September Spa/Ring trip

[Bibs]

No offence, I'm sure there's a lot more talent behind the wheel than I'll ever know but I want to send that driver on a training day after a lap or two with his steering inputs! 

[The Pits]

he does a strange thing with his head every time he passes someone, but whatever he's doing the stopwatch says keep doing it!

 

Jon Walker is very quick, beating him is no mean feat. As it happens there was one 'dislike' on the video. Bet you that was Jon Walker!

 

[Bibs]

They're very fast times, no denying that but he's very busy on the wheel! 

[Waky]

Those green poles at Fagnes and Stavelot, are they new and permanent? Never seen those before..

[The Pits]

They do move around a lot on treaded tyres, the Avon ZZRs Lotus Cup racers use are road legal too, so I'm not surprised to see this during a race. Ron was definitely busy at the wheel too but he was deliberately provoking the car to see how it reacted.

 

Ronny those poles were there for the trackday too. They look like they can be removed, I don't remember them being at the GP?

 

But what I really want to see is what Trevor's toast looked like this morning!

 

[Simon350S]

They're very fast times, no denying that but he's very busy on the wheel!

Seems to be on the rev limiter an awful lot too unless the video is just playing audio tricks

Looks like everyone had a fun trip.

Would love to be able to do that one day if I ever got my hands on a cup....!

[Mark Allin]

Great days at Spa.....all dodgy videos must get posted. I have one of Jonny chasing the white S and doing surprisingly well. My car making a 'spirited' exit from the Bus Stop needs to be there too.

Where next.......? These cars look great together and the collective presence on track is something to behold.

[Stubox]

Where next.......?

Mugello

[The Pits]

Mugello would be stunning, and for something a little closer to home would Dijon would be very high on my list. But I have to go back to the ring and spa at least once a year while I have a V6 Cup, hopefully we can have a class of 2014 reunion next year!

[Trevsked]

Definitely need to arrange something again. A spring 2015 somewhere new and back to the Ring/Spa same time next year perhaps. Silverstone 13th December with Goldtrack is booked if anyone interested and might be nice to fit a cheeky one in October at Bedford perhaps.

Trevor.

[farook]

2014

Bedford - oct

Oulton? - nov

Silverstone - dec

Sounds like a plan...!

2015

Mugello

Ring/Spa

+ others

Liking the sound of this....

Oh, Trevor - I need to see my vid. Post here or send me a link, I don't mind...

f

[Trevsked]

Ok, it's not that good as I didn't have the metering set right but will post up if you like. Shows the moment of breakaway so is of use.

Trevor.

[The Pits]

Jokke it seems we have two Belgian stigs now! Have you had a showdown with Ronny and his V6 Cup yet? That would be an interesting video!

I have driven Mugello it really is 'all that' I'm surprised it hasn't become more of a 'must drive' destination. Way more interesting than say Monza. Somewhere Jokke hasn't been before would be good!

[Bibs]

[Jokke Vlo]

Jokke it seems we have two Belgian stigs now! Have you had a showdown with Ronny and his V6 Cup yet? That would be an interesting video!

I have driven Mugello it really is 'all that' I'm surprised it hasn't become more of a 'must drive' destination. Way more interesting than say Monza. Somewhere Jokke hasn't been before would be good!

I have been with Ronny at Circuit D'Ecuyers lately but we did not drove together as I was mainly testing another car. Ronny is a very talented driver ! He has to do the Lotus cup races. And so we speak about Ecuyers, a VERY nice track for the Exige. Technical, safe. It is situated in the champaign region with a fantastic chateau/hotel close to the circuit.  

Those green poles at Fagnes and Stavelot, are they new and permanent? Never seen those before..

Yes they remove it for big races. Does cost you +/- 1.5sec per lap.

[Jokke Vlo]

 

Ooh I have some tales to tell from today..... my car vs 991 GT3, 211 and Komotec 430 Exige V6S, then Ron Simons took me round Spa in my car. I wasn't looking forward to that bit but it was the 2nd best roller coaster I've ever been on. The best was the 211! Video evidence of it all will be posted up soon. But Lotus have done a serious job on the V6 Cup. It literally never ceases to amaze me. A bigger step up over a V6S for track work than I had fully appreciated.

 

Ron's lap coming soon Waky, watch this space! I think it will be a popular video. It was a great experience but I was doing eau rouge so differently it's crazy, I feel like a real mug! Had to work hard to live with a 458 and was a bit disappointed in the morning but found out it was a Speciale, so there's a limit to what 345bhp can keep up with around Spa and by the look of it Ferrari horsepower figures are not so exaggerated these days! I think the Cup can gain a little on the brakes though and they are matched mid-corner. Better stop now and start writing up the trip properly!

