Corvette Racing Livestream 24 hrs LeMans

[yngwie308]

Go to http://www.speedtv.com/corvette" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; for live in car streaming video from both C6R entries, #73 and 74, plus pit cam.
Live race coverage on speed tv.
Awesome!
yngwie308

[fillmore nyc]

Awesome post, Dave!!
BTW, if anyone knows the answer to this, its gonna be you:
Why are some of the Lemans cars closed cockpit, and some open? Is that just driver preference, simply different teams car design, or something else?

[yngwie308]

The classifications have changed greatly over the years Ralph. Currently there are LMP's LeMans prototypes, Prototypes, P1, GT classes, ect.
As far as being open or closed cockpit, usually the prototype class are the open cars.
The configuration that the Corvettes are running in now, is as close to the street car as they have ever been. Based on the C6 ZR-1 the bodywork is virtually identical and the main chassis is based on the production version, with roll cage fitted of course.
GM made the decision over the last few years to change to a more production based class, as it would improve the breed and it is less expensive.
Back in the GT-1 days, the Corvette's were purely race cars with the appearance of the street version and would look like the street version but on steroids.
The older cars were faster, ect.
These cars still have to run the equivalent of a restrictor plate to limit the amount if air intake into the engine.
Since the street cars are approaching 600 hp themselves, it is pretty awesome how these cars have developed.
The Corvettes are like the B-17's of WW II in that they are very durable.
For many years the came close to losing and finally did as they were forced to use Goodyear tires which were at times 3-4 seconds a lap slower than the Michelin's the opposition was running.
Only when Corvette said enough let's use Michelin, did they come closer to the Ferrari's and Aston Martins.
This lead to the Michelin's being offered on the street cars. The Pilot Sport Cup S tires are very sticky for a street tire.
Metro forum was the only forum who answered my post about the in-car coverage.
I wasn't surprised by this, as may of these forums, the people like to listen to themselves talk and have no idea what they are talking about, per usual!
Thanks for watching.
yngwie308

[NY Chief]

ZR-1

[yngwie308]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5PLz40t ... re=g-all-u" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6mEirkQN8o" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdZ4YYlNjmM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM5DHeNZUDs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXZ0PooZ ... re=related" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iyf1XdcTiI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bWqpiV3wCY" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lXiycWt ... re=related" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAtxtzSc ... re=related" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Not a Corvette, but this Mazda 787B was always one of my favorite race cars:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=az39eqLI ... re=related" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Back at the 'Green Hell', a F1 car demo with hard tires and very short shifting, but gives a taste of the quickness of an F1 on this old circuit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODUW_2K6 ... re=related" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_wlsAJ- ... re=related" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrZADjhmESA" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evmIoocgthg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhk5pxnq ... re=related" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_3-P21t ... re=related" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bWqpiV3 ... re=related" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_KD6_gi ... re=related" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8MD_4eA ... re=related" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeM51b2J ... ure=fvwrel" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I suggest joining Digital Corvettes.com I have been on there for a few years, they have awesome vette videos and tech info:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeM51b2J ... ure=fvwrel" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDqzB7cU ... ure=fvwrel" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
yngwie308

[NY Chief]

Drove this a few weeks ago, yng!

[fillmore nyc]

Drove this a few weeks ago, yng!

Seriously, Chief?? Thats awesome!! How is a car like that power-wise? I KNOW its gotta handle like a bitch, having raced Sprint Karts a number of years ago.
(I used to drive an Emmick 135 Sprint Kart with a 135cc TKM motor on alcohol... scary fast!!)

I'd LOVE to drive something like that car you pic'd, and F1 has always just blown my mind with the unbelievable technology and fierce power those cars have.

[yngwie308]

