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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\tCentimeter work with the Lotus 87<\/h2>\n
I dive into the shadow of the \u00abHotel de Paris,\u00bb 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\u2019s important to use every inch to get back into the next right-hand turn immediately afterward. The \u00abCasino\u00bb 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\u2019m 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 \u00abTip Top Bar.\u00bb 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\u2019s stable and has tremendous \u00abbite\u00bb and \u00abgrip\u00bb under braking. So, brake late into the \u00abMirabeau,\u00bb 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\u2019ll inevitably end up in the guardrail if your entry speed isn\u2019t right. When turning in, the car understeers, but then the track\u2019s banking comes to your aid. The \u00abMirabeau\u00bb 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 \u00abLoews\u00bb curve. When braking, the \u00ab87 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\u2014is anyone closing in? If you don\u2019t turn in enough, you\u2019ll graze the guardrail on the exit. At the exit, I actually want to briefly floor it, but I mustn\u2019t 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\u2019t want anyone in front of you who can\u2019t get the gear in\u2026 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 \u00bb87 handles the curb well, but transitions into a wild powerslide when accelerating into the \u00abPortier\u00bb 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! <\/p>\n
Into the tunnel<\/h3>\n
The \u00ab87 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 \u00bbruined.\u00ab 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 \u00bb87 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 \u00abTabac\u00bb corner and drive towards the well-occupied \u00abK Tribune.\u00bb 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.
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![\"Proper](\"https:\/\/slickpix.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/lotus-87-trackday-marco-werner-curbs-historischer-mostorsport-magazin-Ordentlich-Wheelspin-beim-Beschleunigen-150x150.jpg\")
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<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t![\"lotus-87-trackday-marco-werner-curbs-historic-motorsport-magazine-in-car\"](\"https:\/\/slickpix.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/lotus-87-trackday-marco-werner-curbs-historischer-mostorsport-magazin-im-auto-150x150.jpg\")
<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p>\n\u00abI'm flying over the curbs with the Lotus 87\u00bb<\/h2>\n
I'm doing a \u201ehealth nudge\u00bb 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 \u00ab87 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 \u00bbRascasse.\u00ab 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 \u00bbSainte Devote.\" The Lotus 87 is doing a good job here. Even on the '87's debut, Nigel Mansell<\/a> on third place on the grid. I'm driving from pole position towards the finish and the Lotus 87 from the ChromeCars \u00abBlack and Gold Collection,\u00bb 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 \u00ab1\u00bb 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 \u00abtrack day\u00bb of a special kind, and I won't be able to enjoy it again anytime soon. An unforgettable experience!
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