Track Battle! Randy vs Justin in the Lexus RC F, GS F & LC 500 - The Racing Line Shootout
On this special episode of The Racing Line Shootout powered by Lexus
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MotorTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 This time on The Racing Line, we're
00:15 going to do something a little bit different.
00:17 Last season, we focused on teaching proper driving
00:20 and racing techniques.
00:22 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:28 This time, we're going to apply everything we've learned,
00:31 turn preaching into practice.
00:34 Woo-hoo!
00:35 Yeah!
00:36 Woo!
00:37 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!
00:41 Now, I've searched high and low, scoured the racing paddock,
00:45 looking for a worthy adversary who
00:48 can push me to the limit and maybe a little beyond.
00:52 And that's only because I've watched
00:53 every episode of your show in preparation for this.
00:56 He's going to know what he's doing.
00:58 Justin!
00:59 Hi, and welcome to The Racing Line.
01:01 Well, thank you very much for having me, sir.
01:03 If you beat me, you're off the show.
01:05 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:08 Justin, I challenge you to race me for The Racing Line Cup.
01:22 OK, then.
01:22 Like all your fans, I know what you do on The Racing Line.
01:25 In a normal show, you got me here at a great racetrack.
01:27 How is this one going to be different?
01:29 It's time for a little less talk and a lot more action.
01:33 We're going to three great racetracks,
01:35 coast to coast, Road America, New Jersey Motorsports Park,
01:39 and Sonoma in California in identical Lexus sports cars.
01:44 Sounds perfect.
01:45 You've got great tracks, fast cars, seasoned veterans.
01:49 What could possibly go wrong?
01:50 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:54 I've got to ask you, why did you choose this track
01:57 to kick off our mini challenge?
01:59 Well, it is one of the greatest road circuits on Earth,
02:02 and I've been around.
02:03 And it's a real driver's track, too.
02:05 I think that's what's appealing about it.
02:07 It has a lot of variety.
02:08 When it was built, it was right after they
02:10 realized that racing on real roads was too dangerous.
02:13 So they created tracks that were like real roads.
02:17 This is like driving on a real road.
02:18 I mean, you've got to keep it on track.
02:21 Talking about on track, are we going to race?
02:24 Yeah, let's go out there and do this.
02:26 [MUSIC PLAYING]
02:31 Driving a stock car on a very fast racetrack
02:35 involves every bit of skill that we have.
02:38 I'm actually bloody nervous.
02:40 Now, Justin, this is a racetrack.
02:43 We have to be responsible and especially
02:45 set a good example for all our viewers on the racing line.
02:48 I'm going to leave that whole behaving good thing to you
02:52 because it is your show.
02:53 As my dad said, do as I say, not as I do.
02:56 Set a good example in my rear view mirror, please.
02:59 [MUSIC PLAYING]
03:07 3, 2, 1.
03:10 Reflying, memorize.
03:16 Oh, he got a good start.
03:18 Oh, man.
03:20 [MUSIC PLAYING]
03:27 He's right off my corner.
03:28 I'm touching behind.
03:30 Try and get him down the next one.
03:31 [MUSIC PLAYING]
03:37 I ran it wide.
03:38 God, he was good on the exit too.
03:40 [MUSIC PLAYING]
03:49 Oh, he got a little too sideways there.
03:51 I might have the draft.
03:52 Wow, it's fast up here.
04:02 Can I do it?
04:07 Yes.
04:10 No.
04:17 Ha, ha, ha.
04:18 Oh, he's on the inside again.
04:20 Oh, no.
04:21 Guy bomb into six.
04:23 Down here.
04:23 He knows his territory, this guy.
04:30 OK, let's get through here.
04:32 Oh, no, no.
04:33 I messed the line up.
04:34 Oh.
04:34 [MUSIC PLAYING]
04:43 Sideways.
04:44 I've got to run.
04:46 Carousel.
04:47 Blue, blue, blue, blue, blue.
