Eric Benner and is getting ready to be painted to original Delphi Metallic Green. 

Personalized Autohaus will pull the engine and transmission and vehicle will be fine-tuned and detailed.  Thor has plans in the future to turn his 914/6  into an electric vehicle once the batteries become more reliable.

 If you have a Porsche you would like to restore or service give us a call at (858) 586-7771 to set up a free consultation with Wayne Baker Porsche factory trained expert and owner of Personalized Autohaus. www.personalizedautohaus.com

Upcoming events in October for Porsche Enthusiasts

Car Show Sundays coming up on Sunday October 7th 1-5pm (last car show of 2012) at the Old California Restaurant Row in San Marcos. FREE to attend or show a vehicle!! 
@ Old California Restaurant Row  1020 W San Marcos Blvd., San Marcos, CA 92078
Enter at IHop & San Marcos Brewery and go behind restaurants. 
Wanted: Race or Exotic Cars, Race, Sport & Classic  

356 Club of Southern California presents 356 Fall Festival at Yosemite, CA October 12-14, 2012.
See website for more info and registration  http://www.356club.org/ 

Saturday October 13. at 7am

Breakfast and Cars at Studio Diner, San Diego 2nd Saturday of every month! 

Fun way to meet local San Diego Porsche owners.

Address: 4701 Ruffin Rd  San Diego, CA 92123

 Petit Le Mans (Road Atlanta, Braselton, Ga.): American Le Mans Porscheplatz - Oct. 19-20, 2012

The Petit Le Mans (French for little Le Mans) is a sports car endurance race held annually at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga. It uses the rules established for the 24 hours of Le Mans by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), which are slightly modified if necessary, mainly to allow additional cars to compete.

 For tickets and more info go to http://www.roadatlanta.com/ev_petit_tix-porsche.lasso

Call us at (858) 586-7771 if you have any questions about Personalized Autohaus participating at various events. www.personalizedautohaus.com

Rennsport Reunion IV. @ Laguna Seca by Hal Thoms

Rennsport meeting of Porsche only held every three years. 620 Porsche cars was there that year in 2011, they feautured the Panamera people were allowed to drive them and road test them.

Wayne Baker Racing brought six cars upto Monterey; including this beautiful 1968 908

Wayne Baker drove the orange 1967 911S No. 76 with blue decals.

Photos are credited to Hal Thoms at Classic Sports Car Photography

 contact photobyhal@aol.com http://www.356club.org/ThomsPics.htm