Croc Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 (edited) Following on from Tom's post at http://www.usa7s.com/vb/showthread.php?t=7047&page=2 It was a very good weekend. Pretty sore still this morning. Karl and I had a shocker of a trip back. On Rt 42 we saw the flashing signs saying 75 min delay between exits 5 and 7 on the turnpike. Karl did the smart thing and run I-295 up as far as you can go before we came onto the turnpike at exit 6. Then it was another 20 odd miles of bumper to bumper. Then luckily I followed Karl onto the truck lanes when the turnpike divided as the car side went bumper to bumper from Garden State Parkway to Newark airport. All in a 2 hour trip took 4 hours. I had a blast on the track. After really hammering around with Mike on Saturday at Thunderbolt and the first session on Sunday at Lightning, I decided to dial it back because I just was being a risk to myself. So Tom became my sparring partner although Karl joined the party in the last session when we found him (or he found us). It is far more fun to run with a bunch of sevens around than just being on the track by yourself. And on Sunday the track was empty enough that I had most of a session by myself. Mike wins the Sevens Award for Gardening - 2 offs at Thunderbolt, one of then on the cool down lap with a bent rim and 2 spins at Lightning, both being on the left hand 90 degree turn at the end of the back straight after the bridge. As the previous inaugural winner of this this prestigious award, I quite happily relinquish it to Mike! In fairness, I think the issue was trying to drive at 10/10ths with suspect brakes. As for the tracks, both are brilliant for Sevens. Now that I have had a good day with Thunderbolt I think I prefer it for its technical challenges. It is a harder track to drive but it rewards with huge speed/time advantage when you get it right. Mike had turn 3 nailed just right and would open up 100 yards on me but I could catch Mike up 100 yards in turn 4 alone. Lightning is a gem of a track for sevens as it just great fun. In the last 2 sessions I just stayed in 5th and 6th gear all the time except for one corner where I came back to third briefly. Time to start planning a June event like last year. We have to bring back Michael D, Dermot, Stuart and Scott plus add some new faces like Steve, Jack, Dave and whoever else has a seven or similar car. Three cheers to Tom for bringing this together. Here are some still pictures of the weekend: Pit lane at Thunderbolt on Saturday. Tom's yellow Superlight R, my silver CSR Superlight 260+ in front of the garage http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/Sevens%20track%20day%20Nov%202011/DSC01050.jpg Karl's orange R500+50, Mike's burgundy and silver stripe Birkin (great color scheme for a seven!) http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/Sevens%20track%20day%20Nov%202011/DSC01051.jpg Pit lane at Lightning on the Sunday. Ron's green R500 can be seen here. http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/Sevens%20track%20day%20Nov%202011/DSC01053.jpg http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/Sevens%20track%20day%20Nov%202011/DSC01055.jpg Edited November 14, 2011 by Croc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted November 14, 2011 Author Share Posted November 14, 2011 (edited) Doug's orange and caged R500. Doug does not come on USA7s but is local to NJMP. He is lethally fast, able to rapidly outpace even Mike. I think he found some go faster parts ideas from looking at our cars this weekend! http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/Sevens%20track%20day%20Nov%202011/DSC01054.jpg Not as many photos at Thunderbolt as the photographer was not there all day. Here I am being chased by Glen in the Exige who is entertaining buying a seven (we are trying to persuade him!!!). He is a quicker driver than me so he must being doing his offical seven track cam videographer. He has some video he plans to send me so I can incorporate it in a merged video from Tom, myself and Karl. http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/Sevens%20track%20day%20Nov%202011/IMG_5625.jpg At Lightning, Tom coming off the bowl being followed by me: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/Sevens%20track%20day%20Nov%202011/IMG_6202.jpg I am getting closer.... http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/Sevens%20track%20day%20Nov%202011/IMG_6284.jpg Edited November 15, 2011 by Croc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted November 14, 2011 Author Share Posted November 14, 2011 I love this shot - a freight train of sevens at Lightning! http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/Sevens%20track%20day%20Nov%202011/IMG_6300.jpg Mike leading us at Lightning before he took off at warp speed: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/Sevens%20track%20day%20Nov%202011/IMG_6470.jpg Mike's now gone so Tom takes Papa Seven duties: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/Sevens%20track%20day%20Nov%202011/IMG_6471.jpg Mike off on his own at his nemisis corner at Lightning - 2 spins here: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/Sevens%20track%20day%20Nov%202011/IMG_6481.