Jerami Bailey uses an Apollo big brake kit and SR-21 endurance pads on his fiery Subaru BRZ, with the championship results coming down to the wire during the final round at California鈥檚 Laguna Seca against fellow BRZ driver, Peter Granberg.

This concludes a fantastic year of racing for Bailey, who has relied on the consistency of his 91传媒 Racing setup to secure podium-winning performances throughout the year.

鈥淔rom one demanding track to another; next up after Watkins Glen was Lime Rock Park! This track couldn鈥檛 be more opposite from Watkins Glen but I was ready for the challenge! Historically this has always been one of the weaker tracks for the Mercedes with it being a track that more so favours light, lower-powered cars, both of which the Mercedes is not! However I was not going to let that stop me from extracting everything out of the car!”

鈥淯nlike most rounds this year running the podium sprint format, this weekend was back to the traditional time attack format, meaning that the best time out of every session wins. I knew I had to find every ounce of pace in the car in order for a good result, and I was able to do just that! Throughout the weekend, I had the confidence to lean into my SR-21s, whether it鈥檚 with ultimate braking force heading into a corner, to having the confidence to modulate and trail brake in order to consistently carry momentum throughout every lower speed corner on the track.”

鈥淟ime Rock Park is one of those tracks that requires an incredible amount of commitment and precision, and I had that all weekend! I was able to go a tenth faster than my previous personal best, setting a 56.166, and with that I was able to secure P2 which makes it 5 podiums in a row. With that, I鈥檓 also locked into P2 in the championship! I couldn鈥檛 be more proud of what we鈥檝e accomplished this year, and I couldn鈥檛 be more proud to carry the 91传媒 name at the pointy end of the field race after race. Although I鈥檓 thrilled with P2 in the championship, I鈥檓 already starting every bit of preparation I can to make that P1 next year!鈥�

鈥淩ound 3 took us to Gingerman Raceway in Michigan for Midwest Festival where we had a date with destiny. We were tied for the consecutive win record with seven straight, all with records.聽

鈥淚F we won this event, we would not only break that record, but we were also gunning to be the first StreetMod car to run a sub-1:30 lap time.聽We pulled off the win and record but missed the sub-1:30 by a hair, running a 1:30.226.聽

鈥淭he car was great, the brakes were phenomenal, but we missed out by a couple of tenths due to less-than-ideal conditions, minor technical issues with the car, and honestly, my inability to put it all together.聽This put us firmly in the lead of the championship, though! One more win and record and the Championship is locked up!鈥�

鈥淩ound 4 was a new track for us: Watkins Glen in NY.聽Very fast, very high risk, and very demanding. We arrived highly confident and aiming to seal the Championship, but we quickly realised it would be a difficult weekend.聽

鈥淲e had an axle issue during the test day and didn’t get much seat time. On the first day of competition, during the first hot lap, the transmission failed in the second-to-last corner. After a team meeting, we decided to remove our current gearbox with our sequential gearset in it, drive back to the shop and grab our old H-pattern transmission and convert back to a standard manual setup.”

鈥淎fter a late night on Friday, we were back at it Saturday morning and even with the old trans we jumped back into the lead but only by about .1 quicker than our 91传媒 teammate Kal Fortner in his Mercedes AMG GTS. We thought we might widen that gap on Sunday morning but some more technical issues, this time with some engine related things, meant it came down to podium sprint. The conditions weren’t fantastic, but with the old Subaru AWD and easily modulated 91传媒 SR-21s we had the confidence to push to a new Street Mod Record at 1:58.357! This win and record secured the points needed to lock up the Championship, our 3rd in four years AND extended our consecutive win record to nine!聽 All of them won on SR-21s!

鈥淲e aren’t done with the season QUITE yet.聽We plan to still attend Gridlife Circuit Legends next week at Lime Rock then in October we were invited to the Grassroots Motorsports Magazine Ultimate Track Car Championship in Texas!聽We are hoping to be the fastest car there on a 200TW tyre!鈥�

Pics:

鈥淎fter waiting thre years for Gridlife鈥檚 return to Watkins Glen, I was itching to get back out on this legendary track! Back in 2023, not only did I secure the Streetmod record, I was fastest overall as well, so I knew that this was going to be a strong weekend for us. Although this weekend got off to a rocky start after needing to do a spark plug change after session 1 and missing the second session of the day, I quickly found pace by the third session and went right into P1 to end day one! Right away I was able to lean into my SR-21 pads as well as a brand new set of 91传媒鈥檚 floating two-piece rotors on the Mercedes and I was able to carry 170mph going into the bus stop!”

