Vtec Club Rd.1 2022 Race Report
Sunday, January 30th, 2022 at Streets of Willow - Willow Springs International Raceway
Words: Amir Bentatou // Photos: Ryan Yamamoto
The 2022 Vtec Club season kicked off at The Streets of Willow Springs with exciting new builds, intense battles, and a freshly paved track. Streets of Willow has The rumor was the track was over two seconds faster thanks to the repave, and the drivers were eager to set new personal bests and chase records.
Vtec Club Rd.4 2021 and Club Racer Open Gallery
December 3rd, 2021 @ Buttonwillow Raceway Park
December 3rd, 2021 @ Buttonwillow Raceway Park
Photos: @motovated
Vtec Club Rd.3 2021 Recap
Vtec Club’s Autumn Speed Festival hosted on October 1st, 2021 at Big Willow, Willow Springs International Raceway
Vtec Club’s Autumn Speed Festival hosted on October 1st, 2021 at Big Willow, Willow Springs International Raceway
Words: Sean Lucas // Photos: @z3ppelin
As the late Summer heat begins to fade, and temperatures shift to more favorable digits, VTEC Club’s competition ready drivers return to the circuit for Round 3 of the all-Honda series hosted at Big Willow, the fastest course at Willow Springs International Raceway.
Built for high speed, Big Willow is known for issuing drivers a test of both skill and confidence. The circuit’s layout is a mix of mid to high speed turns that crescendo at the last sector; turn 8, a high-speed right hander that demands commitment, and turn 9, the decreasing radius right that leads into the front straight. Two turns that can make or break a lap time and define the flow of the circuit.
It was the perfect venue for VTEC Club’s community of eager drivers to return to the track.
As the sun began to crest over the iconic John Hartman Garage, the still desert air was soon overcome with the enthusiastic sound of exhaust tones and the chatter of competitors. The pits were abuzz with talk of off-season upgrades, expected lap times, and the typical communal conversations about automotive life.
Registration was smooth and quick, giving drivers and their mechanics time to prep for the start of the first session. It wasn’t long before Race Control called for the pre-grid of the Advanced run group to kick off the day – and what a day it was.
All eyes were on the green flag as it was waved down to start the first session. The Group A drivers, leading the advanced run group, hit the ground running.
Group A
The action was plenty, and it was swift with Jose Mejia and his FK8 putting down a blistering 1’26.860 on his first hot lap of the day. Given that it was his first time driving the Type-R on this course, knocking on the door of the record is very impressive. Unfortunately, playing it safe in an over-take situation, Jose made the split second decision to go off track to avoid an incident that ended up damaging the car enough to be out for the day. Despite only putting down one good lap, it was still enough to walk away with the Group A win and fastest lap of the day by nearly 4 seconds.
“I was very impressed with the potential the FK8 has at Big Willow. With just 2 laps in and with some traffic on the second lap I was able to achieve the goal I had set for the day. A lot was left on the table. Aside from the incident I had a great time. Nothing beats the friendship we have all developed at VTEC Club.” – Jose Mejia
John Cruz, driving his new 8th gen Civic with recently equipped supercharger was able to grab second place in Group A with a 1’33.504. Some slight mechanical issues with the new build left him unable to improve on the day.
Third place was secured by Mario Mojica in his turbocharged Honda Fit with a time of 1’39.807.
Group A2
The time gaps that were present in Group A started getting much narrower in the closer matched Group A2. 17 cars made up the field for this class, and the podium finishers were all within sub 2 seconds of one another. Sky Chan and his S2000 came out on top with an impressive 1’30.664, good for first place in his class and a new personal best.
“It was great to run with all the other Honda drivers and set PB together. Definitely will be back and nail down more PB.” – Sky Chan
Second place went to long time VTEC Club competitor and friend of the show Bruce Simpson with a 1’32.749. While Bruce may have gotten the second-place trophy, he scored major paddock points with the other drivers and organizers with his S2000’s new cleaner look.
It’s been refreshing to see aesthetics start playing a key role in this series, as drivers not only look to improve on their lap times, but the car’s overall appearance as well.
Right on Bruce’s tail in third place was Jay Cabanzo in his K powered MRS with a best time of 1’34.074. Combining the Toyota chassis with Honda’s unbeatable powerplant has proven to be a formidable opponent in the series.
Group N
The battles continued to get closer in Group N with some of the series’ most seasoned drivers. Resident driver and instructor AJ Jaquias, taking advantage of the great early morning weather in session 1, was able to pilot his S2000 to first place and reset the record with a blistering 1’31.769.
