Scanlan’s 7,000 Mile Journey
Glen Cove, NY – After getting tired of spending time and money rebuilding his engines, Mike Scanlan was among the first Formula F racers to switch to a Honda powerplant in his Swift DB-6. The Masters Class competitor has since become a data source for the manufacturer, logging an astounding 7,000 miles on a Honda Fit engine he installed in 2010.
“As I was the guinea pig that first year I had to struggle to be competitive as I fed all my data to the CRB as they slowly moved the restrictor plate from 27.5 to 29.0 to 29.5 to 30,” said Scanlan, who plans to run the full F1600 season this year with 2011-Championship winning engineer Jim Little of Driver’s Services.
“All the while I was racking up race miles on the new Fit engine After three seasons, including two pro seasons in F1600, two trips to the Run Offs at Road America and more test days than ever, we racked up 80 hours and 7,000 miles of track time,” he continued.
That full year will start at VIR April 11-14, and then head to Road Atlanta, Lime Rock, Mid-Ohio twice and Summit Point.
Scanlan also grabbed a junkyard Honda Fit motor as a spare, just in case. After doing some work on it, he has had both engines on the dyno and added it’s not clear which one will go into the car.
“As for the 2013 season, I'm more excited and prepared than ever before,” Scanlan continued. “The fields have become really strong with car counts averaging in the mid 20's and the expectations are for more growth this season. Those numbers are the main reason I run in the F1600 Series, giving me the opportunity to run against top flight competition which is the only way to continually improve.”
His familiar blue DB-6 will turn a dark red for 2013, matching one of his street cars.
“The new Master's format will just be an extra perk for us, but the goal continues to be to run the pace that continues to be established by all the young guns the Series has attracted. As always we're all dying to see who the young crop will be in 2013, as we're hearing that several new Spectrums and Mygales have found their way to North America.”