Race report VRG at Watkins Glen

[d15b7]

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!

[CarlB]

Great video thanks for sharing! 

[Dwight]

Great video.  I was there as a spectator with the Lotus Owners of New York with my Caterham.  I also left early on Sunday because of the inclement weather.

[Rodnok]

Great drive, beautiful 7 and awesome video quality - made my day as I await the completion of my own seven. Thank you

[BirkinBernie]

In the mid-1990's I autocrossed an F-Prepared RX-7 that belonged to a buddy of mine.  It had a pro-built motor and the torque output of that thing was just awesome - especially given its size.  I've often thought of that as the ultimate Se7en powerplant - with the exception of the exhaust temp and exhaust noise.  Both are over the top.....

 

Great video - thanks for sharing.  Looks like great fun!

Edited September 26, 2022 by BirkinBernie

[yellowss7]

Todd is almost never the biggest horsepower car out there. He often races up in class just to challenge himself.   No one, no one can out brake Todd.  And he’s a good guy too.  Great Drive Todd,  can’t wait til you find that 23B of your Dreams.  
 

Tom. 

[d15b7]

3 hours ago, Dwight said:

Great video.  I was there as a spectator with the Lotus Owners of New York with my Caterham.  I also left early on Sunday because of the inclement weather.

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)

[d15b7]

2 hours ago, yellowss7 said:

Todd is almost never the biggest horsepower car out there. He often races up in class just to challenge himself.   No one, no one can out brake Todd.  And he’s a good guy too.  Great Drive Todd,  can’t wait til you find that 23B of your Dreams.  
 

Tom. 

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!!

[d15b7]

5 hours ago, CarlB said:

Great video thanks for sharing! 

You’re very welcome!  

[d15b7]

3 hours ago, Rodnok said:

Great drive, beautiful 7 and awesome video quality - made my day as I await the completion of my own seven. Thank you

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!)

[d15b7]

3 hours ago, BirkinBernie said:

In the mid-1990's I autocrossed an F-Prepared RX-7 that belonged to a buddy of mine.  It had a pro-built motor and the torque output of that thing was just awesome - especially given its size.  I've often thought of that as the ultimate Se7en powerplant - with the exception of the exhaust temp and exhaust noise.  Both are over the top.....

 

Great video - thanks for sharing.  Looks like great fun!

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

[Christopher smith]

For sure the Glen is the best! From 1961, first as a spectator and later as a competitor (FP SCCA), it was a blast. Happy they moved that Armco back away from the edge in a few critical places.

[Dwight]

Christopher, You’ve got me beat by one year, and I too competed at the Glen but in Formula Vee.  Attached is my pass to the the U.S. Grand Prix—$5 for entry and camping.

[TMRL7]

"Ticket must be worn at all times".  That is a big commitment since 1963.    

[Christopher smith]

The one problem I had as a spectator to the Glen was the strict exclusion of us from the paddock area for the pro events. At Bridgehampton we could jump the fence right by the bridge. Had a nice tech talk with Bruce McLaren, met Pedro Rodrigues and Stirling Moss. Also helped load the team 250 GTO cars onto the transporter--- the good old days!

[TheDingo8MyBaby]

Being vintage, I assume your car is running drum brakes? Are they 8"/9" Ford? The braking is impressive compared to my S2. 

[d15b7]

On 10/13/2022 at 2:41 PM, TheDingo8MyBaby said:

Being vintage, I assume your car is running drum brakes? Are they 8"/9" Ford? The braking is impressive compared to my S2. 

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.  

[Christopher smith]

Great info! I guess the various organizations have very different rules. I recall a vintage race at NJMP a few years back where one of the 7s had adapted big finned Datsun drums on the front since disc brakes were not allowed. I think it was a series 1 . On my 1959 series 1  ( #475) I have Triumph GT6 discs up front and the regular small drums in the back on my Austin A40 solid axle that is apparently the same as a Nash Metropolitan/ AH Sprite type. The Tilton dual master cylinder with bias bar adjustment makes it work great. I used to run F Production SCCA in a Sunbeam Alpine a long time ago and was impressed with the 7s back then that ran in F with 948 engines and in D with the 1340 and 1500 Cosworths. SCCA got a bit crazy later and moved the super 7s into C and then B since they made the old Corvettes look bad in the corners anyway. Then back to D I think, and now it looks even crazier since some Sprites are beating Super 7s sometime, somehow. Anyway, so I got one as a basket case in the UK but then got too old to race by the time I collected all the parts and time to work on it. But it is great fun to drive even if I am 14 years older than the car. If anyone needs old parts I have tiny front drums and I have a TR10 rear casing that is intact but no Lotus attachment brackets.