Chariot Of Fire
Through the back S turn, I noticed excessive smoke in the car," explained Jack Mardikian, driver and owner of this '95 MazdaRX-7. "I thought to myself, 'if it doesn't go away, I'm pulling in.'I figured it was an oil leak from the exhaust but as I came around to the pit entrance the smoke exceeded so I pulled in. I had to stop the car with the handbrake because my brakes went out. My mind was saying, 'I don't want to leave my car!' But someone just grabbed my arms and yanked me out of the car." As the RX-7 pulled into pit lane, the flames within the engine bay were spilling from the hood seams. Thick black smoke filled the cockpit and also hovered over the front-end. With his life in danger, Jack didn't want to leave his baby, but thankfully his crew was quick pulling him out of the burning car before the fire could cause him injury. "My lungs were burning," he remembers, "but still, it was so exciting." The accident forced the Twins Turbo/FASTTRACK competitor to retire early, but to everyone's surprise, their efforts didn't end in vain. Jack's flying lap during his only timed session was good enough to beat the previous track record at 1:48.597 and give him the win in the Unlimited FR class as well as place him second overall.
Remember a couple years back and you might recognize Jack's RX-7 from Super Lap Battle '05. His best lap time then was seven seconds slower. He thanks Twins Turbo for taking his car to another level. "I've been building this car for the last five years," he told us. "It's been worth every penny. The RX-7 is not that respected in the racing community and we've been able to take this car to levels that no one has bothered to do." The motor itself was built by rotaryracing.com out of Santa Ana, CA but the car was redesigned mechanically from head to toe by Twins Turbo. "We designed the engine to achieve drivability," he continued. "It was very rough back then and all over the place. Now it has no wheel spin. I can drive the car instead of fight with the car."
Jack has blown several engines and spent over a quarter million dollars to get the car where it is today, but the fire at Buttonwillow ultimately raised concerns. It turns out, the problem stemmed from an oil leak, which wasn't fixed from the previous engine builder. "Sunday we wanted to test the car, but we had an issue with one of the front pulleys," Jack explained. "We noticed an oil leak under the car from the oil pan. We took the cover off and replaced the gasket and resealed everything. Unfortunately, the leak continued as we found out from the fire. Oil seeped into the engine bay and soaked parts, in particular the headers. In the first session, we ran 9psi and the next session 14psi. The higher pressure caused more of a leak and trapped oil between the headers and heat shielding ultimately causing the fire."
The fire was quickly doused after Jack was pulled out and damage was kept at a minimum. Already with next year's competition in mind, Jack has the car back in the shop, returning it to race form with improvements in the suspension, weight and safety. Even at this year's event, he claims the car could have gone farther. "The car is capable of over 500hp. I ran under 400hp for the record breaker. We were going to turn the boost up to 22psi on the last session but never got the chance. Next year..." - Sam Du
Fast Facts
'95 Mazda RX-7
Class Unlimited FR
Time 1:48.597 (1st in class, 2nd overall)
Driver Jack Mardikian
Owner Twins Turbo/FASTTRACK
Home Town Signal Hill, CA
Daily Grind Turbo Specialists
Power 501whp, 400 lb-ft
Under The Hood 13B with Twins Turbo header, 4" downpipe and 5" oval exhaust, Borg Warner S366 turbo with extended tip hot-side, Motec M800, , Fabworks custom fuel rail, C&R radiator, three oil coolers, Aim sports dash, alloy racing covers, heat shielding, Accusump
Drivetrain tubular a-arms with hinged joints, LSD
Stiff Stuff custom-valved Tokiko shocks with Vogtland springs
Rollers 18x11" front and 18x11.5" rear CCW wheels with 295/30-18 front and 315/30-18 rear Hoosier R6 tires