A Lap of Roebling Road...

3750 RPM, 5th gear, the speedo needle jumping nervously between 110 and 120mph. Roebling Road's turn One 500 foot marker coming up, with the enbankment, tires and trees... very big trees... looming only a couple of hundred yards from the end of the sraight... better start braking now ! Get on the brakes, 400ft marker flashes by, heel n toe into 4th, 300ft marker flashes by, speed dropping below 100... 90, 80, 70... hug the outside, turn in the 90 degree bend... aim for the apex, a bit of throttle but not too much since turn 2 will be coming up quickly, a sharper right hander to complete the 210 deg turn.

Coming into 2 it's a very short distance to stabilize the car. Aim for the outside code at turn in, trailbraking helps keeping the mometum as much as possible but always a bit tricky. Although the E-type is so predictable that it's not too tricky.... Turn in, start applying some power, Pzeros are screetching a bit, more power coming up on the apex, slowly the pedal goes to the metal ( well the carpet actually, this is a GT street car, not a race car). unwind the steering wheel and drift to the edge of the track for a very short straight.

RPM climbs past 4000 in 4th gear, turn 3, a left hander is already there.. better have brought the car across the track on the ride side. Brakes. Again, it's hardly straight so it's another balancing act between braking and steering. Turn 3 is a fast sweeper so there is no need for heavy braking, just enough to shave some speed and help transfering weight to the front to get the car to turn. Too close to the edge and drifting onto the rumbling strip would kill any grip and probably turn the E-type in a fast and expensive lawn mower...plenty of run off but better stay a few feet away. If the entry and speed is right, it's full power soon after turn in. The weight transfers to the rear and I can feel the rear tires gripping the pavement. Nail the apex but with turn 4 immediately after, a right hander, can't track out, need to hug the left side. Still flat out, in 4th, straighten the steering coming in the short braking zone, lift and brake for 4, hard but not for long.

There is very little time before turning into 4th, a 120deg right hander. the transition between flat out, on the brakes, release the brakes and turn happens very quickly and really illustrate what weight transfer is all about. Come in too fast and you'll end up scrubbing those front tires understeering towards the grass... After turn in... patience.. I keep it a bit wide, middle of the track, it's long turn... Apex cone comes into view to the right, I get on the gas, accelerate, tightens the turn toward the apex, touch the curb, full acceleration and drift out. Watch for the marbles that build up during the day if going wide too soon after an early apex, not a good thing.

Again, no time to catche my breath into turn 6 as I go thru a short kink to the left and approach 6. A 90 degree left hander with the braking in a not so straight line. I'd better be in control and feel the effect of the weight transfering to the front overworking the tires while the rears strugle for grip. Being smooth is key here, I get it right and it's fun ... otherwise, would have been hairy. Get to the edge, turn in and I get on the power, approach the Apex, full throttle, drift out. The rear seems to be sliding out of line here, but always predictable... I just relax the steering things stay under control, although a couple of times it took a litlle more opposite steering to keep the car facing in the right direction... plenty of run off though...

Turn 7 and 8 is one long right hander, off camber with the runoff even more off camber towards the tires lining the embankment and more trees... I reach turn in, after yet another quick jump diagonally across the track from left to right and it's a game of patience... this is one long turn... I tried double apex early on , didn't really work better so I follow the conventional line, middle of the track thru the first half then applying power to the apex cone and out. Can't really stay too wide in the first half as it get dirty later in the day and if I slide out a bit... the runoff would be downhill...

After exiting 8, again full throttle, it's a short straight until the final turn, nr 9, a 90 degree right hander leading onto the main straight. Check the mirror to see what's behind as that short straight is a pasing zone. I see a familiar silver car gaining but it's not close enough to pass before turn 9. Time to lift, tap the brakes and focus on turn 9.

9 is an important turn since it's long straight and although I'm not even timing my laps, straight away speed is telltale sign of how good turn 9 was handled... It does take some guts to take it on the edge because, in my car, exit speed will be close to 100mph.. if all goes well. There is plenty of grass runoff but I can only guess it would still be a rough ride at that speed... not as rough as trying to correct and loosing it into Roebling's only wall, pit wall, on the inside of the exit ! Again, placing the car in the right spot at the right speed is key and it does take some patience to stay to the outside long enough before diving into to the apex. Pit entry is in the corner, to the inside where I apply full power, tightening the turn to the apex, just on the edge of the asphalt and then tracking out right to the edge of the outside rumble strip closing in to 100mph.

Got that one right and the tach goes past 4500rpm, upshift into 5th. Check the mirror again, to find a bulging bonnet with oval mouth and Pirelli stickers at the top of the windshield ready to pounce. I put my hand out signalling him to pass to the right. No need to lift for this one, a flash of silver goes by in the glorious roar of its XK engine : Gary Hagopian's Silver Hammer is just flying away. Start / Finish and its timing tower zip by, RPM climbs steadily thru 3000, 3500, 3600, 3750... time to get those Willwoods to work... and do it all again...

...and do it about 225 times in the course of this two day HPDE event, for a total of some 460 track miles or about 6 hours... not bad for a 31 year old street Jaguar driven to and from the track, 500 miles each way. Sunday night, parking the car in garage, with the front wheels blackened by the brake dust, bugs on the windshield and a few rubber streaks here and there from marbles quicked by the cars I was following too close... I realize I still have that big smile on my face...

(Pictures and onboard clips coming later on this week...)

Pascal
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