Pictures of Lotus Corps track day at Blackhawk.

Many thanks to the Lotus Corps for allowing us to have some track time. It was my first time on a "real" track and all I can say is WOW!!! I didn't think it was possible to love the Z more, but it is. :-) My wife took some pictures of the event and I have posted some of my favorites here;
Lotus day pics

If you came to the event and want pics on CD, email me your address at geoffbrown@comcast.net. And be sure to thank Lori for the great pics. ;-)

And here's a little teaser of the gang in the pits.

 

I have to say IT WAS HELLA FUN! The Z definitely belongs to the track haha! It was amazing what the car can do to a beginner
It was nice to finally meet some of you guys there, Geoff, Dougs(sp?), EnthuZ(Bruce?), Scott, and a couple of other Z guys(sorry i am very bad with names ) and special thanks to Jack(my instructor with the Black Z who did a good job showing me what my car can do),
I had a great time and hope that we can all hopefully be able to do it all over once again sometime soon

P.S. Mad props to the guys who bring cameras and Geoff's wife for taking the pictures professional style

 

A great time was had by all!

The storms held off and the weather was awesome!

Very happy that the new-bees had a lot of fun.

Be sure to give Lori a BIG thank you for the pix. Awesome!


AND..........NO landscaping for me!

Yes, that was the new Elise out playing!

A thank you to author Bert Levy for helping in the chief instructor roll, and to Chris Bebe(sp) for bringing his Lotus Elan +2S and helping instruct!

 

I second the big thanks to Bert. He was awesome. Thanks to Jack for taking me out in my car. Here's a pic of the new Elise.

 

Here's a pic of Jack running the little Elise down!! The Z is not a big car, but it looks like Attilla the Hun chasing down the Elise.

 

Group shot.

Benny in the Daytona
Me in the Redline
Bruce in the Silverstone

 

Nice photos. Glad to hear you had fun.
So, did the new Elise hold it's own???

 

The Lotus Corps put on a very well run event.....their best yet.

The Elise will smoke most Z's at the track. The "not street legal" Elise 130R's(I think that is their proper name) in my group were faster/better than my Z in all performance categories............

But our Z's can be comfortably driven 362 days of the year.......



Geoff, the "through the chicane" shot is great! But I never ran in your group......MAYBE, it was the OTHER Bruce!


Think Friday July 2.........back at The Farm with the Alfa Club.
www.caroc.com

 

So, Bruce, what are the three days a year the Z can't be driven comfortably?

 

...and funny at the same time as well

EnthuZ, I just remembered that you didn't have your harness bar in your car yesterday. What happened to it? I am feeling that i need one cos my *** and waist are twisting and hurting under hard cornering.

 

Whoops, meant Chrome Silver. I can't keep all the Z's silvers straight. ;-)

 

HA HA......HA.....

James, when the snow is deeper than 5 inches.

BTW......Bert was BEGGING for help instructing.....so I volunteered.

Benny......it is being cloned......sure wish I had had it for turn 5!

 

Exactly, Bruce, that turn!

Hey i may go volunteer for the Alfa event

 

how did the Z do against the STREET LEGAL elise??

 

The street legal Elise was at the track courtesy of Lotus. You could drive it, but you had to have the Lotus Rep with you. So, I don't think many people pushed it to its limits.

 

D*MN....I wish I had driven the Elise!

I'll take a wild guess and say the Elise is about 5 seconds a lap faster than a 350Z at Blackhawk......about 1:30 seconds a lap. Five seconds is a LOT! I think it has MORE HP than the 130R's, and only a little more weight.

Here is one of the few pix I took:

 

Eventually, I will be able to tell you about the difference between the Z and the Elise firsthand. I'm on the list at my local dealership to order one, although I have no idea when I'll even be able to place the order, much less when I'll get the car. Perhaps not until next year.

But a friend of mine has ordered one, and should get it this summer. She may let me drive it, possibly even on track. (I'd better start buttering her up!)

I got on the list just to keep my options open. The car is so small and impractical for daily driving that, even though I have a beater car, I may not keep the Elise. Driving it to weekend track events would be tricky, because of its limited storage space. It's that small: the trunk is about half the size of a Miata's trunk. Taking my usual complement of clothes, track gear (helmet, boots, etc.) and tools would probably completely fill up the trunk and front seat.

And I'll probably be able to flip it: resell it for thousands more than I paid. That would help make up for the value I lost on the Z by installing the roll bar.

But if I do decide to keep the Elise, I'll have to sell the Z.

 

I had the chance to sit in the Elise at the atlanta auto show and I have first hand knowledge thats its tight for only being 5'10". Damn near need a shoe horn.

 

Yeah, that's another problem for daily use: you damn near have to be a gymnast to get in and out of the car, unless you have the top off.

 

Great shot Bruce!! Its a Lotus sandwich. ;-)