04:48 Hug the inside.
04:50 I like to hug the-- oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
04:52 Oh, yeah.
04:53 Ho, ho.
04:54 What's he doing on the outside?
04:56 Lord have mercy.
04:59 Oh, yeah.
05:00 Oh.
05:02 That was really nerve-wracking.
05:04 [MUSIC PLAYING]
05:11 [TIRES SCREECHING]
05:14 I've got to do a dive bomb now.
05:16 [ENGINE REVVING]
05:20 Oh.
05:21 Oh, no.
05:23 Good move.
05:24 Good move.
05:25 I've got to block him coming up here.
05:27 He won't like that.
05:28 That's the one at the last corner.
05:30 He won't like that.
05:32 No way, mate.
05:33 You're not going to find me here.
05:35 [ENGINE REVVING]
05:38 One corner to go.
05:39 It's mine.
05:41 One corner to go.
05:42 It's mine.
05:43 [TIRES SCREECHING]
05:46 [BLEEP]
05:47 You're an ass, Alfred.
05:48 Oh, where are you, man?
05:49 Alfred.
05:50 [ENGINE REVVING]
05:52 Oh.
05:53 [LAUGHING]
05:55 Oh, wait.
05:56 Have I got the draft?
05:57 I got it.
05:58 I got it.
05:59 I got it.
06:00 Come on, baby.
06:01 Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
06:02 No.
06:03 No.
06:04 [TIRES SCREECHING]
06:06 [GROANING]
06:09 I don't know how--
06:11 how I beat him on that one.
06:15 I thought you had me.
06:16 Well, Randy, that was outrageous.
06:20 It was like a 10-lap race jam-packed
06:24 into one intense lap of shootout.
06:27 I don't think I've ever done anything like that,
06:29 employed all my skills in such a short period of time.
06:31 Crazy.
06:32 It reminds me of early in my career.
06:34 You know, I started in autocross.
06:36 That was one car at a time against the clock, right?
06:39 And I was good at it.
06:40 I'd won six national championships.
06:42 I knew how to drive.
06:43 But you know what?
06:44 I didn't know how to race.
06:46 It's a very different deal.
06:48 It raises a whole new level of awareness and risk.
06:52 I didn't know what you were going to do.
06:53 But what happens now?
06:55 That's not what I--
06:56 That's desperation.
06:57 I knew there was a chance.
06:59 Stick it down the inside, right?
07:00 It's the last corner, the last lap.
07:02 The run to the checker.
07:04 I was in so hot, I couldn't get the power.
07:05 All I did was I saw you on the inside.
07:08 The minute you did the move, I saw you go sideways,
07:10 and I thought, you know what?
07:11 I'm going to drag race you to the finish.
07:12 And when you said you saw me, that's the key.
07:15 Getting into the driver's vision before he enters the corner
07:19 is how you make a clean pass.
07:21 It's just that simple.
07:22 Because when a person is entering the corner,
07:24 they're not looking in their mirrors anymore.
07:26 They're looking at the apex.
07:28 I got in there, but I had to brake so late to do it,
07:31 I couldn't hold it.
07:32 I think it's called being predictably unpredictable.
07:35 And he is Randy Post, by the way,
07:36 so I knew he was going to try and pull a move.
07:38 But it was great fun, a crazy race.
07:40 Well, from here, we're going to New Jersey,
07:43 and I got another shot.
07:45 You mean I'm not fired?
07:46 Not yet.
07:47 [music playing]
07:50 Here we are at New Jersey Motorsports Park.
07:57 It's a new circuit.
07:58 Well, it's got two circuits--
08:00 Thunderbolt on the far side, and this is Lightning.
08:03 And of course, you actually have raced here, right?
08:05 Last year, I came here and did an endurance race.
08:08 I started one car, finished another,
08:10 and passed myself for the win right there at the finish line.
08:14 There's more to that story.
08:15 Maybe over a beer, you can tell me all the juicy details.