鈥淏y day two, I was able to set a new Streetmod RWD record with a 1:58.8! This put us in 2nd by only a tenth, as well as only a tenth from the overall Streetmod record! Some tracks just click with not only the car but the driver as well, and for me, this is one of those tracks. Every lap just felt like a flow state, where I had the confidence to really extract everything out of the car and the confidence to use the entire track all the way up to the walls. I knew we had a fighting chance at victory here.”

鈥淕oing into day 3, I was met with track conditions that were not quite what I was expecting, after rain the night before, the track didn鈥檛 have nearly as much peak grip as the day before. Because of this I wasn鈥檛 able to reset my record, however I was able to secure yet another podium finish coming in P2 right behind Eric Dewitt 鈥� another 91传媒 driver! That鈥檚 four podiums in a row this year and yet another 91传媒 front-row lockout! This puts us in a healthy championship position of P2 going into the next round at Lime Rock Park and I鈥檓 looking forward to continuing this momentum鈥︹��

鈥淐oming off of another strong showing at Gridlife Atlanta with a double podium in Streetmod for 91传媒, I was feeling all the momentum and all the confidence heading into my 10th Gridlife Midwest, the event that started it all for me! The energy at Gridlife Midwest is just unmatched in every way, from the massive crowds to the festival vibes throughout the weekend, it鈥檚 always been my favourite event making a podium here just that much more meaningful. This is Gridlife鈥檚 Indy 500.”

鈥淭his weekend proved to me more of a challenge that I could have ever expected though. Right at the first corner of the very first session, my ABS failed, making each braking zone incredibly challenging. While racing a car designed without ABS is relatively straightforward, racing one without it that鈥檚 designed to have it is nothing short of dangerous.”

鈥淏ecause of this, I was far off of the pace I needed to be fighting at the front, and potentially too far off to even put it in the top-5 for the podium sprint. I knew that if I wanted a podium, I needed to give it my absolute everything to at the very least make it into the sprint in order to give us the chance to fix our ABS issues, and I was able to do just that! Modulating my SR-21 pads and focusing on perfecting each and every braking zone, I got us into the sprint by just over a second! This gave us a full day to chase whatever electrical issue was causing our problems. Thankfully, Gridlife is a paddock full of the most helpful people, and after getting help from a couple mechanics on a Rush SR team, we found the blown fuse, and the ABS was back to working as it should!聽

鈥淐ome Sunday, I knew what I had to do, and now that I could actually lean into the full potential of my 91传媒 brakes, I knew I could give it my everything to go for my third podium in a row for the season! Although I missed out on second place due to fuel cuts from the car getting little too hot waiting in the pits from an incident on track, I was able to secure third, and with Eric Dewitt in first, this was yet another double podium for 91传媒! After such a challenging event, to be able to come home with a podium is something I鈥檒l forever be grateful for. Next up we鈥檝e got Watkins Glen, one of my favourite tracks and a place that the Mercedes really shines at! The last time we were there, not only did I set the Streetmod record, I was also able to get the overall record! I鈥檓 so hyped to see what we can do this time!鈥�

鈥�Going into this weekend, fresh off of a strong result at Gridlife Carolina coming in P2, I had so much confidence to give it my everything one of my all-time favourite tracks: Road Atlanta. To start out the weekend, I was met with some traffic during my flyers, so initially I wasn鈥檛 able to show what the true pace was. With this being a two-day, traditional time attack weekend with a limited schedule, the pressure was on to put together a perfect lap. On top of that, we had rain in the forecast for Sunday, potentially limiting us to only 3 dry sessions.”

鈥�Road Atlanta is a very high-speed track, with the car hitting speeds of over 165 mph, putting the braking performance on centre stage. My SR-21s performed at their best, giving me the confidence to carry as much speed as possible into even the heaviest of braking zones, without a single ounce of hesitation, just full confidence. Ending the day on Saturday, I still never got a truly clean lap catching traffic on a track that is incredibly difficult to pass at, but even with this, I was able to put us into P3 going into Sunday.”

鈥�Come Sunday morning, to my surprise, we had no rain! I knew exactly where I needed to find the time, and I did just that. Battling back and forth up until the last session, I ended the weekend in P2, with Eric Dewitt in P1, also on 91传媒s! Just like Carolina, this was an 91传媒 Streetmod聽1-2, and on top of that, in ClubTR, the entire podium was swept by 91传媒 equipped cars! I couldn鈥檛 be prouder to show represent 91传媒 in such a strong showing against such a strong field at one of the most difficult tracks in the world.鈥�

鈥淲e ended up scoring P2 at Gridlife Carolina, and Dewey got P1 so we鈥檙e looking at an 91传媒 front-row lockout!

