Eurotrash Motorsports

Hey everybody.

Just wanted to let you know that Eurotrash Motorsports now has a phpBB forum up and running. We’re still adding content, but you can follow the link in the top menu bar or you can click HERE
Cheers!

An introduction to The BMW through pictures.

Hey guys,

My name is Shawn Bernier, and I’ve been into motorsports my whole life.  I’m the only valley native on the team, but all of my extended family is in the eastern townships of Quebec, so my best memories are from the cottage life out there.  I started riding quads at 6, and got my first dirtbike at 10, and my second at 12.  As my uncle’s family business was a motorcycle store, I was very fortunate, and it’s been in our family’s blood for decades.

I’ve always been big into bikes and cars, and I’ve worked hard all my life to make sure I could afford nice ones.  At 16 I bought my first streetbike - a 1995 Honda CBR600F3.  It came with an aftermarket Vance & Hines exhaust, and just to make sure that it was ricey enough, I added a green underglow kit ;).

When I was searching for my first car, I was looking for something sleek, something fairly fast, and something that had that wow factor.  I knew that I did not want a front wheel drive, and that limited my options significantly. So, at 18 I found my first car  – a 1992 BMW 325i.  It was a green 4-door sedan, and looked amazing.

Two years later, at 20, I decided it was time to change my bike.  I came across with the help of my uncle’s shop, a 2003 Honda CBR600RR – my dream bike!
After 1 year of enjoying it stock, I started upgrading it:
-Competition Werkes fender eliminator kit
-Hotbodies LED front turn signals
-Sportech carbon fibre windscreen
-Yoshimura RS-5 carbon fibre undertail slip-on exhaust with midpipe

A year later, I was getting tired of dumping money into the old bimmer, and I wanted to get something newer.  I opted for a 2007 Subaru Impreza 2.5i SE sedan.  It came with a Subaru Performance Tuning Cat-back WRX exhaust system custom installed on the car :).  After some bodywork and paint, I sadly put the 325i up for sale.  After 9 months of trying to sell the bimmer with no luck, Jeff and I got together and the seeds of Eurotrash Motorsports were planted – screw selling it! Let’s track it!  Knowing Emil through school, and his extensive car experience, it wasn’t hard to convince him to help us out, especially since he had the same idea for his Jetta(edit: that didn’t work out, but now he’s got an Audi)!

Professional:

I graduated from Carleton University in June 2009 with a Bachelor of Engineering, Mechanical with High Distinction.  During my studies, I enrolled in the Co-operative education program.  Through my terms with with Environment Canada, I was bridged into a permanement position in the Transportation Division working with the Testing, Fleet Management, and Emissions Verification group.

Racing:

For the past 5 years, I’ve been racing Endurocross (a mix of tight, technical woods, open field, and motocross in a 90 minute endurance race) on my 2003 Yamaha YZ250F.  In the Amateur Open class that I am in, I finished 5th overall in the 2008 season, out of over 40 racers.  The 8 – 12 km tracks usually have around 150 bikes on it at once, with 8 start lines.  We see mud, dirt, sand, rocks, ruts, roots, rain, dust, and anything else you can think of.  In terms of cars, in my last year of university I joined the Formula SAE project where I was one of the members of the engine team with Emil.  The goal of the project is to built a lightweight open-wheel formula style race car and to compete against 120 other universities from all over the world at a competition in Michigan.  During this project, we were given several sessions of theoretical driver training as well as instruction from professional drivers at a winter performance control school.  Before this, I had no car racing experience whatsoever, but this project really opened my eyed to what I was missing!

In 2009, I participated in only 2 endurocross races as I was busy on the car scene.  My summer started with the MCO’s Performance Control school where we learned the limits of our cars on asphalt.  Following this was a season of autocross races, where I placed 7/20 in my class, and 6/20 in the rookie championship.  I also participated in three lapping events at Calabogie Motorsports Park, and a morning at Shannonville Motorsports Park.

So that’s me.  I’ve always wanted to get into car racing, and there’s nothing like a backyard budget solo II project to get started!

See you at the track!
Shawn

Hey everybody – How’s it going ?

My name is Jeff Attala and I am one of the founding members of the Eurotrash Motorsports team.  I have been surrounded by cars in varying degrees my whole life, but I only recently started to get my hands dirty.

I was born in Montreal Quebec, Canada but have lived in Ottawa for a little over 10 years now. Growing up in Montreal taught me a lot about driving – I’ll leave that one open to interpretation ;).

My first car was..are you ready for this?…a Pontiac Trans Sport Minivan. Yah the ladies really loved me in highschool…or not. The van belonged to my parents and it became my mode of transportation through most of highschool. That is until I got my REAL first car – a 1999 Mazda Protege LX with the 1.8L engine.

