How fast is the the Corvette Z06?

By now you've read all there is to read about the C7 Z06 and Z07,  you know that in pure cost/performance, it blows everything else out of the water.  

But how fast is it?   Well, this clip Corvette published showing a lap of Road Atlanta puts it in a context understandable to most of us tracktards.

The lap shown is 1:29.8 but at the beginning of the clip, you see the lap before was a 29.6.   Tommy Milner's talking his way through the lap, presumably he might do even better with full concentration.

NASA held it's eastern national championships at Road Atlanta ealier this year and 1:29.8 would have been good for first place in TT2 by 1 second flat.   TT2 is unlimited mods with an 8 to 1 weight to power ratio.   Those are some wicked fast time attack cars on slicks.

Need a BMW centric comparison?  Epic's Randy Mueller driver of one of the fastest BMW club racers in the country won the GT4 championship and qualified with a 1:31.9.

The Z06 with (presumably) streetable tires, sat-nav, air conditioning, built in data / video recorder and possibly even heated seats lapped sub 1:30 with a dude talking.

OK the "dude" is one of Corvette's pro drivers but still, there's just no denying the Z06 is one sick, sick car.

Motorsport, she's a cruel mistress.

It was the culmination of a year of planning.  A new motor was built,   140 gallons of diesel burned for the 15 hour tow from New Jersey to compete for the NASA Eastern National championship at Road Atlanta and things were looking good.

It would be fair to say Peter Thibault is the most naturally talented racer among our Team Axis group, speed comes easy to him.   An amazing mechanic with seemingly endless knowledge of how to get things fixed, one way or another, Pete spent countless hours making sure the Axis of

Oversteer Spec E30 was,  if not exactly pretty, as quick and reliable as possible while staying within the rules.

The NASA Championship consists  of a qualifying session and two qualifying races leading up to the big final on the Sunday.   Positions on the  earlier races determine the grid for the final.

Pete qualified 10th for the first race out of almost 40 cars, he finished the race in fourth.  Race two he started fourth and finished third insuring a row two starting spot for the final.

If front, top dogs in SpecE30,  Robert Grace and Eric Palacio, winners of the qualifying races respectively.  Sharing row two, Steven Lako.

Unlike most other classes, Spec E30 feature a standing start.    The cars are off climbing though Turn One,  up and over the roller coaster of  the Road Atlanta "esses"  and on to the the back side of the track.

Thibault holds his third place position behind Grace and Palacio as the cars start down the long back straight.

In racing,  especially in spec racing,  so much is about that opening lap.   You need to get it done and set the tone for the rest of the race, after that it becomes about managing the car.    Pete got it done.

It was a brilliant move:  as Grace and Palacio were fighting it out for first into the T10a and 10b chicane, Thibault laid back a little thinking

Photos Matt Russell/Axis of Overster

the two  would end up compromising their exit speed on the climb towards the bridge.

I worked perfectly, Pete took the inside line and swooped past on the plunge towards the start finish line, he was first at the end of lap one.

Lap two saw Thibault stretch out his lead while others fought for position.   It would be a long race but the hard work was done, from there it would be a matter of managing the tires and not making any mistakes...

but it was not to be...

At some point in lap three, the shifter starts feeling stiff and then, approaching turn 10 the transmission just fails, Pete left with a box of neutrals and understandably upset...

A small part inside the transmission, a piece that had never failed before decided to pick that very moment to do so.

And that's motorsport in a nutshell for you, a cruel mistress to be sure but one hard to resist.

Congratulations to all of this year's National Champions, see you next year!

Oh Oh....

Here's is the video from Pete's off at Road Atlanta we had told you about over the week end.  He was too optimistic with his turn in speed into turn one, almost saved it.  Data showed he hit at 56 mph.

Pete was unhurt.

Overnight frame straightening, $525.
Two e30 fenders: maybe a couple hundred in a pinch.
Good safety features at a race track:  Priceless.

Axis celebrates the spirit of Audi....

Axis Pete Thibault decided to celebrate the spirit of Audi at Le Mans with his own crash and rebuild.

