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Spinning
Esprits
They really should get round the corner!
by Neal McDonnell and his 1998 Esprit V8-GT
Was at Bedford on Saturday (3rd April 2010) and had a little bit of a spin...
What should happen is:
Coming out of the chicane at the top, about 3/4 throttle in third around the left hander, then up to fourth foot flat around the right hander. Keep it nailed down the short straight before feathering the throttle near the redline for the fast left hander before standing on the brakes from 120mph down to 30mph for the right left before the main straight.
Unfortunately I'd been following another slower car for half a lap who refused to move off the racing line to let me by. I should have just waited for the main straight but got a bit impatient so overtook him on the left coming down the short straight. But that meant taking a much tighter line into the fast left hander and things went a bit pair shaped.
270' out of the 360' I'd run out of track and was heading down the escape road, looking at what I was heading towards. But they say a picture's worth a thousand words so here's thirteen!
Apart from the obvious stroke of luck in stopping a couple of metres short of the tyres, it just so happened that the photographer was at the next corner getting shots of cars going onto the main straight. I guess he saw (or more likely heard!) what was happening to me and was able to get the continous shoot of me.
After checking I hadn't pushed the brake pedal through the bulkhead, I was able to continue on, albeit with a stop in the pits to check my underwear.
I was on the brakes when the spin started but when I straighened it the left wheels were on the grass so I had to lift off the brakes to get them back on the tarmac and you can see the front start to lift. But once back on the tarmac I stood on the brakes for all I was worth and the front lip bottomed out. And that's with standard ride height and front springs 20% stiffer than the S350!
If you have any pictures to add to this page. Feel free to e-mail at admin@lotusespritworld.com.
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