08/31/2026
This was a pretty brutal weekend of racing, but the team never gave up. We tested Thursday and Friday and made fantastic progress on setup, without any mechanic issues that stopped us. Then late on Friday we discovered a leaking rear main seal. The guys went to work and had the car back together and ready to race by midnight to make the Saturday race.
Then during the first formation lap the driver reported a low voltage alarm, which quickly led to a loss of power steering. He was able to nurse it back to the garage where we went to work pulling the failed alternator. Unfortunately our spare alternator was off getting rebuilt.
Determined to make the Sunday race, we ran to several parts stores to see what solution could be made. The Ginetta GT4 uses a proprietary alternator mount, which means there would be no off the shelf option. So we bought several different alternators, took measurements, and figured out what would work.
Several hours later, with lots of cutting, grinding, and soldering, we had a functioning alternator. The car made the race start and even took several positions. We finished one stint and driver change. Things were looking good, then a red flag came out.
The smoking hot car was forced to come to an immediate stop on track for the red flag. This was the last thing we wanted to see, as we knew that the engine bay would be completely heat soaked. Even with forced cooling on the alternator, the chances of it surviving were drastically reduced.
The race resumed under FCY and the driver immediately reported a low voltage alarm. The power steering would soon be gone, so we brought the car in. That's where our weekend ended unfortunately. It was a valiant effort by everyone, but we definitely didn't have luck on our side.
The fact we were able to cobble together a working alternator from three store bought off the shelf alternators with a bit of wire, solder, JB Weld, zip ties, and a lightbulb was amazing.
And it passed all the tests on the parts store bench tester, then proceeded to run a race car around Watkins Glen for several hours!
Fortunately the car is going back home without any dents, cracks, or other damage
