[Video] Intense Lotus 76 visor-cam glory at Road America
What’s it like behind the wheel of a Lotus 76/1 at Road America? There are many words you could use – loud, terrifying and exhilarating are just a few that come to mind. But the one that seems most appropriate is ‘fast’.
Nicknamed ‘America’s National park of Speed’, Road America’s mix of long straights and high-speed corners makes it the kind of circuit that many of us would balk at the idea of driving with any real pace. Thankfully, racing drivers are able to disengage the part of their brains that’s responsible for imagination, the part that asks ‘what if a wheel were to come off here?’… Which is why drivers like James Davison, a 33-year-old IndyCar driver, are able to push cars like the Lotus 76/1 with seemingly no fear.
As for the 76/1, it was built for the 1974 Formula 1 season and driven by Jacky Ickx and Ronnie Peterson. Despite being powered by the legendary Cosworth DFV, it finished just one race, with a fourth place for Ronnie Peterson at the German Grand Prix, retiring from five other races and being disqualified from its last.
Regardless, seeing Road America fly by from the inside of Davison’s helmet is quite an experience.