“Round 3 had exceptional weather in the morning which allowed me to lay down a solid hot lap. I can’t help but wonder if it had stayed cooler in the later sessions if I could have gone faster. Guess it will have to wait till the next Big Willow event. Congrats to all the other podium finishers and I’m looking forward to seeing everyone at Round 4.” – Alan ‘AJ’ Jaquias
James Snell, also in a S2000, wasn’t too far off with a 1’32.844; good enough for second place.
Jakob Lim in his EG took third and was able to secure the only front wheel drive podium finish in the class with a 1’35.275.
Group N1
Group N1, a class that is dominated by FF cars, saw a diversified field with 23 competitors battling it out on the 9-turn circuit. Dustin Nocum, Group N1 Round 2 winner, continued his class domination during his second VTEC Club outing. A 1’33.280 was good enough for first place in the class – also worth noting it would have gained him podium in every other run group above N1 as well. His great driving and finely tuned EM1 is proving to be a formidable opponent for N1 class.
Mark Duffy piloted his EG to second place with a 1’34.851, another great lap time for N1.
Rounding out the podium in 3rd place was Marck Tejada, this time behind the wheel of a B16 powered EK sedan. His first time driving Big Willow in the new build garnered him a 1’35.139 and a good baseline for the new car.
Group N2
Year after year, the N2 Class drivers produce some of the most intense friendly rivalries on track, often with laps within tenths of a second from one another. Acting as a feeder series to the other, faster classes, the N2 championships have repeatedly come down to purely driver skill as reliance on power or chassis tuning is dramatically decreased due to class restrictions. The return to Big Willow was no different this round and our top 3 finishers were left within less than a second between each other; in 3 different chassis’ to boot.
Local race turned Honda featured celebrity, Daniel Fuentes, in his popular Midori EK, now Battlecraft hood equipped, managed to take top spot with a 1’34.235 across the line.
“It was a super fun day! N2 was definitely one for the books since we were all battling on track on the same session together and racing with friends.” – Daniel Fuentes
Cory Tsan and his EG were a mere 6 tenths off of the first place time with a 1’34.889, showing just how close the N2 class gets.
Ken ‘Baja Blast’ Keo, in his pursuit of taking the N2 championship, was able to grab the 3rd place podium and some key championship points with a best time of 1’35.639.
“That N2 party tho! Definitely the most fun & intense battle I’ve had on track. I’m excited for what’s to come in Round 4; will be working to extract everything out of the car that I can in order to sub 2 at Buttonwillow.” – Ken Blast
With Round 3 wrapped up, we look to Round 4 this December 3rd at Buttonwillow Raceway Park. A driver favorite course, and one that carries some heavy competition for VTEC Club.
Shout out to our awesome sponsors for making Vtec Club possible - Koyorad, Eneos Motor Oil, Nissin Performance Brakes, Kaaz, Hybrid Racing, Swift Springs, RCompound USA, BattleCraft, and RS Future!
And thank you to our drivers and fans for being a part of this community, and we’ll see you in December!
Vtec Club Rd.2 2021 Recap
May 21st, 2021 at Streets of Willow, Willow Springs International Raceway
May 21st, 2021 at Streets of Willow, Willow Springs International Raceway
Words: Amir Bentatou // Photos: Danny Nguyen
The second round of Vtec Club brought competitors to the tight and technical Streets of Willow. A favorite for many competitors, the layout plays to the strengths of the lightweight and agile golden era cars.
It has been almost 3 years since Vtec Club has been on the clockwise configuration of Streets, and records were expected to fall. The competition was fierce with close battles in almost every class.
Group N2 provided the closest competition, with the podium separated by less than half a second. One of the shock results of the weekend was Kristian Wong taking the victory as a hired driver in the Wheelseek EG.
His blisteringly quick 1:24.670 was enough for the win and a new record. This was an impressive feat considering Kristian had never driven the car before, he missed the first session, and it was the EG's first time on track.
Robert Choo is a familiar name in N2, owning nearly every record and was the favorite coming into the weekend. Robert was edged out and finished in second place with a 1:24.790. Missing the top spot by only a tenth of a second and not being able to better his time in the later sessions.
It is notable, that earlier in the day Robert was kind enough to lend his extra set of tires to a fellow competitor who flat-spotted theirs; which makes you wonder if Robert could have snagged 1st had he kept the tires for himself! Either way, we commend Robert for his competitive spirit and selflessness in true Vtec Club fashion.
Round 1's winner Daniel Fuentes and his Visual Automart EK finished the day with a 1:25.119. His lap beat the old record by a second, but was only enough for third place.
It’s wild to think how far Group N2 has come in terms of lap times. It was always been one of the more competitive classes and we are seeing the rule book being completely maximized by competitors in recent years.