鈥淭he first day, we battled the heat since temps were in the 90s, but on Sunday after putting in some sticker tires I was able to go 5 tenths faster than my previous personal best!”

鈥淭he SR-21s felt incredible all weekend and I really had the confidence to push into the braking zones and trust the ABS when needed.

鈥淣ext up is Atlanta and I really think we鈥檝e got a good shot at getting P1 there, it鈥檚 a track that really suits the Mercedes and personally a track that I鈥檓 very comfortable at.鈥�

鈥淭he best way to explain this year was 鈥榯axing鈥�. 聽We had our plate full with having to rebuild from the fire at the end of last year. With some Emtron, ECUMasters, and Turbosmart coming on board, we were able to totally re-do the engine management and wiring of the car. 聽It was a task to say the least and we haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of what is possible. 聽With the total revamp of the electronics, we were able to install a BMW-based Bosch MK60 ABS unit in the car.聽This REALLY helped utilise the SR-21 pads in ways we couldn’t confidently do before.

鈥淲ith development on the rest of the car, we really started to show our speed near the end of the season, even setting a new Street Modified overall record at Road America with a 2:16.3 (beating the overall record by over a second and the AWD record by over 5 seconds!)”

鈥淲e finished the season in 4th overall and a clear path to get back to the top. 聽Off-season development plans include:

聽– Changing over to 91传媒鈥檚 GD STI-based STI Apollo Brake Kit.
聽– New sequential transmission options (pending rules dispute currently underway).
聽– Cutting edge new approach for using electronic wastegates and blow-off valves to drastically help response by utilising our new electronics package.
聽– New aerodynamics development. Side skirts and diffuser to start.
聽– Cosmetic improvements and potentially a new livery.

鈥淎ll in all, exciting stuff. None of this would be possible without 91传媒鈥檚 support. 聽With the changes we have in mind and a MUCH better understanding of our new systems in the car we plan to challenge for the championship again and anything less than records and victories is coming up short鈥︹��

鈥淟aguna Seca is one of those tracks that even if you aren’t a total track nut, you know of it. It’s iconic. It’s been in basically every racing game since forever, hosted basically every iconic racing series ever, and hasn’t changed much in the past since 1957 when it opened. So when Gridlife announced it was going to not only be on the schedule for ’23 but it’s also going to be noise restriction free, the decision was made. Come hell or high water we ARE GOING TO BE THERE!

鈥淭hankfully, our plan panned out to tie up the #GRIDLIFE TRACK BATTLE – Time Attack StreetMod Championship before we got there, so we could go in with only one real goal: set a blistering lap time. Winning the event was secondary.

鈥淐ontrary to what some were propping me up for, my goal for this weekend going in was to go sub-1:32. That was by all accounts a VERY fast lap around this track. I based this time off what I learned from iRacing and watching videos I could find online. That felt like a more realistic goal, especially for a track that has historically given me issues in the sims/games I was messing with.

鈥淪o, when we went out for the practice session, never driving this track in real life, and busting out a 1:32.7 鈥榦ff the trailer鈥�, I was pretty stoked. iRacing practice paid off and years of basic track knowledge from Gran Turismo and Forza meant that there wasn’t much 鈥榞etting up to speed[ needed. The Corkscrew was wild the first couple of times, but the recent repave seemed to help with traction and walking the track the night before REALLY clued me into some of the issues I had had on the sim and how to avoid them.

鈥淭he car felt pretty decent but it was still having some bouncing issues in the rear we needed to work out and there was a LOT of time out there with just me driving better. Thankfully, we are on the west coast and a hero of mine is in attendance and down to help get this sorted. Mike Smallberries (Kojima) from MotoIQ.com lent a hand with getting the Fortune Auto two-ways playing ball the way we needed it to.

鈥淭he next practice session really worked out. I was pretty far up in the order, the drifters haven’t been out shredding yet, the sun came out to warm the surface a bit but it was still nice and cool. Honestly it was a perfect session. The suspension changes Mike suggested worked great and thanks to some data, some thinking, a bit of bravery, and a very much appreciated tip from Tom O’Gorman I went out and popped off a 1:31.1. Under my goal and we still had a LOT left.”

鈥淨1 was the last session of day 1. A few more small changes to the car and we were ready to rock. We went out and while we didn’t go faster (1:31.2) the car did show potential in some areas and gave us confidence in the morning we could really put something together though. What we DID find out is Subaru ABS REALLY hates the top of the hill just before the corkscrew. It totally freaked ABS out and I ended up making some inadvertent tire smoke. Still, the car felt good and we were well in the lead for qualifying.

