Time to go racing (con't)
Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2011 11:36 pm
I thought I would revive the thread I started on the old forum with an update to my original post, which I’ve included below for reference.
A few weeks ago I followed the advice of several forum members and rented a car from Spec Racer Sports in Angleton, TX and spent the day driving at MSR Houston. I had a BLAST! These cars are a lot of fun to drive but I quickly found out that the dynamics are nothing like my Elise. I spent most of the first session adjusting to non-antilock brakes. Having never driven a car on a track that didn’t have antilock brakes, I had no idea how easy they make the braking zones – just mash and release. During the learning process I mowed a significant portion of the grass around the track and flat spotted a set of tires. I figured it all out by the 2nd session of the day and I was able to focus on the dynamics of the car and how to make it go fast. By the fourth session I was setting times that I think will at least allow me to be competitive if I can reproduce them in quali/race environment.
I thought I was pretty excited about racing before I drove the SRF, but now it’s all I think about. Next up for me is comp school – I can’t make the December class, but they are trying to get enough people for a January class so I can make the first regional race at MSR Houston in February.
David Perkins and his crew at Spec Racer Sports were great to work with, they gave me a great car and they let me drive until I could barely lift my arms any more.
Hope to see the Texas crew at the track in a few months!
Scott
“After about 4 years of HPDE type events, I’ve decided it’s time for me to go racing. I have been driving a Lotus Elise for the last 4 years, and as much as I love the car, there’s just not a good class to race it in, it’s a bit fragile and expensive to repair. So, I’ve been considering either SRF or Spec Miata. SRF is by far the most appealing class to me.
I’m in Central Texas (about an hour north of Austin), is there anyone relatively close by that would be willing to help me get started and show me around their car? Unfortunately, the CSR is quite a haul for me – about 4 hours.
I’m trying to decide if I should buy a car and then take the comp school or if I should rent a car for the comp school and buy after…any thoughts?
To those who have driven or own a Lotus Elise/Exige, are the vehicle dynamics at all similar? Is it an easy transition between the two cars?
I’m sure I’ll have many more questions, so I’ll go ahead and say, THANKS! for the help.”
A few weeks ago I followed the advice of several forum members and rented a car from Spec Racer Sports in Angleton, TX and spent the day driving at MSR Houston. I had a BLAST! These cars are a lot of fun to drive but I quickly found out that the dynamics are nothing like my Elise. I spent most of the first session adjusting to non-antilock brakes. Having never driven a car on a track that didn’t have antilock brakes, I had no idea how easy they make the braking zones – just mash and release. During the learning process I mowed a significant portion of the grass around the track and flat spotted a set of tires. I figured it all out by the 2nd session of the day and I was able to focus on the dynamics of the car and how to make it go fast. By the fourth session I was setting times that I think will at least allow me to be competitive if I can reproduce them in quali/race environment.
I thought I was pretty excited about racing before I drove the SRF, but now it’s all I think about. Next up for me is comp school – I can’t make the December class, but they are trying to get enough people for a January class so I can make the first regional race at MSR Houston in February.
David Perkins and his crew at Spec Racer Sports were great to work with, they gave me a great car and they let me drive until I could barely lift my arms any more.
Hope to see the Texas crew at the track in a few months!
Scott
“After about 4 years of HPDE type events, I’ve decided it’s time for me to go racing. I have been driving a Lotus Elise for the last 4 years, and as much as I love the car, there’s just not a good class to race it in, it’s a bit fragile and expensive to repair. So, I’ve been considering either SRF or Spec Miata. SRF is by far the most appealing class to me.
I’m in Central Texas (about an hour north of Austin), is there anyone relatively close by that would be willing to help me get started and show me around their car? Unfortunately, the CSR is quite a haul for me – about 4 hours.
I’m trying to decide if I should buy a car and then take the comp school or if I should rent a car for the comp school and buy after…any thoughts?
To those who have driven or own a Lotus Elise/Exige, are the vehicle dynamics at all similar? Is it an easy transition between the two cars?
I’m sure I’ll have many more questions, so I’ll go ahead and say, THANKS! for the help.”