There was no was something as minor as a major high speed crash was going to keep Pete from the SpecE30 race at Road Atlanta.    It was a 15 hour tow from Jersey and his first visit to the daunting Georgia track.  The idea was to get aquatinted with it ahead of NASA's national championship there later in the summer.

An overoptimistic entry into turn one on the first lap of qualifying resulted in wheels off, a snap spin on the damp grass and a 56 mph hit into the barrier.   Lucky for Pete, Road Atlanta has adequate tire walls there: Axis 343 was pretty bent but he was OK.

Some may have called it quits but he found a local body shop with a chassis jig.  Overnight they pulled it, slapped on a couple of fenders and this morning Pete qualified P5 for today's race!   

Epic. 

Postcards From Road Atlanta

Muhlner Motorsports Porsche GT3 Cup

Postcards from the 2013 Visual Studio Ultimate Grand Prix of Atlanta at Road Atlanta by MSM/Halston Pitman

Gallery after the break

That's How He Rolls

If you absolutely, positively have to roll your car, you cannot do it any better than Dr.Jim Norman did it in practice at Road Atlanta!

1:23 at Road Atlanta...with Air Conditioning

Granted, Top Speed Motorsport is capable of extracting over 1000 HP out of a GT-R but even with a slightly more sane tune, you would still have to keep it on the road and have the balls to drive this Godzilla around the corners properly. That's where Leh Keen comes in.

Just to put it in perspective, pole for this year's Porsche GT3 Challenge at Road Atlanta was 1:26 so 1:23 is ..."not bad" for a road legal car.

How to drive FASTER: Road Atlanta

Axis of Oversteer, How to drive FASTER brings you detailed track guides and advice from professional racers aimed at advanced drivers, time trailer and club racers. You can find otherepisodes HERE

Road Atlanta in Braselton Georgia the home of Petit LeMans and another great old school and intimidating track. Built in the 1970s and eventually rescued by Don Panoz, the track was most recently part of the merger deal between ALMS and Grand-Am.

The track is literally in Bimmerworld Racing Seth Thomas's back yard so who better than a Georgia native to give up some of the secrets of the esses?


ROAD ATLANTA

Road Atlanta has always been my home track as I was born and raised 20 miles away. My very first memories of sports car racing are of going to the track  with my dad in the 80’s to watch the glory days of IMSA racing.   I still remember vividly the Camel GTP cars coming through the famed “Dip” and crest the hill at Turn 11 at speeds in excess of 100 MPH, right side mirrors about to touch the wall going under the bridge.
As a young kid I always thought about how cool it would be to drive one of these cars at Road Atlanta.

Fast Forward to 1998 when the opportunity to drive Road Atlanta arrived when I signed up for a Track Day with the BMWCar Club of America.   This was my first event with my new to me 1997 BMW M3.
I was hooked. I started looking for every track event at Road Atlanta I could attend.  Then I started racing in 2001 in a ITB 1984 BMW 318.  This car helped teach me the line around the track.  Since then I have modified the line I started learning at Driver’s Ed events to the one I use to race.  Racing for BimmerWorld in the Speed World Challenge Touring Car helped hone my line around Road Atlanta. Those cars were fast with a small tire with very little grip but the lap times were similar to a Porsche 996 GT3 Cup Car.

For my friends at Axis of Oversteer here is a detailed lap around my home track of Road Atlanta including pictures from inside the 2007 BimmerWorld BWM 325 Touring Car.

Front Straight

A lap at Road Atlanta starts with a fast run through T12 onto the front straight. This straight is not very long but it is fast as the entry speed is around 110-120 MPH. The important part to remember here is to look ahead for the brake markers for Turn 1 and pick them up with your vision as early as possible. The exercise of finding the brake markers as early as possible will help you for the rest of your lap.

Turn 1

Turn1 is a very fast constant radius right hand turn featuring both downhill and uphill changes in elevation. It slopes downward a small amount in the brake zone down to the apex and gains elevation from the apex out. It is important to take note of these changes to maximize grip and speed in all the stages of Turn1.

Heading into the brake zone for T1 the speeds will be around 120-130 MPH. Line the car up with the left side of the track. The importance here is to give yourself as much track surface as you can so you can roll big speed through Turn 1. This is the second biggest brake zone of the track but be careful not to overslow the car. I tend to give the car a big hit of the brakes on initial brake pedal application but roll off the pressure on the pedal fairly early to get the front tires ready to turn in with speed.

