My 15 Minutes of German fame - DMotor TV Grand Sport vs Cobra
10-07-2008, 04:40 PM
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My 15 Minutes of German fame - DMotor TV Grand Sport vs Cobra
Well, finally, it's out...
As some of you know, and many of you probably don't, I spent the better part of 2007 and 2008 driving for Mongoose Motorsports - builders of a couple of Corvette replicas.
In April, I went to Germany to drive the Mongoose Grand Sport for the German show, "DMotor" - think Top Gear, but without funny phrases like "rubbish" and without the silly British accent..
DMotor has two hosts, one of them being Sabine Schmidt. Known as the "Queen of the Ring" for her prowess on the Nurburgring, she also does occasional appearences on Top Gear. If you remember the woman who lapped the ring in 10 minutes in the panel van, that's her...
For this episode, she would be in a 600-horsepower Cobra replica, and I would be in the 400-horespower Grand Sport Replica - to even things up, I was allowed DOT-R tires (Kumho V700s) and she had to run on Michelin Pilot Sports.
So without furthur banter, here we go: (sorry about the German, I will work on producing a subtitled version)
Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6quxEL8ioA
Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phGwbbyEHMo
Jon K
As some of you know, and many of you probably don't, I spent the better part of 2007 and 2008 driving for Mongoose Motorsports - builders of a couple of Corvette replicas.
In April, I went to Germany to drive the Mongoose Grand Sport for the German show, "DMotor" - think Top Gear, but without funny phrases like "rubbish" and without the silly British accent..
DMotor has two hosts, one of them being Sabine Schmidt. Known as the "Queen of the Ring" for her prowess on the Nurburgring, she also does occasional appearences on Top Gear. If you remember the woman who lapped the ring in 10 minutes in the panel van, that's her...
For this episode, she would be in a 600-horsepower Cobra replica, and I would be in the 400-horespower Grand Sport Replica - to even things up, I was allowed DOT-R tires (Kumho V700s) and she had to run on Michelin Pilot Sports.
So without furthur banter, here we go: (sorry about the German, I will work on producing a subtitled version)
Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6quxEL8ioA
Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phGwbbyEHMo
Jon K
10-07-2008, 05:23 PM
#2
Le Mans Master
Awesome man! You are truely living the dream. Way to show them how it's done. But....what's up with that harness? It looked like it may as well have been bolted to the roof.
Yay sticky tires.
Yay sticky tires.
10-07-2008, 06:05 PM
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10-07-2008, 08:16 PM
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Le Mans Master
She enjoyed that first drag race victory a little too much. 
Also, it looks like there was someone in the car with you at the start of your timed run (at 7:38)??
Also, it looks like there was someone in the car with you at the start of your timed run (at 7:38)??
10-07-2008, 10:25 PM
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She is very animated in the car and in her antics.. I was a little more as well - because they asked for us to show emotion.. I guess I didn't go quite as far as she did though. (But you can see me shake my head at how fast that car was with 600hp - btw if you can't hear it, the Cobra has an LS7 stuffed in it.. with the C6R race block)
There wasn't someone with me in that shot.. though, I can see the shadow. Maybe it is like the ghost in "Look Who's Talking" or the person than hangs themself in "The Wizard of Oz".
Jon
10-08-2008, 02:18 AM
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wow the first comparicon shot with a corvette with sticky tires!! wow!
if everyone did that corvettes would rule the world!
nice show!
looks like a lot of fun!
thanks for the video's!
if everyone did that corvettes would rule the world!
nice show!
looks like a lot of fun!thanks for the video's!
10-10-2008, 08:08 AM
#11
I was talking to a friend of mine yesterday and he said that he had read an article about a father and son team that ran Corvettes a lot at Roebling Road. I guess he was talking about you. He thought at first it might have been Varkswo and his son. Again congratulation on your TV appearance. See you at Roebling.
10-10-2008, 08:44 AM
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I was talking to a friend of mine yesterday and he said that he had read an article about a father and son team that ran Corvettes a lot at Roebling Road. I guess he was talking about you. He thought at first it might have been Varkswo and his son. Again congratulation on your TV appearance. See you at Roebling.
Jon
10-10-2008, 09:58 AM
#13
I did not think you ran a Corvette, but you might have in the pass or something. Of course my friend could have read the article wrong.
10-10-2008, 10:35 AM
#15
Le Mans Master
I was talking to a friend of mine yesterday and he said that he had read an article about a father and son team that ran Corvettes a lot at Roebling Road. I guess he was talking about you. He thought at first it might have been Varkswo and his son. Again congratulation on your TV appearance. See you at Roebling.
10-10-2008, 10:59 AM
#16
Le Mans Master
....
So without furthur banter, here we go: (sorry about the German, I will work on producing a subtitled version)
Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6quxEL8ioA
Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phGwbbyEHMo
Jon K
So without furthur banter, here we go: (sorry about the German, I will work on producing a subtitled version)
Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6quxEL8ioA
Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phGwbbyEHMo
Jon K
10-10-2008, 11:43 AM
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The Gal in the Cobra? That's Sabine Schmidt - former German Touring Car Driver, known as "The Queen of the Ring" for her 20,000+ laps on the Nurburgring. In addition to her DMotor gig, she is a ring-taxi driver for BMW, and has been on Top Gear a few times - most noteably as the girl who drove the Panel Van to a 10:08 lap or something.
Jon K
Jon K
10-10-2008, 11:48 AM
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They actually keep saying, "Semi-Slicks" as the reason for the difference. I knew there would be a home-slant to it, as they have to justify why their superstar just got smoked by 1.7 seconds, to a guy in a car with 200 less HP who had never seen the track..
They also keep saying the HP difference is 80 HP.. which wasn't the case. The Cobra was claimed as having 600hp, and I know the Grand Sport had "only" 400.
The drag race you see is the staged drag race.. they had us do that one so the Grand Sport wouldn't "look so bad" - as the closest I could manage to get to the Cobra in more than ten tries at a 0-200kph drag race was 10 car lengths.
They also told me later how surprised they were that I won the time trial because of the horsepower difference, and how far back I had been in the drag race.. The owner of the Cobra blamed it on the temp being too low for the Michelin Pilots - and I didn't have the heart to explain to him how the Kumho V700 has a higher operating temp than his Michelins...
Jon K
10-10-2008, 01:47 PM
#19
Yes he is a very well read. I think that you have met Dave at Roebling, Drives a silver mazda speed 3.
