I Drove a Spec Miata | FerrariChat
Buy

I Drove a Spec Miata

Discussion in 'Other Racing' started by Texas Forever, Jul 19, 2004.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Page 1 of 2
  1. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Eight Time F1 World Champ
    BANNED Rossa Subscribed

    Apr 28, 2003
    85,600
    Texas!
    #1 Texas Forever, Jul 19, 2004
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Part 1 - The drive to Texas World Speedway. Sunrise on a July morning. What you can't hear are the birds signing and the train making its run in the background. What you also can't hear is the Blues Hour on our local Pacifica radio station. These guys and gals are all Bolsheviks, but they sure play good blues. Yeah, like Boogie Children, Blues before Sunrise, and the Sky is Crying. Whoever decided that drivers's meeting had to be at the crack of dawn.
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  2. EspritSE

    EspritSE Formula Junior

    Dec 1, 2003
    509
    Colorado
    Full Name:
    Craig
    #2 EspritSE, Jul 19, 2004
    Allright, don't make us beg......spill it.

    How was the race/car?

    Your impressions please.

    Craig
     
  3. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Eight Time F1 World Champ
    BANNED Rossa Subscribed

    Apr 28, 2003
    85,600
    Texas!
    #3 Texas Forever, Jul 19, 2004
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Sorry, had to attend to a family matter. Ah, 17 year olds...

    Next, is a shot or Ara's transporter. Ara bailed out of the computer world and decided to do what he loves the most -- race cars, or more specifically, Spec Miata car. Ara's company builds em and leases them on a arrive and drive basis.

    If you think that you're too big for a Miata, check out the next two shots of my buddy Warren. I'm not sure, but I'd guess that Warren is 6'3" maybe? If he fits, you'll fit.
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  4. vincent355

    vincent355 F1 Veteran
    Rossa Subscribed

    Apr 8, 2003
    6,513
    Wine Country
    Full Name:
    Vincent
    #4 vincent355, Jul 19, 2004
    Looks like fun Dale.

    Do you have some rough specs on the car? Does he sell them as well, or just leases?

    BTW where did Warren get those racing flip flops?
     
  5. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Eight Time F1 World Champ
    BANNED Rossa Subscribed

    Apr 28, 2003
    85,600
    Texas!
    #5 Texas Forever, Jul 19, 2004
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Next, is an interior shot. Yep, these are real race cars.

    The next few shots are my buddy Bobby. In the first shot, he is a little ticked because he had to undo all the racing harness stuff because there was a small delay in getting out on the track. It seems that a car lost a wheel...

    Next is Ara telling Bobby that, "You trash it. You buy it." (Just Kidding)

    Finally is an action shot on the track. Sorry my little camera is not very good at a distance. Plus, TWS is a BIG track. This is Bobby exiting what we call the carousel and starting up the long straight which equals one-half of a NASCAR straight-a-way. In the Miatas, this is where you win or lose. If you can carry a high exit speed out of the carousel, you might get up to 100+ by the time you reach the turn in off the straight, which you take at WFT and then brake hard once you hit bottom. Yeeeee HaWWWWW!
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  6. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Eight Time F1 World Champ
    BANNED Rossa Subscribed

    Apr 28, 2003
    85,600
    Texas!
    #6 Texas Forever, Jul 19, 2004
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    What was it like to drive one? Almost more fun than the law allows. These cars, when they are fitted with racing slicks, have an amazing almount of grip. I'm still brusied and sore from being tossed around, even with a racing harness on. They have great brakes and being front engined, RWD cars, they are very predictable.

    The driving technique is very simple. See that pedal on the right? Mash that one to the floor until your, uh, rear end starts to pucker. At that point, mash the pedal in the middle as hard as you can. As soon as you realize that you are still alive, mash the pedal on right again. Repeat as necessary. Oh, and every now and then, you might want to shift between 3rd and 4th.

    Actually, you drive them very similar to a motorcycle. You do your braking (or lifting) in a straight line before the turn, and then you pitch and floor it through the turn.

    For example, Turn 7 is one of your money makers at TWS. If you time it just right, you will be powering out of Turn 6, which is a tight left hander, at a pretty good clip. You then have a nice straight before Turn 7 which is a banked left hander. The real hot shoes like ARA take Turn 7 at WFT. Never Lift! Me, I'm not good enough yet. I lift before the turn and just tap my brakes just to make myself feel better. But from that point on, ROCK "N ROLL!!!

