In what’s been a season that’s had its fair share of ups and downs for us, we headed back to Silverstone for the final round of the Tegiwa Club Enduro Championship. Hoping to head home with the title, we knew that we had to win the race to be in with a real shot of achieving this.

Qualifying

To put us in the best possible position for the race later that afternoon we headed into qualifying hoping that we could claim pole position, but with an incredible 67 cars on the track trying to set the quickest times it just wasn’t to be. Dave’s best lap saw him forever running into traffic, unable to set a proper flying lap. We did end up on the second row of the grid though, with a time of 2.26.79 enough to see us secure third place.

Make or break time

Hopeful to pull off one of his notoriously quick starts and get us into the lead, Luke headed out for the first stint of the race.

Although he didn’t manage to make a move on the Area Motorsport Leon TCR that started in pole position, Luke did manage to get ahead of Joe Taylor’s Elise, which was fantastic for us as we knew we had to finish the race above him to be in with any shout of bringing home the title.

Try as Luke might, there was simply no catching the Area Motorsport team in their Leon. Rob and Carl were putting in decent lap times and built a very healthy lead over the rest of the opposition.

We knew that the race might be won or lost on strategy, so Luke stayed in the car for as long as possible so that we could try and build a good margin over Area as they came into the pits after about an hour. Although we were in the lead for a good amount of time, we knew that both ourselves and Joe still had to make our mandatory 3-minute stop, in which time Area were able to regain the lead.

With Dave now in the M4, he knew that he really needed to push to try and make up the 20 or so second gap between us and first place, all with only about 25 minutes of the race remaining. Add into the mix that his rear-view mirror was full of Joe’s Elise, it was a real mammoth challenge. Although Dave did a great job of keeping Joe at bay for as long as possible, it was inevitable that he was going to find a way past in a car that weighed 600kg less than us.

With Area Motorsport and Joe now in front of us, we could only hope for a safety car to make an appearance in the final stages of the race to bunch the pack up and put us in with a shout of taking the lead. Sadly, it wasn’t to be. The remaining portion of the race was relatively uneventful which left us finishing in third place, 15 seconds behind Area and 10 seconds behind Joe.

Championship Roundup

The results meant that the championship went to Joe, with us missing out narrowly on a second-place finish to Area Motorsport. Although it was deflating to think of what could have been had we not had 3 DNF’s throughout the season and with a blow-out taking the win from beneath us at Silverstone earlier in the year, finishing third in a very competitive championship isn’t bad at all to say that it was our first year having a stab at it!

Today, it’s back to the drawing board as we look at an action plan for next year to see how we can come bigger and better than ever. Whatever we decide to do, there’ll be blog updates throughout the course of the winter on our various projects, especially as the NSX gets its new power plant.

Season Recap

Finally, as we wave goodbye to the 2019 750MC Tegiwa Club Enduro Championship, we’ll leave you with season recap! Until next time…

The M4’s first outing, which was also its first win too, back at Donington Park in April.

2 out of 2 for Dave & Luke as we got a taste of victory again at Croft.

A series of bad luck left us without a decent haul of points in rounds 3 & 4 at Spa Francorchamps.

Quite literally a blow-out, tyre problems saw us have the lead snatched from beneath us at Silverstone International.

A DNF at Oulton Park saw us drop another haul of points.

An unfortunate decision on strategy left us back in 6th place at Snetterton in the penultimate round of the season.

The shear pace of the Area Motorsport TCR car proved to be too much for the M4 which left us with a 3rd place finish and 3rd overall in the championship.

Snetterton, the penultimate round of the 2019 Tegiwa Club Enduro Championship. Heading into this weekend we were sat at the top of the table, tied only with Joe Taylor and his Lotus Elise.

Testing

We made the most of Friday by getting involved in the test session and more importantly to find out what sort of difference our Drexler differential had made to the car. Straight away Luke could feel an improvement in FP1, noting that he could clearly feel more grip when heading out of the corners, even though he could only use 70% throttle to help bed it in. However, when Luke came back into the pits after only 4 laps, the team noticed that the diff was leaking.

