On a victory tour in Monte Carlo in the LOTUS 87
The track lies before me in the shade of the Monegasque trees, and my gaze rises toward the starting lights. I wait for the first of five red lights, my heart racing. At the third red light, I rev up to 9,000 RPM while stationary, and the Ford Cosworth behind me roars loudly. Five lights, focus on the lights going out, engage the clutch, and then let it rip. With the wheels spinning, I shift through the gears quickly toward «Sainte Devote.» Then it’s time to find the braking point for a clean entry, while the pack behind me lies in wait for their chance. A quick glance in the mirror to see if anyone is already beside me, then turning toward the inner curb. I’m in the Lotus 87, and we’re racing the «Monaco Historique Grand Prix 2022.» At Oschersleben and on the Hockenheimring, I wasn’t able to complete many trouble-free laps due to misfires. Now in Monaco, I’m starting the 18-lap race from pole position. Coming out of «Sainte Devote,» I shift from 2nd gear at full throttle all the way up to 5th gear as I climb the hill. And it’s a steep climb up the hill toward the Casino, past the «Beau Rivage» hotel. Anyone who’s ever walked up this hill knows just how steep it is. On the ascent, my gaze shifts to the right, where a huge screen stands for the spectators at the harbor, and I realize that Michael Lyons is hot on my heels in another Chrome Cars Lotus. The road winds slightly up the hill, and under normal conditions—or without a mistake by the car in front—overtaking is impossible here. The road is bathed in sunlight. The crest appears ahead of me, and I feel as if I’m about to catapult myself into the blue sky. I come up the hill almost at full throttle, reaching about 220 km/h, at which point I now have to find the braking point for the next right-hand curve. I set that while still on the uphill section and not just after the crest. Purely in terms of distance, it would work out after the crest, but only if it were flat. The crest makes the car light and a bit skittish, so I brake before the crest to keep the car planted. The downforce is quite good, and so the Lotus 87 remains fairly stable under braking, but one or two drivers get a few extra heartbeats here. I wait until the car has settled down again after the crest so I can turn into the «Massenet» curve cleanly.
Centimeter work with the Lotus 87
I dive into the shadow of the «Hotel de Paris,» with the packed grandstand across from the casino ahead of me. The car turns in nicely, but I hold off a bit to set the apex later. It’s important to use every inch to get back into the next right-hand turn immediately afterward. The «Casino» turn starts off slightly uphill as you turn in, then drops off from the apex. I drive across Casino Square back into the glaring evening sun. I’m in third gear, hit the gas from the middle of the turn, and lose the rear end on the downhill section. With a powerslide, I head back into the shade of the houses toward the crest in front of the famous «Tip Top Bar.» You have to take a slight detour around the crest, otherwise you can quickly lose control of the car there. I have to briefly shift into fourth gear there, since third gear is revved out. The Lotus 87 impressed me right from the start when braking; it’s stable and has tremendous «bite» and «grip» under braking. So, brake late into the «Mirabeau,» downshift to third gear, check the mirror to see where the competition is, and turn in. One mistake while braking or missing a gear when downshifting, and you’ll inevitably end up in the guardrail if your entry speed isn’t right. When turning in, the car understeers, but then the track’s banking comes to your aid. The «Mirabeau» has some serious banking, and you use the extra downforce to maintain good cornering speed. To do this, you hit the gas early and briefly accelerate again toward the old «Loews» curve. When braking, the «87 is back in its element, and I barely have time to shift back into second gear during the short braking distance. Now the steering becomes brutally heavy, and I grip the front of the steering wheel to use the full steering angle and pull down with all my strength. Before turning in, a quick glance in the mirror—is anyone closing in? If you don’t turn in enough, you’ll graze the guardrail on the exit. At the exit, I actually want to briefly floor it, but I mustn’t press the gas pedal too early or too hard. Too early means understeer toward the guardrail; too hard means rapid and brutal power oversteer. A Formula 1 car like this accelerates powerfully even from low speeds. You certainly don’t want anyone in front of you who can’t get the gear in… With a quick burst of throttle, you head toward the entry point of the next right-hand turn. Here, you have to turn in early and drive onto the inner curb to cut the corner slightly and get a nice line for the exit. If you turn in too late, the left-hand outer guardrail will punish you. The »87 handles the curb well, but transitions into a wild powerslide when accelerating into the «Portier» curve. When turning into the right-hand curve that takes us toward the tunnel, the Lotus 87 reveals its well-known weakness for the first time: understeer!
