Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca 2010 part 2
Here's some more photos from the recent Mazda Miata track event at Laguna
Seca. I just got some film developed from some photos I took.
Here's a shot of turn3. It's a fairly fast turn but
has no camber to help you at all. In the background you can see the last half
of turn 2 (the Andretti Hairpin) and on the right you can see how the last
part of the front-straight is downhill. The car just before the T3 apex
is Keith Tanner's Targa Miata (more pics of it below).
This car just cracked me up.
"Actual size" indeed...
Flyin' Miata had their Cosworth powered car there. From what I gather, there
were some initial teething problems with the Cosworths but the gang at Flyin'
Miata reworked the timing/mixture maps and think they've got it sorted.
Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3
They also brought "Elvis", their LS1-powered Miata. Yep, they managed to
fit a V8 in the Miata without totally ruining the balance of the car. If
memory serves I think Bill said the car was only 200 lbs more than before and
was far enough back to not alter the balance much. I think it's got
a different transmission (from a Vette?) and a different diff/rear-end
(from a Cadillac STS or something).
Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3
There were some all-out track monsters there too. Check out the diffuser
on this one. Here's
another pic of it.
The goodwin-racing gang brought
another one too. This one was totally
stripped down for racing (no interior to speak of, glove-friendly switches,
etc).
I liked the hood on this one.
Keith Tanner brought out his "Targa Miata" again too. He set this car up
specifically for doing tarmac rally races. So it's normally aspirated but
is decidedly modified. To squeeze as performance out of the engine as he
could, he even designed his own exhaust manifold with all the pipes the
exact right length. Cool, huh!
Exhaust Manifold Pic 1
Exhaust Manifold Pic 1
Exhaust Manifold Pic 1
The whole car
Keith also shot some video from last year's Laguna Seca event. You can find
some video of
some of his laps here. He's got
lots of other videos here
too. Be sure to check out his books while you're at it!
Unfortunately, it rained hard enough Sunday afternoon for them to call the
event. I tried to take a few pictures but I'm not sure I did the rain
justice.
Rain Pic 1
Rain Pic 2