Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch

[RCMike]

Went to Spring Mountain for a fun competition, Vegas v. Socal.. We ran the Lauda configuration, 2.8 miles..


Took one of my friends for a ride, he is used to fully built race cars, aero, etc.. He liked my little toy..



I could not run full tilt, passenger seat does not have all the safety gear I would want for that. But I was able to give him a pretty good taste.. His feedback on suspension, etc. fits right in with everything I have heard about my car.

Anyway, lots of fun, and it was awesome to get some of my modern race car friends to experience the car..

[GoldHawg]

How fast were you going in the straight aways?

[Solex68]

Vegas v. Socal...
So what were the results ?

[RCMike]

The format was 10 cars/drivers, average best lap among top 5 of each team...

Day 1, socal won by 1.1 seconds.. Vegas responded with new cars and drivers and 2 socal cars died, and on day 2, vegas won by 0.8 sec. I think we could have won, but Will ended up driving a borrowed brand new (dealer plates) GTR and didn't want to abuse it, so he only ran a 2:03..

[Solex68]

...but Will ended up driving a borrowed brand new (dealer plates) GTR...

The poor guy. it must have been rough. Ha ha ha

[RCMike]

For a guy who is used to absolutely thrashing on race cars, to borrow a friend's brand new street car and have to significantly dial it back, lol

He told me he thought he could go under 2 minutes, but it would require abusing the car and he was not going to do that to Felipe's car.. 'Next time...'

[Solex68]

You and Will are 10x the driver I will ever be. I'd be afraid to trash a GTR at any speed. My hats off to the both of you (if people still say that).

[Gregs672000]

Wow, finally got to watch this...
Man, what a great sound she makes. I know there is controversy over engine swaps, etc, the pros and the cons. But, if Nissan made a modern Miata-like sports car that followed the Roadster tradition, I would soooo want it to sound like that!
My favorite place was the corner just before the M-tire banner... The cam timing would change just as it entered the corner, then exit out and down the straight with those throttle bodies wide open and on the cam, power building as the RPMS rise... Just great stuff! I think the car is very well balanced with the engine and its characteristics. Pretty cool man, neet car.

[RCMike]

How fast were you going in the straight aways?

Never answered you here..

Solo, I was right at 120 (hitting rev limiter in 3rd) at the end of the back straight into the bus stop.. With passenger, closer to 110, because I did not push either the last turn onto it, or the entry into the bus stop..

Greg, I used to think I was a pretty good driver, until I went for track rides with Will, Nik, and David in their Miatas.. I am really not in the same league with these guys. I will say that there is a freedom that comes with not owning the racecar, and simply getting the instructions to go as fast as you can. It's part of why Will was within 0.2 seconds with the Miata as he was with the GTR.

There is no classroom that can show you the skills of these guys. Watching and feeling them use contours to add or remove grip is mind-blowing.. But SO SO fun..

[Solex68]

Ahh Mike. I would love to be in any one of your cars for those laps. So sweet. I knew Will's car is sweet but I have never been in it. Maybe this year at Solvang.

[RCMike]

I think we are talking about different Wills..

I have never ridden with Will Campbell. No idea how he drives except watching his videos.

I was talking about my friend Will Wattanawongkiri (Think that's how it's spelled..lol).. I thought he was a little faster than me until I went for a ride. But now I understand why he gets flown around the world to drive, and I get to sign up for track days in dusty deserts. Thinking about going up to watch him drive in the Super Lap Battle this week.. It really is educational, even just to watch.

[SLOroadster]

Ahh Mike. I would love to be in any one of your cars for those laps. So sweet. I knew Will's car is sweet but I have never been in it. Maybe this year at Solvang.

Different Will. I haven't been to Vegas in a very long time. I think it might have been fun to run against these guys with my car however. As for my bringing my car to Solvang, not going to happen. Its not worth the effort. I'm more than happy to give rides, but you will have to come up here

Will