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You’re welcome!

Hey fellas! I just got back last evening and boy am I beat up (racing a Seven is a damn workout haha! My neck / shoulders / back and legs are stifffff!). I’ve got some fun in car vids and I’ll put Sunday’s Group 5 Donohue Cup video down below for y’all to watch (it’s a pretty good one with no stoppages or full course yellows. All the other races I was in during the weekend had long yellows or blacks and we even had a Red flag (I was almost involved in that one! 😱). Group 5 had a wide spread of cars and speeds. The top 10 of us were all in Lotuses or Ginettas and there was a real fast Formula Jr. my car was (as usual!) running really really well. I’ve owned this old girl for over 30 yrs now and have raced her for over 25! And she’s honestly the most reliable racecar I’ve ever owned. So apparently that L O T U S acronym doesn’t apply to my girl! When you are watching, remember my car has a xflow in it that is very mild in terms of the rest of the guys. Mine still has the cast crankshaft (I shift at 6500; in a pinch I’ll take her to 7000 but I try not to do that often). The cam is on the mildish side, and my compression isnt through the roof. She idles smooth and cool at 1000 rpm forever (which honestly is really nice when waiting on grid or in a red flag!). You’ll see the other Sevens (one is a full race killer xflow the other is a full race Twin Cam) do a number on me at the start and on the straights but me and my girl get most of that back in other spots 😉. Enjoy the vid more to come! oh and thanks so much to Carle! He came down (100 miles!) in his amazing time capsule Twin Cam Seven - it is AWESOME in person!! Todd

good morning Jimmy! Unfortunately, I don’t have any incar vid of RA; I’ve been there twice (it’s an amazing track!!!) but both times was not in my Seven, and thus no video 😞

Thank you Frankie! It’s a crucial skill that I preach (and teach!), especially with such a quick rack and small wheel such as a Seven is equipped with 👍

thanks Croc! I appreciate the kind words! Yes, I have been racing my Super Seven (with the Ford crossflow 1600 in it; old school haha!) for many many years (first race I believe in it was 1999 at Summit Point). I have been doing pro coaching work for 15+ years now (various cars but many of the PCA guys from Riesentoter group have used me in the past to up their game and move on to Club racing etc). I do the 'old school' type coaching; by that I mean that I prefer to ride right seat with all my clients, so that I can feel the car movements, and watch their hands and feet and eyes while we go around the track. And then work on the low hanging fruit first (the biggest deficiencies which cause the biggest dent in laptimes, and as we fix things, gradually move on to the smaller issues). That being said, Super Sevens are way different than your average sports car (say, a late model Corvette, or 911, or BMW M product, or even a Miata or a Civic Type R), so many coaches/instructors might not get or understand the nuances of an ULTRA lightweight lower power no power steering no power brake, zero ABS or traction control extremely back-to-basics race car (cause that is what a Super Seven is; it's a racecar deep down in it's DNA, even if you are driving it on the street). I would be thrilled to help you out, Greg -- please feel free to call me or DM me or reach out to me in any way you like; even if you don't hire me, I'm a car guy and LOVE to talk cars haha! I've probably got more track hours behind the wheel of a Super Seven than most other drivers/racers and I get it around pretty well. The tracks I have the most time on are on the East Coast but I have run out west and down south a time or two, too. Watkins Glen is probably my favorite track of all time, with Summit Point and VIR close seconds and thirds. I drive frequently at NJMP, and do Limerock and Mid Ohio too, plus CMP and Road Atlanta and even Sebring once. so ya, I like tracks! my Super Seven is not quite as 'full race' as some of the other driver's cars (mainly cause I am a cheapskate and prefer a 'very hot street' motor which will live 8-10 yrs between rebuilds to a 'full race very high compression' race motor which needs refresh every year or two. check out this video from last month up at Watkins Glen at the VRG Vintage races. some of the fastest guys in Mid Bore were running in this heat, and I gave them everything I had and every trick in the book I knew. Sometimes the race is better and more fun when you DON'T win (I don't say that often but this was a great race weekend! Sunday's race was more of the same, if you want to see it click the link and you'll get an idea what these cars can do when piloted properly (Chris Diminco is driving the lead car with a full house full race 1500 Cosworth. the other guy Tom Upshur has a Lotus Twin Cam in his. mine is a x-flow 1600 bored out to 1660 with a factory cast crank and moderate compression. I shift at 6500 typically; I occasionally will go to 7000 if it is a 'war emergency', but cracking the crankshaft becomes an issue so I try to behave. haha!): Todd Reid ReidSpeed, Inc. 410-441-oh-two-oh-one cell