08:19 But obviously, this is Turn 1.
08:21 I've never been here, but I can tell a lot of compression.
08:24 You come down that straightaway,
08:25 I think the RCFs are going to be running
08:27 better than 130 miles an hour.
08:29 And this corner goes steeply uphill,
08:31 and the car just runs into it like a ball into a catcher's net.
08:35 Great grip on the way in, but then when you hit the crest,
08:38 if you get that wrong, where do you end up?
08:40 All the way in those trees?
08:41 Right in those trees.
08:42 Wow.
08:43 We don't want to do that, but obviously, at Road America,
08:45 I had Paul in sideline at the start.
08:48 It's your turn here.
08:49 It's my turn, Justin.
08:50 And this is a pretty good overtaking spot?
08:53 It's one of two here at the Lightning circuit.
08:55 Hmm, OK.
08:56 Turn 1, nine more to go.
08:58 What else have you got for me?
09:00 Oh, no.
09:01 You're one up in the shootout.
09:03 Have a nice walk.
09:05 What?
09:19 Thanks, mate, for that little morning warm-up.
09:21 Oh, yeah, you bet. You bet.
09:23 I got it.
09:24 Oh, have I mentioned that I have a ton of laps in the RCF?
09:28 You'll need them.
09:31 After all, I finished first and second here in the same race.
09:36 Justin, what's different about the RCFs we have here in New Jersey
09:41 versus the GSFs at Road America?
09:44 In theory, not much.
09:45 Obviously, two doors versus four.
09:47 Same engine, same horsepower.
09:49 Pretty much the same drivetrain.
09:51 Slightly different format on the electronics.
09:53 A more dynamic, aggressive stance to this one,
09:55 but you're just going to find this a little bit more edgy.
09:58 I love the way that motor sounds at high revs.
10:00 Yeah, you should.
10:01 Because the exhaust comes out the rear, which is where you are.
10:03 Keep talking, buddy. Keep talking.
10:06 Three, two, one, go.
10:20 [MUSIC PLAYING]
10:23 You're moving the one.
10:36 I've got to go down the inside here.
10:38 Oh, how did I do that?
10:42 Woo!
10:43 Oh, you've got to tuck the nose in here.
10:52 I'm good here.
10:54 Come on. Come on. Let's go.
10:59 Let's go. Right side.
11:06 Oh, that was close.
11:11 You son of a gun.
11:13 Oh, he's got the run on me. No!
11:18 God, that was a good exit.
11:35 [MUSIC PLAYING]
11:38 Woo!
11:44 Ha ha!
11:45 Yeah, buddy.
11:46 OK.
11:47 He certainly schooled me there.
11:50 Jeez.
11:51 If you're going to lose, you might as well lose to him.
11:56 OK, you schooled me.
11:58 Sorry about the blocking.
12:00 I think I cleaned all the dust off your back bumper.
12:03 You did, right?
12:04 I could hear the motor real clearly.
12:06 Do you know there is an absence of a racing line rule book?
12:10 Yeah, there's no rule book on this show.
12:12 And it's a one lap shootout, so I had to get it done.
12:15 And you were so quick over that right hand brow.
12:17 I was right up your back bumper,
12:19 so I hung it out to the left to pull you down into the air pen.
12:22 Yeah, and I went left.
12:23 So I went back right.
12:24 Yeah, and I reacted right.
12:26 So I cut it back inside.
12:28 And then I slammed the door shut.
12:30 Justin, that's three moves.
12:32 People, you only get one move.
12:34 When you're leading the race, and there's a guy on your butt,
12:37 you can go left, you can go right, and you're committed to that.
12:40 The guy behind you can do whatever he wants to.
12:42 Yeah, you definitely can't make more than one in reaction.
12:45 But you know what? It cost me.
12:47 The minute you suckered me to go left,
12:49 I knew I had a terrible corner entry.
12:51 I had this awful exit. I'm sideways up on the kerb.
