LOG 33 Track: Watkins Glen
Jim Roberts, Lotus, Ltd Driver Ed. Director
(Please email ME for Jim's contact information should you require more guidence)
Watkins Glen and Indianapolis are probably the North American tracks most associated with Lotus achievements. We are not allowed to drive the Indianapolis oval at speed, but wouldn’t it be nice to drive the Watkins Glen Formula One track? We will be following the lines of Jimmy Clark, Graham Hill, Emerson Fittipaldi, Jochen Rindt, Ronnie Peterson, and others. The Walter Mitty scenarios are endless.
Not only will you be able to drive the Watkins Glen long course—the full Formula One track rather than the NASCAR track that cuts out the challenging elevation changes of “the boot” section, you will be able to drive the full course at speed for three days.
Watkins Glen is in high demand and reserves dates for clubs that have previously rented from them. We do not do that on a yearly basis so in order to offer LOG 33 attendees the chance to get on track, the LOG committee has made arrangements with the Northern New Jersey Region of the Porsche Club of America to allow our club members to register and participate in their High Performance Driver Education on 2-4 August. Please note that this is Friday-Sunday and it is an event run entirely by the Northern New Jersey Porsche Club.
While it would have been ideal to organize the track event ourselves, for reasons outlined above it was just not possible. This event will be run by the Porsche Club under their rules, but let me hasten to point out that the last four LOG “Track Days” have been run very much like a PCA “Driver Education” day. In fact, your Lotus, Ltd. High Performance Driver Education Committee consisting of David Nagler, Tom Murray, and myself are all national PCA instructors. While we will be there, we can’t instruct everyone from Lotus, Ltd. The PCA guys are very competent, and they know this track. The Elise/Exige and Esprit handle very much like the air cooled and early water cooled Porsches, so their instruction will be valid for our cars. The only difference might be brake fade on the Esprits going into the downhill braking zones at turns one, six, and eight. Just be sure you test them on the straights.
If you have participated in any of the last four LOG H.P.D.E. events, you will be familiar with the track procedures.
A few things will be a little different, so we will outline them.
- PCA’s official policy does not allow open wheeled cars out of safety concerns. They consider Lotus 7 and its derivatives to be effectively open wheel cars. (Maybe someone showed up without front fenders at a past event.) NNJR is fronting the cost of the track rental and are allowing us to participate, so don’t waste your time trying to convince them. As Yogi Berra said, “You may not agree with them, but the rules is the rules”.
- Likewise they will insist that any open car not certified by the manufacturer for rollover protection must have a 6 point competition type roll bar. Fortunately Lotus does certify the Elise for rollover protection. We have had this rule in effect for the last four LOGs.
FYI--- Other open cars certified are the water cooled Porches from 1998 on (not the 944/968 Cabriolet or any air cooled Cabrio—Targas are ok), Mercedes-Benz SL’s and Cabriolets from 1990 on (they invented the pop up roll bar), Mercedes-Benz 107 SL’s (1972-89) with hardtop in place, the later Honda S2000, Ferrari 308/328 Spyder (Targa top like Elise).
These cars must run with the top in place or have arm restraints for driver and instructor. This can be easily accomplished for the Elise/Exige with their 4 point competition type harnesses. The whole point of the top in place rule is to keep arms inside. They had someone loose an arm a few years ago.
- Be sure your battery is secured. They are diligent about this.
- Tell them your wheel torque settings and bring the correct socket. They will have a guy with a 19mm socket and a torque wrench set to 95 pounds- feet. If you bring your Europa you will have 7/16” nuts that torque to 35 pounds-feet. You run the risk of having people not familiar with Lotus cars twist off all your studs unless you tell them the correct torque and have the correct tools for them to use.
- The biggest difference is that you must register online 8 weeks ahead. This event is very popular and fills quickly. NNJR PCA tells us they fill within a couple of days, but you can’t procrastinate. If you want to be able to drive the track at speed, sign up the day registration opens. Registration will open on June 7 at 12 midnight. YOU HAVE TO REALIZE THAT IT IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO REGISTER AS CLOSE TO "AFTER MIDNIGHT" AS POSSIBLE TO GET INTO THE EVENT!!!!
To register for this PCA event:
- Go to http://www.motorsportreg.com/ create an account and log in.
- Registration will open on June 7 at 12 midnight. YOU HAVE TO REALIZE THAT IT IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO REGISTER AS CLOSE TO "AFTER MIDNIGHT" AS POSSIBLE TO GET INTO THE EVENT!!!!
- Click on search for events. LOOK FOR THE "PCA - Northern New Jersey - Drivers Education August 2-4"
- When you locate the correct event click on “View Details and Register”
- From here fill out the required information and payment info—cost is about $400 for 3 days
Be sure to have the drivers’, license, VIN, and insurance information at your computer when you register.
They will also want to know your track driving history to place you in the appropriate group, so go ahead and put this down. They are only interested in the last 3-5 years.
Remember, your helmet must be Snell (SN) 2005 or later. A motorcycle (MA) helmet is not acceptable.
Be sure to download the inspection form (similar to Lotus, Ltd) and the releases including the damage and helmet. You must bring these with you to the track.
We have enjoyed a great relationship with PCA at Barber and at Sebring, so we are looking forward to continuing this at Watkins Glen.
This will be a 3-day event, so they will probably want to have you there Thursday evening for a final safety check: helmet, lug nut torque, battery, tires (3/32 inch minimum tread depth), and loose items.
You will need to be at the track for the Friday sessions for sure.
If you are certified to solo then, you can return for as many of the Saturday Sunday sessions as you wish. If you are not certified to solo, you will have to do each session, or arrange missed ones with your instructor.
Solo drivers must attend the driver’s meeting each day and should plan on driving at least in the early sessions of the first day. Do not expect to arrive on Saturday or Sunday and be able to drive.
For our dedicated track rats this will be paradise: 3 days at Watkins Glen!
We will update this page as we get closer to LOG 33, but we must caution you: This may be habit forming.
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