Cars, Motorsports, Photography

A Mean Blue S2000 at Speed Ventures February 15, 2014

To get warmed up for this year’s season of NASA track days, I signed up for a Speed Ventures autocross at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.

Speed Ventures hosts the autocross event on one of the infield parking lots at the same time as a track day event on the Roval course, a demanding circuit with a mix of high-speed banked sections on the NASCAR oval mixed with a more technical infield course.

In between my autocross run groups I took the opportunity for an impromptu photo shoot – including some on track action – with Chris’ Wiita’s awesome 2007 Honda S2000 AP2.

Chris Wiita was there for the Speed Ventures track day with his Laguna Blue Pearl S2000, which he’s been modifying and tuning since purchasing it in 2010, when it was bone stock. Chris started by dialing in the car for autocross and moved on to track days in 2013, where he’s been setting highly respectable lap times at various California road courses, including a 1:58 on the Roval with street tires. You can see a video of that run here.

IMG_9632
Laguna Blue Pearl is probably the best color this car was ever available with, if not the best Honda color ever!
IMG_9616
Sparco Rev seats and blue Schroth harnesses adorn the interior. A Hard Dog Fabrication roll bar anchors the harnesses, provides rollover protection, and a place to mount a GoPro!
IMG_9833
As clean and sharp looking as this car is, the mods are pretty much all business.
IMG_9625-Edit
The APR-250 wing is supported by custom aluminum uprights that Chris designed and built. The uprights are skeletonized to reduce weight but the holes are covered with composite panels to reduce drag.
Chris set a 1:58 lap time on 255/40/17 Hankook RS3s
IMG_9798
Hawk HP+ pads slow this AP2 down lap after lap without fade, but once this car gets an upgrade in the power department, a big brake kit will probably make an appearance. Knowing Chris it will be something we haven’t seen before on an S2k.
IMG_9626
The custom water-jet cut and machined aluminum wing risers attach to steel brackets connected directly to the frame to transfer maximum downforce to the rear tires.
IMG_9627
Stack oil temperature and pressure gauges give Chris a clear indication of how the engine is dealing with being pushed hard on the track.
IMG_9634
Chris’ S2000 currently sits on Enkei PF01s wrapped in 255-40-17 Hankook RS3s, but he tells me that big upgrades in the wheel and tire department are on the way.
IMG_9791
The massive APR GT-250 wing really dominates the appearance of this S2000 on the track. It looks wider than the car!
IMG_9618
Chris records all of his laps on multiple GoPro cameras to review and share at te end of the day.
IMG_9621
The carbon fiber wingstand brace and plastic airfoil really show Chris’ attention to detail. This Honda S2000 has a lot of interesting modifications that aren’t seen anywhere else.