    Indeed, this is what is really neat about these cars. You have to drive smart. Doing stupid things will only result in slower lap times. It is not how fast you take any given corner that counts. It is how you set yourself up for the next corner, and the next corner and the one after that.

    There are also no excuses. If you do a goober, it's nobody's fault but yours. I ended up doing a 180 spin on Turn 3 because I was paying more attention to the Vette behind me than the turn. It will get ya every time.

    As much as I hate to say this, driving the Spec Miata around TWS was more fun than driving the Maranello on the same track. You can trash the hell out of the Miata. But, knowing that a new hood for a Maranello costs $12,000 tends to put a damper on things. Plus, there is this restrained fury in the Maranello. You have to be very careful with that right foot because otherwise things can get out of control very, very quickly.

    Am I going to do it again? I wrote the check for a 99 Miata yesterday, at the track. Does that answer your question?

    But I do want to offer a tip of the hat to all you F-Chatters who take your Ferraris to the track. I don't want to mention any names beause I'm afraid that I'll forget somebody. But I gotta say it. You guys definitely have the right stuff. After putting around in the Miata, I look at the pic of William hustling that TR around Lime Rock. Wow! You guys are far better drivers than I will ever be. At least in the Miatas, you get a few seconds to think about what you are doing. The fact that you guys in your Challenge cars and other high-powered Ferraris can do what you do, for lap after lap. Amazing.

    And you F1 and GT guys? You are gods. The rest of us are not worthy of breathing the same air. I doubt that I would even last a lap in a F1 car. Next time you are tempted to gripe about a F1 driver, just remember that even the worst guy on the track is a far, far, better driver than any of us could ever hope to be.

    Forza!

    ps Here's a pic of the Shark. The new owner let me drive it around the track for old times sake.
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  7. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Eight Time F1 World Champ
    BANNED Rossa Subscribed

    Apr 28, 2003
    85,600
    Texas!
    #7 Texas Forever, Jul 19, 2004

    Here's Ara's web site -- http://www.alararacing.com

    And, hush yo mouth about Warran's super secret racing togs!
     
  8. jordan747_400

    jordan747_400 F1 Veteran
    Lifetime Rossa

    Dec 9, 2002
    6,928
    Houston, TX
    Full Name:
    Jordan
    #8 jordan747_400, Jul 20, 2004
    Great post Dale! Im really hoping to get involved in spec miata racing within the next few years. Ive always heard the best way to learn to drive fast is to learn to drive a slow car well. Ive been thinking about gutting a Porsche 914 or a similar car for some SCCA fun :) What better way to learn to drive!
     
  9. FLATOUTRACING

    FLATOUTRACING F1 Rookie

    Aug 20, 2001
    2,684
    East Coast
    Full Name:
    Jon K.
    #9 FLATOUTRACING, Jul 20, 2004
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Dale,

    Don't count yourself out. One season racing a Miata will make you a better driver than most people bringing their Ferraris to the track. Ask Rob Lay, he honed his skills on an old Spec RX7.

    It's easy to put the pedal to the floor and hit 160 down the straight but it takes real skill to put the pedal to the metal in the turns.

    Most people, myslef included, cannot learn this in a Ferrari whether it be a street car or a Challenge car. Unless you can afford to keep throwing the car into walls you will never be confident enought to learn to drive it at and over the limit.

    I learned to get my Challenge car at and over the limit but it came from learing in other cars that I could afford to write off.

    I race a Grand Am Cup Acura that has all of 140 hp. But with the exception of a very few high speed corners the Acura has the same exit speed out of corners as my old 355 C. At Summit Point turn 3, one of the scarriest turns to take almost flatout my exit speed in the 355 was 92 mph. In the Acura is 90 mph.

    In a high hp car you can make mistakes and get off the throttle in a low hp car you can't. Any hesitation or lifting of the pedal slows you down.

    Take a look at how much fun racing in a 140 hp car can be. This was my last race about a week ago. It was wheel to wheel racing for 30 minutes with inches seperating three front running cars. We had 7 lead changes and my chief rival passed me (IN TURN 3) on the last lap. We raced to the checkered where he beat me by inches.

    http://jpkofod.lunarpages.com/Hyperfest.mpg

    I miss the 160-170 mile blast in the Challenge car, but it can't compare to 30 minutes of wheel to wheel.

