EngineBuilder Magazine Interview: Janine Shoffner

Dedicated to power & performance, Engine Builder Magazine has the content for you, whether you're a professional, a manufacturer, or enthusiast!

In the interview featuring women in Motorosport, Janine speaks about how her passion for road racing and automobiles over the last decade has lead her to co-founding the J2-Racing team and driving some of the most exciting circuits in Europe!

You can read the interview here!

https://www.enginebuildermag.com/2022/07/women-in-motorsports-janine-shoffner/


YourDataDriven Podcast: Janine Shoffner

Your Data Driven Podcast is a motorsports show for club racers. Engineer Samir Abid talks to motorsports Pros on your behalf so you can learn, be inspired and improve your racing performance.

In the interview Janine speaks about how she started getting into an adrenaline filled lifestyle, from motorcycles to skydiving, flying and now the GT Open racing championship all through Europe!

You can listen on all major podcast providers here!

https://www.yourdatadriven.com/ep43-janine-shoffner-on-learning-to-race/


J2Racing - NLS Race 8 - ALL ON HER LONESOME

There were some important firsts in Race 8 for Janine Shoffner;
- Her first time starting a race in a GT3 class car
- Her first time racing the NLS all alone
- The first time any woman has ever raced a complete NLS race in a GT3 class class, ever!

This race was something very exciting as Janine did shakedown, qualification and the whole NLS race all by herself. And boy did she hold her own. At the end of the race she was P2 in class, only 7 seconds behind the team of drivers in the SP9 AM class P1 winners (including professional drivers!).

Janine says that this was some super close, very exciting racing and was definitely the most exciting and fun race of the year for both her and the Getspeed team.

Super fun, but Janine says she will not being doing it again, as it was a very long, draining day and she will need some time to recover!

Congratulations Janine on a great race!


J2Racing - NLS Race 7

Back to the Eifel in September for race 7 of the NLS series, and the J2 team didn't disappoint.

Both Moritz and Janine did some of their best driving ever, with Moritz qualifying for the start of the race in P3, beating out the qualifying time from Manthey's Kevin Estre! Janine also put in one of her personal best times during quali!

The race was forecast for rain, but luckily the weather was perfect - not much more could be asked for. The race itself was a bit messy - a lot of code 60 and yellow flags, meaning it was hard for all teams to get into rhythm, but in the end it's the results that count, and another SP9 AM class win goes under the belt of a so far very successful season.


Jalopnik Article: Janine Shoffner

Featured recently on the Jalopnik.com website, Janine was interviewed about her and the teams' 2021 season, which looks to be heading towards a SP9 AM class championship.

In the interview Janine devolves a bit about her past adrenaline-junkie filled experiences and how she came to start racing in the first place!

A great article and well worth the read!

You can read the article at this link!


J2Racing - NLS Race 5+6 DOUBLE RACE, DOUBLE WIN!

Back to back races have both a good side and a bad side - if all goes well it's a great way to get a lot of championship points in one go.

However, the flip side is, if anything is wrong or something happens to the car, there is very little time in between the races to get it sorted. Or worse still, a DNF in race one can be a double blow if you can't be ready for race two.

Luckily, this wasn't a concern for the J2-Racing team on races 5 and 6 of the NLS 2021 season. Taking it very easy to keep things in the best shape possible, both Janine and Moritz drove well on both days, with Race 5 being a P8 overall and P1 in class (and had they been competing in the next class up, would have scored a P3).

Race 6 was of course a bit harder both physically and mentally, with a lot of the energy being spent on the first day with very little time to recover. However, another P1 in class SP9-AM and P12 overall.


J2Racing - NLS Race 4 THREE IN A ROW!

The Nürburgring put on a show - the sun was shining, the Eifel looking green and perfect for racing! NLS Race 4 started well with the team qualifying in P7 overall, thanks to some great driving by Moritz and a 7:56.202 time.

He also stayed competitive in the race itself, really keeping in with the Professional teams! Janine did some excellent driving keeping position and even though there were a few struggles with some tire blistering, the team finished up with their third consecutive win - P1 in class SP9 AM and over 6 minutes ahead of P2.

The next race coming up is an unusual one - a back-to-back double header on the 10th and 11th of July, which promises to be a really interesting watch!


J2Racing - NÜRBURGRING 24H RACE

The biggest event for the Nürburgring is by far and away the 24 hour race. Here's a recap and what's been going on so far!

