Category: Apex Motor Club

“I would say that’s the most fun I’ve had in a race car since karting 15 years ago. That was so much fun. Probably something like 10 passes. It was nuts,” said Mazda Miata driver and Apex member Lucas Barnett. And that was the story for the largest-ever field of Mazda MX5 Cup cars at the Scottsdale Ferrari Apex Challenge series presented by Coffin & Trout. The fast-growing class witnessed a train of four cars breaking away early and battling within inches for 30 straight minutes.

“I forget how things happened, but there were a lot of lead changes,” he added. “That’s what is so cool about it. You think you’re doing well and then all of sudden you’re not and you’re in fourth or fifth, and the next thing you know you’re in the front. You can make passes very easily in that car. It was a blast.”

In total there were four lead changes. Tom Tait, fresh off his Ford Mustang Challenge Series season, took the MX5 Cup win in his first MX5 Cup race. He was the pole sitter, but was fourth at one point before digging his way back forward. Barnett – who started fourth — came second following a spicy Turn 7 penultimate lap pass on Joey Rainey. The points battle in MX5 Cup after two rounds is super close with five drivers separated by just 13 points.

Excitement filled the air all weekend. After practice and qualifying, Apex Motor Club members and friends were greeted with a flag jumping demonstration from neighboring Skydive Phoenix, punctuating a Chris Stapleton national anthem and news that the final piece of new tarmac was in place the night before, making Apex a 4.76 mile circuit and the longest in Arizona.

“In aggregate we’re 4.7 miles, which is a half mile longer than Road America,” said Apex CEO Jason Plotke. “We have a surface that is better than Miami GP because the crew that paved Miami just paved Apex. We couldn’t be more excited and we’ll hopefully be racing on this bad boy in January 2025.”

Back on track, the Radical class put on its usual close-quarters show. Chris McMurry captured the overall and Gold class pole, and survived multiple restarts to win flag-to-flag. Andy Voelkel and Ralph Gilles started second and third, and finished in that order. Lucky Ludwig recovered from a crash the prior race to finish fourth and earn hard charger honors, picking up three spots.

Newcomer to Radicals Ryan Fisher has emerged as the early season favorite in the Silver class, notching his second straight win and first class pole, while finishing sixth overall. He was followed by Evan Wolf and Carl Fredrickson, both Silver class contenders in their own right.

“Consistency is key along with having the team and car to where the driver likes it helps a lot,” said Voelkel. “Race 1 (in October) didn’t really go my way so I did some testing with Crown Racing, got a lot of set up changes in and dialed the car back to me, and it made a world of difference. If you have a car that you’re confident with, it helps with the consistent laps.”

The GT4 race matched the standard set elsewhere in Round 2 with a fierce battle of its own. Scott Dehlendorf took the pole and led handily in his Porsche Clubsport. Behind him was a five-car, three-make battle between Matt Williams, Matt Crandall, Joey Rainey, Joe Rainey and Bill Lawrence.

Joey Rainey picked his way through traffic and eventually gapped the remaining group. And after Williams and Crandall swapped positions multiple times, it was Crandall who finally made good with just five minutes remaining for what looked like the final podium spot.

However, leader Dehlendorf had a mechanical on the final laps, handing Joey Rainey his second GT4 win this season and seventh straight win dating back to last season. Crandall inherited second in his first GT4 race at Apex, and Joe Rainey rounded out the podium.

In Time Attack, last season’s champion Jeff Koning returned after missing round one and earned the top spot, followed by round one’s winner Star Sawalqah (sa-wall-kah) and Bret Voelkel who sits second in points now behind Sawalqah.

Round 3 of the Scottsdale Ferrari Apex Challenge series presented by Coffin & Trout is up next on December 14. If you’re interested in becoming an Apex member and racer and getting involved, please reach out here. Here’s a look at the early season standings:

Radical Gold
52 – Chris McMurry
33 – Andy Voelkel
32 – Ralph Gilles
22 – Jason Plotke
20 – Jace Bacon

Radical Silver
51 – Ryan Fisher
31 – Jason Dyer
31 – Evan Wolf
29 – Niko Kourouglos
27 – Carl Fredrickson

GT3
25 – Brannan Hankins
20 – Chris Hanson
16 – Ralf Ludwig
13 – Jordan Darling

GT4
51 – Joey Rainey
36 – Joe Rainey
29 – Matt Williams
23 – Scott Dehlendorf
22 – Bill Lawrence

Mazda Miata
39 – Jessica Rainey
29 – Joey Rainey
29 – Joe Rainey
27 – Jacob Rainey
26 – Tom Tait

Time Attack Street Car
45 – Star Sawalqah
32 – Brett Voelkel
25 – Jeff Koning
20 – Jordan Sawalqah
13 – Kent Kirimli

Homologation practices were implemented into racing series across the world in the spirit of creating a safe and level playing field on which racing could become a test of a drivers skills rather than a test of a team’s engineering. This strict, level playing field however, prevents manufacturers from developing wild feats of engineering like those seen in the golden age of Formula 1 when the grid hosted a six wheeled car, and the early stages of active aero.

