??
Well, what a ride! :o) 4 days of hard practice at the Nurburgring in a (rookie,
basic) Lotus Trainer and I so far have an 11:07 minute lap time! Okay, I still
have around two spins a lap, but now my confidence is really beginning to
build. On the fast turns, I have no problem dancing the car, right at the
limits, on the edge... it's crazy! Three parts of the track stand outin
particular...
There is a downhill right-hander just before the first bridge you go under.
This is where balencing the car is crucial because there is a fantastic
downhill section, one of the few places you can reach maximum speed. You can
clip the grass verges each side on the way down before you are suddenly
launched backup a steep left hander - it's soooo great - and everytime you get
it wrong the is a tree waiting on the outside at the top :o)
Second, there is the section which is alll downhill with a steep hill up on
your right and bushes to your left.... kind of like a green monaco :o) But the
way the road 'cambers' is fantastic, you just point your car inwards and drift
allll the way down. Right, brake.... left, on the throttle, brake... right
again.... all the way to the bottom. Ahhh, brings tears to my eyes! :'o) I
always hit that Mobil sign on the way down too...
Finally, there is the extreeeeeeamly long straight, a few corners from the end
of the lap. But it's not the straight I'm interested in... it's the right
hander immediatly before it and the left hander immediatly after it. Oh, and
that jump in the middle :o) These corners are very important parts of the
lap... and you must be very delecate with the car. :o)
Rob
Eleve de Winfield'98