bmoyes

I went to a Sprints event at Winton (Victoria) as a guest of the Alfa club. They are a really cool group who are really into their motorsport. They were all really accomodating and lots of people told me how much they liked my car. This would be a good club for us to associate with, as a lot of their cars are of similar ability of ours, and they have good numbers.

I did a familiarization session with one of the club's instructors, who was blown away track abilities of my stock s2k.

There were a few other guest cars in my sessions, of most interest was a yellow Lotus Elise that had participated in Targa Tasmania. The guy driving in in my session was not the owner, but had more track experience than myself (1 day!..hehe). I was able to slightly pull ahead of him on straights, and I was pulling up under brakes better before corners. He seemed to have an advantage on cornering speed, but I was prepared to put that down to me running old S02's vs him with racing tyres.

My best time was 1:50:47 I think, which I was pretty happy with. I got that in my first session before the track warmed in sun. It's a good, challenging track that keeps you busy. The Honda event later this year will be fantastic. Don't miss it!

DavidM

Good stuff .... I'm all for meeting up with other clubs. What lap times was the Elise doing?

ps. Ive never been to Winton myself .... how long does it take to get there from Melbourne?

Iggy_Type_R

Between 2 and 2.5 hours to get to Winton. It's on teh way from Sydney to Melbourne... on the Hume I think.

I drove past it when I was heading to Melbourne last month.

bmoyes

Iggy is spot on with the drive times from Melb. It is a longish drive, but still worth the effort.

You can see the entire track from the spectator area, so it's a good day out.

The Elise had two drivers. The experienced guy's best time was 1:41:33, and the other guy's was 1:47:05

My best was 1:50:45
This was surprising, because with track tyres and a bit more experience, I think I could have taken the thing!

DavidM

Yeah, you should beat an Elise. They are great cars but that are not that fast in the straight-line. Though, that does depend on the engine. The 'standard' engine is pretty guttless (even in the car of this low weight) but you can get the Elise with more power and those things are quick.

Iggy_Type_R

I'd love to get my hands on one of those Exiges with the integra type r engine in them! MMMMMMMMmmmmmm

DavidM

Exige - now there's a fine track car :-) Though, the engine in it is not Integra Type R engine. It comes with a Rover 1.8L engine tuned for 133kW at 7800rph (7900rpm redline).

Interesting rearing in the Exige though ... unbelievably tall 2nd gear:
1st = 73kph
2nd = 126kph
3rd = 167kph
4th = 208kph
5th = 250kph

Probably so that you can hold the 2nd around most corners.

Iggy_Type_R

[QUOTE]Originally posted by DavidM
[B]Exige - now there's a fine track car :-) Though, the engine in it is not Integra Type R engine. It comes with a Rover 1.8L engine tuned for 133kW at 7800rph (7900rpm redline).

Interesting rearing in the Exige though ... unbelievably tall 2nd gear:
1st = 73kph
2nd = 126kph
3rd = 167kph
4th = 208kph
5th = 250kph

Probably so that you can hold the 2nd

DavidM

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Mate I know it doesn't have the type r engine in it, but the US guys cannot get it so they shove a type r engine in them in the US. 8400 redline with 141kw!!! and best of all... VTEC right behind your head!!! MMMMMMmmmm
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Ahh, ok ... my bad. I did not realize that is what they do in the States. And yeah, that would be one fast machine.

ps. Yeah, I saw the Vette vs Exige video ... pretty cool. Exige is not 'that' fast at Nurburging though because it's really good at speeds bellow 160kph. Up to 160kph it's about as fast as an S2000 (in the straighline) but after that it really slows down (something like 7 secs slower to 200kph and tops out at about 215kph). N'ring required a fair bit of 160kph+ speed and that's where it suffers. 8:42 is the best they've managed there with the Exige, while at a shorter track (more resembling Winton) it whoops but of everything but 911 GT3 (GT3 got the same time) ... it beat Diablo, Viper, F360, F550 - you name it. To put in in perspecive, the BoxsterS and S2000 were good 4secs slower on a 1:15 lap course ... that is a seriously fast car :-)