So, the team took the diff cooler off to rule out that it was that giving us the problem. Sadly, when Dave headed back out onto the track, he had the same feeling and only managed 4 laps before heading in again.

Sure enough the old differential was put back on the M4, ready for FP3 and FP4. The car was feeling great again as they want back out into wet conditions. Luke and Dave managed another 4 laps each in FP4, which was enough for them to get their heads back in the game.

Qualifying

On the Saturday, the guys decided they’d have a stab at the Roadsports qualifying, mainly so that they could get a bit more seat time between them and get used to the difficult conditions. With that being said, they put the car on pole position by over a second. We decided not to enter the Roadsports race later in the afternoon so we could save the car for Club Enduro the following day.

Sunday soon arrived and before we knew it, we were heading back out on track for qualifying. Dave went out first on wet tyres and sat in 2^nd place for most of the session. As more cars headed out onto the track and the rain held off, the track seemed to be drying up. Of course, everyone dived back into the pits to swap to dry tyres. However, when we did get up to pace and got enough temperature in the tyres we’d ran out of laps. We did manage one flying lap right at the very end, but it was hampered due to traffic, so we had to settle with 6^th place.

Racing

Changeable conditions throughout the day meant that the team had to make a call on the race strategy and we opted for wets to begin with as it didn’t look like the track was going to dry out any time soon. Our plan seemed to be working out, as Luke had worked his way up from 6^th up to 1^st by Hamilton, the fifth corner of the track. We then led for a few laps but as soon as Joe, our championship rival that we mentioned earlier, got his Nankang’s up to temperature, he came past us and built up a decent advantage. We knew we had to do something, so we came into the pits, put on our dry tyres and swapped drivers.

With Dave now in the M4 he was showing some quick pace and we thought we might have been making some progress. That was however, until a safety car came out meaning that all of our closest rivals pitted. This then gained them a lap up on us due to the length of the safety car lap being slower and cars getting back out in-front of it. Never one to throw in the towel, Dave kept his toe down and got us back up to 4^th place and we were only a tenth of a second of the overall fastest lap.

Heading into the final round of the season at Silverstone GP on the 27^th of this month we sit 4 points behind Joe and 3 points ahead of Area Motorsport in their TCR car. For the neutral it makes for a very exciting finale, we’re just hoping that we can bring you some good news in our next blog update!

Carbon goodness

Although the Club Enduro season is coming to a close, that doesn’t mean we’ve given up on improvements for the trusty M4. Today, we had a delivery from the guys at Eventuri in the form of this beautiful carbon fibre intake kit. Eventuri took every detail into account to ensure that they created a flagship intake that set a new benchmark for the F series platform. For the scoops to the intake tubes, they developed a complete solution to ensure a smooth intel track with cold air saturation. Speaking of details, the carbon weave even matches the OEM M performance carbon.

Once Motion Motorsport had fitted the intake we dyno tested it to ensure it didn’t push our peak power above our Club Enduro limit, which it didn’t. However, we did see a little more in the mid-range and should deal with our heat soak issue that we tend to suffer with during races.

Oulton Park, our home race of the 750MC Club Enduro Championship season and obviously we were hoping that we could take another decent haul of points as we head towards the tail end of the season.

With only a second splitting ourselves and pole position we found ourselves back in 5^th position heading into the race. Neither Dave or Luke managed to get a clean lap in which was frustrating as we knew we had the pace from the test day. This wasn’t a real issue in the end though as Luke had managed to work his way into the lead by the very first corner and was able to concentrate on building a gap to put the M4 comfortably ahead.

In what should have been a pretty comfortable win, had everything gone to plan, it was yet again disappointment that was to follow. We were leading the race for the first 4 laps, and then a minor coming together at Shell Oils Corner saw the other cars aero kit pierce the back of our radiator, which sits in the wheel arch. Over the next 6 laps we had coolant spraying onto our tyre and it was only when we got a high temperature warning on the dash that we had to retire the car on lap 11.

