Quote:
Originally Posted by EJEvo
We've talked about it, but my buddy Christo is trying to sort out what he'll work on obtaining first: a new baby or a new Z4 M Coupe.
I told him my One Lap clock is ticking, too. The year we did it was considered one of the easiest One Laps ever (thus the 'One Nap of America' nickname the regulars gave it), due to being able to sleep every night in a bed. The worst night we faced was driving from Roebling Road in Georgia to Nelson Ledges in Ohio (750 miles) - we left Georgia by 11am and hit Ohio around 2am, and got 4hrs of sleep that night. Maybe it was the cumulative effect of the previous 6 days before that, but we were wiped the next day for Nelson Ledges. During that drive, around 1am, Christo kept hitting the brakes hard and I'd wake up asking what happened, and he kept saying he thought he'd seen a cop car along the road, but there was never a car each time. We finally had to swap spots because he acknowledged he was losing it. Christo said he had real concentration problems driving Nelson Ledges the next day, but snapped to in the afternoon and put down a decent time.
Now, on a regular One Lap there will be a few nights like that, and a few where you simply get in the car, leave one site, and then arrive at the next site the next morning, just in time to go out on the track. It's that kind of sleep deprivation that can lead to hallucinations, lack of concentration, and other things that add up to being a danger on the track, and even the highway. That is a young man's game, for sure.
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As much of a fan as I am of this...I 100% totaly agree with this statement.
The OLOA was sanctioned to be a legal and safe way to get away doing such an event like a "cannon ball run", however one has to think very clearly about it and consider the safer setup:
A)Crazy fast cars driven by good drivers who are fully alert and awake to what's happening while blasting up the highways at 120+mph in a first come first serve type of race(aka cannonball).....
or
B)Crazy fast cars driven by good drivers who are on the verge of passing out from sleep deprivation and exhaustion, doing relative speeds eight days straight in a TSD style event.....
I really think the OLOA should have some mandatory rest stops here and there along the course of the 8 day event just to bump the safety margin up.
I for one cannot make it through a 24hr days in a cramped car w/o sleep. Just wont happen. I'd rather sleep for 5 hours a day and make it up in the top end knowing I'm going to be awake
Just my 2 cents on this matter. OLOA info carry on..
Oh and it's looking like my sister might be leading a triple pack of HHR SS's this year in the retro class, straight from GM, or a CTS-V. At least I know it'll be a comfortable trip