As I start to bleed off brake pedal pressure I slowly start to turn the car in a tiny bit early as the track starts to slope downward and the cars starts to slightly understeer. I release the brakes a little early to roll the speed down to the apex. At the apex point is the transition from downhill to uphill and the front starts to gain grip again. This is when I transition my right foot to the throttle pedal and start to aggressively apply throttle. I want to use the grip gained by the uphill run to help the car accelerate out. Once I turn in for Turn 1 I do my best to maintain the same steering input throughout the whole turn. Use the majority of the track but remember to start the setup for Turn 2 on the exit.

How (not) to enter pit lane at Road Atlanta

This was one year ago this week....CG is still living this one down!

 Best of luck at this week's season finale of IMSA Porsche Challenge at Road Atlanta CG.

TRG Film Festival

The Racer's Group is not only a top tier racing organization but, of late quite the little film studio! TRG takes care of CG and the Axis GT3 so we're happy to share their best 2011 clips.

Let's start with Spencer Pumpelly, the world's fastest vegan, the Vegan Velociraptor, turning in early with big speed at Laguna Seca. Spencer is charge of TRG historic #66 GTC Porsche GT3.



Next Spencer's co driver Duncan Ende shows how to drive with one eye looking forward and one looking backwards at Road Atlanta



The next two clips are more like little features, the first at Road Atlanta (do some of those shots look familiar from the Porsche GT3 Cup commercial?) and the second is their year end wrap up. Nice work!




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Lap Road Atlanta with BMW's Dirk Warner

One of BMW's fast Dirks shows you how's it done with the RLR M3 GT during practice for the 2011 Petit Le Mans.
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Top ten finish for Axis at Road Atlanta

Paying for an error on qualifying which relegated him to eleventh on the grid, Carlos Gomez managed to drive the Axis of Oversteer/ Capital Partners Porsche GT3 Cup to P9 after an eventful race 14 of the IMSA GT3 Challenge championship at Road Atlanta.

Tomorrow is the Last race of the season, with the green flag dropping at 11:30 AM. If you are at RA don't forget out photo contest for a chance to win some Axis swag!

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Jetalliance Lotus Evora GT, 2011 Petit Le Mans practice, Road Atlanta by James Boone.

Turn 12 Code Brown: how close to smashing two walls can you get?

Watch as CG explores innovative ways to enter pit lane in stylish and unforgettable fashion today at Road Atlanta, during IMSA GT3 Challenge practice.

Turn 12 at Road Atlanta, a blind, 120 mph downhill right, is arguable the hardest, scariest turn in all of North America.
Go big or go home!

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Petit Le Mans Photo Contest.

All right shooters, here is another chance to win some fabulous Axis of Oversteer goodies a special treat from The Racers Group.

Sent in your best shot of the #75 Axis car ripping at Road Atlanta this week end, you could win an Axis T-shirt, stickers and a full set of signed hero cards from all the TRG drivers in both IMSA GT3 challenge and ALMS!

To enter send your best shots to us HERE . Deadline is a week from today, October 4th, Winners will be announced the following Friday.

Happy Hunting!

Petit Le Mans Testing

Big boys are out testing ahead of this coming week end ALMS Petit Le Mans 1000 mile ( or 10 hours) race at Road Atlanta. IMSA GT3 Challenge will be there as well and CG will be out for the final time this season in the Axis of Oversteer/Capital Partners GT3. We will be having a photo competition again, so make sure you catch him in action!



(photos: James Kirkham/TRG)
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You could have had a V8...

...but you might have just been slower.

You hear all the time about e36 BMW with V8 stuffed up front, more rare is an e-36 with a 4 cylinder S14. Even more rare and odd an e36 with an S14 and an e30 semi trailing arm rear suspension.

