Croc

Looking good! You have the sound all sorted out now and the editing looks excellent. It looked like you had the track to yourself - it was empty. Have you identified which will be your home track in QLD when you make the move?

Hopefully you have sought blessing from the rain gods after our bad luck at our last two attempts. Here is to third time lucky!

This bone headed move by UF does make sense for Florida. All they need in that state are people who can run aged care facilities or theme parks. They dont even need space cadets any more! (Running for cover now! )

I recommend Aleve over Advil! I plan to be at Thunderbolt the same weekend to get my four days straight track fix.

You can also call Danielle at NJMP on 856-327-7202 and she will oragnize reservations. I am registered for the event and will be staying at the track in one of the pit suites. I also have a garage reserved underneath which will take about 4 sevens.

I like the idea of justice being served. But the police are definitely not the best in the US - this is just an example why there are so many instances of poor judgment. And we will not go into the worst state DMV....

Oh I feel that pain! You can just hear the anguish and desperation in his voice. Life is not fair at times.

Did you take any photos of the doctor's buns?

Michael - Impressive achievement to get that many sevens together. I am sorry I will not be in the country for this event but I am sure that you will have a few drinks for me in the evening Make sure someone gets some good video!

Hi Morgan - Try Roger Krause over on your side of the continent. They had some standard 15 inch wheel tires in stock (my fronts) so I got 2 CR500s from there. I am told they have the best stock in the US of anyone. I picked up the rears from ringing Avon Racing UK directly and letting rip in a few phone calls up and down the hierarchy. They have stock that they are rationing to make sure the various racing series have rubber. I was told by one Avon UK person the moulds for certain sizes of CR500 was broken recently and they have to remake a mould hence the supply issue. I was also told by another Avon UK person that CR500s will be phased out later this year for a new Avon replacement product. I am not sure I believe that but I do believe Avon are pretty piss poor in managing their business supply chain :bs: It is a real pity as I really do like the CR500 as a tire for the seven.

I would start with Karl's excellent video showing the track layout and the right lines http://usa7s.com/vb/showpost.php?p=56751&postcount=29 The second thing I recommend is that there are a LOT of walls at Watkins Glen and not a lot of run off area if you goof up So drive conservatively!

Thanks for posting the videos Michael! It is always good to see that I am not the only one who deals with irrational slower cars! What engine/transmission has Folis got in his car? It seemed to boogie along pretty quickly.

Hmmm.....I have video of you in the seven going through there at about 30mph. Same session that you stopped in the middle of the track to check out a flaggie waving at you. Poor quality driving must be a Porsche driver characteristic? How does the ego withstand being inferior to a Miata driver? :jester:

Jim - NJMP Drivers Club makes guests start in the Novice sessions which are designed for those gentlemen who have just bought the Ferrari/Porsche/Maserati/Viagra of their dreams to have a very safe way of getting out of track. It also covers the younger male who with a wallet bigger than his dick size/IQ needs the mature influence of a pace car to slow him down. So the format is one of stay behind the pace car and no passing. As the sessions go on throughout the day the pace car ups tempo and by the end of the day is doing pretty quick laps. It is a great idea for those who are brand new to tracking and concerned about their new automotive babe. If you have track experience you can submit a resume 1 week in advance and are precleared into a passing group. Unfortunately Cyberbug signed up on the day and was ineligible to get into the passing group. Despite being overqualified for this type of event Cyberbug demonstrated some excellent street smarts and rigged the game in his favor by tucking in tight behind the pace car. Pace car then thinks he needs to go faster and the two then take off and leave the other cars for dead. I saw them 1/4 of a track ahead of the other group at one point :rofl: Pace car driver is head of PCA instruction and is a superb driver to follow around NJMP. Has much better lines than Kitcat Porsche meltdown was epic - definitely caused some polarized opinions in the bar later than night!

Oh how I wish that were true. I do recall a 160mph crash 20 years ago into a earth embankment and have the metal plates, rods, screws, scars and now arthritis to prove it. Karl - you picked tires to run into, much better than my choice!

Tom - I am flattered you think I am a good looking stud like Karl (Blubarisax) but I have to admit he had the off and not me.

THe Octopus or Jersey Devil is a real problem. I have tried the wide line for a slingshot out and I have tried my inside run line. The higher horsepower cars take the wide line as they can try to put the power down with a wider radius corner. The Elise/Exige/Miata brigade all believe in the inside lines. Not convinced it works really well either way also although the lap timer shows me quicker in that segment if I use the inside line - so I use the inside line.

