First ever track day in Evora GT - Anyone care to dance

[Pegasi]

Did my FIRST ever track day in an Evora GT. I realized though that since I am a beginner and not pushing the car to the limit, nor do I have experience tracking another car, I really don't know how good the Evora is!

Here is the track: https://www.atlantamotorsportspark.com/ (Course designed by an F1 architect. Supposedly inspired by the Nurburgring. Great elevation changes.)

I was fortunate enough to be on what's considered a technical track, and not a high speed track, to take advantage of the handling. My top speed was 120mph on the straight section.

The biggest impression on me was that the car feels very tight. In every situation, braking, S turns, weight transfer, etc. never any extra motion or unpredictable weight shifts. I never thought I would say this and frankly thought it was just fluff, I have heard youtubers mention it, but I felt totally connected to the car. Hydraulic steering, brakes, acceleration all felt very instinctive and I guess analog. Example, I didn't break hard enough for a corner one time, so I slightly straightened the wheel back out, hit the brakes, corrected. Amazing. There is one big long curve that I was able to change my line to hit the correct turn in point all while still applying more throttle.

I know I was nowhere near the limit to upset the car but I did get very confident in one set of S turns and just started to dance through them. Maybe the best feeling I have ever had in a car.

If Emira Sport Suspension is slightly stiffer than Evora GT then Sport/Cups for me. Touring is totally off the table now.

I will keep searching for an Evora GT to buy. As soon as I find out that I cannot get an Emira for any reason I will get an Evora GT. The damn thing is just too much fun. However, for now I see about 4 track days a year but mainly the car will be used for mountain drives. The track car was an Auto. I would have no issue getting an Auto on any Lotus but my spec is manual.

I really need to track another car so I can have a better idea of how good the Lotus really is.

For all of you who have never tracked and want to, but don't see yourself as someone who wants to put a ton of time to be the best driver you can, this is the car for you. Emira or Evora. You can go fast, feel safe, access the handling, without being a pro. To me, the car is that good, that fun, that accessible. And of course there were "drivers" out there in Evoras absolutely killing it.

 

[VL3X]

Glad you had fun! How long was the entire event? I was really tempted to fly down to ATL for this, but it seemed rediculosuly expensive at $800 for only ~1.5hrs (including the classroom session).

You could technically rent one and take it on a Skip Barber HPDE day for less.

 

[Porter]

Fantastic report! I hear AMP is excellent, I haven't been there yet but I have a friend from my motorsport days who owns a trackside condo with garage there, within the facility. Looking forward to a trackday there with my Emira one day.

My friend has an exceptional set of toys that he runs there. Including this:

We party trackside at Road Atlanta for the Petit Le Mans in unusually kingly style. Anyone who may be in attendance this year should stop by our RV compound overlooking turns 10A and 10B. I can't promise we'll have Jamón Serrano, but there should be something delicious to share.

 

[TomE]

Now you understand the Lotus way

The Evora is a very confidence-inspiring car on track.

 

[MickOpalak]

AMP is a good Lotus track. I also recommend Barber and VIR.

 

[Leonard]

@Pegasi did you feel the need for 450bhp is the big question
Sounds like a great day, glad you got to experience Lotus at its best

 

[Pegasi]

Glad you had fun! How long was the entire event? I was really tempted to fly down to ATL for this, but it seemed rediculosuly expensive at $800 for only ~1.5hrs (including the classroom session).

You could technically rent one and take it on a Skip Barber HPDE day for less.

Thank you for posting this event earlier this year. As you know I got the idea from you. Yes, very $$$. The entire event was 2 hours and 40 minutes.

20 minutes on the skid pad
20 minutes on the autocross
35 minutes on the circuit. (That was 12 laps done 3 at a time).
The rest was classroom.

I wasn't really expecting the race instruction they gave. Three instructors and essentially taught me how to track a car. That was very cool. To your point about renting an Evora and taking it to a track. Since I was a newbie, I appreciated this county club race experience. It was easy for me and all I had to do was listen and drive. If you are an experienced track person, I am not sure this would give you much if you could rent an Evora and track it.

 

[Pegasi]

Fantastic report! I hear AMP is excellent, I haven't been there yet but I have a friend from my motorsport days who owns a trackside condo with garage there, within the facility. Looking forward to a trackday there with my Emira one day.

