Paging Bill Ferran..

[roadscholar]

1980, first big race in my RSR (far left).

 

 

..years later got to drive this one a few times in Historic racing.

 

 

Reincarnation, the new RSR

 

Oh to be young again : )

 

 

[KTM Doug]

Cute little car Is it faster than a new Camaro? I need to know which one to buy

[roadscholar]

Haha real funny : ) Here's one for ya, in the 80's and 90's at Daytona there were a lot more cars starting the 24 Hours than there were pit boxes so they'd double up many of the lesser funded teams. Which made for very crowded pits plus you'd have to coordinate with the other team to not come in on the same lap. We prayed to get a Camaro or Corvette team because they almost always fell out early, then would pack up and leave. But I will admit they were fast for a few hours.

[TEWKS]

Wow, the reincarnation of the new RSR looks like it'd cost you 200 grand before you made one hot lap? Just a guess.

 

Pat

[roadscholar]

They won't be cheap but they'll likely sell every one they can make. For the past 60+ years Porsche is the only automaker that's almost continuously sold in-house built race cars to the public, they know who their customers are. Ferrari has done it sporadically over the years but not nearly as consistently. Other than Mercedes, BMW, and Audi nearly every other race car that has a manufacturer's name slapped on it was fabricated at some independent shop and funded by that company.

 

Here's more info on the RSR, with a cool interactive video of the Porsche Museum.

 

http://www.autoblog.com/2016/11/16/2017-911-rsr-mid-engine/

Edited December 21, 2016 by roadscholar

[TEWKS]

I kinda figured it was one of those "if you have to ask" maybe you should be shopping at a Hyundai dealership. Actually, some of those cars are getting up there in price too!

 

Can't imagine the thrill it would be to run one on the track!

 

Pat

[Marty Hill]

Bill, thanks for the museum shot. For some reason I've never been there tho I've been in Germany 4 or 5 times.

[KTM Doug]

Someone needs to re-allocate some of their rolling stock and buy one. I would like a ride and the boss says I can't spent over 20k on the next toy. The house needs paint.

[TEWKS]

Someone needs to re-allocate some of their rolling stock and buy one.

An RSR? I'd be left with less than my kid's broken down BMX bike! A Cayman maybe.

 

I feel your pain on the house maintenance, I could make 25K disappear pretty quickly.

 

Pat

[roadscholar]

Ok how about this, the four of us sell off some toys, delay some house maintenance (I'm already an expert at it), chip in and buy one. If we don't smush it or blow it up it'll eventually go up in value. This is a key ingredient for convincing family members it's a really good investment.

 

We could leave it at Marty's house since he kind of lives in the middle (Dougie it's only a 3 or 4 hour flight : )) and take it to one of the several tracks nearby. Is this a ridiculous plan or what?

[Marty Hill]

In. I do miss speed a bit. My GPS must be broken since it read 113 on the way back from florida a few weeks ago in the Boxster. No way I'd drive that fast.

[KTM Doug]

Someone needs to re-allocate some of their rolling stock and buy one.

An RSR? I'd be left with less than my kid's broken down BMX bike! A Cayman maybe.

 

I feel your pain on the house maintenance, I could make 25K disappear pretty quickly.

 

Pat

 

I'm out of toy money for awhile as we just replaced our two air compressor units for the air, new carpets, new granite in kitchen and also did the fireplace to match and all new kitchen appliances. I did this cause at my age I hopefully won't have to worry about house stuff until we downsize or I croak. But that 2017 ADV sure has a strong "Force" attached to it. It's funny how all the work on the house cost more than my first two houses.

 

I think I will have to rely on Bill to just give me a ride.

[roadscholar]

 

I think I will have to rely on Bill to just give me a ride.

 

Believe me, after three laps you'll want to drive! Once one gets used to the controls and sensitivity (and acceleration, braking, and g-forces : )) a really good race car is surprisingly easy to drive at 85-90% because they have no vices. It's that last 10 or 15 where you have to know what you're doing.

Edited December 21, 2016 by roadscholar

[TEWKS]

Loved this passenger's reaction & remarks!

 

 

Pat

[KTM Doug]

Girl has a "Pottie Mouth" Sounds like my Macan, but slower. Another lap might have produced some interesting results.

