« 近所のOpen House | メイン | LakeはMOON Disc天国 »

2008年7月 9日

El MirageのRacer達


LakeにはKustomビルダーとして有名なGene Winfield 、Ford Motorを積んだRoadsterで、


LSR（Land Speed Record)に参加していました 。

たしか昨年まではFlat Head Motorの車だったと思いますが、今年はNASCARか何かに使っていた800hpのエンジンをSponsorされたそうです。
つい最近、彼は81歳になったそうです。


Kustom Builderであり、Race もやる人はあまり居ませんし、この歳ですっ飛ばそうなんて思う彼は、まさにHot Rodderですね。


Bean Banditもエントリーしていました。


そして、前回は不慮の事故で肩を痛め走れなかったZap、今回は「レコードを作る！」って燃えていました 。


でも一人では走行後バイクをPick Upできないので、急遽Yoshi君 がトラックをドライブすることになりましたが、このNISSANトラック 、


何でもタダで貰った言うくらいのポンコツ、ハンドルのグリップは無くなり芯があるだけ、おまけに燃費もかなり悪いらしく、ガロン$4にもなろうかと言う状況下、バイクを運ぶのも大変な出費です。


このバイクは2ストローク 、音がうるさい！うるさい。煙も凄い。


160mphくらいがこのクラスのレコードらしいですが、Zapは130何とかmph 本人いわく「もうちょっとでレコードだ！」、でもあと30 mphって結構大変じゃないZAP？


そしてChico は今回 どうだったかと言うと、149mph 、前回より遅くなってしまいました。
色々組み合わせを変えたり色々やっていくうちに、前回より調子を落とすことは多々あり、これがまさにLSRのドツボにはまったって感じです。
一回ごとに情報を記録し、沢山の情報を集め、つまり沢山走るという事ですが、良いコンビネーションが見つかるまで、試行錯誤を続けると言う事らしいです。
そうそう簡単に走れる場所はありませんから大変です。


午前中に一回走り、午後もう一度と用意していたら強風が吹き始め、走行を断念し帰路に付きました。　
次は遂にBonnevilleとなりそうです。



At the lakes, famous Kustom builder Gene Winfield ran a Ford powered Roadster and took part in the LSR (Land Speed Record) races.

If I'm not mistaken, he was running a Flathead powered car up until last year, I think. However, this year it looks like he's picked up a sponsor, from NASCAR or something with an 800hp engine.
Gene just recently turned 81. A Kustom Builder by trade, there aren't many that also Race, as he does, and at that age to fly like that there's no doubt in my mind he's a true hot rodder.

Bean Bandit entered the races too.

And finally, not being able to participate in the last races because he was still recovering from an injured shoulder, ZAP was ready saying this time, "I'm making a record!"

But since he came alone, he needed someone to pick him up at the end of the run, so he was quickly searching for Yoshi so that he can drive his truck.

This NISSAN Truck, said to have been given to Zap for free is still a piece of junk. The steering wheel has decayed to just the metal core among other things.
On top of that, the fuel consumption is pretty bad and with the latest rise in gas prices, at $5/gallon, using it as his bike hauler seems too expensive.

This bike is a 2-stroke motor, the sound is too loud! Too loud. Smokes a lot too. 160mph is about the record speed for this class, but Zap made it only to 130-something mph His response was "Just a little bit more for the record!" It's that last 30mph, which is not as easy as it sounds... Zap?

And finally Chico, this time when I asked how he did, he ran 149mph, a bit slower than the last race. Since the first race, there were many changes here and there, adjustments, and actually small changes to configurations and settings. However, these changes made the car decrease in performance. One of the "pot holes" in LSR racing. It's about making these runs as much as possible, collecting the information from each run, making changes and changes to the changes, to find the perfect setting and combination. Much like trial and error. On top of it all, there are only a few places like this where you can race, making it even harder to do tests.

In the morning, Chico ran once and then ran one more time in the afternoon. He had been preparing to go again later but strong winds prevented that, so it was back to the Shop and head home.
Next race will be at Bonneville!


投稿者 mooneyes : 2008年7月 9日 10:00