I remember having a long discussion with Jes regarding the fate of Roxanne before Buttonwillow. My take on it was this…
Not only does Jes need something to play with while his cars (Verde and 3.7) are being built, he needed a car that can help him prepare for the 3.7. The 3.7 will be a monster when completed.
I'm sure we can all agree that, although our egos tell us that we drive like Schumacher, the reality is that, we can't. Roxanne is a perfect car to hone your driving skills. With a low HP car, driver becomes even more critical in making the car go fast. Roxanne forces the driver to be smooth, carry speed through the turns, brake less, get on the gas earlier, keep your foot in it, momentum, momentum, momentum... you know the drill.
This is already started to show results. Looking at Jes' Buttonwillow reults, he was faster driving Roxanne compared to his modified Verde. At the track, we had long discussions on what he needed to do to reduce his lap times. With no LSD, he needed to find traction. With no HP and torque, he was forced to carry momentum and get on the gas earlier. Jes was polishing his lines so that he can carry more speed. You should have seen his face when he ended up beating his goal for that weekend. It was one of those MasterCard moments... priceless.
With completion of race school this September, Jes will qualify as a rookie racer for the October WS race. Time trials are fun but once you experience wheel to wheel racing, you'll never go back
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Next year, hopefully Jes and I can race Roxanne in the Enduro. Even if he decides to sell it, who wouldn't want a cheap race car? Knowing Jes, it will practically be rebuilt by then...
Colin