12:53 It wasn't that bad.
12:54 And then I'm pretty compromised.
12:56 But I got a run on you and got it back in the lead.
12:58 Which you held all the way to the checkered flag.
13:01 Which, by the way, congratulations. A great victory.
13:03 Thank you, Justin.
13:05 So now it's one and one in the shootout and on to Sonoma.
13:08 What happened to Sonoma then?
13:20 Justin, too quick.
13:23 I've done a whole lot of hot laps here in Motor Trend's Best Driver's Car for eight years.
13:28 Had a good win here in 2012 in the Volvo and Pirelli World Challenge.
13:33 Won the first race I ever did at Monster Raceway Laguna Seca.
13:37 Figured I need a little home court advantage.
13:40 Have I ever mentioned that I clinched the FIA GT2 World Championship right here?
13:47 So much for the home court advantage.
13:50 So I suppose you changed the car, too?
13:52 Well, we got a Lexus LC500.
13:55 See if you can handle that.
13:57 I think I can. Let's get suited and booted.
14:01 No wonder you're always late.
14:24 [Music]
14:30 The Lexus LC500 has a naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V8 engine.
14:35 It's making 471 high-revving horsepower.
14:38 Does 0-60 in only 4.4.
14:41 Has a 10-speed direct-shift automatic.
14:43 And a strikingly low center of gravity.
14:46 It's Monster Raceway and it's one to one.
14:51 We've had a lot of fun.
14:53 But this time is serious.
14:55 I want to win this.
14:57 I have to win this.
14:59 I'm the Motor Trend Hot Lap guy.
15:01 I've got to say, I've gone from wanting to beat Randy to really wanting to beat Randy.
15:07 The trouble is, he's really good on this track.
15:11 But I really want to win.
15:14 If I hit my apex, I'm going to have a good exit speed.
15:17 We're driving cars that are identical.
15:20 He's not going to be able to pass me.
15:22 Just hit the marks.
15:24 Focus.
15:26 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
15:42 Go.
15:43 Oh no.
15:49 Not a good start.
15:51 Not a great start.
15:54 Focus. Get those apexes.
16:12 Trail the brake until you hit the apex.
16:17 Come on, JB. You've got to try and position it.
16:20 I've got to make it better here.
16:29 Oh, god. Down the inside.
16:35 Hold it up the hill.
16:38 He went right back.
16:45 He's got to be kidding me.
16:47 What's he doing there?
17:01 That was beautiful.
17:03 Oh, can I do it? I think I can.
17:06 Oh, no.
17:09 He's out wide. He's out wide.
17:12 Can I do it?
17:14 JB.
17:17 More patience.
17:23 All right. Finish line. Finish line.
17:35 Here we go.
17:38 Woo.
17:40 Woo.
17:45 Wow.
17:46 Justin, thanks for giving me a race, man.
17:48 I was second. I really wanted to win.
17:50 I was in the car before the start going,
17:52 "I'm going to win this. I'm going to beat the man on his track."
17:55 But you know what? Finishing second to you isn't such a bad thing, I've got to say.
17:58 Well, it wasn't easy. And that's what racing's all about, man.
18:01 We're just scratching the surface.
18:03 But I think for me, the telling moment was through the corkscrew.
18:07 Once you did that very committed pass, it was all over because you were focused.
18:13 Well, I had to pay you back.
18:15 And then from the top of the corkscrew all the way to the finish line, it was apex, apex, apex. Focus.
18:22 I knew with identical cars that if I hit the apex and got a good exit, there was no way you were going to get around me.
18:29 But you know what this means?
18:32 You want another shot, Justin?
18:34 Of course I want another shot.
18:35 Well, I like how you really make me push.
18:37 The question is, what are we going to drive and what track are we going to go to?
18:41 Well, let's find out next time with Randy Pope's On The Racing Line.
18:46 With Justin Bell.
18:49 [Click]
18:50 [Click]