My friend has an exceptional set of toys that he runs there. Including this:
View attachment 4457
View attachment 4458

We party trackside at Road Atlanta for the Petit Le Mans in unusually kingly style. Anyone who may be in attendance this year should stop by our RV compound overlooking turns 10A and 10B. I can't promise we'll have Jamón Serrano, but there should be something delicious to share.
View attachment 4459

The first guy a met was a member. I asked what he was doing that day and he said he was going to drive the circuit. I said what kind of car do you have. He responded, "Radical." I said oooooh!

AMP is a great place and your Atlanta setup looks delicious. What about the wood? Are you doing a fire pit at night???!

 

[Pegasi]

Now you understand the Lotus way

The Evora is a very confidence-inspiring car on track.

Yes Yoda, the force was with me. GRIP!

 

[Pegasi]

@Pegasi did you feel the need for 450bhp is the big question
Sounds like a great day, glad you got to experience Lotus at its best

I will be very specific and just say this. Those who say it needs 450HP I would love to see them track and use 450HP on that circuit. IMO and in my beginner experience, only the best drivers (which based on the cars people have on this forum I know there are some pros in here) need or could access 450HP on that particular track. Now there are different tracks of course and the feel of power on the open road. But those who are primarily focus on technical driving, 400HP is enough.

 

[VL3X]

I will be very specific and just say this. Those who say it needs 450HP I would love to see them track and use 450HP on that circuit.....those who are primarily focus on technical driving, 400HP is enough.

Agreed! I remember taking my completely stock ~230HP GTI on the circuit for the first time and my adrenaline was through the roof! No need for more power until you can master the vehicle you're in. I always say mod money is better spent on tires, brakes, and seat time! Eventually we get comfortable and crave more power... It's a vicious cycle!

That being said, I really hope to keep the Emira stock aside from some cosmetic things I have planned. The GTI is fun to beat up around the track because it's fairly inexpensive to mod and to replace brakes and tires on. I imagine the Emira will be a bit more costly with its 20" tires and fancy 2-piece rotors.

 

[Porter]

The first guy a met was a member. I asked what he was doing that day and he said he was going to drive the circuit. I said what kind of car do you have. He responded, "Radical." I said oooooh!

AMP is a great place and your Atlanta setup looks delicious. What about the wood? Are you doing a fire pit at night???!

Definitely. We fire up the campfire as soon as it gets dark and keep it going until well after race end, which is usually in the 10pm range for Petit. Our location right by the downhill braking zone at the end of the back straight into turn 10A is absolutely spectacular for both the crazy decel noises and the glow of brake rotors.

Hard to capture with a panning shot with a cell phone, but you get the idea:

 

[Pegasi]

On a side note, the instructor said Lotus developed the chassis on both Ford GTs. The new one, and the old one. They also said they are the experts behind McLaren chassis. If true, that is very cool. Well I knew Lotus consults on handling but if true they are behind some of the best handling cars ever produced.

 

[Pegasi]

Definitely. We fire up the campfire as soon as it gets dark and keep it going until well after race end, which is usually in the 10pm range for Petit. Our location right by the downhill braking zone at the end of the back straight into turn 10A is absolutely spectacular for both the crazy decel noises and the glow of brake rotors.

Hard to capture with a panning shot with a cell phone, but you get the idea:
View attachment 4476

I was specifically told when I came into pit lane and park not to pull the e-brake because the brakes are so hot the pads can melt onto the rotors!!!

 

[Porter]

I was specifically told when I came into pit lane and park not to pull the e-brake because the brakes are so hot the pads can melt onto the rotors!!!

Absolutely. That's one of the biggest culprits behind rotor problems actually, people drive hard or brake from high speed and then hold the pad against the rotor at a stoplight or in the case of track use, in the pits. It transfers pad material and bakes a hard spot into the metal (cementite conversion) that begins to wear at a different rate than the rest of the rotor. It's often referred to as a "warped" rotor even though the rotor itself usually isn't out-of-true. Resurfacing often doesn't permanently fix it.

 

[Pegasi]

More pics

The circuit

The autocross

The drift

 

[TomE]

On a side note, the instructor said Lotus developed the chassis on both Ford GTs. The new one, and the old one. They also said they are the experts behind McLaren chassis. If true, that is very cool. Well I knew Lotus consults on handling but if true they are behind some of the best handling cars ever produced.

Lotus consulting projects aren’t usually public knowledge at the time but sometimes it comes out later.

Lotus ride and handling engineers have also gone on to head up the vehicle dynamics teams at JLR, Aston Martin and McLaren.