Fortunately for us, every competitor that starts the race gets awarded with 1 point. Which means we now sit in joint first place with Joe Taylor and his Lotus Elise heading into the final 2 rounds of the championship. So, it’s still all to play for in what promises to look like an exciting finale!

Go faster bits!

Meanwhile, back at Tegiwa HQ, the M4 is set for some new go faster bits. Firstly, in the shape of a GT4 inspired carbon fibre bonnet. Not only will this give us a 2kg weight saving over OEM but the GT4 vent will allow for hot air inside the engine bay to escape, and in turn reducing overall temperatures. Teamed up with the carbon GT4 style splitter and canards, this really does add to the overall aggression of the front end of our M4. Before you say it, we know it looks ridiculous on its space saver wheels, you’ll just have to take our word for it…

Next up, we have some suspension component upgrades courtesy of SPL Parts who have provided us with their tension rods and bump steer adjustable tie rods. The tension rods will allow us more room for front caster adjustment which means we can have a more precise alignment for optimal turn-in response. The tie rod ends will complement the tension rods perfectly as we’ll be running modified caster, it will correct bump steer and hopefully we can see a reduction in lap times. These awesome parts will be for sale soon on Tegiwa Euro, so keep your eyes peeled for them!

Finally, a Drexler Automotive differential will be making its way onto the M4. This will allow for more precise handling by reducing the slip on the inside wheel whilst also improving overall traction under acceleration and braking.

Photo Credit @ Oulton Park: All Killer Media

Although the car felt great, it seemed to be struggling with understeer throughout the day. The rest of the field also had the same complaint though, which did give us some reassurance and we actually managed to dial it out by the last session which put us in great stead for qualifying on the Saturday.

With 4 rounds now under our belt, we were pretty used to claiming one of the first two spaces on the grid when it came to qualifying, but Luke and Dave simply couldn’t find the space out on track to put a hot lap together. We ended up in 4th place, which is by no means the end of the world, and after studying the data that both drivers had acquired through their VBOX Motorsport on-board recording equipment, it was easy to see how we could find the extra pace and hopefully make headway in the race.

The race soon came round and it was time to head out onto the track again. Luke made a great start and he soon found himself in 2nd position as he headed around the outside of the GT4 M4 on the first and second corner.

Now the only obstacle that stood in our way was Rob Baker in the Area Motorsport Civic EP3, and yes, his Type R does go as fast as it looks. Rob went defensive down the back straight so Luke went wide as he thought he had a run on him but unfortunately he couldn’t make the move stick. The M4 did make it past as Luke managed to out brake the Civic on the run into Club Corner. Then it was time for Luke to get his head down to try and put as much of a lead together as he could, but it was hard work as the EP3 and the M4 were very much equal and carried similar pace.

Check out the video below of the on-board footage showing how we climbed from 4th to 1st in under one lap!

Just over an hour into the race, we’d managed to build a reasonably healthy 15 second lead over 2nd place and a 44 second lead over 3rd. However, that was soon about to change. The M4’s front left tyre blew out around Abbey, and as this was the first corner after the pits it meant that we had to limp it all the way round the track at 30mph which caused us to lose 45 seconds on the in lap.

Whilst the car was in the pits for a replacement tyre, Luke made way for Dave to do his stint. With a monster effort from Dave, he’d managed to get us back up the pecking order into 3rd place with 22 minutes to go. Again, our luck took another turn for the worse on the penultimate lap and we suffered another blow out on the front left heading around Stowe corner. Dave brought the car straight back into the pits but by the time we had changed the tyre the race was over and we found ourselves back in 4th.

Although it was another frustrating weekend, we have to take the ‘glass is half full’ mentality and be happy that we’re still leading the championship by 5 points. Things are really starting to get tight now which must make great viewing for the neutral. Let’s just hope that our luck improves next month as we make our way to Oulton Park for Round 6.

