[doug]

http://www.refuelraces.com/

Recent ABG article here: http://green.autoblog.com/2012/06/04/refuel-reopens-mazda-raceway-laguna-seca-to-electric-vehicles-f/

If you have an EV, you get to drive the awesome Laguna Seca track essentially for free. I went as a spectator back in 2009 and it was quite awesome. At the time the only production EV around was the Tesla Roadster, so everything either looked super sporty or like a science fair project. That is to say, very cool. It was neat to see a bunch of Roadsters mixed in with homebrew conversions, interesting prototypes, and university team projects. Some pics I took back then: http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157621753947937/with/3767630500/

I hear that last year, with the advent of the Volt and the Leaf, there were finally some production vehicles on the track other than the Tesla. But that definitely sounds less visually appealing. Hopefully, this year some Karmas will participate and bring the level of style back up.

So is anyone here going?[hr]
Thought I'd embed a few pics:

 

[teslaowner]

I suggest checking eligibility beforehand.
The Time Trial Competition specifically states "all electric cars only." At best you may be forced to run in Stealth mode.

 

[doug]

They had Volts running last year and published some lap times (http://www.refuelraces.com/laptimes_car.html ), so I'd expect Karmas can run as well.

Certainly look into it. As far as I know, registration is free and you only pay $10 per person when you show up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bxDhbpCRdc

http://news.cnet.com/8301-30252_3-20074562-246/refuel-races-spur-electric-car-innovation-audio-slideshow/

 

[Sparky168]

They had Volts running last year and published some lap times (http://www.refuelraces.com/laptimes_car.html ), so I'd expect Karmas can run as well.

Certainly look into it. As far as I know, registration is free and you only pay $10 per person when you show up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bxDhbpCRdc

http://news.cnet.com/8301-30252_3-20074562-246/refuel-races-spur-electric-car-innovation-audio-slideshow/

Doug,

ReFuel looks fun.

From this video, Leaf is a different animal with slicks. http://goo.gl/mEr1L

Would be interesting to see how much improvement it can get.

 

[teslaowner]

Last night I talked with some people who had been to Refuel in previous years, and they thought the Karma would be definitely be allowed. Biggest problem I heard of is that the speed disparity between the fastest and slowest cars means a lot of passing.

 

[doug]

So this is the 4th time they've done this. I managed to go to the first one, and kicked myself for not being able to make it to the last two. From what I can tell, it's a very nicely organized event. There's a nice mix of practice laps and a bit of class time. Particularly useful for those who've never driven on a track before. Then you can do time trials if you want. They provide a transponder for electronic timing.

Would be cool to see some more photos of the Karma going through the corkscrew.

 

[teslaowner]

I attended in my Roadster - first time for me on a track. A lot of fun. The Roadster's acceleration helped cover my beginner mistakes, so I wasn't totally embarrassed.

There were no Karmas there. There was a Volt.

Some Tesla employees brought some Model Ss (not official entires by Tesla, though). They took top honors in the time trials, but didn't beat last year's production car record set by Joe Nuxoll in a Roadster.

There was a heavily modified Coda that did pretty well, and someone had done someone did well on a Leaf with a modified suspension.