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Sounds like this Exos is going to kill a lot of people with too much money.  Looking forward to driving it in AC. :)

It seems like any time reviewers or auto journalists get their hands on an F1 (or near F1) car like this they drive it in either the wrong conditions or on the wrong track.

Top Gear put Richard Hammond in a real, championship winning Renault F1 car and then put him on a slow speed course with grooved tires, if I’m not mistaken. Jeremy got to drive the Caparo T1 but it was in the wet. He also got to drive the Lotus 125 we see here except it was also around a short course. They always say the same things which is that the brakes feel like they don’t work and the traction is horrible in comparison to an Ariel Atom, lets say.

I would love to see someone like Tiff or Jason Plato take this around a proper high speed track or watch somebody use it on a real track day to mop the floor with EVERYTHING on the track!

It seems like any time reviewers or auto journalists get their hands on an F1 (or near F1) car like this they drive it in either the wrong conditions or on the wrong track.

Top Gear put Richard Hammond in a real, championship winning Renault F1 car and then put him on a slow speed course with grooved tires, if I’m not mistaken. Jeremy got to drive the Caparo T1 but it was in the wet. He also got to drive the Lotus 125 we see here except it was also around a short course. They always say the same things which is that the brakes feel like they don’t work and the traction is horrible in comparison to an Ariel Atom, lets say.

I would love to see someone like Tiff or Jason Plato take this around a proper high speed track or watch somebody use it on a real track day to mop the floor with EVERYTHING on the track!

Tiff drove an F1 car already, guess what, that was in the wrong conditions too (if you want to call it that), it was around an oval vs Vicky in a Bmw M5. He didn’t complain, Jeremy (he beat the atom) or Hammond didn’t really complain either really, lets face, it only a few of these journos really have the skill to drive these cars on the edge in the conditions you’d like to see them in, and they usually don’t even have enough testing time to figure out what all the buttons on the wheel do, let alone find the true limits of the car, so the owners won’t let them.

We hear proper reviews of F1 cars after every F1 race by the people the cars they were built for, usually only the top 3 are likely to claim the car doesn’t need improvement compared to the competition

 I agree with Foxy despite the fact that I only have a vague understanding of the circumstances the OP is talking about here. Every driver has his/her niche, mine is GT. I can drive GTs and set them up beautifully, but when it comes to prototype style cars(Le Mans, Formulas, stuff like that), it has taken me years to really figure it out, and even then I’m not all that great with them.

Even NASCAR and standard street cars I’m not that good with. But I can fly like a bat out of hell in a GT car, and perhaps that’s because I’ve driven a GT challenge style car on course before, so I know what it should feel like. I’d prefer to think that GT is my style that I best fit with, and just because someone’s style doesn’t mesh with a certain car doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with them or the car. If these people were complaining about the car, shame on them. But as Foxy says, not many people have the ability and understanding of exactly what you can do with formula type cars… I know I sure as hell suck with them.

-Blacker.

As sim racers, I would say we all have a certain amount of “what if it were me” in us. Journos and shows like Top Gear allow the common man access to our dream cars. We’ve all seen F1 drivers driving F1 cars but that doesn’t tell us much. I love the vicarious nature of seeing non-race drivers driving these cars but, as I said, they’re rarely doing so in the environment that would give them the ability to really see what the common man can do.

That’s why I wish these guys were given a proper chance to see what they can do. A better example? Greger Huttu being given the opportunity (under great circumstances) to drive a real open-wheel racer on a proper track.

P.S. – Yes, the owners don’t want Jeremy Clarkson trashing their car but there’s this place called a test track (Paul Ricard? Abu Dhabi?) that has tons of runoff and trick asphalt that stops you faster and safer than gravel.

Didn’t they have that car on Top Gear last season or maybe the season before? you pay your money but Lotus keep hold of the car and ship it to where you want it and they had Jean Alesi give you a few pointers it all turns up in one of those huge F1 motorhomes with catering and all sorts.

Well, to be fair, they did a lap at the Top Gear test track in the Renault and it did it in less than 1min in wet conditions. The stig also drove the T125 to a incredibly fast lap. The reason they complain about brakes and whatnot is because us mere mortals have no idea how to make a car like that work well. Experienced drivers do it even on those tracks.

Anyway, the Renault F1 they tried did use grooved tyres, so it didn’t make sense to use slicks.

I remember that !    Can’t remember what car it was but I think you’re right that it was a Lotus. That was the T125 too wasn’t it ?

Yeah, same car. I wonder if we’ll get a virtual Jean Alesi

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VJ_bKYrfWg UK only vid probably

Just to add Plato has also tested the Caparo T1, it set him on fire.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8NXWhZd-iQ

I think most of the tests out out there if you look tbf, especially in this digital media age.  

 I like Alesi.  I always remember something from Jean from when he took his first and only F1 win.  Apparently, on the last lap he was getting quite emotional and teary.  He said that every time he hit the brakes on that lap, they were so powerful that the tear in his tear duct would get splashed onto the inside of his visor.   Whether that is true or not I don’t know but it’s a hell of a thing if so. 

Very nice, at least we’ll have something fast and light to throw around corners in AC.

 When Hammond drove the F1 car the conditions were good… but it just showed he was not up to the task (skill as well as neck conditioning).  Do a search at Autocar for Steve Sutcliff’s drive of an F1 car.  He is an experienced non-racecar driver and did very well in the F1 car.

 Huttu was given the chance to drive the Star Mazda at Road Atlanta by iRacing. If you haven’t seen it, it is worth searching for it.  He doesn’t drive a car in real life at all so this was particularly interesting.  He attended a Skip Barber school then got to try the Star Mazda.  He did quite well for his first time in the car– people were impressed.  The weather was hot through and he got sick while lapping, poor guy.  One of his primary comments was the real car has more grip than in iRacing. 

A few more pics:
http://racesimcentral.com/2012/07/assetto-corsa-lotus-98t-wip-shots/

To find out try this.  Put up a mattress (vertically) against a wall, don your racing helmet, take many steps back and run into it.  Each time go a little faster until you have the desired effect (tears thrown into your visor) and you will then understand the amount of Gs for this to happen.  Of course you may have to smell an onion to get the tears going.  But then again if you discover that this is a fallacy/myth, you can then decide to remove the mattress and run superfast into the wall itself. I guarantee you will get the desired effect …along with real tears this time!