So what happens when you remove homologation standards from the equation? What happens when you take the reins off of a manufacturer with a racing pedigree, and open access to the latest and greatest technology and talent available?

You get the Aston Martin Valkyrie – AMR Pro.

There were absolutely no expenses spared in the development of this rocketship of a car. Designed by the world famous Adrian Newey, the sleek yet dramatic bodywork produces levels of downforce that are more commonly seen in reference to the lift produced by the wings of a jet. The 6.5-liter naturally aspirated mid-engine Cosworth V-12 produces 1000 horsepower at the wheel. With a curb weight of just 2500 pounds and a Formula 1-derived suspension system is capable of handling upwards of three lateral Gs.

Not a corner cut, nor stone left unturned, the AMR Pro is a purebred, bona fide racecar.

APEX Motor Club member and Heart of Racing team principal Ian James – who is one of the lucky few fortunate enough to sit behind the wheel of a car of this caliber – described the car as “just epic.” James recounted the first time that the Heart of Racing team tested their Valkyrie, at Laguna Seca noting that, “When you drive the Valkyrie around there, it becomes much shorter.”

Paying particular attention to the staggering difference in speed between the GT cars and the Valkyrie, James stated that, “when we race the GT3 cars around Apex we see 130-135 miles per hour going into Turn 1. In the Valkyrie we see about 175 miles per hour.” The back straight at Apex is even more impressive: the multi-million dollar AMR Pro hits north of 200 mph.

Though the AMR Pro was designed to no homologation standards, Aston Martin and the Heart of Racing team have since confirmed that an alternate version of the Valkyrie will be making its racing debut in 2025 in WEC and IMSA. This would make the Valkyrie the first ever road-based car to race in the Hypercar class and the only road-based V-12 to challenge for a win in the past 30 years.

The Heart of Racing team is one of a few professional racing organizations that have taken a liking to the APEX Circuit as a testing grounds to practice, tune and develop the cars that they run in Series like IMSA and SRO. If you’re interested in becoming an Apex member and racer and getting involved in the next APEX Challenge season starting in October, please email click here to contact us. Check out the video below, or watch it here.

 

Here’s some words from the 2023-24 champions of the Scottsdale Ferrari Apex Challenge Series presented by Coffin & Trout. The champions were Chris McMurry in Radical Gold, Blake McGovern in Radical Silver, Joey Rainey in GT4 and Mazda Miata Cup, Scott Needham in Porsche Cup and Jeff Koning in Time Attack Consistency and Time Attack Fastest Lap.

If you’re interested in becoming an Apex member and racer and getting involved in the next season starting in October, please email us here.

Production cars are designed to fulfill the day-to-day requirements of the average consumer. Things like fuel economy, comfort, practicality in daily driving environments, cost effective sound systems, responsible power to weight ratios fill the mind of the designer tasked with creating the new model caravan. But to a world-class designer that grew up idolizing the Dodge Chargers seen in Dukes of Hazzard, Bullet, and the Fast and Furious, these responsible practices on the road grow tired.

Enter Hellucination, built by SpeedKore Performance and dreamed into reality by Stellantis Chief Design Officer and Apex Motor Club member Ralph Gilles. When asked about the concept for Hellucination, Gilles said, “The brief on the car was ‘it’s gotta look vintage from about 20 feet away, but it has to drive as tight as possible, as much like a racecar as possible.’”

This 1000 horsepower gamechanger of a 1968 Dodge Charger prioritizes driver excitement over the comfort and practicality found in a daily driver. Full carbon body panels, a custom built race chassis, a full carbon fiber honeycomb tub, Brembo six piston calipers at each wheel, custom spec HRE wheels, all built to contain the power of a 1,000hp, 426 cubic inch, supercharged all aluminum Hellephant engine donning serial number 001. A powertrain truly befitting the name Hellucination.

Multiple design elements across Hellucination found their inspiration in some of Gilles’ favorite things. The Custom HRE wheels take a similar look to those found on the Dukes of Hazzard challenger, whereas the hood scoop takes inspiration from the Dodge Demon, a previous design project of Gilles’. Every detail found in Hellucination is deeply thought out, even down to the gauges and button labels which were designed by Gilles’ own daughter. This vehicle is more than a set of wheels, and rather is a true labor of love.

Though Hellucination is built to the standard of professional show cars, it’s no stranger to interstate highways nor the tarmac. Gilles himself drove the car on a circuit of various high end automotive conventions, like the Quail, in the years immediately following the car’s completion. But highways and convention floors are far from the final frontier. On the right day, you might be lucky enough to hear this beast roaring down the back straight of APEX Motor Club. If you’re interested in becoming an Apex member and racer and getting involved in the next season starting in October, please email us here.