3.5 miles in 4:40 - So it's not the Nurburgring...

[KfabR8]

I thought you guys might get a kick out of something that's pretty much about as polar opposite of the R8 as one can get.

I went out to the Four Peaks area (north east of Phoenix) and played around in the 10Dez (my Class 10 desert race car) this afternoon. Man, it's good to get back behind the wheel of that thing.

3.5 miles in 4:40. Slick, twisty and fun! I have the pressure in the tires set way to high and it makes the car slide with the greatest of ease (and throttle control).

I hit a few of the little switchbacks just right and it made me feel like a WRC racer - fun stuff! I wish the video conveyed the rise/fall over some of the ridges and the feeling you get in the seat.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7wfl_sP6Ow]YouTube - Fire Road Run[/ame]

Top speed shown on GPS was 66.5 mph.

This is the first time I've tried the Go-Pro on my helmet. Wasn't sure how much would be obstructed by the roof visor, or if I'd have it pointed correctly. Looks like I got it set pretty well.

[gazza1]

No Trees around - Smart Move!

Looks great fun and seat of the pants driving.

[AnOutsider]

No Trees around - Smart Move!

good stuff

[KfabR8]

No Trees around - Smart Move!

Now I would expect this sort of comment from Desperado, but you? Ah, man.

The big Suaro cactus are worse to hit than trees. Not only do they stop you like a tree, but if (big if) you manage to knock it down, they weight about 2 tons and will proceed to squish you with a pin-cushion covering. Not pretty from what I've heard.

Now that you say this, my two worst wrecks have involved trees; The R8 crash of last year and back in Sept of 03 during a desert race.

[gazza1]

Twas Friendly banter with no malice intended be rest assured

Interesting re Cactus..wasn't aware they are so tough.

Ones here all snap really easy..albeit they are small.

[KfabR8]

Since I've been in Desert Mode the past three weeks, I figured I'd share a few more videos that I gathered last week whilst out and about in So-Cal, playing in the sand dunes and the desert floor that surrounds the dunes.

Dumont Dunes, Death Valley area of California:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zk5dho2no6U"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zk5dho2no6U[/ame]
The two little single seaters are Stadium Lites.



They're powered by Yamaha Phazer snowmobile engines (500cc four stroke, twin cylinder EFI setup - 80 hp in a 650 lb. car) I used to do a national series racing in this class and watched these two cars kick my butt on a weekly basis. Now I own two of them and had fun showing the back end of one to the guys I raced against this past summer.


A little high speed running around the "flats" of Glamis. (Imperial Sand Dunes):
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYZkkRkfyiY"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYZkkRkfyiY[/ame]


And a little more high speed running at Glamis in a section that really made me think of some of the areas I've seen during the Baja 1000.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3VYJQL-5Jo"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3VYJQL-5Jo[/ame]
19.5 miles in 23 minutes isn't too terribly bad considering how much of the run is in tight, twisty trails. That time was not during this video, though.

Top speed is right at 75 and was actually hit while running through a set of whoops that are about 2 feet deep. Faster is smoother when you can get the car up on top of the whoops.

With the light bar on the car, I can only hit about 65-68 mph. Four 10" diam HID lights are like a billboard and really slow you down.


Pre-paint, but race ready.

I'll be back in R8 mode soon. It didn't make it out here to Phoenix with me.

[ADV.1 Matt]

That looks ridiculously fun! Now if only I lived near a desert!