SpecRacer.com

I had the pleasure of racing the Elite Autosport GEN3 in the OVR Autumn Classic at Mid Ohio this past weekend. If you have never been, I highly recommend attending this event. Four races and a 15-minute timed qualifying session for only $450 and you get to drive both the Club Course and the Pro Course.

We had the only GEN3 at the track and fielded many questions from the SRF drivers that came by to visit. Very encouraging to hear that many either have kits in hand or expect to take delivery during the Winter. Should have plenty of GEN3s to race against next year in the Mid West!

On the Club Course, my best race lap in the GEN3 was 1.5 seconds quicker than my best lap across my three previous visits to Mid Ohio in the 1.9. The GEN3 was approximately 5mph faster at the end of the long straight than my team mate's 1.9.

Below is in-car video from the Enduro that took place at the end of the day on Saturday on the Club Course. The field included SRFs, Miatas, and other small sedans. The last lap was my fastest of the race.
http://vimeo.com/104975465

Sunday's races took place on the Pro Course. In the feature race I started near the end of the SRF-only field due to spins in damp conditions during the morning qualifying race. The video below illustrates how the acceleration of the GEN3 compares to the 1.9. On the restart around the 6:45 mark, the GEN3 is able to out accelerate a fast 1.9 and pass prior to turn #1.
http://vimeo.com/104975464

I was one of the SRF guys who spent time with Peter and Beau at Mid-Ohio and I have to say, Erik, if you are reading our GEN3 writeups, these two ambassadors of our sport spared nothing in talking to me about the GEN3, in general and in detail. They were both wonderful and exciting to chat with. Peter couldn't be more enthusiastic in the paddock and drove a careful yet exciting race that I witnessed on Sunday. It was awesome to see him exiting the keyhole accelerating down the back straight. I had never met Peter before this weekend, but when I left, I felt that I had known him a long time.
Of course, Beau and I go back to the mid-80s and some of our chat took us back to that era! Thanks for that trip down memory lane Beau. I also want to say that the GEN3 car Peter drove was superbly setup, clean and looked very professional. Peter spent time with me about dash systems too and he showed me the MXL dash he was using and what it could give the driver in terms of meaningful feedback. It is my opinion that both of these guys did a great job with the GEN3 this past weekend promoting our next powerplant. I tip my racing helmet to you both and if I didn't say it enough on Sunday, thank you for your time spent with me.

Well done Peter.

Thanks guys.

It was a pleasure meeting and talking with you Mark. I look forward to racing with you when your GEN3 is completed.

Fun racing with you as always Hutch. See you at Laguna.

Thanks Peter! (You can always trust a Latvian to do great work). Thanks to Elite Autosport for setting such high standards as always.
It's interesting to me, because I forget, that so many SRF community members have not seen a GEN3 yet. So many tracks haven't had one run on them yet...etc. We are at about 50% in getting the R&D cars up to final specs (plastic intake and final cam timing...both > HP) and we have just a few ECU harness and 5 dipsticks to deliver (5 going out today) before we have everyone on our usual 100% equal terms!

Dittos Mark. Great drives Peter, and Beau, thanks for the time spent.

Beau (Team Ellite) and Peter,

Another thanks for bringing the car to Mid Ohio and allowing us all to view the car up close and sharing your conversion experiences. We will be starting our conversion shortly and look forward to joining you guys next year.