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted November 14, 2011 Author Share Posted November 14, 2011 (edited) Karl keeping me company with Ron just behind him. We had just passed the GTR....just kidding. This thing has something like 800hp at the rear wheels (modified from standard) and passed us like we were parked. On the main straight at Thunderbolt, when these things go past you feel an air pressure bow wave and the ground rumbling - an awesome car. However, this GTR later went POOF on the main straight at Lightning and resulted in a black flag for all of us to go to the pits while they recovered the beast: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/Sevens%20track%20day%20Nov%202011/IMG_6472.jpg Ron and his instructor. Ron is going to be one very quick driver when he gets up to speed. He is already pretty fast after just 3 track days: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/Sevens%20track%20day%20Nov%202011/IMG_6498.jpg Me ahead of Tom and Karl http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/Sevens%20track%20day%20Nov%202011/IMG_6513.jpg Edited November 14, 2011 by Croc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted November 14, 2011 Author Share Posted November 14, 2011 My fat rear end: http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/Sevens%20track%20day%20Nov%202011/IMG_6560.jpg Karl's fat rear end: :jester: I love that scaffolding/roll cage! http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/Sevens%20track%20day%20Nov%202011/IMG_6550.jpg Here is Mike and Ron (or maybe the instructor driving here?) http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/Sevens%20track%20day%20Nov%202011/IMG_6535.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted November 14, 2011 Author Share Posted November 14, 2011 Last shot - me on the Lightning bowl. The banking gives a great angle. http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/Sevens%20track%20day%20Nov%202011/IMG_6241.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a.moore Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Looks like a fun day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Terry Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Looks like you guys had a fun day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Fun it was. As so accurately reported by Croc, I got very familiar w/my new Birkin's limits by exceeding them 4 times. Turns out you have to be more judicious w/gas pedal when you have 214 hp at rear wheels than 95 hp, who knew? I hadn't been off the track in 3 years in my X-flow so I relearned humility. But when it was on the track, man, it was fast/fun. It gave away very little to the high end Caterhams there. Ron & Doug have R500's and Croc and Karl have even more car, so to be able to run w/them was great. They had a bit more top end, but my car's handling was equal to theirs. Food was free and amazing:award winning crab cakes for lunch, prime rib for dinner, omlettes made to your spec for breakfast. Pretty fabulous. Made the 12 hour haul each way that much more bearable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blubarisax Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 Great event Tom, thanks for coordinating it. Mike, you got lucky with the drive, the Garden State Parkway was a mess and I did not get home till 6:30; traffic in NJ is always fun. Thankfully, I was in the comfort of a tow vehicle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S1Steve Posted November 14, 2011 Share Posted November 14, 2011 (edited) Great group of pictures.. Sorry I missed Mike ( kitcat) out on a level playing field. ( no more crossflow, Hello Duratec ) I was out with the inlaws for the family rally. Mother and Father took the S1, Betsy and I in their MGA. ( Read Dump Truck) LOL Could have been worse, I could have takin the TD. Edited November 14, 2011 by S1Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceBowker Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 Great pictures. Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11Budlite Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 Good stuff guys, thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelD Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 Great shots and commentary. My favorite is the freight train photo. What would be fun is a 7s lead and follow. Form a train of evens. After each lap, the lead car drops to the rear and the second car chooses the line and e for the others to follow. We keep lapping until every one has had a chance to lead. ... Maybe we could let Mike set this on out. Just kidding Mike. I think we could get enough Sevens involved to be all Sevens for the weekend. We got 77 Sevens for the Tail of the Dragon in '07 Tom, can you get some dates and prices from the track? Once we have that we can start promoting. Will they allow camping at the track for those that drive a long distance with campers or even tents? This can influence a good number of drivers. Later in June, early July (WARMER) may be better than earlier. I think I can get Russ Strough, Folis Jones, Dermot McDermot, Norm Beaver and George Hillard. With enough notice. I might even get a few Stalkers. A SEVENS BLAST ON TWO NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED TRACKS IN ONE WEEKEND! That would be hard to turn down. How much do they need to guarantee the track? I am always good for the first two weeks of July while I am Batching it. Count me in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowss7 Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 (edited) Michael, I think they said it's about $9700-$10,000 or so to rent the track on a weekday. He quoted 8 thousand plus and then you have to have the flaggers etc. So for arguments sake round it out to $10K for a day. $20K for 2 days, one on each track. Yes Camping is allowed and there are hook ups for trailers/RV's at resonable rates. By my estimate, we would need about 40 drivers or so to make the cost reaonable, i.e. around $500 dollars for the two day track event per person. That's 40 7 owners who want to put their cars on the track. Of course we could do a Novice group that has a pace car to lead them around and no passing to start their first time track experience. I count about 20 in the area that either have done track days with us or who expressed interest in doing so. If all were able to make it we would still need at least 20 more. Do you think we can find 20 more that are up for it? As for dates, I'd have to check. But they did mention that they were doing a winter, $4999.00 special that if the weather looked good and there was no one else on the calendar we could do it. That makes the nut a lot easier, but we would have to do it on really short notice as the weather would be the key factor. I'll be glad to help pull it together if there is interest. Tom Edited November 15, 2011 by yellowss7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted November 15, 2011 Author Share Posted November 15, 2011 No awards given for funny captions but all contributions greatly appreciated for amusement of the forum! http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/mjohnson555/seats/CSR/Sevens%20track%20day%20Nov%202011/NJMPSE4.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted November 15, 2011 Author Share Posted November 15, 2011 (edited) Glenn Schostak who was driving the silvery Lotus Exige around at Thunderbolt and acting as official Sevens videographer has already come up with a short video from Saturday. :hurray: Well done at short notice! All we have to do is persuade him to buy a seven!! He is quicker at editing than me! :willy_nilly: Edited November 15, 2011 by Croc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted November 15, 2011 Author Share Posted November 15, 2011 (edited) I have merged my videos with the GPS data for the second and third sessions of Thunderbolt. I will go the next step once I have received Tom's, Karl's, and Glenn's videos and merge them into sequence with mine. So as a short taster... Session 2 Thunderbolt Yes I know my diff sounds like a bucket of bolts...its a Caterham! Session 3 Thunderbolt Sorry - could not work out how to embed the image Edited November 15, 2011 by Croc Youtube boobtube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 (edited) Croc(Mike J.): Obviously I was taking the shortcut when you caught my red Birkin sneaking off track. Just one of my many speed secrets. Tho the advantage was somewhat offset by the field being full of rocks(:. Didn't notice any extra diff noise. And, didn't you have the mic mounted in the boot, right over the diff? Se7ens track event? Great concept but I doubt we'll ever get 10 cars on track. But why not partner w/guys we ran w/last summer and have our own run group, or mostly own group? Mike M. Edited November 15, 2011 by Kitcat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowss7 Posted November 15, 2011 Share Posted November 15, 2011 Mike, I just put my video clips in the mail to you. You should have it in a day or so. I have some footage similar footage of that green cayman as well. I like the GPS/Data overlay on your video. I didn't think my Clamshelled, little 195 hp car would hit 120 down the strait at TBolt. Cool. Glen does nice work doesn't he. Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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