    Have fun and don't lift !!!

    Regards,

    Jon P. Kofod
    www.flatoutracing.net
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  10. axemansean

    axemansean Formula Junior

    Jul 11, 2004
    801
    #10 axemansean, Jul 20, 2004
    Good to see another guy HAN. :D Haven't seen you much in the East Coast Honda Challenge forum lately. I saw the hyperfest video and wow is all I can say, one day when I have money saved up I'll get to go do that stuff.

    Sean

     
  11. maranelloman

    maranelloman Guest

    #11 maranelloman, Jul 20, 2004
    Dale,

    Great post, & congrats! Excellent choice. Spec Miata is a blast. I agree--it is more fun to drive the snot out of a lesser, slower car than a 550 Maranello! This is why I primarily track my M3 instead of the Emir of Understeer, the 550.

    Turn 7 is one of my favorites. In the M3, I come out of 6 nearly at redline in 3rd...shift to 4th on the straightaway...get up to about ~120 with a great launch out of 6...keep about 6' away from the right edge of the track...wide open throttle...then, just before turn in to 7, I do a little tiny bob to the right, (just like the rally guys do, only smaller) to get the rear end rotating. Then I turn into 7 a smidge early as I drift perfectly past the apex. No braking at all. I will crest the hill before the braking zone into 8/9 at 130+. It is a blast!

    In the 550, I gather so much speed coming out of 6 that I do a little left foot braking before turining in to 7.
     
  12. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Eight Time F1 World Champ
    BANNED Rossa Subscribed

    Apr 28, 2003
    85,600
    Texas!
    #12 Texas Forever, Jul 20, 2004
    Mister, you are a better man than I! Remind me not to take any laps with you. :)

    Actually, Ara is gonna build me a street legal car that I can track with some sucess. I figure that after about a dozen or so DE weekends, I might be ready to get my license.

    Dr "Trying to remember to keep the rubber side down" Tax
     
  13. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Eight Time F1 World Champ
    BANNED Rossa Subscribed

    Apr 28, 2003
    85,600
    Texas!
    #13 Texas Forever, Jul 20, 2004
    Jordan, there are better people than me to tell you the best way to get started. All I can say is that I wish that I had discovered Spec Miatas 30 years ago. Ah, hold da phone! They didn't have Spec Miatas 30 years ago!

    Take care DrTax
     
  14. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Eight Time F1 World Champ
    BANNED Rossa Subscribed

    Apr 28, 2003
    85,600
    Texas!
    #14 Texas Forever, Jul 20, 2004
    Great vid Jon. Keep em coming. Back when I was really young and foolish, I used to race dirt bikes. This was way back before we even had motocross. It was kinda like flat track with right turns.

    One of the things that I learned back then (beside how stupid racing motorcycles was) is how you have to change your sense of time and space on the track. At first, everything seems to be blur. Then gradually, you start seeing things again. Then you start going faster, and the process starts all over again. You, and you other racers, will understand this, but the more relaxed you are, the faster you go, provided that you are concentrating 100% on what you are doing.

    The bottom line is that I long ago developed a comfort zone for speed depending upon where I am and what I'm doing. I learned the hard way not to go outside this comfort zone.

    So what I'm gonna work on is expanding my comfort zone one step at a time. Then one of this days, I'll take Turn 7 MARANELLOMAN STYLE! :)

    Thx, Dale
     
  15. need4speed

    need4speed Formula 3

    Nov 3, 2003
    1,616
    Pacific Palisades
    #15 need4speed, Jul 20, 2004
    Jon,

    How much does it take (money-wise) to get involved in this type of spec racing? I've taken my street car out on the track and I loved it. But it wasn't wheel to wheel racing. We could only pass on the straights. I'd love to try this if it's not prohibitively expensive.

    Manny
     
  16. maranelloman

    maranelloman Guest

    #16 maranelloman, Jul 20, 2004

    Dale, not a better man. Just a little bit more practice on track in a car i know well!! ;-)

    Seriously, I take it easy with passengers...build speed slowly...so they are not alarmed when we hit warp velocity. I have routinely done 1:58.xx laps in the M3 with DOT tires (meaning not slicks, but slightly stickier than street tires) and only 240 HP. The 550 is actually slower around that track because of its supreme inability to carry speed thru corners. Something about 4,000 pounds and all!!
     