It wasn’t the fastest thing on the road, so my first priority was making it less of a “me too” car (e.g. I drive a mazda – Oh me too!!) I made the same intial mistake and went down the path of altezza lights and type-r mats. Most of those errors have been corrected.

My Mazda also introduced me to a great group of people at the Ottawa Mazda club where, for the past 3 years, I have served as one of the managers/moderators. I’ve met a great bunch of people, made true friends, and have learned a lot about cars….oh I also learned how to make fun of J-bodies.

The club, and one pesky member in particular, are what got me into Auto-X in the first place. After participating in my first auto-x event last year, all my priorities for my car changed. I had considered going down the I.C.E road and trying to make the car a show car. Now I find myself paying attention to things like “slip angle”, “tread wear”, and “camber value”.

My racing experience prior to this endeavor is limited to say the least, but here are the facts.

• Participated in a single auto-x event during 2008 season – Finished 14/23
• Full season of auto-x during 2009 season – Finished top 10 in the rookie challenge and top 10 in C-class.
• Lapping session on the long track at SMP to end the 2009 season

Believe it or not, I also have a professional side.

I recently graduated with a B.A. Sc in Mechanical Engineering from The University of Ottawa. I worked for a year at Environment Canada  dealing with certification emissions testing for vehicles sold in Canada. I am currently working in the Manufacturing Engineering department of General Dynamics Canada.

Needless to say, without my professional background I would not be able to enjoy the activities documented on this website. That being said, I look forward to seeing you at the track!

I can also now be found on Loop’d

http://www.loopd.com/members/Protege2886

Happy cone hunting !

After a long time on the market for a quattro race car, I was lucky enough to find an Audi A4 Quattro that was recently involved in an accident. The car hit a deer going south on HWY416, which damaged the hood and fenders.

At a first glance it didn’t look like very serious damage – due to the nature of the hit, the bumpers weren’t even scratched, airbags did not deploy etc. The insurance, however, deemed it salvaged and the previous owner parted it out. I managed to get to the car just in time before the engine was pulled apart. The 1.8T engine that is in this model Audi is installed longitudinally, which places all the driving belts at the front of the car, immediately behind the radiators. When the deer hit the top of the hood, the damage reached the camshaft pulley, attached to the timing belt. The pulley scattered in pieces, which automatically meant the pistons hit the valves and damaged the head. The 1.8T engine is an interference engine, meaning the pistons and valves occupy the same volume and the timing is crucial to avoid damage to the engine. This is likely why the car was salvaged by the insurance – the damage would cost too much to fix. Not to me though. Luckily, the previous 1.8T engine that was swapped into my 2000 Golf had suffered a very similar damage and I have experience with the problem.

I purchased the car for 500$ and thanks to Shawn’s trailer managed to get her come safe and sound. We then started taking it apart to assess the damage. As expected, the front fenders and hood were completely destroyed and were soon disposed of. The rest of the car, however, was in a fantastic shape. The AUDI bodies are galvanized steel and almost never rust. The exhaust (although useless to me) was brand new, the brakes were new (rusted due to rain now) etc. When we took the engine out, we noticed that the clutch was already on its way, however, we also discovered that both transmission mounts had broken due to the impact at the front of the engine, so they will need to be replaced.

So…here begins the story of the 1.8T….If you follow along you will learn about the 20/20 swap in the works in the “Engine Room” :)

Cheers,

Emil

Hey all…

The name’s Emil (aka NiTeC) and I’ve been interested in motorsports for close to a decade now.

I grew up in Europe surrounded by German Engineering. My father was always a fan of VWs and Audis so that naturally became my obsession.
As the years passed I went through a number of cars including a MK2 1.8L Jetta, MK3 1.9TD Golf, MK3 2.0 Jetta, and finally a MK4 2.0 Golf….Every single one of these cars was unique and didn’t last in its stock condition for long while under my care. The notorious MK4 Golf (Gemma) received a complete makeover including a fully built 1.8T engine swap tuned by Chris Tapp (Tapp Auto) paired with a custom 3″ twin exhaust by HP Auto and a Greddy 31R FMIC. Unfortunately, Gemma was totaled recently and is now sitting in my garage as a parts donor.

Professional:

I recently graduated with a B.Eng in Aerospace Engineering – Avionics from Carleton University with Honors.

I am currently pursuing my M.Sc. degree with the Royal Military College in conjunction with Defence Research and Development Canada in the Radar Electronic Warfare Field.  I am specializing in Matlab hardware control and integration for UAV electronic payload support systems.

Racing:

I have a limited racing experience, which includes Calabogie Motorsports road racing, Open Road Motorsports winter performance driving school, the occasional MCO AutoX day etc….I am currently involved in the 2010 Canadian Rally Championship working on Glen Clark’s 2WD turbo golf.

Well…this is a very quick intro – welcome to Eurotrash Motorsports and enjoy your stay…

Emil

That’s right! Eurotrash Motorsports is officially up and running!!