It drove! It raced! And kind of well, even. Last weekend at Sears Point Raceway, our neighborhood’s own Bernal Dads Racing team tore up the track during the 24 Hours of LeMons in The Molvo (No. 243), a mutant crossbreeding of a Mazda Miata and a Volvo 240 wagon. They also brought their older car, The Whale (No. 245) a Volvo wagon emblazoned with stickers that make it look like a junkyard Who’s Who of Cortland Avenue.

I wandered up to Sears Point on Saturday with my 3.5 year-old daughter, and together we watched the Bernal Dads on the race course and in the paddock, where the team’s cars returned from time to time for maintenance, driver changes, camaraderie, and… bacon!

BDR team member Ben brings the final race results…

The Whale:
At the end of Day One, the car had to go under the welder to fix a broken exhaust pipe located under the middle of the car.  It was also in 3rd place in Category C so there was a concerted effort to make the pits stop as efficient and speedy as possible.

This worked well and in the mid-afternoon the Whale was first in class.  This was short-lived, however as about two hours from the end of the race, the bottom-end of the engine suffered a catastrophic failure. The car was pulled into the pit and it was quickly determined it was “Game Over” for the Whale.

The Molvo:
Also in Category C, the Molvo was just behind the Whale in the standings.  During the afternoon it made a similar climb through the group as the Whale.  Shortly after the Whale was retired from the race, The Molvo’s exhaust system suffered from a major leak which the race officials wanted rectified before it could return to the track.  The rear section of coffee cans were dismantled and the Molvo returned to the track.  If continued to finish the race but could not make any ground to unseat the winner of Category C (#8, a Yellow Opal Manta)

Going to the awards ceremony at the end of the Race, BDR took home the Judges Choice award for the Movlo.  The innovation and execution of the concept was embraced by the organizer Jay Lamm as well as the other LeMons Judges.

Congrats to BDR for a race well raced, and a prize well earned!

I took lots of photos during Saturday’s race; you can view them all here.

Photos: Team with trophy, by Alex Zepeda. All other photos by Telstar Logistics