Sanoma Historic Motorsport Festival

[jimrankin]

I spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the event and still didn't really get to see every car there as well as I would have liked. Totally open paddock and everyone is happy to talk shop about their cars. It's always a great event to see a lot of vintage Lotus cars, especially the open wheel race cars from the 60's/70's.

Quite a few 7's and a couple of Elans in this group. If this works https://vimeo.com/169609187

Several Lotus 11's and other closed Lotus cars represented in other groups.

[Kitcat]

Nice to see so many 7's at the front of the pack. Nice to see so many still racing! They can be pretty effective track weapons. I know a member who still races his original 7 and who laps Mid-Ohio about 10'' faster a lap than I do in my modern day version. And it is not all driver (tho maybe mostly) as he hiits 135 mph at fastest part of the track, where I hit maybe 117 mph.

[jimrankin]

I just noticed I spelled Sonoma "Sanoma", got to stop drinking in the daytime! LOL.

[jimrankin]

That group finished with 4 out of the 5 first place finishers being Lotus cars, three 7's and one Elan. I think one of the specialty cars came in fourth. There were 15 separate run groups encompassing a really wide range of cars. This event is as much a great car show and enthusiast gathering as it is a race, although quite a few of the entrants take the racing VERY seriously.

[Shoe String Racing]

wish I had known about it, Ida been there.

[jimrankin]

The event has been going on for over 30 years, not sure when the first one was but I've been to about 5 years of them and it's always a real treat. About 99% as good car wise as going to Monterey and without the traffic, cost and all too many rich "collectors" who want the rear wheels up on dolly's so they don't get another 1/4 mile on the odometer of a car that never sees the street, much less a race track.

No "Garage Queens" here, just real live car fanatics who aren't afraid to "run what ya' brung". You have to have balls the size of Texas to toss a 1911 8 liter National into turn one, with both the driver and ride along mechanic in period dress and using body English sitting 5' up on a three ton car LOL.

And then in the next race watch a Lotus 15 trying to make an outside pass on a Lotus 11 at turn #2 with a Lotus 17 stuck to his rear looking to sneak through with him.