Hi list,
Have just been the long way round to get some petrol for my car (90 pence a
litre if you are still interested in the price of gas). Spotted a silver
Lotus Elise at the forecourt who started revving up his motor as I was about
to leave. He left first and not to be intimated I thought I would give him a
run for his money. Note that I don't necessarily consider my Sprite
outclassed by an Elise. I have a fully modifed car at a respectable weight
with good brakes and not far off the top end of the Elise (assuming it is
standard). Experience dicates that often a performance car owner falls into
the lots of money but can't drive/hasn't got the ba**s for it category.
Sadly on this occasion while I missed 2nd gear (twice) the Elise was well
into the distance and in traffic. I closed to within a few hundred yards,
cleared the traffic and decided to follow him on the dual carriageway. He
turns left so braking absolutely as late as I can several things occur to me:
I never brake this late from this speed (90mph I guess) for this exit
road.
The brakes on the Sprite are truly impressive and I haven't locked the
wheels mid corner.
The car will make the corner.
I have significantly closed the gap on the Elise.
None of this thinking helps me as I need 2nd gear while still in 3rd as the
Elise nimbly darts around my favourite mini-roundabout up ahead. Finally in
2nd and flicking the back end of the car round on the throttle I pursue said
Elise (ooops did I mention this is all on the public highway). When I
finally have more opposite lock than sense I lift off (never manage this
smoothly) and the car fish tails back into a straight line.
An SUV is between me and the Elise I decide to wait since another car is
front of the Elise. The Elise goes straight on and I decide I might as well
go home rather than spend the next half hour chasing it down country roads.
I must add at this point that I NEVER did any DRAFTING of either lorries or
trucks.
Daniel1312 (who now remembers that the tyre pressure on the Sprite still need
checking)
|