I originally posted this on the Golden Gate Lotus Club blog but figured I should cross post it here as well.
A few days ago I received the latest GGLC Memberhip roster in the mail (if you have not gotten one please contact David Anderson (ggmail AT gglotus DOT org) to update your postal address) and was fascinated to see the large number of cities that our members are spread over. After talking it over with a few folks at our last monthly meeting I hacked together the following map of club members:
Each marker on the map represents a zipcode that has at least one GGLC member. The size and colour of the markers varies based on the number of members in each location (darker and larger = more members). You can also get the information about the marker by clicking on it to get the name of the location as well as the number of members. You can also click here to see a larger version of the map or click here to see a zoomed in map showing the Bay Area.
At the last GGLC autocross Alex and I decided to try out a little experiment to see how your heart rate changes during the race. We used a Polar S720i to record his heart rate, an iPhone for video and a DL1 data logger to record G-force and speed readings. I used some simple PHP magic to sync the two data files together and used the Chasecam Dashware system to create this finished video.
You can see the speed, heart rate (BPM), longitudinal G (acceleration + braking) and lateral G in the dashboard on the top of the video. His average heart rate was in the low nineties while on the grid and rises to to 101 just before the start of the run. As the run progresses you can see it quickly rise all the way to 145 bpm by the end of the 45 second run. Just as interesting is the way his heart rate falls as soon as the run ends and drops to the low 130s just 10 seconds after the run. So now if anyone asks you why you autocross just say its for the health benefits
Unfortunately the video quality is not as perfect and the heart rate only updates every 5 seconds but all in all it was a successful test of the system. I have already ordered a Polar RS800CX (1 sec resolution) and I plan to run this same setup for the duration of the Lemons race at Buttonwillow next month. So stay tuned for the health benefits of endurance racing
I just won the first race of the inaugural GGLC Winter Karting series. We had some 25+ folks shop up at LeMans Karting in Fremont for a fun afternoon of pizza, karting and a little competition. After a series of 10 heat races we were split into 3 semi-finals which were won by Jordan, Jay and me respectively. However because I started the lowest in my semi, I was on pole for the finals with Jordan and Jay right behind me. I knew that both of them were about half a second a lap faster than me which meant that I had no chance of beating them on pure pace. So I went to my “pole position plan” which is to make a good start and then drive a super defensive inside line – this meant that my lap times were crap compared to the others but I was still quick enough that they couldn’t pass me around the outside. Plus this has the effect of bunching up the field so that the people behind couldn’t try too adventurous a pass because it meant that they would lose a spot if they made a mistake.
In the end I was able to hold both of them off and won the race despite having the second slowest quick lap of the field. Jay has taken to calling me “Captain Slow” for winning at the slowest possible pace. I’ll point him to the following quote from Alain Prost: “I always say that my ideal is to get pole with the minimum effort, and to win the race at the slowest speed possible.” What’s good for a four time Formula 1 World Champion is good enough for me
My prize for the second fastest time of the day at the opening GGLC Autocross of the season.
I ran a 53.139 and was only beaten by a race-prepped Evo running slicks. The prizes did not include the instructors times though I was actually faster than all but 3 (Jason and Alex on RA1s and Rob on slicks) of them as well. My goal for the season is to beat Alex with the added incentive that I will be upgraded to instructor if I do – seeing that I already beat his time in the morning session yesterday I am pretty confident I can do it again. I just feel sorry for my future students
Thanks to norcalturbo for this photo of me from the morning session.
The last video is Nithyas best run (46.5) of the day in the GTI. For someone who almost backed out of her first event, she is becoming very good at this. If you have never tried autocrossing you should come down to one of the GGLC events next season and give it a try – it is safe, fun and the best way to learn car control.
Last weekend Nithya and I took our GTI to the GGLC Autocross at the Marina airport. The performance far exceeded my expectations and at 61.7 seconds I was actually the 3rd fastest driver in very wet morning session (the fastest Elise did a 64.x). Much of this was due to the fact that it had proper wet weather tires on, but the handling was pretty amazing – very predictable with some understeer at the limit. It did of course feel quite a bit heavier than the Elise but the direction changes were quick and chassis was very forgiving. As the track dried out I lost my performance advantage over the elises but as you can see in the photo I did manage to get a wheel off the ground
This was also the first Autcross for Nithya as a driver. She started out very slowly with a 130 second lap but by the end of the day she was down 66 seconds – by far the greatest improvement of any driver at the event ans just 6 seconds off my best lap. She had so much fun that she’d decided to attend all future events, we’ve already signed up for the November event. The following video is of her last run – notice the tire squeal in the turns and the cones she destroys near the end
The picture was generated using GPS readings that I took at one of my track sessions. As you can see I really need to get some more confidence and put in some consisten lines through turns 8-10. I am taking the corkscrew (turn pretty well for a beginner but turns 9 and 10 are confidence turns and I just dont have that confidence in me and my car yet.
I am starting to get a hang of it and my lines did improve quite a bit over the course of the day. Jason (Enigma on Elisetalk) took me out for a session in his Elise which showed me what the car can do. He was generating a sustained 1.6 G through turn 9 . I dont think I’ll be going that fast anytime soon but its nice to know that I have a pretty good safety margin when I go out on track.
RT @cjmartin: Fun to see one of @rnair's photos (http://flic.kr/p/aPeaf) featured in this video created using CC Flickr photos: http://b ... 2010/08/18
Just got Sir Stirling Moss to sign my Lotus F1 heritage poster 2010/08/14
pretty well for a beginner but turns 9 and 10 are confidence turns and I just dont have that confidence in me and my car yet.
. I dont think I’ll be going that fast anytime soon but its nice to know that I have a pretty good safety margin when I go out on track.