I had a great time at Lime Rock with CVR this weekend. While it was chilly, there was a lot of grip and the cool, dense air helped make power.

I thought I'd share video of a few laps. Of course, any pointers or critique is welcome.

 

Man, Fall in Lime Rock. Cool! I love that place and have loved it since 1985. Got down to :53's there the last three years so my system works pretty well... Doing work for Skippy has helped, too.

I'm looking at Lap 10, your 1:02.9

Very good transition from full power to brakes after start/finish. You're coming away from the left edge of the road in the appropriate place, take the apporpriate tangent going in under the bridge but bleed off the brakes from -1g to ~.7g at the leading edge of the curb, meaning you could brake a little later, with a little more consistent deceleration past the point where you leave the leading inside curb.

There's too much time at the entry of Big Bend where you have less than optimal deceleration, but have not yet begun to build significant lateral loading to the left. Need to bring the end of braking closer to the real turn-in. An awful long time at ~66-67 mph at entry. Pretty tight, too.

IMO, you could afford to "overshoot" the first curbing more at a greater rate of speed and spend less time at vMin in the first third through the middle half of Big Bend. You do eventually come out, but there's no green light indicating positive longitudinal acceleration at that point (which there should be) until quite late in the corner. I think you're tight at the entry of the T2 curbing and well in advance of the worker station, which should be your guide to where you want to be on the inside curb coming out.

Tracking out quite early, heading over the crown early at the exit of Big Bend. Exit speed still in the high 60's, indicating delay of throttle application, likely due to pinching the entry of T2.

Entry of the Left Hander is not good. You're driving around the inside of entry of the corner. Ideally, as you leave the trackout of Big Bend, you should be looking at the Women's restroom door overhang () and drive towards it, crossing the centerline of the track and entering right of center and quite "high" next to the corner worker station on the right. You have to wait until you are straight and leave the inside curbing of the Left Hander before fully committing to throttle. Losing LOTS of time into and through there.

Turn in to No Name is good. Apex is good. Need to rub that curb, as a matter of fact ALL inside curbs.

Good acceleration up to the slowing point for the Uphill, good, short braking, but too much delay until the green lights come back on as you leave the inside curbing. I think you need to stay alongside the curbing a little longer to "buy" yourself some space at the exit of the crest. Either that or you need to turn more as the car compresses going up the hill. I would NOT want to track out before the crest, which is what you're doing. It looks like you abdicate and just ride it out.

A little ambiguous in the transition from throttle to brake into West Bend. Nice placement of the car against the grass on the left, good turn in, but like the Uphill, late on throttle after your "speed adjustment" or braking release. Need a trace more curb at the crossover road to track out a few car lengths further on and closer to the Bridge.

Nice entry into Diving Turn, but FOUR SECONDS of no red, no green on the accelerometers, a LOT of time in the 88-92 range. Biggest goal is to reduce the "dwell" around vMin.

Try to nuzzle that inside curb a little more, then you'll be able to squeeze on throttle in anticipation of the compression as you approach the apex, rather than as you exit Diving Turn.

All in all, a nice lap with room for improvement! Which is why you want to come back, right?

Have you ever walked the track? Seeing where the track helps/hurts you is a real education.

 

Van,
good to see that you are enjoying the new car. Is this the 2nd time you have had it out?

 

Peter, invaluable comments! Thank you! I'm going to print it out and put it in the car so i won't forget in the spring time. That's one of the beauties of data acquisition, right? I might think I'm on the gas before apex, but the data shows a different story. I have to say, one of the things I find hardest is braking just the right amount at just the right place. I don't know if it was that lap, but on a few of them, I was trying to left-foot brake at the uphill. It felt like I got on the gas earlier, but my line suffered because my timing was thrown off.

I've never walked the track at Lime Rock - I know at the Glen we've had several organized walks at the end of the day, but I don't ever recall anyone talking about it at LRP.

Yes, Chris, that was my second outing with the car, and I'm super impressed with it. It seems to fit like a well broken-in glove!

 

Van, try and look at all the laps and I'm sure you'll find areas where you judged it just right (I just looked at the quickest one, not the others).

Very perceptive on your part about the proper braking quest possibly throwing your timing off. That's the kind of questioning that'll make you quicker!

That said, you should establish priorities. Accelerate fully up to the "speed adjustment point," slow the requisite amount in the shortest distance and at the appropriate place, then progress to full throttle commitment as soon as possible, all while being inch-perfect accurate with car placement. Easy!

Try to walk LRP sometime. The camber gain and loss, as well as the compression both at the Uphill and the Downhill is amazing! Armed with that knowledge, you'll slow less and go faster with less effort!

Again, nice job. Good luck next Spring.

 

Keep up the good work... As you settle into the new car you will pick up the low hanging fruit.

 

Van, glad to see you're enjoying the new car.

 

Good seeing you again Van, you have a really nice looking car and she seems well balanced out there! You should be at the pointy end of SP2 with just a little more work..

 

van, nice meeting you and good luck. nice to see that you will be running with the 944 cup boys next year. im trying to encourage a few more friends to come out and play !

 

What's up with you, Joe? Sell your car? Get a replacement?


Nice seeing you too, Gary!


And nice meeting you Vito, I'm looking forward to racing in SP2 next year!

 

Van, I'm going to keep the 968. I have moments where I want to move to a newer platform but I like the 968 too much to part with it. I did run a 944 Cup event in the fall and believe the car is better suited for SP3 than F. It's an awesome car that I've spent years sorting out and upgrading to almost perfection. Plus, my son will be in it this season and it's a great platform for him to learn with. I was thinking of moving to H with a Cayman or F with a Boxster, both are viable options at some point.