Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

well its that time again any one who wants to see the SCCA races at Road America'S 4 1/2 MILE TRACK IN Elkhart lake Wisconson can do so on speed tv on the computer starting on Thursday . The BEST racers going for broke and spending about 10,000 bucks for the week for a chance to win gold plastic trophy . I would spend three times that if I could go . Any how dont miss it -- --ed

Dumb question time - what's "speed TV" ? I'm guessing it's a TV station and if so, can we watch if from the UK or is it just restricted to American ISPs ?
Brian

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I think it should be available in the UK .you have to tryi to get it at SCCA speed cam..ed

Burnie get the contracts ready ....My son showed no interest in carting other than to.crash everyone around him but growing up in the sport he must have been jaded and been guided by my lack of ability. .Some of the competitors sons and daughters have come into the sport but I really don't know what class to/start a budding talent in Start in vees go to FFord then Atlantic used to be the way but now it's all different and-asyou say MONEY but luck and contacts have a large say in ones direction in racing..Tracy and his dad spent the last buck they had to get into a POS car for the Toronto Indy and when the thing broke...they were sitting on the pit wall when Pensky made them an offer based on the effort and desire exhibited by Paul ....Villeneuve sold his house and was stone broke when his chance came..Ludwig Hiemrath Jr got to indy via his dad s contacts Ludie Sr was a noted racer and sat in the Porsche F1 seat for a time and Jr was a noted F super vee driver so after his Indy time Jr went on to work as an aerodynamics engineer after his stint in Champ cars and Scott Good year [a successful f ford driver ] got the seat .so luck and commitment may be the way .....Oh and a big bag of skill.and green backs .I know roughly what the money makers who run the chassis houses the engine builders and series promotors tell the cart people about the way to pro driving and a lot of it is rubbish. Their programs are just designed to line their pockets with your cash and the cart people blindly accept it ..some cart motors have more air time for rebuilds than most pilots . Most of the vee chassis at the runoffs are 10 and 20 years old and some formula ford chassis are 5 to 10 yeas old and most of the motors get rebuilt twice a year on average and the new formula Ford/ Fit motors are recommended to be left alone for two years and then they get A look --ed

UAB807F wrote:Dumb question time - what's "speed TV" ? I'm guessing it's a TV station and if so, can we watch if from the UK or is it just restricted to American ISPs ?
Brian

http://www.speedtv.com/

They are the US broadcasters for F1.

Gee that's a busy web page Mike ! I wouldn't like to be the one updating that...

Brian

twincamman wrote:well its that time again any one who wants to see the SCCA races at Road America'S 4 1/2 MILE TRACK IN Elkhart lake Wisconson

If you keep it on the pavement it's only a 4.048 Mile Circuit
14 Turns as indicated on the RA website!

Well sometimes you have to chase the furry little animals in the weeds ..ed

I hear you!

Holywood--I didn't mean to offend you but there is good news [ 1] your boy can race here at 16 years old in the CASC , [the equivalent of SCCA] [2] f ford and f vee use a spec radial street tire for a cost of 600 dollars . This means you don't have an $800 tire bill every weekend and they last 2 years and don't go off so a 7 race series we run is affordable . [3] you get to race at Mosport and Shannonville and sometimes Calabogie when they schedule a race ; you can buy a good vee for 4000 to 6000 bucks or a good Ford for 12000 to 20000 . Rentals are 1500 for a vee 2500 for a Ford per weekend . plus crash damage . An example 500 bucks puts a front end on a vee ,a Ford is 2500 a corner .now the bad --in my 30 years in club racing I have seen 6 Fatalities , about one every 5 or 6 years . This is something no one thinks about or maybe is not aware of but it is there .
now costs ---- Friday optional test day is 250 ;race entry 375 per weekend so 625 for the weekend for 7 weekends so $4700 for entrys ---to run your F ford at the Grand Prix entry is 2500 dollars . You sit in your car in line for one hour before you race , after your race you have one hour to pack your stuff and get off the island before the f1 race begins and you are generally treated like second class citizens .We grid on average 20 cars in vee and about the same in F Ford .If you rent the car it is prepped and delivered ,if you own it look at 3 hours garage time a night for 3 nights and you have to trailer the car [thats what I did as my budget for the year was $5000 so a blown motor or a big crash ended my season .I didnt include gas or food and tented as you have to eat and you will drive some place on the weekend any way .The budget was to insure the mortgage was paid and the children got through University ] . Will your boy be notice and hired onto a team racing here or the SCCA? --? unlikely! ------now the racket that goes around in Carts is to buy a test day in Spain for $7500 , then , in a F Renault and at the end of the day a rep comes to you and claims 'your boy has talent and we offer a $10000 scholar ship' and once you accept they ask if the remaining 240000 dollars will be a cheque or bank transfer . Now when you renege they ask the next and the next until the seats are full .....and as the old saying goes 'THATS RACING .. take care ---ed

No offence taken. I just figured my post was inappropiate and removed it. We may do some historic racing in an old Mk1 ford escort I have, and continue karting at club level. I need to think more about his school and where he going over the next 2 years any way. The FF sceen in S Cal is a little more expensive, then there is Spec Mazda Miata Spec class.

To run at the front, it all taked buckets of cash.... and lets face it who wants to run at the rear.

James

Vintage would be a great venue for the elan and a great reason to finish it getting to the front is. A learning experience. .getting there in a spec class has to do with getting to the grid first so you can cut the fastest lap to qualify at the front of the grid ON THE FIRST SESSION AS THIS DETERMINES HOW THE REST OF THE WEEK GOES and be at the front far away from the palace revolt called the first lap behind you . Run 4 or 5 laps and when your time is at the front group come in to save equipment and the chance you will be taken out by another Banzie racer trying the same plan . With 50 or more cars in spec Miata its a tough class as 49 other drivers want the same thing you do , so you have to have a strategy and 2 or 3 other drivers ready to co -operate with the draft like vee racing --spec ford is the same and there is lots of body work -- ed
1010

I will be there with my elan. Turn three is a blast.
Mike
70 elan +2
71 europa

good luck ed