Another Midori EK of past and present, Duane Bada’s Group N2 B20 powered EK is now owned and driven by Abraham Sandoval, making sure the proven setup still has a home on track and not wasted in someone else’s hands.
There was a mix of rookie and veteran competitors on the N1 podium. Dustin Nocum made the trip for Northern California for his first Vtec Club event. He found success at his maiden event finishing on the top step of the podium with a 1:24.051. His lap reset the Jason Kim's previous N1 record by almost 1.5 seconds.
Long time Vtec Club competitor and EK die hard Michael “Sassy” Caputo managed to run a 1:24.897, earning him second place. Sassy has had various engine setups over the years but we believe he is now running an untouched B18C, proving a simple and reliable powerplant can get the job done.
Ed Macedo's 1:25.998 and his Fa5 finished in 3rd place for the second event in a row. Attempting to not do the same for Round 3, Ed's engine build is underway and he's looking to fight for the win when his car is back in action.
He’s also working on doing a full JDM FD2 conversion because looking cool is most important and BattleCraft literally will not sponsor his car the way it looks here.
The fastest lap of the event almost always comes from the heavy hitters in Group A. Round 2 was a different story with Group N running 3 of the fastest laps of the event along with fastest time of the day. Nicky Hays is new to Vtec Club, but is quickly becoming the driver to beat.
With a background in Karting and Formula 4, he and his CRX were well equipped to take on competition. Nicky ran a 1:19.729, earning him the win in N, a new record, and the fastest time of the event. This is the first time the fastest time of the event has ever been set by a car in Group N and we’re excited to see what he can do at future events.
John Cruz from Visual Automart and his infamous EG “Goldy” finished second with a 1:22.224.
To put that into perspective, John's lap was fast enough to beat the previous records in both Group N and Group A2.
Ricky Hernandez, the winner of Round 1 found himself in third place with a 1:23.160, running the 4th fastest lap of the event.
Group N is a battlefield with some truly impressive drivers and builds. We are looking forward to seeing how the competition in Group N progresses and whether someone can take the challenge to Nicky.
The A2 podium was filled with new faces and the first A2 victory in a non Honda chassis. How Te's Toyota MR-S is the perfect pairing of Toyota's Mid Ship platform and Honda's powerful K24. His MR-S was on the top step of the podium with a 1:26.035.
Louis Hoang in his mildly built FK8 Civic Type R finished in a close second with a 1:26.897.
And rounding off the podium spots for Group N we have Nicolas Serra and his S2000 that finished in 3rd place with a 1:28.055.
Jose Mejia made progress on his Group A campaign. He finished in second place at round 1 after suffering a turbo failure, but landed on the top step of the podium at Round 2 with a 1:20.602.
Jose was aiming for a lap in the teens, but was thwarted by a transmission failure during his fast lap attempt. Very unfortunate for Jose but the perfect chance to upgrade his transmission internals to better suit the power he’s making now.
Nissin Performance Brakes is a new sponsor for the 2021 season, and brought out their Supercharged FA5 street car to showcase their 6 piston big brake kit.
The FA5 was piloted by Duane Bada and finished in second place with a 1:28.781, showing the potential of this mildly built street car with full interior and A/C.
Mario Mojica took the third spot on the podium in his turbo fit with a 1:29.296. Mario's 3rd place finish was the first time a Fit has finished on the Group A podium.
Next time you see Mario and his Fit we suggest you take a closer look at it. The high end parts used and show level build quality are top notch and cool to see.
That’s it for the podium recaps but here’s a few photos and cars we particularly enjoy.
Always an honor to have Dave bring out his immaculate OEM+ EK build that he built to fully enjoy.
The morning driver’s meeting led by Grid Master Billy Jang and Technical Director Amir Bentatou sets the pace for the rest of the day.
Colin Len is pictured here checking his oil after his last session and heating up his burrito right before lunch…
If it isn’t obvious already, Vtec Club is big on aesthetics. Here is David Timeteo and boy does he have a looker with his FD2 converted Civic.
Although most TSX’s aren’t completely stripped and gutted to maximize their potential, clean examples like this one remind us that coming out to Vtec Club is still loads of fun whether you’re running in the podium places or not.
The pandemic has been rough but we’re glad to see familiar and new faces again at the track. Thanks for sticking with us and this community because Vtec Club is about it’s people.
And we’re in the business of having fun.
Vtec Club Round 3 marks the return of the “Autumn Speed Festival” at Big Willow on October 1st, 2021, so save the date! Registration opens next week so keep an eye out on our Instagram to stay up to date and secure your spot. See everyone soon!
Vtec Club Rd.1 2021 Gallery
March 7th, 2021 at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway
March 7th, 2021 at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway
