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Lotus Owners Gathering 37 May 19-22, 2017 - Birmingham

12K views 89 replies 27 participants last post by  James33 
#1 ·
I am so looking forward to this one! Close to me and a chance to drive Talladega AND Barbers Motorsports track in the same week!

Check it out here:
http://www.lotusownersgathering.com/
 
#2 ·
Yes, it will be a great time. I missed it that past two times LOG was down on Birmingham. I can't wait to drive the banking.
 
#11 ·
I was on the fence about going for a couple non-Lotus reasons but I think I'm in at this point. I booked my hotel a while ago and looks like we need to get the paperwork sent in the next few days to get the cheap rate, so now I'm looking at that.

My question is - is Talladega worth it? What kind of "laps" do you get? It's quite a bit cheaper than a normal HPDE so I assume you're not out there all day, and as someone who doesn't give a fig about oval tracks, I think that, high speed or not, driving in circles would get pretty boring pretty fast. I also assume you do the autocross or the laps, not both.

I mean, I'll probably do it, but I'm just curious what to expect. Skipping it would mean taking one less precious day of vacation from work, though! I am planning on doing the HPDE at Barber.
 
#12 ·
is Talladega worth it? What kind of "laps" do you get? It's quite a bit cheaper than a normal HPDE so I assume you're not out there all day, and as someone who doesn't give a fig about oval tracks, I think that, high speed or not, driving in circles would get pretty boring pretty fast.

It's your call on the vacation time. Don't you have a sickly friend or relative who is liable to take a turn for the worse about that time? :wink2:

As a participant in 2009, I'd say that Talladega 'parade laps' are a worthwhile endeavor (we have signed up again). They have two categories of participants, one fast (left-turning) group, and one slow (right-turning) group. The turn direction is how you need to steer to stay on the track. :laugh2:




The NASCAR Hall of Fame museum will fill out the rest of your day even if you don't partake of the autocross.
 
#14 ·
If it's organized properly you should be able to do both the autocross and the talladega laps. I can't imagine doing an hour's worth of laps - It's not a race and I would think there would be a no passing rule to keep things safe. I expect a couple of 20 minute sessions at speed would suffice be enough for me and then I'd be off to autocross.

To me, the banked track is something I'd like to do - the opportunity to drive your road car on one doesn't come often and the entry fee is well worth it.
 
#16 ·
I just mailed my registration for this event. This will be my first time. Do I need a helmet for the Friday Talladega or the Autocross at the Tallagega Superspeedway? I know for sure we need one for the Monday Driver Education at Barber Motorsports park on Monday but I can't stay till Monday for the event.
 
#19 ·
They should have loaner helmets. If that's the case I recommend some sort of head sock as loaner helmets can be kinda of icky. But you will need a helmet for the autocross and I'd assume the Talladega laps as well.
 
#17 ·
I was planning on attending this until a race was scheduled for my modified at Bristol on the same weekend. Having raced Bristol a couple of years back, I'm not going to miss this one.

I run at Barber a couple times a year so I'm only going to miss seeing all of the Lotus cars.

As far as Talladega goes, if you have never driven a car on a high banked circle track, it is an experience you do not want to pass up. I will agree, that after several laps you will have gotten the extent of the experience.

Later,
Eldon
 
#24 ·
No helmet pretty much says it all. :) I imagine I'll do it (might be the fastest that I get the Elise up to! assuming I get in the right group!) but I certainly won't expect anything like an HPDE. If there's no overlap, I'll probably do the autocross too. Might be a good chance to get a better feel of the Elise before the HPDE - I've only had it for about a year and haven't really pushed it yet.

I used loaner helmets in occasional autocrossing for several years and finally bought my own before my first HPDE, in Sebring, LOG32. I went cheap and got a Zamp, they go for about $150 at Amazon for a full face, but they pass all the tests and I don't need anything fancy. I let my kids go at it with some Sharpies so it looks a bit, umm, interesting. :) Point being - it's not THAT expensive to buy your own helmet and it's worth it if you're going to use it more than once or twice. I even use mine at the Pole Position go-karting in the mall.

I don't think I'll bother with the wet skidpad, I get plenty of low-traction practice with the white stuff all over the roads up here. :) That kind of driving can be a lot of fun though, and those who don't do a lot of snow driving might derive extra benefit since they're not used to that type of driving.
 
#25 ·
The Wet skid pad will be running concurrently with the track day. While you are waiting for your run group, go up the hill 1 level in the paddock and give the wet skidpad a try! I think we will have it in a figure 8. If you go onto google maps you can see the dark patch in the paddock area with 2 white circles. That is the wet Skidpad. It takes up one level of the west side paddock.

I am being told that on Sunday, the promoters of the Historic races are letting people autocross the Barber proving grounds for a fee. I do not know how much that is right now but it will be a lot of fun. I do not know about helmet requirements or anything more than what i just told you. I will post further as i find out more.

Let me know if anyone has any more questions.

Higgy
Chairman LOG37
 
#26 ·
New Hotel info

The host hotel Hilton is now fully booked. We now have a block of rooms set aside for us at the hotel down the hill from the Hilton.

The Springhill Suites has set aside rooms for LOG37. If you have not booked your hotel you can book rooms here at 205-969-8099

I am working on trying to get a shuttle to run between the two hotels during the weekend.

Higgy
 
#27 ·
So someone could do Talladega laps on Friday, autocross on Friday, autocross on Sunday, HPDE on Monday, and wet skidpad on Monday? Well, the track rats should have nothing to complain about. :)

From reading the registration form, though, the LOG registration only gets you Saturday entry to Barber, is that correct? So going Sunday would require purchasing an admission ticket?
 
#32 ·
No connection with the company but I bought mine at www.saferacer.com

I bought a Race-Quip but I would not buy a helmet without a Hans Device.

Tony V
 
#34 ·
I went with a full face helmet; I don't remember exactly why I chose that but I was very glad I did when I got a ride in Dave N's 211 - you do NOT want to be in a car like that without a full face helmet, unless you want to be picking bugs off your face! :) I don't think there's a lot of disadvantages to a full face; I can see fine and I doubt it's THAT much heavier and I figure that it has to be safer. It can be a little uncomfortable with my glasses but I'm sure that's the same with an open face. So that's my two cents.

It sounds like I do need to pick up some arm restraints since this'll be my first HPDE in my Elise (previous ones were in my BRZ), and unless it's pouring, I'd much rather run with the top off!

I did register for Talledega laps, autocross, and the HPDE at Barber, so this'll give me a good chance to get much more comfortable with the Elise's limits.
 
#36 ·
Full face helmet is the safest. Here is mine
 

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