Greg Sorrentino (XFR)
As the owner of Greg Sorrentino’s XFR Atlantic project I just learned that he had passed away a year or so ago. Greg was passionate about his racing and put everything into the XFR. He was proud of it and was way ahead of the curve on a lot of the design features. Godspeed Greg.
Greg
Thank you for your post.
I had heard a couple years back, about some of his health issues.
I first met him, along with his friend Gary Witzenberg (sp), when he lived in the suburban Detroit area, mid 1970's.
Sorry to hear about this.
The XFR was definitely a labor of love for Greg and Denis Eade. Tony Ave passed me on the outside of the carousel at RA with it......it had some hi-speed stick !Originally Posted by quartzracer
Fairwinds, Greg,
Bill
nice and YELLOW !
Greg was also into the 2L CanAm class with a body of his own design - originally mounted on a 1975 March Atlantic. I almost bought the body from him a few years ago.
Greg's "Pride and Joy."
more
More photos>
Greg RIP
Wind Tunnel. Greg really did put everything into the XFR build.
Last edited by quartzracer; 10.10.13 at 3:27 PM. Reason: add photo
Sweet...
Very cool
New car testing.
Where is that
Looks like Gingerman raceway?
Nice and green not out here in the SW
We don't do desert racing
Gingerman's a winner!
More
Would love to see more of this cars build.
I would love to post more photos of the build, however I guess I'm maxed out on allowed photo postings???? Some one have a clue. The tub work was all performed by Eloisa Garza "EG Composites" in Indy.
That's the most preposterously thick surface plate I've ever seen! My god!
XFR Brakes and Fabricated Uprights
Brakes and Uprights
Some people have posted that the XFR is a modified Reynard, they couldn't be more wrong. It was pure Sorrentino.
Having had 2 90-H Reynard's that front upright and hub assembly is light years more advanced.
Shelton
Shelton
I believe you will find that the XFR ("Ex-Friggin'-Reynard") began life as a Reynard 89/90-H. Eloisa did major mods to the tub and much of the rest of the car was custom.
Charlie Warner
fatto gatto racing
'Cause there's bugger-all down here on earth!
Charles so much of the car looks like a 90-H then you look at the engine bay, the front shock mounts, the rack, the suspension mounts and such. I think the basic dims came from an 89-90-H but that tub is very different. A beautiful work of Art but...........
S
Shelton
As I said, it started out as a Reynard. I looked at converting one of my two 89/90-H cars and after talking with Eloisa it wasn't going to happen. The tub was basically cut in half longitudinally and the upper tub is distinctively Reynard. It truly was a labor of love and the vast majority of the car was altered considerably. No one is trying to make less of Greg's efforts. Dennis Eade at Comprep probably knows more about the XFR than anyone else.
Charlie Warner
fatto gatto racing
'Cause there's bugger-all down here on earth!
My goodness cut in half......then modified Greg must have really been a craftsman, again not sure why a 90-H but we all have our quirks, I still have one in the shop, Lots of fun but....
S
Shelton
At the time the Reynard was probably the stiffest of the atlantics. The first to be made with a semi-full carbon tub (the floor was ally). This was before the Ralt RT-40 was introduced. The competition was pretty much the 1988 Ralt RT-4 and that was a disaster. Once the RT-40 hit the scene the writing was pretty much on the wall for the XFR. Then the RT-41 apperared . . . . .
Charlie Warner
fatto gatto racing
'Cause there's bugger-all down here on earth!