鈥淨2 was going to be another prime session. The temps were cool and it was boost weather for sure. The car felt ok other than I was having an ABS issue. Usually a quick key on and off will get it done but she was fighting it. I decided I needed data. If I was going to have to run podium sprint without ABS at all, I needed to see what that felt like so I ran a lap with just braking as smooth as possible which… really didn’t work well unfortunately. On the cool-down lap I did another key cycle and my warning light finally went off and ABS was back so I decided to run one more. The car was MOVING through the first part of the lap. I was still being a bit cautious as I was worried about ABS but the car felt great. We were way up on time coming up to the corkscrew and was really hoping this was going to be the sub 1:30 which was now the new goal. Unfortunately coming up to the corkscrew the ABS threw a code again and turned off. I was still up on time though so I decided to finish the lap. Coming out of T9 going into T10 I unfortunately had a REALLY nasty miss shift. The car felt like it was fine and I needed to do a cool-down lap anyway so since again I decided to finish the lap. All my time went away on T11 since I was scared of the ABS unfortunately.

鈥淎s I finished that lap I went through the Start/Finish line and heard a pretty good sized bang under the hood. Never good. I knew our day was done. Whatever happened during the miss shift finally let go is the theory. I just wanted to get off the track ASAP to keep oil off. I had no idea I was on fire until I slowed down. Engine oil from a hole in your block ignites pretty fast on a red-hot header. It’s really that simple.

鈥淭he car had a pretty nasty engine fire. The Laguna crew got there pretty quick but I don’t think they realized the extent of the situation as they pulled up behind me. I was out of the car so they knew I was ok so I think that was a major part of the lack of urgency on their part in the beginning. After they saw what was up they hurried and put it out before it got any worse which could have happened REALLY quick if it had went on much longer. For those wondering also, I DO have a fire suppression system in the car. It unfortunately didn’t spray quite where the fire was in the engine bay. Something we will fix in the off season.

鈥淲e got the car back into the pits to assess the situation. Honestly I was so mad at myself that I basically went and hid for a while. Thankfully Dylan and Ian had their heads on straight and cleaned up the engine bay and assessed the damage which honestly…was minor for how bad it looked. I think I’ve done more damage in the Gingerman pits than I did during this. The wiring is cooked on that side. The hood got pretty cooked too. I lost a Professional Awesome vent on the fender and some of the gaskets and timing covers got a bit melty but for the most part, that’s it. We were already planning an overhaul of the wiring, I was thinking about another hood, and the engine was going to get a refresh anyway. It sucks but honestly that engine was great to us and it died totally due to my actions. I just wish we could have taken it apart still totally intact for the data.

鈥淪ince we were out, it was pretty wide open to who was going to win Street Mod. When the dust settled in the end and we got to see our boy Kal Fortner on the top step, securing his first win it was still the best. Carrying him to the podium was great and if we can’t win it, it’s awesome to see someone/a team who’s been trying like hell the same way we have get a W, especially at such an iconic track.

鈥淪o we end the most insane season ever there. 2023 netted the IAG Performance Pirate Crew 1 Championship. 5 wins, and including this one, 5 records! It wasn’t easy by any stretch on the imagination.鈥�

Little did the 91传媒 USA team know how hard this car actually was on brakes until we were able to witness it first-hand at Laguna Seca for the Gridlife 2023 season finale. All cooling was blocked off for the brakes as the excessive cooling was deemed the culprit for cracking rotors, but this meant caliper skin temperatures were hitting around 400掳F!

For reference, a more suitable operating temperature for brake systems is nearly 25% cooler as even the caliper seals will start to degrade. This means the pads are also more than likely seeing some extreme conditions, which is perfect for putting SR-21 to the test. Ultimately, Peter did a fantastic job and took home a 2^nd-place finish in his class聽鈥� just hundredths behind the leader.

Read his experience in his own words below:

鈥淚’ve used a plethora of brake pads for track use over the years. Ranging from Hawk, PFC, G-LOC, and more. As my weekend enthusiast track car which was a stock BRZ, escalated into a competitive weapon over the years, which is now a K-swapped BRZ with aero and all the goodies, I needed brake pads that could give me the confidence to brake late and push the boundaries. I’ve been to a handful of tracks, Mid-Ohio, Laguna Seca, Road America, Gingerman Raceway, and more that have high demanding braking zones that test the pads from going over 125mph+ to as low as 50mph to make a tight turn. Those who have been to the above tracks know. I can confidently say, the SR-21 brake pads have been by far the best brake pads I have ever used. The initial bite is greater than a Hawk, but with an even better modulation than a PFC for trail braking. I’m excited to continue to run these pads as the characteristics of the SR21 can’t be beat!鈥�

• Thanks to for the track-side images.