That is about as much good news as you can extract from this situation.

I had the car out on track on Saturday at NJMP. I gave a work colleague an experience as a passenger on track. He is a big boy - bigger than me! So there was 500 pound of driver and passenger loaded up in a 1300 pound car. Luckily my Ford Ranger engine...errrrr....Cosworth 2.3 Duratec has plenty of torque to keep up. Still cost me 15 mph in top speed on the front straight and maybe 10mph on the back straight. Track was cold - temps in the 40s and the grip was not great as you can see I run wide of the apex twice. I can also see I fell into bad habits - my steering hands are acting like I am in a road racing car instead of a Seven. I was getting pad knock-off and so was pumping brakes well before the corner to make sure I could stop. I would normally use braking marker 3 but on the day I was using marker 5 plus the gears to slow me down to give me some margin for a problem. Camera was a Go Pro HD 2 with a little powered ATR Technica mic mounted in the boot under the tonneau. I also was experimenting with a polarising filter on the camera to get better colors. It is in full 1080 HD on Youtube if you want to watch the quality. The sound is the best I have ever had on a track day yet - so turn up that volume. Data came from the Racechrono and only begins (and stops at the start finish line where there was a full lap.

Lime Rock is an historic circuit built for another age. It has a lovely layout but it have little run off areas, quite bumpy and is never forgiving of mistakes. Boxologist of this wise forum once cautioned me about driving there and after checking it out in an Infiniti sedan I decided I would keep away as I do not trust myself that much. At the point where Karl decided to exit stage right, the track actually grades across down left to right. That would have been a factor as the cars get light over the hump the driver side rear would have more traction than the passenger side rear. Combine with cold fronts and the engine coming on cam at that point of the hump sadly made for a bad mix that caught Karl out. Given the speed of how it happened I doubt many people on this forum could have caught and saved the car once it snapped right. I dont believe I could have. Karl - if you need a body to help out let me know? I am a useless mechanic but I do know how to dispense beer, margaritas, and other useful drinks in a situation like this.

Oh I would not worry about being a bonehead - I am just thankful that my crashes were done in an era when there was no go pro to memorialize the many cock-ups I displayed in a vehicle. Lots of good drivers have gone before you.

Oh shit Karl! My stomach just dropped through the floor seeing that picture of your car. The good thing is that tires are softer than jersey barriers or armco or even earth embankments. I suspect you will be a little sore today. While Lime Rock is a lovely circuit it does have a lot less run off if you have a problem. If it is any consolation, even the best drivers have a set back with an accident now and then. I certainly "redecorated" my cars when I was in my teens/20s and still racing. The best thing is the chassis seems undamaged - a good strip down hopefully confirms that. She can be rebuilt better than new (Bionic Seven?).

I can correct this misimpression. I have the leather loungers in my car. I also have the six point belts and use them on track. They are designed by Caterham to come out over the top of the seat base (between the backrest and the rear of the seat base). It then does up tightly without the lower seat cushion being part of the belt system. I agree that if you are tracking go for the full six point harness as anything else is not as safe. I used the SV sized Tillet (B2?) on a track day last year and like it for locating me in the car on the track but I hated it for long distances. The leather loungers are much nicer for touring. There is also new Caterham GT sports seat which looks like a new compromise between the old leather seat and Tillets. Have not tried them myself. http://www.caterhamparts.co.uk/img/p/4815-5117-large.jpg Blubarisax has a set of the SV sized Tillets to try out in his car. They are bigger than the standard S3 sized seats but will give you a taste of whether they are right for you.

I think you will like the range of cars - I visited that place 3 years ago and was doing well until I did the math on how expensive the cars are. Amazingly all cars are 1 owner, previously a little lady shiekh, low mileage, dust abrasion wear on the paintwork, and very little maintenance.

But I did not let him drive the car on the track! :rofl: I have to say it was just gorgeous sunshine yesterday and I have a bright red face to prove it. Cyberbug provided great entertainment value himself yesterday. Running in the no passing group behind the pace car, at one point he and the pace car were a quarter of the track and out of sight of the remaining cars who could not keep up. Later in the classroom there was a memorable meltdown from a 911 GT2 driver who could not handle that he could not keep up with Cyberbug's Miata. Cue the hissy fit/meltdown/tears/flouncing out of the room from the 911 driver. That became the talk of the pits at happy hour starting 5.30pm - Porsche drivers lined up against everyone else! :D:D Sadly I will probably only get 3 sessions in today before I hit the wear bars on the tires. Then it is the 2 hour drive home up I-95.