[roadscholar]

Here's another one, it reminds me that most people don't realize what it's like inside a racecar because they only get to see them from afar at speed. It's basically controlled violence the majority of the time, the driver only gets to semi-relax on the straights. This girl is trying her best to like it : )

 

Edited December 22, 2016 by roadscholar

[Marty Hill]

She did well but a headrest would have been very useful.

[roadscholar]

You're right Marty plus she could've used a seat like the driver has that wraps around the shoulders keeping the torso upright. Another thing is someone might've coached her on what was about to happen, what to expect and be more proactive, she had no clue. And that may be a little of what those dashcam videos are about, it's a little like strapping in a crash test dummy and saying watch this.

 

When I first got my old RSR it came with a low back racing seat and one Monday following a race weekend at Savannah (late 70's) I couldn't figure out why my neck was so sore. Finally realized it was from the g-forces and trying to keep my head upright. The more modern seats and I think HANS devices alleviate most of that now days.

 

I almost wish Pat hadn't shown me where those videos were, I spent way too much time watching them.

 

People react in different ways to this stuff, here's a girl that's truly frightened, she's scared before they get off pit lane and it just goes downhill from there. The car is one of the more current Daytona Prototypes (at Daytona), they're a dumbed-down slug compared to the 800-1000hp ground effects cars from the 90's. It's a good example of why I never, ever ride in a car with (almost) anyone, I always drive.

 

 

 

 

 

[roadscholar]

One more, young husband and wife team at Nurburgring, they're great. "That's insane. That's amazing"

 

[Marty Hill]

Bill, I miss Roebling Road. Took a GF as a passenger once in a corvette but not at real speed. Think she enjoyed it. We were still together on monday.

 

Wifey was not a happy camper/not that I blame her in the vid.

 

Edited December 23, 2016 by Marty Hill

[tallman]

Bill,

Marty has allowed me to drive (chauffeur him around, with Ken and Chris K.

I get the wanting to be the one behind the wheel.

But on a race track at those speeds, it takes experience and practice, practice, practice.

You guys are amazing.

[roadscholar]

Well, not amazing Tim but to be accomplished at it I think does take a rather peculiar combination of skills and desires.

 

Really it's just a process and obviously experience and practice play a big role, like any sport. Some are 'naturals' and some have to work at it harder. My sister once told me I had good spatial intelligence (whatever that is, she has a master's degree : )) and possibly why I enjoyed racing. I could usually memorize a race track in two or three laps, the more complex or longer ones a little more. Most road courses are 1.5 to 3 miles long, Road America and Watkins Glen are around 4, and the original Sebring circuit was over 5.

 

Also I spent about five years autocrossing before I started racing, and early on had a buddy that would critique and coach me on all the different aspects. Which helped a bunch, you'd only get three runs at a course so you'd have to try to memorize it on the 1st run. The 2nd was for finding and maybe exceeding the limits and the third was for cleaning it up and being smooth. I think it gave me an advantage at temporary street circuits where everyone had to learn a new layout. And if you're quick out of the box you can sometimes extend that little extra throughout a weekend because there's never enough track time.

 

I used to go to Deal's Gap late in the afternoons because everyone was tuckered out by then and BSing with the State Troopers in the parking lot. One time I was on the way back from the reservoir on my little Honda Hawk and thought I was clipping along pretty good passing some bikes here and there. All of a sudden there was a rumble and big headlight in the mirrors. Figured I'd wick it up a little and see how long I could hold 'em off and I didn't give much room. In two turns he was by and gone, along with his buddy. When I got to the store they had their helmets off and were drinking a soda. They were in full leathers and riding a tricked out Monster and KTM Supermoto. I went over and the first thing I said was, you guys have this memorized don't you (in both directions), they said yeah we live pretty close by and ride it all the time.

 

A lap of the Nurburgring, which Jackie Stewart nicknamed 'The Green Hell' is 12.9 miles (about the same as the Dragon). The fact that you can pay to drive it anytime let's a lot of people memorize it. I would love to try it once (ok three...I mean 10 or 15) times : )

 

Here is a video of a 918 setting a record, I'm assuming for road cars. First the setup, then the run.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 23, 2016 by roadscholar

[Glenn Reed]

She did well but a headrest would have been very useful.

 

I was surprised they weren't using five point harnesses either.

[roadscholar]

Here's a video from Porsche of their win at Lemans weekend before last.