Team Juicy Racing's Racing School and Race Series Forums
  #1  
Old 07-13-2008
dalyduo's Avatar
dalyduo dalyduo is offline
Grand Master
Carbon Fiber Keyboard (3,000+ Posts)
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: location, location
Posts: 5,399

Gallery Images: 112
The New Lime Rock...

(In a stage whisper...) "If you re-build it they will come..."

The new Lime Rock Park configuration had it's first big test this weekend when the ALMS rolled into town. Many drivers whined about the new corners being slow, demanding, crowded and technical, but those changes were made and supported by the ALMS to slow cars that had been running flat from the old chicane through Westbend and the Downhill to a terminal velocity of 191mph before braking for Big Bend. Way too fast for such a small track.

Now at the Uphill and Westbend there are two hard brake zones with low gear acceleration and passing (or crashing) opportunities where there used to be none. For exactly these reasons all spectators are now many times more entertained.

The new uphill and westbend are transformed from afterthought camper spectator lounging areas to the most compelling corners on track. The high powered P1 & P2 prototypes are threshold braking, blipping down 3 gears, struggling for grip and rotation while managing slower GT traffic, to the delight of everyone within sight. The new Westbend outside spectator hill was packed with fans the whole day absolutely hypnotized as cars battled each other while dirt thrown up from clipped apexes made each lap a new challenge for everyone.

It was exhausting to watch because there was so much to see every second. A seemingly endless stream of cars battling each other while battling the track. David Brabham came from behind with an outside pass into Big Bend on the last lap to take the overall win with more drama and sub-plots in the other classes than I could possibly keep up with. Roger Penske shaking his fists in anger from his perch on pit road. Numerous contact incidents and penalties as more than 30 cars in multiple classes tangled in the newly configured LRP bull ring.

Don't think I've ever seen a bigger crowd at Lime Rock with a higher percentage of benevolent first timers with family and friends in tow. You can't tell from just one event but if this is a sign of things to come, Lime Rock's future looks pretty bright.

I'm sure the drivers will complain bitterly about the changes but, between now and next year, grass will grow so there won't be as much dirt thrown on the racing line and curbings will be adjusted to punish the cars less while keeping them honest to the course.

Everyone was holding their breath to see if the new pavement would survive the high downforce grippy tires of the prototypes and it came through unscathed. Lots of rubber build up but no track chunking. Kudos to the paving team that worked around the clock to dig up and rebuild the track to a very high standard in 30 days. Everyone involved pulled a logistical rabbit out of the hat.

The new turns and their spectator area's will revitalize the track in every way. The old turns are rebuilt and haven't even been tested yet, so nothing is lost while much has already been gained.

Wonder what configuration we'll use when we run it in September?
__________________
You draw 'em a picture and they eat the crayons... (Duck Waddle commenting on the creative ways some people interpret driving instruction.)

Last edited by dalyduo; 07-13-2008 at 10:12 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 07-13-2008
OLDMAN's Avatar
OLDMAN OLDMAN is offline
GrandMasterB
Winning Races / Advanced Member (250+ Posts)
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Southern Connecticut
Age: 77
Posts: 466

Gallery Images: 57
Thumbs up Re: The New Lime Rock...

Yesterday was a terrific day for LRP. I haven't seen a crowd that large since the golden days of Trans-Am. In a few weeks the NASCAR boys will be going around. I just have to think they will be using the old configuration. A number of them should hire me as a coach.

If I were running a Skippy car I would opt for the original uphill and the new West Bend.

It was good seeing everyone at the track yesterday. Marco signed my shirt (having an Andretti Green shirt on gets one to the front of the line). Too bad for Bobo.

It's been a busy month - Englishtown (NHRA), Richmond (IRL), Watkins Glen (IRL) and Lime Rock.

OLDMAN
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 07-13-2008
oldredracer's Avatar
oldredracer oldredracer is offline
Mid-Corner Speed Master / Advanced Member (1,000+ Posts)
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Chatham, NY
Posts: 1,268
Re: The New Lime Rock...

Call me old fashioned...I'll wait....but watching on tv I felt there was no rhythm to much of the race. I love yellow flags as much as NASCAR but I prefer cojones of steel in the uphill to threshold braking carnage at the bottom. Of course, seeing a Ferrari imitate Jim Vaill's D-8 on Skip's carefully graded dirt brought back old memories.
At the same time, Brabham's persistance in the face of moving chicainery was pretty impressive, especially as the alternate uphill and West Bend were supposed to create new passing opportunities.
'Alternate' is interesting, but 'classic' is still the best. Can't wait to see what it feels like without the moguls.
__________________
QUALIFICATIONS 1987: Davidson: "Sammy Swindell's car runs a normally aspirated stock-block engine with Pontiac heads. It was developed by John Buttera." Palmer: "Wow, yeah, he used to play the sax with Louis Prima." Davidson: "That was Sam Butera." Palmer: "Oh, yeah."
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 07-18-2008
oldredracer's Avatar
oldredracer oldredracer is offline
Mid-Corner Speed Master / Advanced Member (1,000+ Posts)
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Chatham, NY
Posts: 1,268
Re: The New Lime Rock...

Quote:
Originally Posted by OLDMAN View Post
If I were running a Skippy car I would opt for the original uphill and the new West Bend.
Spent an hour or so today in a Carrera doing lead-follows using that config.
Kinda like the pucker power of 'old' West Bend better, but rotating the Porsche in the much slower, more technical 'new' corner and catching it with power is it's own kind of fun.
Somebody here said it recently, but you race what you got and when you get it right it's all good.
__________________
QUALIFICATIONS 1987: Davidson: "Sammy Swindell's car runs a normally aspirated stock-block engine with Pontiac heads. It was developed by John Buttera." Palmer: "Wow, yeah, he used to play the sax with Louis Prima." Davidson: "That was Sam Butera." Palmer: "Oh, yeah."
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 07-18-2008
dalyduo's Avatar
dalyduo dalyduo is offline
Grand Master
Carbon Fiber Keyboard (3,000+ Posts)
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: location, location
Posts: 5,399

Gallery Images: 112
Re: The New Lime Rock...

Agreed... The newly paved old Uphill has lost none of its high speed charm while the new West Bend is a worthy challenge of double clutch trail braking and closed radius turn car control no matter what experience level you're playing at. This makes the downhill a much less hazardous challenge for beginners. A good time was had by all...
Quote:
Originally Posted by oldredracer View Post
Spent an hour or so today in a Carrera doing lead-follows using that config.
Kinda like the pucker power of 'old' West Bend better, but rotating the Porsche in the much slower, more technical 'new' corner and catching it with power is it's own kind of fun.
Somebody here said it recently, but you race what you got and when you get it right it's all good.
__________________
You draw 'em a picture and they eat the crayons... (Duck Waddle commenting on the creative ways some people interpret driving instruction.)
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmark This Thread

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Club at Lime Rock Park Introduces Associate Membership Deb4117 Racing Equipment, Race Tracks & Travel Discussions 21 06-13-2008 03:29 PM
Lime Rock Park Groundbreaking Deb4117 Racing Equipment, Race Tracks & Travel Discussions 0 03-31-2008 11:38 AM
ALMS Audi R8's set new lap record at Lime Rock Park dalyduo F1, IndyCar, Grand-Am, Karting etc Discussions 1 07-04-2005 02:20 AM


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 01:25 AM.


TeamJuicyRacing.com's fast new hosting service has been generously provided by ZeroLag Communications :: 1-877-ZERO-LAG

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004 - 2017 - Team Juicy Racing / Team Juicy, LLC