I never realized how many turns there are at Circuit of the Americas. Spa, it isn't. As for the car, it's fascinating in that it's an American chassis and engine combination. Pretty rare for an endurance prototype.
Historical races aren't really "races". These cars are too rare and valuable to be going 100% like one would do in a points/sponsorship paying race. Fun to watch though.
Calm and cool from the outside, a superbly driven race and that three abreast out of St Mary's was tremendously exciting. The 904's overtake wasn't a surprise, there were three of you and his skillful pace made it so. Keeping the Lotus on these two looked like it was a thing you did every day and taking second back from the Cobra was masterful. Terrific fun, wonderful racing indeed.
I always look forward to watching Nigel Greensall racing an Elan. He is an exceptional driver. In the right hands, and on the right track, the Elan 26R is a giant killer. Look how well they perform in the Spa 6 hour race
Fantastic performance. What is the racing weight of this particular car and what is the horsepower? I never knew of the Lotus Elan until watching this little car. Amazing how well a truly excellent driver for this car can wring such a performance out of it 👍
The homologated weight is 580kg. A typical SAE bhp is 180 bhp for a Lotus Twin Cam. Although the Cobra was most probably a repro (with the Daytona space frame roll cage) costing a fraction more than an Elan, the Porsches pricing is about 1 million GBP more than the others put together...
@@Andrew-vx2lssome claim with the modern cylinder head and camshafts of today that particular twin cam engine can make 200 reliable horsepower, above 4000 rpm and that a racing weight of 900 pounds is possible. I am not particularly interested in the value of the cars but I believe the owners should regularly be appreciated throughout the event for sharing their cars with all of us. I favor the Cobras and GT40'S above anything else, as well as Bill Shepards Amazing 59 T Bird. However a Cobra is only as good as it's driver as that quirky transverse leafspring front suspension of the 289 years makes the car a handful to drive. It also takes the right engine builder to get the horsepower of the original and even a bit extra out of a 289 the way Carol Shelby did. I look forward to Goodwood videos every year but never get to see the 427 SC Cobras or 427 GT40'S either. Enjoyable to learn about the little Elan this year though. It deserves it's day in the sun with it's amazing driver.
@@crazyoilfieldmechanic3195 I stated 180 bhp as a SAE as this is a dyno figure (without alternator) and with a wet sump. 200 bhp is possible with a dry sump. The LTC is an 8 valve and it cannot equal say a Cosworth 16V BDA. [I own a warmed up Elan]. The racing weight is 580 kg (Cf. FIA papers #128), but it could be dropped to say 560kg on an Elan. In this case, this fellow is a very good driver [a well known instructor in GB]. A s you correctly state, the Cobra's front suspension has no place on any car!
@@Andrew-vx2ls I expect that particular Elan is very well prepared but as we agreed the man driving is the reason that car performs so very well. Did you ever race your Elan ? I was a competitor in the Carrera Panamericana several times many years ago and was very privileged to see many rare cars participating. A 2 door 55 Bentley coupe, a gull wing Mercedes as well as a roadster of the same year and an A C Ace, all original with the little 4 cylinder engine. As I looked the Ace over I was stunned to see the transverse leaf front suspension !! I was more acquainted with the 427 SC Cobras and they were produced with a much different round tube frame with coil over A arm front suspension and independent rear suspension as well so I was equally shocked to realize that all the 289 Cobras had that transverse leaf front suspension. The little Ace obviously wasn't very competitive but it did well in it's class against Morgans and MGs. But the Alfas ran off and left it.
No blocking, no defensive lines, respect for each other's bodywork make for close racing and the influx of world class talent to vintage racing. The reason for Sir Jackie Stewart's abrasive Ayrton Senna interview is that Jackie would give a following driver the inside line entering a corner to out accelerate him coming off. (He had them all beat on turn in) Even a thruster like Mario Andretti let Danny Sullivan "take the bait" and head up the inside on his way to his spin and win. People who tired of the many F1 iterations which still do not produce close racing are watching Goodwood and attending the races while F1 appears to use paid stand -ins to pose as spectators for the TV cameras and empty American grandstands are painted to appear otherwise. Keep up the good work. Best footage since Simon McKinley.
on the braking Zone i see not the same G-Force like in some Corners. He breaks to early in some schikane. the Le mans is a Marathon and not a sprint maybe thats the reason. Calc. the risk and wear the material.
Once upon a time that would have put you at the front of the TT grid, great lap and very refreshing to see the Elan mixing it with the Cobras and Jags just as in period.