Our friend Seth Thomas got the chance to drive this rare British Touring Car Championship car at Road Atlanta recently and sent us the video to share. Seth writes:

This past weekend I had the chance to drive an old touring car from Europe. I am not 100% sure on the specific series the car ran in while in Europe but I can tell you this thing was a blast to drive. It was an early 90s E36 BMW 2-door chassis with a 2.5L Gruppe A S14 stuffed under the hood with individual throttle bodies working with a slide type throttle linkage. Along with the wild motor it had a sequential 6-speed transmission with gears so close it kept the car in a 1500 RPM revband the whole time. Coming out of turn 7 at Road Atlanta I was in 5th gear before the bridge and 6th shortly after. Shifting this quick was similar to driving a big rig.

Overall this was a great experience and I am glad Drew Slayton gave me the opportunity. Watch the video below to see our race during the BMWCCA 1.5 Hour enduro. We qualified on the pole with a 1:32.85 on a set of scrubbed Yokohama slicks. We started the race on a set of Nitto NT01s to ensure they would last the whole time and to not waste a good set of slicks for the sprint races the rest of the weekend. Best I could manage on the NT01s was a 1:35.10. We led the first half of the race until some trouble popped up about 35 minutes in. Watch to find out what happened.

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A Lap of Road Atlanta

Short and sweet, a minute and a half for a lap around one of the world's great tracks, Road Atlanta. You are onboard the Doran Design, Robertson Racing Ford GT. Enjoy.



home

Mike Skeen named SCCA Trans-Am Rookie of the Year

Well done Mike, 2010 SCCA Pro Racing Trans Am Rookie of the year!

Spec e30 must be a good school, check out Skeen's pole position lap in qualifying for the Trans-Am race at Road Atlanta , just before the Petit Le Mans last week end.

Bit more power than a BMW e30 in this case, He's driving some monstrous Corvette, I'm guessing one front tire has probably more contact patch than all four Spec e30 Toyos put together.

You can read the press release and see video from the race after the jump.









BRASELTON, Ga. -Newly crowned series champion Tony Ave, of Maiden, N.C., picked up his sixth career SCCA Pro Racing Trans-Am Series victory on Friday afternoon at Road Atlanta, coming out on top in a seesaw battle with polesitter Mike Skeen, of Charlotte, N.C.

Driving the No. 4 Boden Masonry/Lamers Racing/McMahon Group/Optech/PME Chevrolet Corvette, Ave vaulted from third on the starting grid and into the lead on Lap 1 of the 36-lap race. His lead would be short-lived however, as Skeen reclaimed the lead on Lap 5 and appeared to be well on his way to victory in the No. 81 ECR Chevrolet Corvette.

Unfortunately for Skeen, disaster struck on Lap 26 when he spun after encountering traffic in an inopportune spot in Turn 10, giving the lead back to Ave. From there, Ave – who clinched the 2010 Trans-Am championship in Thursday’s qualifying session – cruised to an easy victory.

“We got the lead right away and the car seemed like it was running like it had been on the practice day,” said Ave. “But when I got into the Esses and every time I turned to the right it would just stumble and not run very good. Coming out of (Turn) 7 it would do that every other lap. He was faster because of that. Finally, he got close enough to me and he drove by me coming down the straightaway like I was tied to a rock. I was worried if it was even going to finish, and it kind of maintained about that pace.

“I drove it as hard as I could just to try to hopefully stay with him and then he had a problem. We had such a big gap on third that I just had to drive around. It was a testament to the team; Larry and Debbie Beebe, for letting me drive their car after I sold the one I raced with all year. We’ve had a perfect year with the Pro Motor horsepower and Lamers and everybody that helps us out. I can’t say enough for those guys and Bob Monette helps. I’ve just got a lot of friends that help us do it, so I’m glad it worked out.”

Despite the spin, Skeen recovered to finish second in the final race for Agee Racing, which is retiring from Trans-Am competition. The second-place result was the best of the season for Skeen, and it enabled him to win 2010 Trans-Am Series Rookie of the Year honors.

“We were just running along there and trying to save fuel, save the brakes, have something for the end and holding the gap to Tony,” Skeen said. “We came into (Turn) 10a, I was behind a lapped car and I just got onto the brakes a little bit harder than I usually do. I locked them up and that was enough to do a 180 and let Tony by. It’s disappointing. It feels like we got robbed. We were running up front and kind of controlling the pace and now here we are with another second place. We’ll take it.