  17. FLATOUTRACING

    FLATOUTRACING F1 Rookie

    Aug 20, 2001
    2,684
    East Coast
    Full Name:
    Jon K.
    #17 FLATOUTRACING, Jul 20, 2004
    Manny,

    You can race a car depending on budget for as little as 5-7K a year (including cost of car) up to $1 million and beyond.

    The cheapest form of racing (excluding karts) is SCCA IT (ITC, ITB, ITA). For $5000 you can buy a front running ITC/ITB car like a VW Golf or Honda CRX. Add another 2K for tires and other consumables maybe 3K tops.

    It may not sound very prestigeous but it's racing and a lot of fun. Next up would be something along with lines of Spec Miata or Honda Challenge.

    A decent Spec Miata or Honda Challenge car will cost in the neighborhood of 10K though some Miatas (Pro built cars) will run closer to 20K. In Honda Challenge it depends what class you run in. Some cars cost as little as 5K (mine cost about 15K after I put some money into it) up to 30K for some of the cars like the S2000's.

    I think Spec Miata is a great way to go. I am racing in two enduros in a Spec Miata this year as part of a team of drivers here on the east coast.

    You initial cost of getting a Miata is the largest cost. Then it's just maintenance and consumables. Even if you blow up an engine (not likely in a Miata) you can get one for under 2K.

    Racing is not cheap no matter what series you choose, but it's a lot of fun.

    I would look at IT racing or Spec Miata to get started.

    Regards,

    Jon
     
  18. FLATOUTRACING

    FLATOUTRACING F1 Rookie

    Aug 20, 2001
    2,684
    East Coast
    Full Name:
    Jon K.
    #18 FLATOUTRACING, Jul 20, 2004
    Sean,


    Daniel set up a "Competitors" forum on the board and most of us post there in addition to the other Honda Acura board (HT).

    Were racing at VIR in two weeks so there should be another vid on my website.

    Regards,

    Jon
     
  19. need4speed

    need4speed Formula 3

    Nov 3, 2003
    1,616
    Pacific Palisades
    #19 need4speed, Jul 20, 2004
    Thanks for the info Jon.
     
  20. axemansean

    axemansean Formula Junior

    Jul 11, 2004
    801
    #20 axemansean, Jul 20, 2004
    Can't wait for the new video!!!

     
  21. b-mak

    b-mak F1 Veteran

    Jan 23, 2004
    6,846
    Star Alliance Lounge
    #21 b-mak, Jul 20, 2004
    Dale, half the F1 field PAYS for their ride. And if I had a few mil to blow this year, I'd be driving a Jordan, too.
     
  22. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Eight Time F1 World Champ
    BANNED Rossa Subscribed

    Apr 28, 2003
    85,600
    Texas!
    #22 Texas Forever, Jul 20, 2004

    What is the overall lap record at TWS? ARA says that he holds the Miata record at 2.0 something. Of course, ARA cheats in that he cuts a little drop door in his cars so he can help out down the straight by pedaling with his feet. :)
     
  23. b-mak

    b-mak F1 Veteran

    Jan 23, 2004
    6,846
    Star Alliance Lounge
    #23 b-mak, Jul 20, 2004
    We are going Spec Miata racing next year, as well, for all the good reasons. I have a couple of driving disciples that want to learn to go faster and there's nothing better than a Spec Miata for that. Lightweight, rear-drive, cheap (it's all relative in motorsport) and lots of opportunity to race.

    Dale--are we going to see you racing any time soon?
     
  24. Challenge

    Challenge Formula 3

    Sep 27, 2002
    2,013
    PA
    Full Name:
    Kevin
    #24 Challenge, Jul 20, 2004
    Can anyone provide some car/engine/performance specs? I have searched on specmiata.com and it seems to be geared more toward obtaining race liscensing, etc.
     
  25. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Eight Time F1 World Champ
    BANNED Rossa Subscribed

    Apr 28, 2003
    85,600
    Texas!
    #25 Texas Forever, Jul 20, 2004
    No, I'm just gonna do DE days until I wear out this first set of tires. Like I said I need increase my comfort zone before I start trying to play Ricky Racer.

    Dale
     
Page 1 of 2

Share This Page