Lotus Elise (race prep) vs. HDDP, in Crossfire (race prep).

http://www.hollywooddigitalimaging.c...fire_Lotus.mov

 

I finally got to see this...and it was worth the wait. Fantastic! That's impressive stuff to pace an Elise on that twisty circuit! Can't wait for your full assault on the series next season. Nice to some trackside footage too!

 

It's actually a funny story... The Lotus driver was one of the instructors for the novice group running after me who moderated the drivers meeting and conducted the classes for the NEWBIES.

Midway through the day I asked him if he wanted to trade paint and he scoffed at me, bragging that his Lotus was outfitted with Ohlin coilovers and a bunch of other aftermarket tricks and he would smoke me... After a few more prodding's I convinced him to run with me...

You see the result in the video...

He's a good driver and had the line down PAT. So, I'm amazed that I so easily stayed with him and passed him on many of the straights... I really wasn't pushing the Crossfire at all...I guess I have my car pretty well dialed-in...

 

How did he pass you after you overtook him? Looks like you were cleaning his clock pretty bad there.

 

Derek! You're a funny guy. That deal with the Lotus was not a race. The guy in the Lotus agreed to do some filming with you, remember? He, like I, slowed down so that we'd get maximum footage. As great of a driver you are, and as nice as your car is, I don't think you would necessarily have caught him that easily had he been going at full capacity. If memory serves, he looked pretty slow when you all were filming (maybe 7/10s). I've driven that car, I know how amazing it is. While you might have passed him eventually anyway (in the straights, perhaps, with your horsepower), let's make no mistake -- an Elise is a very tough car to beat. I'm really surprised he said he could 'smoke' you -- that's not typically in Alan's vocabulary, and he certainly doesn't typically have any intention of racing anybody (except sometimes with me -- that's only because we're good friends and he has red mist for Miatas -- especially racecar Miatas, lol).

As a side note, I'm just sorry I didn't drive faster that day. I had NO practice the day before (Saturday) in my car (or anybody else's car, for that matter), and only one session before the time we went out. That was the first time I'd been to Streets of Willows in about five years. It sure was fun, though, don't ya think? We'll be there next year again . . . maybe this time if you show up I'll have gotten a little more practice in so that we can have some fun.

BW (Bonni W. with www.team-racing.org)

 

PS -- at TEAM Racing days, our 'newbies' always get first priority with our instructors. All of our instructors can teach any level of driver, and they often do. But the novice drivers are our top priority for safety reasons. If you want a lesson, darlin', just hand me those keys. I dare ya. Lol.

BW

 

And also, in Alan's defense, he was having some suspension problems with his new Ohlins and the front coils springs kept separating from the unit, so he was by far slower than I would normally expect from an Elise. He did in fact give me the "I'll smoke you" comment, but I never expected him not to. I haven't beat a Lotus yet, they're classed in TTA I'm in TTD.

PS: I'm trying to work out the time to run your next event at Thunderhill since NASA is holding the Enduro race. You may have that opportunity to show me a few tricks.

Nice to have you stop by this forum, we have quite a few Crossfires in the Bay Area that might love to run with your group. MMZ TIMELORD is one that immediately comes to mind.

 

POST THE ADDRESS TO YOUR WEBSITE HERE... PERHAPS YOU'LL GET SOME MORE CROSSFIRES OUT ON THE TRACK !!!

 

Yeah, that was a huge bummer about Alan's dang springs. You'd think when a person invested that kind of money that things would not go so wrong. As far as I can tell, he's all ready to play again, though. He will be at our upcoming Thunderhill event.

We have two final events this year -- one at Laguna Seca on November 2nd, and one at Thunderhill on November 17th. Both events are followed by a weekend of events with other groups. Info can be found at www.onemain.com/~bonster/schedule.html Just scroll down and you'll see the entry forms. I ran the 25-hour enduro in 2003 and in 2005 (but not in my car, that's for sure!). I haven't had an invite yet, but I don't think I'll go this time. That's a LOT of work and very little sleep. That's probably not a problem for you Hollywood types, eh? Lol.

BW

 

***www.team-racing.org. It would be neat to see some more Crossfires, actually. Most folks have never shared the track with one such beast, not as far as I've heard about, at least. What a refreshing and welcome change it would be.

BW

 

Would love to join you guys. As soon as my car gets fixed though.

 

Hernan:

Buddy, what happened ? You mentioned a SC problem with your SRT6 and that it was OEM/MFG related, but never explained... I must be lucky as hell since I have 22,000 VERY HARD miles on this N/A engine-car-drivetrain and not one single problem except for the ones "I" caused by ripping it apart and turning it into a track car...

