on 3/8/02 11:32 AM, Paul Root at proot@iaces.com wrote:
> That's pretty cool. But, I don't think the Elise driver was doing very
> well. Ok, I'll admit, I'm not much of a driver, and I don't race. But I
I spend at least one weekend a month on the track and I'll agree with this.
In fact, one of them were driving a clean line _all_ the time, but they were
doing pretty well for the most part.
There's also an argument to be made that the Elise didn't need to climb the
embankment to be fast. With the cornering capabilities of that car, limited
downforce, and limited (comparative) horsepower, it could still have a fast
line on the flats.
One interesting thing to note though is the throttle application in both
cars -- they were both sort of coasting at a few spots. I think they might
have been playing with each other more than being real serious about their
laps.
> No offense intended, but I gotta think the Elise could have been ahead
> of the Ferrari if it just took better lines, and could hold him off on
> some of the shorter straight aways.
I'll agree with that statement about the car, but not the driver. Then
again, that Ferrari was over-braking for every turn and expecting torque to
get him out of it. He wasn't as fast as the car was. Given a good driver,
that Ferrari would've killed the Lotus. Given a good driver in the Elise,
vice-versa.
This sort of a moment can be pretty cool. I toasted a brand new 360 Modena
at Sears Point last month in my 120k mile, daily-driven '95 M3. Felt pretty
damn good. Just like it must have to the Miata driver who dusted me later
that day. ;-)
-p
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