Interesting day at Roadcourse - Long post
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Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 213
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From: North Royalton, Ohio, USA
Interesting day at Roadcourse - Long post
I took my Lightning to Nelson Ledges race track yesterday. It is a
road course in North East Ohio. They had open track day. There were all types of cars. Beaters, 2 Vipers,
a 1969 Shelby Cobra (authentic, not a replica), and a Porsche 993 Turbo.
The 993 was a 1999 that I heard goes for about $115,000. The owner towed it
in with a Hummer. A while ago the owner had flown a Porsche mechanic in
from Germany to modify it. That cost about $30,000 to make it run faster.
When you do this, they put a RUF emblem on the hood to identify that it has
been modified by Porsche.
I was in the "new group" because it was my first time there. We heard that
a car had flipped, so they asked some of us to drive out there and see if we
could roll it back on the wheels. We went out there, and the Porsche was on
its roof. The driver was in the ambulance, talking, and in good shape.
Because the Porsche has the engine in the back, that is where most the
weight is. He had taken a turn, the rear wheel hit the grass, and when it
hit the pavement again, with the weight in the back, it shot across the
track like a rocket. It hit the tire wall on the other side of the track
and flipped. They took the driver away in the ambulance, but then he
returned a few minutes later and he was fine. Both air bags went off, one
side was all mashed in, the suspension was broken, and only one side of the
car looked undamaged. The driver looked at his car and said "I guess we'll
have to call RUF again". On a positive note, the guys that went out to help
found about $2.00 in change around the crash site.
Later that day, a VW Jetta ended up on his roof. By the time we got out
there, it was on its wheels. It didn't have much damage, and the guy may
have been able to drive it home.
I did fine. Didn't take many risks. Fishtailed once. Hit 110 mph. Smoked
the brakes. All in all, it was a fun day for me.
Tom
road course in North East Ohio. They had open track day. There were all types of cars. Beaters, 2 Vipers,
a 1969 Shelby Cobra (authentic, not a replica), and a Porsche 993 Turbo.
The 993 was a 1999 that I heard goes for about $115,000. The owner towed it
in with a Hummer. A while ago the owner had flown a Porsche mechanic in
from Germany to modify it. That cost about $30,000 to make it run faster.
When you do this, they put a RUF emblem on the hood to identify that it has
been modified by Porsche.
I was in the "new group" because it was my first time there. We heard that
a car had flipped, so they asked some of us to drive out there and see if we
could roll it back on the wheels. We went out there, and the Porsche was on
its roof. The driver was in the ambulance, talking, and in good shape.
Because the Porsche has the engine in the back, that is where most the
weight is. He had taken a turn, the rear wheel hit the grass, and when it
hit the pavement again, with the weight in the back, it shot across the
track like a rocket. It hit the tire wall on the other side of the track
and flipped. They took the driver away in the ambulance, but then he
returned a few minutes later and he was fine. Both air bags went off, one
side was all mashed in, the suspension was broken, and only one side of the
car looked undamaged. The driver looked at his car and said "I guess we'll
have to call RUF again". On a positive note, the guys that went out to help
found about $2.00 in change around the crash site.
Later that day, a VW Jetta ended up on his roof. By the time we got out
there, it was on its wheels. It didn't have much damage, and the guy may
have been able to drive it home.
I did fine. Didn't take many risks. Fishtailed once. Hit 110 mph. Smoked
the brakes. All in all, it was a fun day for me.
Tom
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 2,357
Likes: 0
From: Ventura, CA, USA
$2.00 in change? I guess that defrayed the cost of your gas for the day, lol.
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I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy.
'84 Alan Record Carbonio, Aerospoke wheels, Campy brakes.
'00 SVT Lightning, silver, built 2/9/00, #133 of 4966, G-tech Pro, JBA headers, 4.10 gears, Swanson chip, Pro-M, NGK plugs, carbon drive shaft, Roadmaster suspension kit, TransGo shift kit, cam bolts, Jackson washers, Wet Okoles, Kenyon transmission
13.39 @ 102.5
2001 Kevlacat 2400, twin 115 Evinrude FICHT, Raytheon VHF, radar, autopilot and GPS chartplotter/fishfinder.
gmvye@pacbell.net
------------------
I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy.
'84 Alan Record Carbonio, Aerospoke wheels, Campy brakes.
'00 SVT Lightning, silver, built 2/9/00, #133 of 4966, G-tech Pro, JBA headers, 4.10 gears, Swanson chip, Pro-M, NGK plugs, carbon drive shaft, Roadmaster suspension kit, TransGo shift kit, cam bolts, Jackson washers, Wet Okoles, Kenyon transmission
13.39 @ 102.5
2001 Kevlacat 2400, twin 115 Evinrude FICHT, Raytheon VHF, radar, autopilot and GPS chartplotter/fishfinder.
gmvye@pacbell.net