Thursday 3. June 2021
All the team members have put in their requisite laps. A miscommunication with the tyres meant Janine wasn't able to put down some proper laps, but this is what the qualifications run up is for! Weather was slightly damp - not enough for full wet tyres. As always the track had mixed traction conditions throughout the different parts of the track.

Friday 4. June 2021
This was Moritz' day! He put down a few good laps in Quali 3, but the real magic happened during top qualifying round 2. The heavens had opened up and the track was wet. Thunder, lightening and standing water everywhere. Even amongst these conditions, Moritz brought the team up to P7 overall (P2 in class) with a qualifying time of 10:11.786. This was an amazing effort and has the team very excited for the race tomorrow.

Saturday 5. June 2021
Day of the race! As the cars lined up on the main straight, the weather looked like it was going to hold. Dry all around, and most cars went with slicks or cut slicks. But, the Nürburgring being what it is, the heavens opened up and chaos ensued. Especially around Aremberg (reminiscent of the 2016 N24h race) but this time standing water instead of hail. Moritz got boxed in at the start unfortunately dropping back a few places, and conditions continued to be tricky for Markus in the next stint, even with the change to wets. By the time Maxime got behind the wheel, a dry line was forming and it was possible to get back on to cut slicks again. Janine didn't have much luck either, with multiple code 60's on the circuit, making it impossible to find a rhythm and to keep the heat in the tyres. As night fell, the team were in the low P20's. At 22:35 the Eifel weather struck another blow. Fog set in and made visibility impossible for the race to continue. This felt like another throwback to the 2020 race, but this time for fog, not for rain! Conditions stayed the same throughout the night.

Sunday 6. June 2021
The morning doesn't bring any more joy, both the 6am and 7am weather check not bringing any different news. But at 9:00, action is slowly starting again! Cars were getting ready and lining up, starting from 9:30 with the race re-start scheduled for 10:40 which came and went, with the visibility still not improving. A little more delay, but at 11:40 things started up again! As of the race restart, the team sat in P4 in class, P23 overall. Class P1 & P2 were one lap ahead, so the battle for P3 was the goal. The overall strategy switched from a 24h endurance race to more of a sprint race. Moritz was in behind the wheel and doing his best to bring the best possible result. The overall strategy had to change since the race restart was pushed back further and further. As the race went on, the field thinned out a bit with a few incidents. The big battle for the team was with the WMT Ferrari for P3 in class. By the end of Moritz' last stint there was about 20 seconds difference, but they Ferrari just closed up the gap and proved too fast, taking P3 in the last few laps of the race. Maxime closed out the race with a great driving effort. Overall position for the 2021 Nürburgring 24h race was P4 in class SP9 PRO-AM, and P14 overall.


John Shoffner to Pilot Axiom Space's Ax-2 Mission to the ISS

Some of you may have noticed that John has been "conspicuously" absent from the drivers' seat this season! Don't worry, Racing still remains a big passion of his, and he will be back in the many future racing seasons to come! However, for this year and next, John has his sights set on piloting something that is event more "out of this world".

John will server as mission pilot for Axiom Space's Ax-2 with record-holding astronaut Peggy Whitson as Commander on a mission to the International Space Station that will enable new private-industry research in space.

But his intensive space training regiment has unfortunately left very little time for him in his more earth-bound race car.

The mission flight is scheduled for 2022 and part of John's training as mission pilot means he not only has to be familiar with the specialised spacecraft operations, but also all faculties of life aboard the ISS, including safety and regulations of every different international part of the station.

He is also currently training as back up mission pilot for the Ax-1 mission set for early 2022.

For more info read the official press release on the Axiom Space website here!


J2Racing - N24H QUALIFICATIONS RACE

Preparation is key - and what bigger race to prepare for than the Nürburgring 24h? The qualifications race held this weekend was a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs - more so than the usual Nordschleife!

After Qualification round 1 on Saturday evening, and then round 2 on Sunday morning, the team were riding comfortably at P27, allowing them to participate in the top 30 qualifying round. With some particularly great driving from Moritz the team clawed their way up through a tough crowd to a starting position of 23rd for the main Qualifications race.

The 6 hour Qualifications race was a tough fight - the car setup meant the team was fighting understeer all day, meaning pace wasn't quite at the level the drivers wanted. However, at the end of the race they had maintained their P23 overall and a position of 3rd in class. Class P1 was taken by an experienced team that also came in P8 overall - going to show the true level of driver out there this year!

We've got our work cut out for us, but with some adjustments to some settings the team will be back up to pace and ready for the N24h race on the 3rd of June. Thanks for your support!