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This was an exciting and very successful season for EFM.
With two NORPAC Divisional Championships (Mel Kemper in Formula Mazda, and
Rick Johnson in Sports 2000), plus an Oregon Region Championship for Matt
Kurdock (winning 4 out of 5 races entered!). The success was also seen in
terms of speed, with lap records for each Dennis Pavlina, Matt Kurdock,
and Mel Kemper.
In addition to the championships, EFM also won the tough ESR class at the
grueling 25 Hours of Thunderhill endurance race. Preparing the car for
Team Green Alternative, EFM blazed the trail for race cars to compete with
more environmentally friendly cellulosic E85 fuel.
2008 also saw the EFM Team grow with several new additions. Continuing to
use the strength of a Team concept to leverage suppliers has proven to be
very beneficial to EFM’s clientele. We continued our great relationship
with Bell Racing,
and our Team Members were able to not only take advantage of significant
discounts on Bell safety gear and team wear, but were also able to gain
valuable media exposure through the Bell Racing website. I’m again proud
to say that Bell is continuing this relationship in 2009, and I look
forward to working with them more to promote EFM Team Members.
EFM also became the
Northwest Chase Cam dealer. This professional quality on-board video
system outshines all others with its incredible picture, ease of use, and
consistent reliability. Look for new pages on the EFM site early in 2009
featuring Chase Cam products and specials.
The EFM website continued to grow and get a lot of ‘hits”, even though my
schedule prevented frequent updates – a situation that has been remedied
for 2009. Look for several improvements to the website this year,
including more information about the products and services available from
EFM. Also look for newly updated driver pages coming soon, featuring our
THREE championship winners from 2008!
The EFM Van Diemen Sports 2000 cars continued to be developed in 2008,
with more subtle changes in years past. Most notable of these were a new
rear sway bar package, once again improved shock valving, and a rear roll
center change that dramatically helped put the power down out of slow
corners.
These minor changes added up to big results for the EFM team members!
Rick Johnson won the NORPAC SCCA championship in 2008. This started
with his first National win at Thunderhill in March, and his sophomore
season continued to improve from there. Rick and EFM made plans to once
again attend the SCCA National Championships, but unfortunately the
transportation for the event fell through at the last minute, and a
replacement could not be found in time.
Rick’s car is currently for sale, as he is looking toward other classes of
racing to further his development. This is a great opportunity to own a
multiple championship winning car (this car has now won championships in
both the UK and the US!). This car is fully updated, and has the latest,
ultra-powerful Ivey engine with the new Fast Forward aluminum cylinder
head. Please feel free to contact EFM for more information.
Dennis Pavlina divided his racing time between his Van Diemen
Sports 2000 and his newest ride, a Norma M20F endurance sports racer. In
his Sports 2000, Dennis competed in several events at Portland
International Raceway, including a strong victory in the 2008 Rose Cup
National and Regional races. Dennis set new track records in Sports 2000
at his home track, with fastest laps recorded both with and without the
chicane. Dennis has updated his car with all the latest-spec EFM
components, as well as a new
Jay Ivey built engine
with the latest aluminum Fast Forward cylinder head.
Dennis also brought the Green Alternative Motorsports into the EFM fold
this year. After a major rebuild to the entire car, including the creation
of many bespoke carbon fiber bodywork components, Dennis and the Green
Alternative team won their class and finished 4th overall in the “longest
race in the world”, the 25 Hours of Thunderhill. EFM’s work to re-map the
engine to properly run on cellulosic E85 shows the commitment that EFM and
Team Green Alternative have for making racing more environmentally
responsible. More about this project can be read in the pages on the EFM
website about the car, the Norma M20F.
Mel Kemper joined the EFM team this year after a long friendship
with Eric Purcell. Mel campaigns a Formula Mazda car, which Eric helped to
pioneer many years ago during his tenure at the Jim Russell School. Eric
had worked with Mel many years ago (more than we are comfortable divulging
to the public), when Mel was first interested in running Formula Mazda
cars. Mel won the SCCA NORPAC Divisional title (tied with another driver)
in 2008, including victories at Thunderhill and Portland. Mel and his
teammate Matt Kurdock, traded victories throughout the season, including
no fewer than three 1-2 finishes during the season. These victories and
Mel’s consistent front-running performance throughout the season are a
testament to EFM’s engineering and prep abilities with the Formula Mazda.
Matt Kurdock has worked part time with EFM for several seasons now,
and in 2008 committed to a full season with EFM in his Formula Mazda. Matt
won several races this year, setting lap records at Portland, and winning
the SCCA Oregon Region Championship. Matt and his father, Jack prep their
car themselves with assistance from EFM, and rely on engineering
consulting from Eric Purcell. Matt runs a fairly complete MoTec data
system in his car, and this allows Eric to work more effectively with Matt
to fine tune his driving and the car setup. Matt will be rejoining the EFM
team for 2009, with an eye toward repeating his Championship as well as
competing for National race wins.
Gerald Parker purchased the ex-Michial Shumate Van Diemen S2000 for
his return to Sports 2000 racing. Gerald had competed in the class more
than a decade ago, but had to step back to focus on his business, Dudley
Boat Transportation. 2008 allowed Gerald to happily return to the cockpit,
and he performed well after his long layoff. Gerald completed the
qualifications to receive his Regional license, and is looking forward to
gaining National Competition License status in 2009. EFM has worked with
several drivers to guide them easily through this process. “I would never
have dreamed of such a great situation as racing with EFM presents to me”
commented Gerald. “Eric and everyone at EFM really make the whole process
completely painless”.
Andy Engle purchased the ex-factory EFM Van Diemen S2000 that Nik Johnson
campaigned to a 4th place finish at the 2004 SCCA runoffs. As Gerald
Parker did, Andy joined the EFM team to ease the transition from Novice
racer through the various licensing procedures. Andy focused on Cascade
Sports Car Club events, and acquitted himself very well during his limited
2008 schedule. Andy will also be looking for a return to the cockpit late
in 2009.
Dave Ferguson took 2008 off to focus on personal projects, but is
storming back into S2 racing in 2009, with a focus on SCCA National racing
and the newly formed 3D Carbon S2 Cup run throughout California. Dave and
his Van Diemen will definitely be the one to beat in this series!
Rob Conrad will finally be making his return to the cockpit in 2009
after a few years off working on a huge project at his “day job”. Rob
attended several races in 2008 as a crewmember and spectator, and is
“frothing at the bit” to rejoin the fray. Rob’s beautifully painted car
will no doubt be in line for several of the updates along the way in 2009.
All in all, EFM Racing is looking forward to an exciting season of racing
in 2008, featuring a return to the 25 Hours of Thunderhill, and perhaps
even a trip to the 2009 SCCA runoffs at Road America! Stay tuned…
Thank you to all our Teammates, Crew, Sponsors, and our Supporters.
Eric Purcell
Earthbound Flying Machines/ EFM Racing
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