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MadMarx
Christian Marx
Germany
(54 posts)

Registered:
01/02/2014 11:54AM

Main British Car:
1977 Triumph IMSA TR8 Group 44 Canada Rover 4L

authors avatar
Brands Hatch - Triumph TR8 IMSA GTO
Posted by: MadMarx
Date: May 27, 2019 01:53PM

Some footage:
[www.youtube.com]

[www.youtube.com]


Todd McCreary
Todd McCreary

(207 posts)

Registered:
03/16/2012 10:57PM

Main British Car:


Re: Brands Hatch - Triumph TR8 IMSA GTO
Posted by: Todd McCreary
Date: June 07, 2019 01:50AM

It seems to me that you're putting a lot of steering angle into a lot of these turns, and then often snapping loose when you're trying to get in the throttle to come off the corner.

Do you think that's a fair assessment?

Did you ever find out why that white Camaro at the beginning was smoking?

That was a nice crossover at 4:15, good job. You get your corner speeds up and you're going to start making a lot of these guys look silly.


Todd McCreary
Todd McCreary

(207 posts)

Registered:
03/16/2012 10:57PM

Main British Car:


Re: Brands Hatch - Triumph TR8 IMSA GTO
Posted by: Todd McCreary
Date: June 07, 2019 08:03PM

Okay, I'm just now watching race 2.

I was going to congratulate you on that long dice with the Porsche
...
but I just saw you make a three wide pass
...
from the outside of a turn.

I got's ta say, you're living up to your name. Give em hell, you absolute madman. :thumbsup:


ps - if you extend your steering wheel a couple of inches, you'll stop bumping your legs on it and you'll also have both finer control of the wheel and better leverage.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/07/2019 08:07PM by Todd McCreary.


MadMarx
Christian Marx
Germany
(54 posts)

Registered:
01/02/2014 11:54AM

Main British Car:
1977 Triumph IMSA TR8 Group 44 Canada Rover 4L

authors avatar
Re: Brands Hatch - Triumph TR8 IMSA GTO
Posted by: MadMarx
Date: June 20, 2019 12:44PM

basicly my car is setup to work best towards the end of a race.
In the past, with my TR4 that has worked best, when all (cars and drivers) fade, that my car is at top of performance.

My tactics is to make other drivers tired and hide what my car can do.

The car has the problem, of an indirect steering rack (compared to a TR4).
But on the other hand, the steering forces are so high, that you can't use a quick rack steering.
I need to do a lot of arm training to withstand 30min race.
I already use an extension of the steering wheel to have it in the same position as in the TR4. It looks in the video far away from me, but actually it isn't. I have a lying seat position, that's why my knees are so close to the wheel. More like a formular car. I hate upright seat positions.

On this weekend we tested different setups.
From run to run we went more oversteer. Which helped on corner entry, but has hurt on corner exit.
But on all 3 occasions my target (the silver Porsche) was reached.

Next race is at Spa in about 1.5 weeks. Last weekend I had run my TR4:
[www.youtube.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/20/2019 12:57PM by MadMarx.


Todd McCreary
Todd McCreary

(207 posts)

Registered:
03/16/2012 10:57PM

Main British Car:


Re: Brands Hatch - Triumph TR8 IMSA GTO
Posted by: Todd McCreary
Date: June 20, 2019 09:25PM

It looks to me like you're really extending your opposite arm in tight corners ( ie - tight left corner, right arm at full extension ), such that you're probably fighting the racing harness to make that reach.


I have a lying seat position, that's why my knees are so close to the wheel.



I'm not talking about your knees. It looks like you might be bumping your thighs on the bottom of the steering wheel when you're really working the brake and clutch. In my opinion, that means the wheel is mounted too low / short.

But driver preference and comfort is most important ( especially with it being YOUR car ), so you do what makes you happy.

I'm damn sure not ever going to complain about a road racing guy who makes three wide passes.


MadMarx
Christian Marx
Germany
(54 posts)

Registered:
01/02/2014 11:54AM

Main British Car:
1977 Triumph IMSA TR8 Group 44 Canada Rover 4L

authors avatar
Re: Brands Hatch - Triumph TR8 IMSA GTO
Posted by: MadMarx
Date: June 21, 2019 02:50AM

what do you mean with three wide passes?

I try to have the steering wheel as close as possible to me to have best control of the car.
I for sure extending my opposite arm as I try to maintain the 10 before 2 position as long as I can.

Lowering the seat would help for sure, but that would mean to remove parts of the seat mountings of the floor pan.
I won't like to do that as it would hurt the originality of this old factory race car.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/21/2019 02:52AM by MadMarx.


Todd McCreary
Todd McCreary

(207 posts)

Registered:
03/16/2012 10:57PM

Main British Car:


Re: Brands Hatch - Triumph TR8 IMSA GTO
Posted by: Todd McCreary
Date: June 22, 2019 08:55AM

[youtu.be]

the red car has nothing to do with anything.

Whether you were literally 3 wide or not, the black car runs the corner far too wide because he's afraid that the silver car is going to make an attack up his inside. You were almost off the track to the right in a left hand turn because of how wide he enters that corner.

Observing your rear view, the silver car chickened out and didn't actually attempt the pass ... probably the better part of valor there. It would have been pretty easy to wad all three cars up.

Now, obviously these are lap cars and are not competitive on your lap times. But that's still a very ballsy move. And you need to be aware that if the silver car had gone gonzo and actually stuck his nose in there ( as he clearly could have done ), you WOULD have been three wide.



MadMarx
Christian Marx
Germany
(54 posts)

Registered:
01/02/2014 11:54AM

Main British Car:
1977 Triumph IMSA TR8 Group 44 Canada Rover 4L

authors avatar
Re: Brands Hatch - Triumph TR8 IMSA GTO
Posted by: MadMarx
Date: June 23, 2019 06:02PM

Ah, okay, I see what you mean.
That moment, with the silver Porsche 964 in my neck I saw that the inside line was blocked by the 944, the middle was blocked by the black Corvette and I saw the gap on the right side.

Unfortunately the Corvette driver concentrated on the 944 instead of me.
What does 3 wide mean? I don't understand that phrase. Is this a pass close to trees? Or 3 passes in one go? Or 3 wheels off the ground?

Sorry for my questions, but as a German my English has some limits.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/23/2019 06:15PM by MadMarx.


Todd McCreary
Todd McCreary

(207 posts)

Registered:
03/16/2012 10:57PM

Main British Car:


Re: Brands Hatch - Triumph TR8 IMSA GTO
Posted by: Todd McCreary
Date: June 24, 2019 10:49PM

"three wide" just means 3 cars abreast or side-by-side-by-side.

It's fairly rare to see, especially in a tight corner. Even Daytona and Talladega usually don't see 3 wide in the corners except for restarts or coming to the checker.

What makes 3 ( or more ) wide so rare is that every extra car in the corner significantly increases the likelihood that somebody is going to get pranged up. You really need to be able to trust the other drivers and everybody involved has to keep their heads or it will go all pear shaped.


That moment, with the silver Porsche 964 in my neck I saw that the inside line was blocked by the 944, the middle was blocked by the black Corvette and I saw the gap on the right side.

Exactly so.

If you don't make a move to get through traffic, the 964 is going to catch you up and, probably, pick and choose a line where he can accellerate at your group coming up onto the straight. If you don't make a move earlier and you didn't get yourself gapped back far enough so that you can get your own run you're going to be a sitting duck for him.

Intentionally gapping back in the braking zone so you can go WOT from the apex up onto the straight requires a lot of self control. And if you don't do that, the 964 will probably carry more speed down the straight than you will.

Your move also has risks, but that's the job of the driver;
balancing risks and making choices.


Unfortunately the Corvette driver concentrated on the 944 instead of me.

Yes, well he was probably racing the 944 for position and had a little bit of target fixation on his rear view mirror. And, as I pointed out, the 944 WAS making a move up the inside when you went blasting by both of them on the outside. If the 944 hadn't stood on the brakes the Vette would have needed to leave him room or they would have wrecked and collected you with them.


Probably the most famous instance of 3 wide going wrong in NASCAR is Bowyer jumping the front row on a restart at Martinsville. What you don't see in this video is that the entire field pitted behind Gordon and Johnson, so that on the restart the second row of cars on back all have brand new grippy tires while the two cars on the front row are on old tires:

[www.youtube.com]


MadMarx
Christian Marx
Germany
(54 posts)

Registered:
01/02/2014 11:54AM

Main British Car:
1977 Triumph IMSA TR8 Group 44 Canada Rover 4L

authors avatar
Re: Brands Hatch - Triumph TR8 IMSA GTO
Posted by: MadMarx
Date: June 25, 2019 05:26PM

Thank you to explain this 3 wide thing.
I normally drive safe and slow, which is not easy in a TR8.

The car is sitting, lurking in the dark and waiting for the next weekend: Spa

https://scontent-dus1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/65309384_2299682300066931_7448176201316696064_n.jpg?_nc_cat=105&_nc_oc=AQkJrZrPJ2SI1la4WkMBXv0FaaSWiKutTA01vYbvgFVxhwDqqFwW3DwiNsOnFaydGcQ&_nc_ht=scontent-dus1-1.xx&oh=a3dbf2daff98756b64257b646484c643&oe=5DB65FA2



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/25/2019 05:26PM by MadMarx.


Oxygene1987
fotsoRT djamelo

(4 posts)

Registered:
02/26/2020 08:51AM

Main British Car:


Re: Brands Hatch - Triumph TR8 IMSA GTO
Posted by: Oxygene1987
Date: February 26, 2020 08:53AM

what do you mean with three wide passes?

I try to have the steering wheel as close as possible to me to have best control of the car.
I for sure extending my opposite arm as I try to maintain the 10 before 2 position as long as I can.

Lowering the seat would help for sure, but that would mean to remove parts of the seat mountings of the floor pan.
I won't like to do that as it would hurt the originality of this old factory race car.


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