Dale: I'll have you know that lashup uses genuine, stainless steel safety wire.....*bailing wire*!....harrummph! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
(Actually, the wire is intentional. It allows me to re-angle the turndown pipe to any position, such as away from the Sound Police...It would have been easy to weld it solid, but then I couldn't turn it).
Dave:
My exhaust isn't really that low. The front wheel is sitting "down" on my shop floor and the rear wheels are sitting on a raised concrete pad that is about 2" higher than the shop floor.
Honestly, Lime Rock is my least favorite track. I even prefer Pocono. But it has a lot of history for many folks (including me...my first trip here was in the late 60s).
As for the turns? From the spectators view, Big Bend and The Esses are the best places to watch, especially if you are on The Hill (The Esses has the only real left hand turn on this track). I find both of these turns to have bumpy surfaces, which I don't like.
Personally, the turn I like best is the Diving Turn (just before the main Straight). It's sort of creepy and fast with no real run-off....but if you do it right, you make great speed on the Main Straight. The Uphill Turn, before No Name Straight, has been totally revamped for improved safety (partly due to a tragic incident at our EMRA event last year). There's a track map below:
Michael:
One of my engineering students ran an unmuffled event at LRP this year (a NASCAR event....the Burnham Boilers race). I don't really mind muffled events if it helps us hold on to a track. Yes, clockwise works better for this setup. Next year, my new engine (1275) has the exhaust on the other side, so that will change things around.
As you know, I ran Shenandoah with VRG for their Fall event. They choose to run counter-clockwise and also used the Karrousel Turn. After practice, they asked if we would like to keep the Karrousel or bypass it. I voted to bypass, but most wanted to keep it, so that was that. With VRG, they established a "no passing zone" just after the bridge (going CCW) to prevent any incidents at the Karrousel entry point. They also discussed the idea of running clock-wise, but there is an unprotected guard rail near the bridge that some were worried about, so the officials chose not to run CW. I know the motorcycle crowd runs it clock-wise. You may want to ask about this at the driver's meeting.
Lime Rock, Connecticut
Shenandoah, Summit Point, West Virginia