Click here for more pictures from the 2006 Grand Prix!

The racing started on Friday evening with a practice session that almost didn’t happen. After running behind schedule on previous events that day, the SCCA almost cancelled the SPEED WORLD CHALLENGE GT practice for Friday night but instead just shortened it. Eric Olberz, in the #29 Porsche GT3 Cup car, made a great showing for his first time racing in a pro event. With a best lap time of 1:31.197 he was 20th at the end of that night and was pretty happy about his performance. The team was definitely in good spirits.

After a short delay to clean up debris left from the Rolex Grand Am series practice session on Saturday morning, Eric was underway for his second try at conquering the streets of Long Beach course. Unfortunately, a clutch that didn’t feel quite right the night before went all the way wrong on Saturday morning and Eric was out of the session 10 minutes after he started.

A long day was in store for the 911 design crew to replace the bad clutch and get the #29 car back in shape for Sunday’s qualifying at 8:00am. The 911 design guys did what they do best and got to work on the car. They installed a brand new Tilton clutch in no time at all and everything was good to go for the morning.

Sunday began with Eric in a groove and driving like a pro. He recorded a fastest lap time of 1:30.831, beating his previous two attempts at this course. In turn 1 of the last lap, the car went into a spin and the front end kissed the ever feared k-rail of Long Beach. Despite the accident, he ended up in 22nd place to start the race. The 911 design team had a long, hard day ahead of them to ensure that Eric was on the grid to start the race.

The guys at 911 design are dedicated and they did what it took to get that car back in the race. They had to replace the front radiators, front radiator ducts and the front bumper and perform some “on site” frame work. 911 design would like to express it’s sincere thanks to Joe Hullett from Digital Competition Systems, Pratt Miller for the use of some specialty tools, John Groom Racing for the additional parts we needed, all the SCCA officials and the guys at GMG Racing for their support. In the true spirit of what racing is truly about, all these guys stepped up and helped us get the job done with parts and support. Thanks again.

Finally, it was time. This was what the whole weekend had been working up to. With literally not a second to spare, the car passed tech and the guys had to fly to get on grid. The teams already knew that due to scheduling, the race would be shorter than planned. Eric started the race cleanly and was running smooth for the first several laps. Somewhere after that, he spun and had light contact with the wall with the rear of the car. It didn’t seem to slow him down. Through the course of the race, he recorded a best lap time of 1:31.197 He had worked his way up from the 22nd position to 17th position. On lap 22, some of us in the stands noticed some smoke coming out of the exhaust going in to turn 11 but we hoped for the best. The guys in the pits were unaware of the leak. Eric made it around two more times but unfortunately, that smoke had bad news written all over it. The engine was overheating and eventually quit.

In the end, he finished in 19th place and earned himself 7 series points. But the smile on his face and the experience of driving in the Long Beach Grand Prix was what it was all about. From all of us at 911 design – Great job Eric.

Eric’s next World Challenge SPEED GT event will be at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA on June 23rd, 2006. Check back after the Infineon event for pictures and a race update.

911 design is a full service Porsche^® race and street shop located in Montclair, California. We specialize in race car preparation, fabrication, and development. We also offer a comprehensive "arrive and drive" program for the racing enthusiast.

The 911 design dream started with owner, Loren Beggs love of Porsches^® and passion for racing. He started the company in 1989 in Upland, California and was it's sole employee. It wasn't long however before his dedication to excellent customer service, attention to detail and the ability to provide his customers with winning performance brought him respect within the Porsche^® racing community and a loyal following of clients.

In 2000, as 911 design's reputation continued to grow by leaps and bounds, we relocated to an 8,000 square foot building better able to house our ever growing, state of the art Porsche^® shop. We have a winning team of technicians, chosen for their proven ability to provide the quality of workmanship that 911 design customers have come to expect.

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