Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Seems appropriate to continue my comments regarding 2016 Lime Rock Historic Races in a new post.

Truth be told Mr. Tosler was in a class by himself in our 30 car Race Group 6. 4 Elans and 1 Super Seven among the all sportsracer group. Amidst the Lotus 23s, Elva 7Ss, Lotus 30 and a Genie Chevrolet Alan's #01 Elan was at the front in each of 4 starts. Only an unfortunate late race spin in the Uphill Turn while leading kept him from a 1st Place Overall in the Monday PM Race.

Here 3 Elans a Lotus 23, a Lotus Eleven a Lotus 18 FJ and a Brabham FJ all look for a safe path around a priceless 1958 Ferrari 250 Testa Rosa and a equally valued Maserati 300S in Friday Practice. Tip toeing through the millions.


Looks fast and is very fast. Alan's lovely Elan


The other Elans at Lime Rock on Labor Day were Tom Walko #30 and Robert Bodin 26-S2-29 #29 26R.

I heard one of the 26r's was tuned into a 200' yard sale at Watkins Glen because of oil on the track. Hope it wasn't one of these beauties.

Odd that the 23's were not in a different zip code - Also the 29 car is a very fast piece of kit - surprised it was not up front as well ?

It was also very nice to see Carl Whitney out in Dave Belden's Mk IX. We lost Dave to cancer earlier this year.

A good friend was close behind the accident. He did not know who the driver was, only that the car was white, had a hard top and small tail lights. Said the entire back of the car was torn off behind the differential.

Originally the 4 Elans were to be in the Bog Bore Race Group so I asked Event Chairman Murray Smith to be moved to a group with "Elan Sized" cars. The Small Bore Production Groups were full so we raced with the Sportsracers.

I did not attend Watkins Glen but curious about the Elan crash. There were no Elans on the Entry List however the Lebrun Brothers near the Glen do have Datsuns, Alfas, Escorts and white and a silver Elan.

Would not be the first time an Elan lost its backside at the Glen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqQLKTu-aVY

Thanks to Russ Newton for the photos of Carl Whitney in Dave Belden's Lotus Mark 9. Its really great to see that Historic Lotus still in action and it has such a great story. My father photographed it at Watkins Glen in 1955 and Dave Belden saw it race at Lime Rock in 1957. Plus I owned a Mark 9 for more that 30 years.

For me speak of Dave Belden and Carl Whitney I must begin in 1977 when I towed my C-Production Elan 900 miles from Chicago to Lime Rock for the Labor Day SCCA National Races. 39 years ago to the day (September 5) from the 2016 Lime Rock Historics we were all at racing at Lime Rock Park. Carl was a extremely successful Brabham Formula C racer in the Northeast Division. Dave was a fast Northeast Division G-Production Triumph Spitfire pilot and I came from Central Division to see how the Lime Rock Elan racers got it done.

Lime Rock Park September 5, 1977....



Lime Rock Park September 5, 2016.....



Carl and Dave's Mark 9 are across the false grid.

Happy Times.

Seems an appropriate Good Bye to the 2016 Lime Rock Historics......

A rare practice moment when I was in front of Allan.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... 687&type=3

Photo of the crashed Lebrun replica 26r

Very sad! That is a beautiful car, I believe Craig Chima on this forum built it.

lance54 wrote:Seems an appropriate Good Bye to the 2016 Lime Rock Historics......

From Allan.jpg

A rare practice moment when I was in front of Allan.

what tyres do you race on in the US? Interesting to see the difference in body roll for what look like similarly set up cars for a LHD versus RHD car in a right hand corner !

cheers
Rohan

And that is exactly why Dave keeps the real thing in his garage!!

This is the same car at the Glen last year:



I'm sure Tony Thompson will be on fast dial...

elancoupe wrote:https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10210294875517319&set=gm.10153969212070687&type=3

Photo of the crashed Lebrun replica 26r

Painful to see this happen to any Elan

Looks like a fairly standard back end wipe out of an elan and I have seen a few other similar incidents. They are very fragile in the rear and a side hit can take the rear end off at the end of the chassis like this one. Not a disaster and a relatively easy fix except for the cost of repainting and chasing the cracks in the rest of the body.

What is demonstrates is the need for a good fuel cell to minimise the risk of fire when it happens. Though generally the fuel tank departs with the rear end and the rest of car and driver are OK !

cheers
Rohan

rgh0 wrote:what tyres do you race on in the US? Interesting to see the difference in body roll for what look like similarly set up cars for a LHD versus RHD car in a right hand corner !

I should not attempt to answer for Lance but I believe his Elan is generally set up softer than Allan's. Lance was on Hoosiers, Allan on Avons, both treaded trackday types of tires. Both of these Elans are RHD.

thanks
I thought I saw a white drivers helmet on the left in the rear car but its just a trick of the lighting on closer examination.

cheers
Rohan

Several comments here.

Sad indeed about Dave LeBruns Elan. As I previously mentioned it was not on the Entry List but I've learned that his entered Ford Escort was not performing up to expectation so he brought the Elan out in its place in the same race group. And yes his genuine 26R stayed safely back in the garage.

Regarding tires. Here in the USA most Elans are will be seen on Avon ACB9, Avon ACB10 or Hoosier TD tires (all bias ply). Additionally, you will see a variety of current high performance street radials from Toyo, Yokohama and others. The race organizers here expect a treaded tire on pre 1975 cars. Both Avon tires were originally created for Formula Ford and now Hoosier offers a ACB9 copy. The ACB9 has a 60's style tread, the ACB10 has a open tread like a modern wet tire while the Hoosier just has 4 radial grooves.

In the rear view photo my car is on Hoosier TDs while Allan's is on Avon ACB10s. The Hoosier is 22.5" in diameter while the Avon is 21.0" in diameter and both are significantly smaller in diameter that the L Section Dunlops the are common in the UK and Europe which are closer to 24.0" in diameter. The Dunlop is a true 1960s tire and surely provides for more slipping and sliding which you will not see here in the USA. Recently watched the Goodwood Revival broadcasts where the sliding around on Dunlops was the order of the day....what a great show!

I prefer the Hoosier over the Avon because of it's significantly more affordable price.

My car has 300lb front springs and 125lb rear. Not sure about Allan's but those spring rates are pretty common among racing Elans here in the USA. Allan and I have the same 7/8" front anti-roll bar with stock mounting and no rear bar. Allan has a lower ride height partly from the 1.5" smaller tire.

I'm far from the quickest Elan in these parts. I have modest 170HP and am rather over weight. The generally accepted minimum weight for an Elan is 1270lb or 576K. My car is a 1965 Lotus standard body with 26R wings, an all cast iron driveline and brakes and weights in at 1400lb or 635K. There are several lightweight bodied sub 1300lb cars with 195HP or more to contend with.

43 years since my first race in an Elan and I just can't think about stopping.

Thanks for your comments.