Quote:
Originally Posted by oneday
Let me start by saying I stopped caring about Ring records a long time ago. Marketing driven competition does little for me.
It doesn't say "not stock" it says, "smart planning."
Nothing about being "prepped by" a local racing team implies that the ACRs in question are not actually stock. Getting set up by a local crew that runs a similarly spec'd car on their home track is just plain smart. The locals know the ideal alignment specs, tire pressures, sway bars settings, damper settings, and wing adjustments that are required to make fast laps.
We do the same thing in autocross--either by going to a test event on the competition surface or by getting help from people that run the surface all the time (tire pressures, dampers, camber all very drastically depending on the age and type of surface). Getting help is always the fastest and best way to improve your times.
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But that's kinda just it. The LFA was developed to give the best driving experience that Toyota/Lexus knows how to deliver. It was put through its paces in extreme conditions (as every car these days really), and then pushed to it's limits on Fuji, the nardo ring, paul riccard and on the nurburgring. It was built to be able to race there, not just put down a fast lap and that was an integral part of it's development (Witness racing in the N24 for 3-4 consecutive years). With the Nurburgring edition, some of the early customers asked for a more track focused version of the LFA, and that is what Lexus delivered. I could be wrong, but I don't think they set out to make the nurburgring edition put down the best lap on the ring possible by tweaking... rather, with the Nur edition, whatever work put into it, is what will go out the door. What you see is what you get (race driver and safety cage excluded). That's why while agree with all the posturing lately the times mean a little less, the lap put down by Iida was quite a bit special in my eyes.