Rolex Vintage Festival at LRP -05 (General)

[WatertownNewbie]

Thanks, Pat, for your two postings on the Vintage cars at LRP. I was there too for all four days.

One highlight was seeing Brian Redman in a Scarab. He had some mechanical problems during Friday's practice session and was not able to qualify, so on Saturday he started dead last in a field on about 17 cars. He managed to move up to P4 in a ten-lap race. On Monday, he started in P4 and fairly quickly picked off the car ahead. The next position took him a few more laps, but he then settled into P2 and sized up his opposition. Following a couple or three car lengths back for a few laps, he apparently figured out how best to make his move, and with a lap or two to go he made a strong move on the front straight and went into the lead. And that was that. Pretty neat to watch someone with real talent drive a car.

Another highlight was the Sunday car show, which was a dazzling display of cars, as reported by Pat. Another car present was the actual #6 from the Le Mans movie. Perhaps understandably (given the value of the car), the owner did not drive the car very hard, but it was pretty to see. There was also a Mini-Cooper that finished ahead of two Shelby GT-40s on Saturday and which would have passed another one on Monday if the Shelby had not lost its rear going into Turn 4, fish-tailed, and collided with the Cooper.

Lastly, one real advantage of going to the Sunday show was the ability for me to walk the track. A buddy and I were there, and we started on the front straight. We walked the track in reverse, pausing in key areas and looking back in the direction from the driver's point of view. I noticed things that I had not realized after three days of going around the track in cars and vans at the 3-Day school in July. For example, no-name straight is a bit downhill. Also, the run from the Uphill to the entry into West Bend is a bit uphill. And, as I already knew, there is a clear compression zone at the bottom of the Downhill (you can see scrape marks when you walk the track), but I also learned that the portion between the turn-in and the apex is sloped downhill too. I highly recommmend going to the Festival next year not only to see the cars, but also to be able to walk around the track.

[sydude]

Originally Posted by WatertownNewbie

Lastly, one real advantage of going to the Sunday show was the ability for me to walk the track. A buddy and I were there, and we started on the front straight. We walked the track in reverse, pausing in key areas and looking back in the direction from the driver's point of view. I noticed things that I had not realized after three days of going around the track in cars and vans at the 3-Day school in July. For example, no-name straight is a bit downhill. Also, the run from the Uphill to the entry into West Bend is a bit uphill. And, as I already knew, there is a clear compression zone at the bottom of the Downhill (you can see scrape marks when you walk the track), but I also learned that the portion between the turn-in and the apex is sloped downhill too. I highly recommmend going to the Festival next year not only to see the cars, but also to be able to walk around the track.

When you do your first Skippy race weekend at LRP, I highly recommend pressing Skippy Instructor Bob Ziegel to setup one of his famous track walks, to benefit the mechanic's fund. It's really really good.

[rhpearson]

Ah, does he point drivers in the direction of Cleveland then?

[kwlorentzen]

Don't let him try to walk the track backwards . If you do, you'll probably end up turning left when you need to turn right

[dalyduo]

A few years ago I watched Brian Redman going through big bend in a vintage racer on a lower faster line than anyone else that day and I can still see the car and his line in my head. He found the sweet spot where that particular car was quickest and nailed it every time. Very cool to see.

I did take advantage of the walking track lap on vintage Sunday. Having done Bob Ziegel's track walk last year early in the day, It was usefull noticing how different the track and its landmarks looked and felt at mid-afternoon. Found myself dodging over-spirited homeward bound Shelby Cobra's on No Name as all the boy racers couldn't resist a bit of carb cleanout down that unmonitored stretch while heading to the West Bend track exit.

There are Cleveland signs all around LRP but because you hit guard rails, tire walls, and swamp water before getting within site of any of them... No one has ever seen one. So once again... It's all in your mind.