“This is a tiny little team. Agee Racing has only does three races this year. We’re on a very limited budget, running an older car and doing the best we can. Every time we’ve been out, we’ve been fast. We set the pole here, we’ve set lap records earlier in the year and here, so we’re really happy to get the results we’ve had and go out on a good note with the car. I hope all the best for Agee selling the car and good luck to whoever runs it next.”

For the second consecutive Trans-Am Series race, Doug Harrington, of Kemah, Texas, was rewarded for his perseverance throughout the race with a third-place result in the No. 00 PinnacleAutosport.com Chevrolet Corvette. This time, Harrington capitalized on a mechanical failure on the No. 17 The Pita Pit/The Grotto at Capone’s Chevrolet Corvette driven by Bobby Sak, of Kalamazoo, Mich. Sak was poised for his first podium result of the year before the last-lap misfortune.

“It feels great,” said Harrington of his third-place run. “There’s something to be said about just trying to hang in there and stay on the track, make the race, let things happen as they go, not lose focus and not wear your car out along the way. It feels really good. I didn’t really expect to get here today, but I’m definitely excited about it and happy. My guys really did a good job of thinking about things and trying to get me set up for the track and for the way I drive. It seemed to work.”

Finishing fourth was Amy Ruman, of Kent, Ohio, in the No. 23 McNichols/Goodyear/Cenweld Chevrolet Corvette. Ruman finished fifth or better in all but one of her Trans-Am Series starts in 2010 and finished fifth in the final championship standings.

Simon Gregg, of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., also closed out his year on a high note with another top-five result by finishing fifth in the No. 59 Derhaag Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette. It was Gregg’s seventh top-five run of the year and he finished fourth in the final driver standings.

Today’s race featured the new Trans-Am 2 and Trans-Am 3 classes, which raced on an exhibition basis in preparation for a full-time run in 2011. Bob Stretch, of Arlington, Texas, drove the No. 98 NewWheel.com Chevrolet Monte Carlo to the TA3 victory, while Jeff Dernehl, of Woodstock, Ga., was the lone TA3 racer in the field in the No. 03 Mazda RX-7 and finished 10th overall.

BRASELTON, Ga. – Results from Friday’s 36-lap (91.44-mile) SCCA Pro Racing Trans-Am Series Round 10 race at Road Atlanta, with finishing position, starting position in parentheses, class, driver, hometown, car, laps and reason out (if any).

1. (2) TA, Tony Ave, Maiden, N.C., Chevrolet Corvette, 36.

2. (1) TA, Mike Skeen(R), Charlotte, N.C., Chevrolet Corvette, 36, -30.098.

3. (10) TA, Doug Harrington, Kemah, Texas, Chevrolet Corvette, 36, -49.225

4. (6) TA, Amy Ruman, Kent, Ohio, Chevrolet Corvette, 36, -51.516.

5. (7) TA, Simon Gregg, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Chevrolet Corvette, 36, -1:28.736.

6. (13) TA, Bobby Sak, Kalamazoo, Mich., Chevrolet Corvette, 35, -1 lap.

7. (5) TA, Glen Jung, Osteen, Fla., Mazda RX-7, 35, -1 lap.

8. (9) TA, John Baucom, Charlotte, N.C., Ford Mustang, 34, -2 laps.

9. (13) TA, Bob Monette(R), Alpharetta, Ga., Ford Mustang, 34, -2 laps.

10. (18) TA3, Jeff Dernehl, Woodstock, Ga., Mazda RX7, 32, -4 laps.

Time of race: 50 minutes, 05.029 seconds.

Average speed: 109.544 mph

Margin of victory: 30.098 Seconds

Lap leaders: Laps 1-4, #4 Tony Ave; laps 5-26, #81 Mike Skeen(R); laps 27-36, #4 Tony Ave

Fastest race lap: #4 Tony Ave, 1:21.341 (112.415 mph)

Fastest qualifier: #81 Mike Skeen(R), 1:19.321 (115.278 mph)

Ferrari out of gas on last lap, BMW wins '10 ALMS GT championship!

Wow... what a finish.



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