Great results, and a fun write up; thanks!! just my opinion (so take with grain of salt!) but I think you’re starting your tires too low. I run the older Toyo 888 tires and start them at 20 psi cold and come off the track at 25-26 hot. They come in quickly and are pretty stable. This set is ancient (they hardly wear at all on such a light car; mine are still half tread after 7 yrs of racing!). I plan on finally ordering a new set and want to try the Nankang AR-1 this time and see how they are. PS the Ginetta G12 is way WAY above our cars in terms of performance. The G4 is our direct competitor. Don’t feel bad that that G12 ran away and hid from you!!

Hey Dingo! mine has the little solid non vented disks all around (it’s a ‘92 Caterham with a Ford xflow). There were four Super Sevens running in that race weekend and I know for certain that at least 3 of them had four wheel disks (the fourth guy I don’t know personally; his had a twin cam engine in it but I’m not certain about his brakes). I’ve been racing a long time (first race was in 1999; since then I’ve owned cars and raced with SCCA and NASA (and of course VRG) in many different cars. Most were my cars and some were other owners cars. One of the things I’ve been told often is that ‘I’m very good under braking’. I spent a LOT of time with a brake biasing valve dialing in the proper balance in my car. And with my Seven, I actually dialed BACK the rear brake pressure significantly (it initially had way too much rear braking pressure when I bought it). I also use a less aggressive pad compound than lots of the other drivers (I prefer Hawk Black compound all the way around on my Seven). And I run a slightly stiffer front spring combination (to help with dive). And I have developed the technique of ‘initial gentle squeeze for about 1/2 second on the pedal to stabilize the front end and get it set, then hard quick squeeze and hold to do the majority of the braking, then quick but gentle release and bend into the corner’. With it thusly properly set up, it’s nearly impossible to match the braking of my car with me behind the wheel. As in, no one has contested me side by side in recent memory (the last 15 yrs at least) into a corner and successfully outbraked me. In fact, typically I can reach out from 3+ car lengths behind and outbrake deep into the corner and take it away from them. The Seven is incredibly confidence inspiring under braking, and I’d go so far as to say it’s its strongest suit during a race.

That RX3 blew my mind in the straights. I never knew that a naturally aspirated rotary could pull like that. And thanks!

You’re very welcome! Just wait as soon you’ll be behind the wheel and piloting yours around! (and yes, it does definitely feel very ‘cockpit like’ driving a Seven!)

You’re very welcome!

Hey Tom! Thanks so much for the kind words! ☺️ The Seven makes those late braking maneuvers a piece of cake. I almost feel sorry for those 230+ hp competitors. Almost. 😂 and I’m keeping my eye out for one!!

Hi Dwight! That’s a beautiful Seven! You should have come over to talk (I was paddocked over by the Bog with all the other Lotis)

hey fellas! I just got back from the Glen with VRG. my Super Seven ran fantastic all weekend (two Group 2 races on fri, two Group 2 races on sat, and an All Comers race sat afternoon). Sunday was a complete washout (usually I’ll race in the rain, but it was cold windy and rainy on Sunday, and out of the total of 55 cars in Group 2, only three cars went out, so I packed up and left before lunch on Sunday. The Seven and I went undefeated, and I set a personal best of 2:14.6 on the second Group 2 race on Saturday. I’ve got in-car vids on most of the races, but I’d say the most exciting to watch is this one, which is the All Comers race on sat afternoon. It was a first come first served lineup; no gridding by laptimes. I got up there and was gridded in 12th spot. The start for this All Comers race was to be single file (all the other races were the standard side by side style, gridded by qualifying times). Here it is (race ended a few laps early due to BMW 2002 crashing in T9): https://1drv.ms/v/s!AmUHWCpbUJmAxBwXxGNVmXHu3kkK that RX3 had a crazy strong rotary motor in it! My Super Seven has a legit healthy 175 hp crossflow in it, and I couldn’t believe how hard the RX3 would pull away on the straights! 😱 enjoy!

haha ya that guy really knew how to wheel a car down the straightaway!!! I asked around and it was most likely a 2.8 (not a 2.4) and when they are built with the right parts 300 hp at the flywheel isn't too difficult to have. and a 2000-2100 lb 240z is very doable. it could move that's for sure!

oh and Croc? your CSL racecar would have fit in nicely in Group 3 with me! these guys were all running Group 3: