Turboguy
Well-Known LVC Member
Hey guys,
So I went to the Sandhills Open Road Challenge road race this week in Arnold, Nebraska: http://www.sorcrace.com
The SORC is known as one of the most technical/hardest open road races out there, it is 55 miles of narrow, 20-foot wide roads with scary ditches and barbed wire fences as runoffs. And a particularly hairy section with hundred-foot cliffs on either side! Compared to 50-60-foot wide roads with concrete shoulders in other Nevada/Texas races, this one is a killer.
The classes range from 80 mph to 140 mph, plus an Unlimited class. Twin turbo Lambos, Ford GTs/GT500s, Corvette ZR1s/Z06s/Stingrays, etc. are common here, and some break 200 mph.
Anyway I've done some road racing and auto-x in the past, and I know a couple of the race directors, so I went up to watch the races in the LS. FYI, my 2000 LS is basically stock with 146,000 miles. One of my mechanic LS buddies gave it a detailed check, and all brakes/hubs/suspension pieces were verified to be in great shape before I ran it. Of course I had all safety equipment too: helmet, proper clothing, etc.
I drove the course on Wednesday before the race, and the LS performed very well. It is heavy and under braked for so many tight corners, but I avoided ABS with smooth braking. The suspension and Goodyear tires performed very well, and the LS felt very balanced as it breezed through long single-apex and double-apex corners.
There's a nice straight that terminates with several hills right in a row, and I hit...XXX (BIG) mph before braking hard for the first one. The suspension floated just a touch at the crest, but quickly regained composure, and the strong V8 reeled in a nimble Mazda that was trying to get away
It was an amazing experience that really woke me up to its true potential. It's really easy to just settle into a numb highway cruise with these cars, but they are very capable performers on the track too!
So I went to the Sandhills Open Road Challenge road race this week in Arnold, Nebraska: http://www.sorcrace.com
The SORC is known as one of the most technical/hardest open road races out there, it is 55 miles of narrow, 20-foot wide roads with scary ditches and barbed wire fences as runoffs. And a particularly hairy section with hundred-foot cliffs on either side! Compared to 50-60-foot wide roads with concrete shoulders in other Nevada/Texas races, this one is a killer.
The classes range from 80 mph to 140 mph, plus an Unlimited class. Twin turbo Lambos, Ford GTs/GT500s, Corvette ZR1s/Z06s/Stingrays, etc. are common here, and some break 200 mph.
Anyway I've done some road racing and auto-x in the past, and I know a couple of the race directors, so I went up to watch the races in the LS. FYI, my 2000 LS is basically stock with 146,000 miles. One of my mechanic LS buddies gave it a detailed check, and all brakes/hubs/suspension pieces were verified to be in great shape before I ran it. Of course I had all safety equipment too: helmet, proper clothing, etc.
I drove the course on Wednesday before the race, and the LS performed very well. It is heavy and under braked for so many tight corners, but I avoided ABS with smooth braking. The suspension and Goodyear tires performed very well, and the LS felt very balanced as it breezed through long single-apex and double-apex corners.
There's a nice straight that terminates with several hills right in a row, and I hit...XXX (BIG) mph before braking hard for the first one. The suspension floated just a touch at the crest, but quickly regained composure, and the strong V8 reeled in a nimble Mazda that was trying to get away
It was an amazing experience that really woke me up to its true potential. It's really easy to just settle into a numb highway cruise with these cars, but they are very capable performers on the track too!