I'm sorry to hear you're having problems... Anything I can do to assist ?

 

Sure you can help... can you make my car disappear like Jimmy Hoffa so i can get a new one??? :-)

My car's been awfully noisy at idle. Then it started making noise when coming to a stop. The dealer said it sounded like a rattle from a bearing in the s/c. They later diagnosed as the clutch in the s/c needing to be replaced. Unfortunately, they just can't replace the clutch, they need to replace the whole s/c. I guess it works out for me since i get to have a new one.

They said it'll take 2 to 3 weeks for the part to come in. It week 2 now. So hopefully it shows up soon and i'll give them another week to actually do the work.

I just wonder though if this was a Benz, would I be waiting the same amount of time or would they have the part in stock or at least a much shorter wait?

 

Damned sorry to hear that you're experiencing problems. Find out what they are going to do with the used S/C. If it's going in the trash let's make a deal on it... Perhaps I can get it repaired by the manufacturer.

 

I'll definitely ask them. I'll let you know.

 

Hmmm. Very funny story. I'm the Lotus driver/instructor. Instructors are chosen on ability to teach, driving skill and, hopefully, maturity. Any instructor at an HPDE/Track Day that went up to a participant and suggested that they "trade paint" and that his car would "smoke" that persons car would be summarily (and rightly) fired on the spot. We are there to keep things in hand, not provoke drivers into unwise actions. Trading paint is grounds for being thrown off the track and may get you banned from HPDE throughout California. Suffice to say I'm not that stupid nor immature.
The conversation, as I recall, was about running the Crossfire and the Lotus around the track for some video footage, swapping the lead and keeping the cars running together for the camera. So it was done. As one astute observer noted, how did the Lotus get in front after you were smoking him? The answer is, we let each other pass, as you can see me backing off the gas on the straight. Though it is harder to see I also slowed on some of the twisty parts to keep both cars in the camera frame. Strange how two cars never get more than two lengths apart in any of the shots.
As for the Lotus, it is still a naturally aspirated 1.8 litre on my street tires (I drove from Northern California) and my daily driver. Sorry, no Ohlins.
Thanks for the comments on the line, it was my first time at The Streets of Willows and I found it a very entertaining track. If you were to seek times (in a controlled environment) vs an Elise, I would chose another track...that one favors smaller more agile cars and doesn't give the Crossfire HP enough room to get going.

 

Now I'm really confused, Are you the driver of the yellow Lotus that used to be, or is a photographer / cameraman ? If so, you definitely have a brain fade about the problems you kept complaining about with your Ohlins and how the springs kept separating from the perch. I recall you complaining it ended-up being classed in TTA with vettes and how you thought that was unfair. I'm wasn't blasting you, I was trying to show members of my forum that the Crossfire can be competitive on road courses with some modifications. I don't know why you think the Crossfire has more HP than it does ! It's rated at 215 at the flywheel with a base weight of 3,059 lbs. Your car, if memory serves me, is 198 hp 1,900 lbs (+/-) nearly a 1:1 ratio.

I didn't run in any of the "instructor groups", I believe I was running advanced... And of course, these are not "RACES" per se' the only way we know our times are from the transponders and the printouts.

If you would like to see some other videos of my Crossfire getting completely destroyed by other Lotus Elise's at Spring Mountain and Cal Speedway before any of my modifications, I'll post them... Hell, just say you were sand bagging me, or playing with me !!! I don't care, my best times on that track are terribly slower than the best time from an Elise, hell my times with NASA this year while I was sorting out the car are disgusting !!!

I don't quite understand this whole post thing from you and Bonnie from "Team Racing" It's a weird way to direct business / members to your group...

 

I have a serious question, at what level of racing can one swap some paint with other drivers and not be considered a d*ck, lol. It would make the whole racing experience more entertaining to me at least. Maybe I should take up demolition driving, hehehe...

 

I didn't mean to upset you, Derek . . . I was actually just trying to be diplomatic is all. Honestly, I would never do or say anything to hurt someone's feelings or step on their pride. I'm just not like that. If I failed at that, I am very sorry.

So now that everybody has put in their two cents, how about if we turn this thread around and agree that it was fun footage to watch. I hope to see you at a track day again soon, Derek. Although, being such a long haul, if I show up again down there, it will be with my racecar on a trailer, lol.

BW

 

Yes, that must have been a long haul from No. Cal. to SOWS in that tiny spec Miata. Talk about buns of steel !

No pride hurt here, I have a Crossfire that's bad enough. LOL.