Pelican Parts Forums - ALMS at Lime Rock 2010

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ALMS at Lime Rock 2010

Went out to Lime Rock this morning for ALMS Friday practice. Weather forecast called for 30% chance of showers, which turned into 100% chance of rain with a 30% chance of heavy rain. Filled the memory card by the end of practice, had Pat Long sign one of my shots from last year and headed for home.

There seemed to be a good turn out at the track despite the weather, and qualifying today couldn't be more different than what is forecast for tomorrow, which is upper 80's with high (oppressive) humidity. Today was low 70's at best with constant rain.

Here are a few of the pics.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1279930222.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1279930237.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1279930250.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1279930262.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1279930278.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1279930306.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1279930318.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1279930393.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1279930406.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1279930420.jpg

Reeeeeallly nice shots, deanp... it's obvious you know your way around race photography. Keep 'em coming... any interesting support races?

Great pics, have fun tomorrow!

Awesome pics. Been a lot of years since I've been at Lime Rock. Hope things dry out for the weeklend, but the rain shots are great.

What is this silver car?

Quote:

Originally Posted by deanp (Post 5469664)

Thanks John. Support races are F2000 and the Cooper Tire Prototype Lites.

Here's a few more pics.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1279933850.jpg

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shaun 84 Targa (Post 5469725)

What is this silver car?

It's a little easier to identify from the side or front... but you still have to turn in your man card for the rest of the weekend.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1279938171.jpg
#40 Robertson Racing Doran Design Ford GT: Andrea Robertson, David Murry

Who's going tomorrow?

Lime Rock doesn't race on Sunday, is there something else going on??

Oh man you lucky duck! That beat what I did Friday (at work stuck reading a bunch of RFP responses and then riding my motorcycle home in the same rain - yuk!)

I've gotta' get down there one of these days, preferably once I get the uber-944 project completed.

I'm watching the race now on SPEED.

Watched about the last 30 mins. on Justin.tv... Greg Pickett and Klaus Graf won it.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1280007161.jpg

Hah - D'oh! I totally mis-read which days the races were happening. Oh well, better luck next year, I guess!

I wish that track was 2x as long.

AFAIK, they never race at Lime Rock on Sunday.

Quote:

AFAIK, they never race at Lime Rock on Sunday.

No racing at LRP on Sundays.. usually concourse etc...

Quote:

I wish that track was 2x as long.

There were plans for a longer course... actually the run off from big bend was the start of the rest of the course...

Lime Rock is a great driving course.... keeps you on your toes...no slacking no relaxing...

Funny thing I have done 1:00 minute laps in my dinosaur... these new cars do 1:00 minute laps...

Nice shots Dean. How've you been? 911 in your future??

Quote:

Originally Posted by TimT (Post 5472088)

Funny thing I have done 1:00 minute laps in my dinosaur... these new cars do 1:00 minute laps...

Hey Tim, they use two chicanes on the back side of the course, one 90-degree right hander before the old uphill (which is coned off) and another one around West Bend!

That right hander at the end of no name, well, I could tell they all wished they had about 1,200 horsepower to climb the hill. I walked along the edge of the track and nearly went deaf at the upshift point when unburned fuel cooked off in the pipes.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1280171842.jpg

Quote:

Hey Tim, they use two chicanes on the back side of the course, one 90-degree right hander before the old uphill (which is coned off) and another one around West Bend!

I have never driven the "new" Lime Rock yet, every time I go the organizers chose to run the old course..nostalgia?

Even if LRP is short track, its one of my favorites!!

I haven't driven it either, largely because my current 911 is in 4,017 pieces.

One of the drivers involved in a shunt was being interviewed on Radio Le Mans which goes out over the speakers, and the guy says, "It's 20 years past the time when cars this fast should be driven on this track." Which I couldn't disagree more with-- while it's true that the prototypes have unbelievable power and sophisticated aero that's designed more for three mile straightaways like Mulsanne, and when you change the gearing and crank the wings, then you have to deal with an undulating track surface (vs. the urban, flat, billiard-table-smooth roadcourses of F1) that the suspensions have a hard time coping with, here's the rub:

Racing is a sport-- a sport for the drivers involved, and a spectator sport for the millions of fans who tune in to see their favorite teams and drivers. At the end of the day, it's not the technology that's interesting, unless your idea of competition is individual time trials-- it's the competition among teams and drivers to go as fast as physics, the budget and human endurance will allow without making a mistake. THAT is what pays that driver's salary-- that and the occasional purchase of some new car or parts from Porsche, who are running a BUSINESS.

I have never met Patrick Long. But I watched the video of him driving Plavan's car, and that's enough for me. Patrick Long is one of US, I have no doubt you could sit down with him over a beer and talk about the handling characteristics of all the cars he's driven, from the RS Spyder to Chad's S/T replica. So when watching him drive, seeing him through the plexiglass sawing at the wheel of the RSR, I remembered what it was like to be in the cockpit, on the same curves, trying to hold on and not make a mistake. And for a moment I WAS Patrick Long, until the pain in my eardrums and the blazing sun brought me back to reality.

And THAT is why we go to the races. Imperfect track and all.