SEPTEMBER 24-26 - ELKHART LAKE VINTAGE FESTIVAL
ROAD AMERICA-ELKHART LAKE, WISCONSIN
To all,
The VSCDA's ELVF at RA is coming up in a week and a half. Of the three
vintage races at Road America we have the opportunity to run, this one is by
far my favorite. It's far more relaxed than the Brian Redman event in July,
and seems to have a far better level of driver skill than the event in May.
The fall colors in the Kettle Moraine (sp?) portion of central Wisconsin
will be just starting to take over the greenery that dominates the woods in
the summer. The track whispers (sometimes shouts) its tradition with every
one of its 14 turns. This is a big track, and through out the course of the
weekend you could watch every practise and race session from a different
vantage point.
Turns 5, Canada Corner, and 14 (exiting to the main straightaway) are the
most difficult, and since they exit to an uphill portion of the track, they
are also the most important. Exit speed is king here for those of us in
small bore machines... as I have time to make tea on the uphill front
straight in a 948cc Sprite. It's easy to chop large chunks off your lap
times as you learn the track, but gets far harder to chip off incremental
bits as you get nearer you and your car's limit. The best I've done there in
the Red Rat bastard #99 is 3:02 which I've done on 3 or 4 different race
weekends... but this is greatly influenced by pavement conditions and
ambient temperatures. (We could be in shorts or snowmobile suites in late
September)
You can expect the event to bring out a great variety of race machinery.
Terminal speeds are far greater than most tracks... and sometimes that will
get a driver into trouble. You're never real busy like Blackhawk, Grattan,
or Mosport for that matter, so sometimes the lengthy straights can lull you
into a dangerous attitude of complacency, and then all of a sudden a corner
is rushing into view at 30 mph faster than you run at other tracks.
This even has another round of the USRRC race series. Also, you can run in
the enduro for (get this) $5. This is a phenominal track time value.
Thicko Village will be highly visible as usual. We will be serving animal
sacrifices all weekend. Please stop by and say hello. It's possible to see
at least 40 cars running the Team Thicko logo just in Group 2.
Racers... this is well worth the pull. Spectators... always a great time.
For more info, go to http://www.vscda.org.
WST
Flounder
Team Thicko
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