Charles memory is pretty good. Some of the facts are that when Greg started this project he envisioned selling an "upgrade" kit/modification for the 89/90H. Greg soon learned after stiffening the tub that the rest of the car was compromised. This brought Greg to the decision to build what he termed a "Ground Up" new car. Approximately fifteen percent of the original Reynard tub was retained specifically for homologation purposes and Greg liked the shape of the tub (narrow front profile). The only Reynard parts that remain are the trans, wheels and the portion of the original tub. There was no way of upgrading an 89/90H to an XFR at this point. The XFR never reached its potential for a number of reasons. Dave Craddock (Performance Resources) was instrumental in the XFR's Construction and has a lot of REAL history on the build. Most recently the XFR was engineered by Jason Robb who was the crew chief for Alex Baron's Championship winning Lynx Racing RT41. He was a non believer when I first contacted him in regard to assembling the XFR. He told me that he and his lynx teammates used to watch as the XFR arrived at the track in a state of disassembly(almost a bare tub). They would watch an underfinanced team try to hustle the thing together in time for practice. None of this was the fault of Sorrentino's but the cars reputation suffered. Jason was reluctant to take on the project until he looked over the car. He was amazed at the quality of the build and the engineering that went into the car. He took on the job and made small inprovements here and there. Greg produced a car that is second to none! After the car was assembled Jason was a true believer in the cars potential. He then went to work for Newman Wachs Racing and the car has been in storage. As for the car being competitive, I think the best spokesman for that would be someone who is a FAST driver with Pro Atlantic experience. Tony Ave can give real feedback in regard to this cars potential as he led the Runoff's in the XFR until a mechanical failure gave the win to Stan Wattles in an RT-40, I would love to see him drive it again. Stan Wattles told me that it was unbelievable how much grip the XFR had, he describes the Ralt being on the limit in a turn as he was being passed by Tony on the outside. On the opposing end Stan said the car was slow on the straights and he would pass it with ease. (posted from my blackberry excuse the errors)
Last edited by quartzracer; 10.29.13 at 1:49 AM. Reason: additional
Work in Progress
The XFR was a work in progress for Greg it was never ending. MODAL Analysis 1997.
Holy smokes!
Greg Sorrentino contacted the best engineering minds involved in motor racing today to help define the specifications for the XFR including: (from Greg's Bio)
*Chuck Matthews / Terry Satchell: Vehicle Dynamics
*Joseph Katz / Max Schenkel: Aerodynamics
*John Greacen: Material Applications
*Kurt Roehrig: Shocks
*Brian Jones: Modal Analysis / Structures
*Ron Fournier: Fabrication
*Dennis Eade: Construction
Last edited by quartzracer; 10.21.13 at 9:07 AM. Reason: paste
That's dotty.
Bios
THE CAR - XFR GS 96
In order to achieve significant improvements in terms of structural stiffness, weight, driver safety and incorporating lessons learned during the past racing seasons including bench marking from current chassis manufacturers, an intensive engineering effort was conducted utilizing:
• computer aided suspension analysis
• computer aided design
• computer aided engineering
• model analysis
• static and dynamic testing
• coordinate measuring machine
Through the use of these techniques, the parameters established at the outset of the project for strength, stiffness, driver protection and precision tolerance on all critical dimensions have either been met or exceeded. Thus the XFR GS93 was created.
CONSTRUCTION:The XFR GS93 uses an all-carbon/honeycomb chassis with integrated engine structure, featuring a “slide-in” type engine/trans mounting; this is a radical departure from the traditional “drop-in” configuration, resulting in a joint far superior and stiffer than any existing design.
The Front shock absorbers/springs are mounted on the top of the monoque. This configuration improves the stiffness between the rocker pivot and the attachment point for the shock absorber on the tub. The pushrod angle is also improved, minimizing secondary deflections induced between the tub and the suspension. This layout provides for easy access to shocks, maintenance, and quick set ups.
Rear Shock absorbers/springs are mounted independently on top of the transmission and housed by an aircraft alloy aluminum girdle so that suspension loads and secondary deflections are controlled and separated from the gear box assuring superior alignment between transmission components, and therefore better reliability.
]Loads form the rear suspension are distributed into a pair of braces which complete the assembly.
Last edited by quartzracer; 11.11.13 at 6:08 AM.
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