 

Hope everyone gets home alright it was great to see 4 V6 Cups together today. Next year we'll get these Belgians to show up and make it 6.

 

 

This Ferrari's? (second half of the vid from 3.25)

[Waky]

I have been with Ronny at Circuit D'Ecuyers lately but we did not drove together as I was mainly testing another car. Ronny is a very talented driver ! He has to do the Lotus cup races. And so we speak about Ecuyers, a VERY nice track for the Exige. Technical, safe. It is situated in the champaign region with a fantastic chateau/hotel close to the circuit.  

Yes they remove it for big races. Does cost you +/- 1.5sec per lap.

 

Thanks for the compliment, but lately I've become more and more aware of the difficulties to progress to better lap times. I'm still far from Johan's level of driving. Need more practicing on smooth downshifts with the Exige, find it hard to heel toe with the limited foot space.

 

If we meet again, and I'm sure we will, you have to take the cup for couple of laps in equal conditions, so we could get a better view on the performance. Then I would have a reference to improve my lap times. Cause to drive 2.48's at Spa... with a passenger, I'm still stunned and can hardly believe. Very nice driving! 

 

Ecuyers was fun, but too bad we had a wet track most of the time. Hard work to lap the exige fast there, when I compare it to my previous E46M3.

 

Still waiting for that Ron video Pits 

[Jokke Vlo]

I drive with normal runnig shoes instead of car racing shoes, pedals are indeed not perfect for heel toe ! (in my Exige cup 260 before I have put another (larger) brake pedal for that reason.

 

I drove 21 laps last week. 14 of these laps were 2.50 and lower. 9 sub 2.50 and 5 of 2.50. So you can turn this laptimes like driving a kart: always regular.

 

If you push a little without passenger (guessing is always dangerous) a high 2.46 or low 2.47 is possible for non pro drivers.

 

Normally the Exige V6 cup manual, has the same suspension, a little lighter and little more power. So I guess also faster? 

 

Always take care for laptimes on different days. Can be a big difference from day to day. Especially after a racing weekend on a Monday, where the track is slower !

Edited September 15, 2014 by Jokke Vlo

[The Pits]

Ok lap should've uploaded by now, useless but went for 1080hd which can cause probs. will try again tomorrow, offline tonight.

But don't expect qualifying lap. Ron was getting a feel for the car, respecting my car also (thanks Ron!) and talking me through the line. Still a great lap to watch, even better to have been there to see it first hand, even if Jokke went quicker. I will ask Ron what he thinks a Cup could do.

I agree with Jokke about laptimes though, at Donington I qualified with shitty cr 500 tyres on my Caterham after a puncture in 1.16. In the race on much faster tyres on the same day I only went a few tenths quicker. Most times were 2 secs slower in the race!

[The Pits]

Just watched your video Jokke, no it's not that Ferrari, it was a dark blue 458 Speciale road car. Very fast car and being driven properly. If youtube ever starts uploading my videos I'll post some laps of that too. But don't hold your breath 

[Bibs]

You can post me the memory cards if it's quicker?

[Jokke Vlo]

I have seen the vid today ....

Ron was not 100% concentrated imo

Lot of understeer

Saw a lot of early apex ....gives even more understeer

But ok best drivers are at the side convinced he was not really concentrated as he is a good driver I think.

[The Pits]

It was only two laps to try the car and show me the line. He was provoking the car a bit to see how it reacts. He has an issue with understeer on the V6S and so was interested to see how the V6 Cup compares. I was glad to hear him say it was 'way better' at the end. With hindsight I should have asked him to 'go for it' as he was being respectful to my car. It was a tricky one, I love my car too much but at the same time really wanted to see what it could do!

 

Did you see what he did in Eau Rouge? Check out the entry, very interesting.

 

Very different to what I've been doing all these years and something I'll be trying out next time I'm there.

 

But it might be worth reading the full article to give Ron's lap some context.

 

http://www.thelotusforums.com/forums/topic/68766-the-ron-simons-interview/

[Waky]

This makes me want to book a trackday with RSR straight away, handle over my key's to the master, and enjoy the video afterwards

 

Bit disappointed on the vid, just seeing a calm instruction lap.. No regrets?

[The Pits]

Yes I'd love to have seen him go for a time, I think we all want to know what a V6 Cup can do, especially after Jokke's time. In theory it should only be able to go quicker. He has gone 1.47 in a 211 but that is much slower on the straights, so should be close. But no regrets for having some tyres left to drive home on!

 

Did you see what he did into Eau Rouge yet? He concludes at the top that 'it's a 4th gear corner in this car' we did it in 5th in the video but check out his entry. You can't feel the braking but you can watch the speedo needle....