Into the tunnel
The «87 car pushes wide on the front tires after turning in and is a bit reluctant to change direction. However, exiting the corner, the understeer abruptly turns into power oversteer as soon as I step on the gas. Then, full acceleration, shifting up from 2nd to 5th gear before the next section that gets the pulse racing: the right-hand bend in the tunnel. I turn in cleanly to have a stable car and drive through the tunnel with full throttle in 5th gear, hitting the apex cleanly on the inside, and then exiting close to the guardrail on the outside. All of this sounds easy, but in Monaco, it's often difficult because you can't see the corners, making it hard to set the line. Then, it's out of the darkness of the tunnel back into daylight. Now, it's crucial to hit the right braking point. Five meters too late, and the chicane is »ruined.« I brake so hard and downshift so much that every meter determines whether I get it right or completely miss the turn-in point. The car compresses significantly as I downshift, using clean heel-and-toe shifts until I'm in 2nd gear. The »87 car's gearbox fascinates me. Short throws, smooth and precise shifting. Then, it's past the guardrail corner on the left, immediately throwing the car into the tight right-hand of the harbor chicane, out of which I accelerate again towards the «Tabac» corner and drive towards the well-occupied «K Tribune.» 3rd gear, 4th gear, braking, turning in, slight understeer to the apex, then power oversteer again, and sliding slightly close to the right guardrail. I accelerate fully, and the question arises whether to take the following left-hand turn into the "Swimming Pool Passage" at full speed.
«I'm flying over the curbs with the Lotus 87»
I'm doing a „health nudge» and flying over the curbs: I come in slightly sideways to the braking point at the swimming pool exit. It goes back from fourth gear to second gear, then into the right-left sequence. The «87 handles well and quickly builds grip each time. There's no understeer at all here. Then accelerate fully again, third gear, and off to the »Rascasse.« Here, I see the VIPs in the restaurant above with their champagne glasses in hand. The Lotus 87 takes the braking in the slight left kink with good stability again. Shift back to second gear, turn in, slight understeer, but I turn into the two right-hand turns early to be clean on the inside of the second one. The line has to be right! Then accelerate briefly and crisply again to the last corner. I approach the last corner with the wheels spinning wildly. Late turn-in because the corner opens up considerably, and it also drops slightly, making the car light and causing the wheels to spin wildly again when accelerating onto the start/finish straight. Due to the short gearing, it goes lightning fast from second to fifth gear and through the long right-hand bend over the start/finish. The sun alternates with the shade from the trees, as if they were also racing against each other. Now, set another late braking point for the »Sainte Devote." The Lotus 87 is doing a good job here. Even on the '87's debut, Nigel Mansell on third place on the grid. I'm driving from pole position towards the finish and the Lotus 87 from the ChromeCars «Black and Gold Collection,» which narrowly missed the podium in the 80s, is now achieving its late glory with a win in Monaco. For me, after all the drama of last year, this is all very emotional. This year, I'm enjoying pure motorsport without any off-track squabbles. Then it occurs to me that I won the Formula 3 Grand Prix here exactly 30 years ago, what an anniversary! Finally, I roll up to the start/finish line directly in front of the «1» to enjoy the awards ceremony. Now, after our little time travel, we're back in the present, as the whole ceremony is now like in modern Formula 1. That was a «track day» of a special kind, and I won't be able to enjoy it again anytime soon. An unforgettable experience!
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Photos: Peter Heil