Finally, a big shout out to Matthew Hall, who managed to capture some brilliant shots of the M4. Head over to his Flickr page here, and check out all of his photos from the weekends action.

Sunday’s weather forecast was forever changing and we knew we’d have our work cut out in qualifying. The heavens opened just as the session started but the rain didn’t hang around for too long, much to the delight of the drivers. With lap times falling as the track began to dry out, Luke managed a 1:32.84 which saw us get our first pole position of the season.

Similar to qualifying, the rain began to fall as the cars made there way out onto the track which made for some great excitement for the start as the cars roared down into Clervaux.

We looked to build an early lead from the front during the three-hour race, which is the longest outing on the 2019 calendar. However, that lead was hard to come by as the safety car was called out after the second lap due to a fire onboard the Seat Leon of Rob Smith, professional driver of the Excerl8 BTCC team.

A strategical quick pit stop during the safety car period saw the Area Motorsport team look to be early favourites and they looked like a real challenger for the BMW’s, until damage saw them return to the pits after suffering an impact with the barrier.

The lead for the Class A podium was challenged throughout, with BMW E92 driver Darren Ball and the Porsche Cayman of Lance and Alistair Gauld along with debutant Joe Taylor in his Lotus Elise fancying their chances.

It was the consistent pace of the M4’s that saw them push on at the front of the pack though, with the Autobahn M4 being manned by Andy Marston, Chris and Mika Brown in the Jackpot Racing M4 and ourselves playing catch up after receiving a stop and go penalty.

The reappearance of the safety car saw both ourselves and Autobahn dive into the pits to complete our mandatory 3 minute pit stops and battle for victory for the remaining 45 minutes of the race. A technical fault for us saw Andy build an eighteen-second lead, but with Luke catching him at a significant rate we knew we were in with a shot.

Luke managed to find a way past, and soon after the Autobahn M4 returned to the pits nursing a puncture which meant we could build a healthy lead from the rest of the pack and focus on keeping the car cool and bringing it home for our second race win of the season.

Sure enough, Luke bought it home for the team in a convincing first place with a 48-second margin over Andy Marston in second who finished just ahead of the father-son combination of Chris and Mika Brown who completed the class A podium.

Again, another congratulations to our drivers Dave and Luke, (not a bad way to top off Dave’s birthday), Motion Motorsport for building and repairing the car, and everybody else involved. We’re off to Spa next for rounds 3 & 4, were we’re hoping we can bring you more positive news!

Check out the all of the action from the day here.

A project car is never done, and the same can be said for a race car. Right now, however, she’s sitting pretty with a couple of minor jobs that need doing – otherwise its ready for the track. We’ll get to the future, lets talk about the past first.

This car has certainly come a long way from a long way from the way it was in part one, even further from how it came to us. What was once your every day BMW M4, is now a bespoke endurance racer.

What lies beneath the newly wrapped bodywork is a largely factory S55, though we’ve been able to squeeze some more power out of it with our own decat downpipes. A lot of the mechanical differences have been on the suspension side of things, which this particular car has served as a testing bed for.

Our own parts extend beyond the decats though; camber and toe arms, tow strap, front splitter, spoiler, GRP doors and exhaust tips. As I said we’re still testing some of these parts, but they’ll be available to the public as soon as we’re satisfied with their performance.

It hasn’t been entirely our products exclusively though, you can see the satin black APEX SM-10 wheels adorning the car beautifully – giving the car an aggressive (and still very functional) look. These are wrapped in Nankang AR-1 semi-slicks, we’ve ran these on the rentals as well as the E92 M3, proving themselves to be very versatile tyres.

Looking inside we can see that the comfy cozy OEM interior has been stripped and optimized for weight saving, safety and stability. A custom embroidered Motordrive Race seat will keep Luke and Dave seated comfortably for those long stints on track, as well as a Schroth Endurance harness holding them in place.

