Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

A couple of photos of the Elan at last weekends racing. Had lots of fun and some tight racing with guys who are a lot more desperate than me in the corners. I prefer to use the Elans acceleration out of corners to pass cars, I am not so comfortable diving in under brakes looking for a gap that you hope will still be there when you arrive

cheers
Rohan

nice!

beautiful. amazing that you could fit race tires inside standard body without fender flares.
also, which photo was taken first? did the midget pass the tr3 or vice versa?

cg

cbguerrajr wrote:beautiful. amazing that you could fit race tires inside standard body without fender flares.
also, which photo was taken first? did the midget pass the tr3 or vice versa?

cg

The tyres are 175 / 60 x 13 and fit comfortably under the standard S4 body with the right offsets on 5.5 inch wide wheels. The midget passed the TR, if think the second photo was taken a lap later and slightly down the track from the first.

cheers
Rohan

Having only done "spirited" track days and been left gasping for air at the exertion of embarrassing Elise's and Exiges in a somewhat gentlemanly manner ( no overtaking in braking zones and only overtaking to the right on clock wise circuits and vice versa) I am full of admiration for those that do it for real.

It must be really satisfying to drive a vehicle prepared for a purpose mostly by yourself and have success.

Having analysed a lot of footage of Elans doing the giant killing of cars with 2 or 3 times the power it appears that most races are won by the nimble cars, fast in, faster out seems to do the trick! I can't remember the last time an Elan racer complained about his brakes........

Spyder fan wrote:
.....It must be really satisfying to drive a vehicle prepared for a purpose mostly by yourself and have success.

Having analysed a lot of footage of Elans doing the giant killing of cars with 2 or 3 times the power it appears that most races are won by the nimble cars, fast in, faster out seems to do the trick! I can't remember the last time an Elan racer complained about his brakes........

I must admit that I find the preparation and engineering of my Elan for racing the most satisfying part. Racing while its a tremendous challenge and great fun and Adrenalin rush is really just an excuse to work on the developing the car to be competitive.

In my production sports car class the Elan is at a substantial disadvantage compared to the European FIA regs when running against big engined machines as I cant turn it into a 26R lightweight replica. My friend who races a S4 seven is much more competitive against the big engine cars as he has the wider track and lighter weight that comes with the production S4 Seven as standard. He also weighs less than me and driver weight is a significant factor in a 700 kg 1600 cc car like my Elan

With brakes my biggest challenge is getting the rears up to temperature


cheers
Rohan