+1 gazillion Chief must have been awesome, just to be on slicks, even if they are harder compound, the perfect weight distribution and steering response of a rear engined single seater is beyond awesome!!!
Hope you had a blast and it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy!!
Yeah that site I mentioned http://www.digitalcorvettes.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; is worth joining..free, has awesome race prep videos and shows how even with the awesomeness that is a ZR-1, Zo6, you still can go with coil overs and tons of stuff to get that extra stuff that puts GM's baby into the stratosphere. The Corvette guys are really going for it as they death knell may well be on nigh, but hats off to them.
The biggest advantage of the Nurburgring testing programs was the changing of the steering a few years back, that cured the under steering numbness that plagued the big Vette's.
Plus the grippy Michelin Pilot Sport Cup S tires a few years back. When Corvette was still in GT1 we had to race on the Barney Rubble GoodYears and the Ferrari 599's were like 3-4 seconds a lap quicker which was demoralizing.
If you check out the video I posted with Jan Magnussen comparing the street ZR-1 to the GT2 Vette, the street Vette actually has more horsepower than the race cars are allowed in that class.
Katech who have always built the Vette motors, do street motors of the 427, with virtually every part that the race cars have, use the same clutch and gearbox, so the coil overs and put a roll cage in, change the dreadful seats to a real Kevlar race seat that has adequate side bolstering and you can pull well over 1.5 to 1.7 lateral g's which is absolutely unheard of!!
Sure a Ferrari Italia is sexy and stuff, but these are built so people like Kanye West and Kim K can drive them with out ending up in body bags.
Even with all the huge improvements you can get a car with a power to weight ratio that is almost superbike like in responsiveness and even with normally aspirated. They already have dry sump oil systems. We are in a different league with our hugely docile around town super car killer.
Of course my dream ride is the absolutely brutal Ferrari F40, which is the equivalent of putting an Atlas rocket on a roller skate and really hugely overpowers the chassis, this is what yngwie loves. A car that scares the shit out of you and has no traction control, power steering or power brakes or even air conditioning.
Back when I had full use of my fingers, hands and arms, the work I did to my 1979 Pontiac Trans Am was nothing short of being as radical in its own way as these modern day beasts. I had almost 2 degrees negative camber in the front, as much as I could adjust with the stock upper control arms. They were just bringing out the tubular A-arms that were lighter and had room for more adjustment. The solid rear axle you had to take apart and re-weld the axle tube housings to get the rear negative camber.
This was no Smokey and the Bandit POS Trans-Am.
Mine was a Herb Adams Fire-Am. He actually ran one at the 24 hours of Daytona in 1980, when it wasn't this gay Rolex 24, ect.
Sure it was one of the slowest types out there with it's aluminum 454 Chevy big block, but running against Kremer prepared Porsche K335's, ect wasn't too shabby.
Herb Adams was the suspension designer for the Firebird program, specifically the Trans-Am and we had stuff that even the Z-cars didn't have, ect.
I built my racer with my bare hands with no power tools and on cold concrete floors in the garage in Pennsylvania.
That's part of the reason that I am so f^&^* with my psoriatic arthritis is all the manual labor I did coming up, warehouse work, loading trucks, construction laboring, you name it had to use my muscles more than my brains.
Then 15 years of lifting 300 lb people as an ICU RN. I was diagnosed as a 1 year nurse so playing hurt for 15 years.
I will tell you guys whats going on in a separate thread once I hear from the gov. my status.
Love my Metro brothers, from George on down and life still is good, I can tell you my faith has kept me alive and my Lord has blessed me in so many ways, even though we are in a boat much the same as a lot of the country.
Part of my manning up as it were was for me to sell my 1952 Goldtop for the sake of my family, even though the guy who bought it put clips up and I really should have done my own clip, busted up hand non-withstanding.
It's like seeing somebody sort of molest your wife watching beloved guitar being 'played' by the new owner.
I'll tell the whole story but let's say I know how Gary Moore must have felt, on a smaller scale of course.
Chief we need details of these open wheelers, motor, weight, ect.
How did you do?
I am way jealous by the way!!
Dave

yngwie308

[NY Chief]

Heh, heh! Knew YOU guys would dig that!

I am nowhere near your level of detail and expertise, yng. Plus my short term memory sucks lately.
Here’s the specs on the ride. The car is a Tatuus Renault Formula 1600. 140 “hose pressure”. Don’t know what it weighed but the instructors said it was good for 0-100 in 4 seconds.

http://www.allenbergracingschools.com/p ... a/vehicle/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I have never driven anything as amazing as this car! It was a promotion run through K1 Electric Kart in conjunction with Allen Berg Racing school. $300 for 2 hrs including 20-25 minutes in car on the road track at Cal Speedway. The session was led by Allen in a turbo convertible Carrera and 6 of us in the Renault’s. No passing and keep adequate distance. It’s a GOOD thing he choose me to follow him directly. My buddy who watched said I was right up Allen’s ass all the way around the track while the other pansies were way behind. I would have passed the first guy and got thrown out! Matter of fact Allen actually waved me back a few times. The car was so stable and quick I could have easily tacked on another 50 MPH or so. Berg raced F1 and he’s no slouch! He was throwing that Porsch around like a F1 car. The school has several packages. I’m going back for the half day session where you do 20 minutes as a group behind Berg, then come in and review your own race data – cornering, speed, rpm, gear, etc and then you get to go out on your own to set lap times!!!!

While I was there I also found out that the Andretti school does a similar thing for Indy Cars on the oval. You KNOW I’m going for that, too!! Arrrrgh!!!!

ooh, and my mostly stock Trans Am's weren't exactly POS'sssss