You can see on the steering column is the AIM MXS 1.2 digital dash, this also runs a Racelogic lap timer. This whole system also gives us telemetry in the pits, letting us know exactly how the car is performing on track. Decorating the flocked dash are various manual switches, for the manual controls in the car; rain light, fuel, wipers, etc. The carbon centre console also houses the comms, as well as the cut off safety switches required by 750 Motorclub regulations for Club Enduro.

Tucked away in the rear is our Aero Tec Laboratories fuel cell, housing a 120L bladder, obviously fueling is a large part of endurance racing. This will be coupled with ATL‘s refuel rig, together this will make for efficient pit stops.

You can see surrounding the fuel cell, as well as the rest of the interior, is the Safety Devices roll cage. This cage is fully MSA compliant, and will protect each driver massively should it encounter a love tap on track.

Peeking through the spokes are the Yellow Speed Racing BBK that’ll be slowing the car down this season, we’ve used YSR’s brakes for years now on a multitude of different track and race cars. Needless to say they are huge, but the 2-piece design makes them dead lightweight, lowering rotational mass substantially.

One of the first things you’ll spot under the bonnet is a pair of external reservoirs, these are part of the YSR Pro Plus Racing suspension system that replaced the OEM units. You can imagine that whilst the M4 is a sports car, it is still a street car, ergo the suspension that came with it wouldn’t have sufficed.

This Yellow Speed Racing kit allows us to have a massive range of adjustment for the dampening rates, as well as accommodating for high and low speed bump and rebound. Proper suspension is a game changer in any car, on track the importance of this is only heightened.

The wrap was completed by Chris and the guys at CN Signs, the final product looks incredible and certainly strands out from the crowd. Retaining the factory colour underneath the vinyl was a great choice, it complements the blues and makes for a very subtle but still screams race car.

This has been a rather brief introduction to the car itself, we’re now focusing on testing it. We’ll be sure to share the results as well as any updates on the race season, this is going to be an interesting year for sure, we know that much. Thanks to all that have kept up with this, and to those who came and said hello at Autosport International.

As per usual I’ve included a Flickr gallery if you hit the image below, this is my own Flickr account and will have a few Tegiwa goings on throughout the year.

Tegiwa Euro

Effective October 10th, 2018, all new orders are to be placed through the Tegiwa Euro online portal. To establish your new online dealer login credentials and dealer profile, please take a moment to complete the following short forms:
Step 1: Create Your Dealer Portal Login Credentials
Step 2: Dealer Account Setup

Once these two online forms are processed, you will have direct online access to dealer pricing and live inventory on all APEX products, just like the APEX website.

All day to day inquiries can be sent to orders@tegiwa.com. If you have additional fitment or technical questions, you are always welcome to email our APEX staff directly at expert@apexraceparts.com.

How will my dealer pricing be affected?
Your cost per set will go down. Buying from a local source will eliminate the need for overseas air freight and the applicable importation fees.

Can I still place orders through the APEX dealer portal?
Effective October 10th, 2018, all new orders are to be placed with Tegiwa Euro conveniently through their online dealer portal. Instructions for establishing an account with Tegiwa Euro is listed above.

How long will it take to acquire APEX product?
Tegiwa Euro will have popular APEX wheels in stock, which should dramatically reduce the time it takes for you and your customers to receive product. Like the APEX site, the Tegiwa site displays live inventory including backorder ETA’s so that you can effectively communicate with your customers.

Who do I contact for returns and warranty claims?
All returns and exchange requests will be facilitated through Tegiwa Euro. Dealers with a warranty claim will go through APEX directly by filling out their Warranty Request Form. This form is also available under the contact page of the APEX website.

Now the engine is back in the car we are able to work on con-rod bearings and bolts. We are using the highly regarded BE Bearings and ARP bolts for this job. As you can see from this photo the job was well over due on this 101,000 mile S65 engine.

As the sump is off it made sense to baffle it as the S65 is notoriously bad under high G for oil starvation.

The interior is our next big job. The cages are now on order for our stock SAFETY DEVICES E92 CAGES

We have removed the dash ready to get trimmed and flocked to follow our next blog for an update on this.