dirtyharry
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Post by dirtyharry on May 6, 2019 10:30:43 GMT -8
Was at Sears yesterday for a car track day......tried Nitto NT01 tires for the first time. It was cold (50), overcast and a bit breezy but the tires felt great on a cold track. The first session was a bit crowded with some rookie drivers, but got past them by lap 5 and then got some room to stretch out a bit. There were some really fast guys out there, but everybody seemed to behave. It was a little scary seeing some drivers who did not know the line since it was hard to tell whether they were giving me room to pass or whether they were trying to find the line. I decided to not pass until the long straights.
By noon the sun came out and it was more pleasant but alas, I was no faster; in fact, the car felt a little bit looser and I responded by trying to be smoother. There were hardly any clear laps, but I still had fun passing and being passed and pacing other drivers.
Of note, there was a Tesla out there, but he turned out to be a rolling chicane; I was surprised he was out there all four half-hour sessions, but maybe he lasted due to his leisurely pace.
The casualties of the day were a new Camaro that hit a wall but at low speed, and a Trans Am car that went off road and tweaked his front splitter and broke his rear wing.
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Post by Cadman on May 6, 2019 15:08:28 GMT -8
Track Day Jimmy!
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dirtyharry
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Post by dirtyharry on May 7, 2019 15:54:35 GMT -8
I forgot to add.........
They were unloading a Ferrari from a semi trailer and it was creating a commotion.......I later took a look and it appeared to be a racing version of the F150 project or LaFerrari. The car was being prepped (removed the carbon fiber seat, saran wrapped all exposed surfaces, etc) by a team of five uniformed Ferrari technicians all blasting away in Italian. They had crates of parts, complete tool sets on wheels, even uniformed girls with numbered backpacks.
From the logos it appeared that the driver was from Taiwan and probably sponsored by him.........Crazy Rich Asian?
My understanding is that these cars are in the neighborhood of $2M, but with the mods to make it track ready, who knows? Oh, and did I mention the semi trailer contained two other vehicles that appeared to be similar? Wow........
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hunter
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Post by hunter on May 7, 2019 16:27:25 GMT -8
I forgot to add......... They were unloading a Ferrari from a semi trailer and it was creating a commotion.......I later took a look and it appeared to be a racing version of the F150 project or LaFerrari. The car was being prepped (removed the carbon fiber seat, saran wrapped all exposed surfaces, etc) by a team of five uniformed Ferrari technicians all blasting away in Italian. They had crates of parts, complete tool sets on wheels, even uniformed girls with numbered backpacks. From the logos it appeared that the driver was from Taiwan and probably sponsored by him.........Crazy Rich Asian? My understanding is that these cars are in the neighborhood of $2M, but with the mods to make it track ready, who knows? Oh, and did I mention the semi trailer contained two other vehicles that appeared to be similar? Wow........ Rubbing elbows with the other side right there. Cool! |
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mike
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Post by mike on May 7, 2019 16:36:56 GMT -8
I forgot to add......... They were unloading a Ferrari from a semi trailer and it was creating a commotion.......I later took a look and it appeared to be a racing version of the F150 project or LaFerrari. The car was being prepped (removed the carbon fiber seat, saran wrapped all exposed surfaces, etc) by a team of five uniformed Ferrari technicians all blasting away in Italian. They had crates of parts, complete tool sets on wheels, even uniformed girls with numbered backpacks. From the logos it appeared that the driver was from Taiwan and probably sponsored by him.........Crazy Rich Asian? My understanding is that these cars are in the neighborhood of $2M, but with the mods to make it track ready, who knows? Oh, and did I mention the semi trailer contained two other vehicles that appeared to be similar? Wow........ Rubbing elbows with the other side right there. Cool! The other side?? That IS Jim's side!!  |
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logmaster
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Post by logmaster on May 7, 2019 16:49:06 GMT -8
The other side?? That IS Jim's side!! But he's OUR Crazy Rich Asian  |
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mike
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Post by mike on May 7, 2019 17:01:10 GMT -8
The other side?? That IS Jim's side!! But he's OUR Crazy Rich Asian Maybe he's bi-sided?? |
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dirtyharry
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Post by dirtyharry on May 8, 2019 9:59:01 GMT -8
The other side?? That IS Jim's side!! But he's OUR Crazy Rich Asian Well, you got one of the adjectives right................... |
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dirtyharry
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Post by dirtyharry on Oct 1, 2019 15:22:13 GMT -8
Did another track day at Sears yesterday............since it was clear but cold, I took it easy the first session. The brakes felt a bit vibrate-y, but I thought they would settle in. Since I was in the advanced group, everyone passed me, some twice.
Then we had a download session and the instructor gave us some tips; some of them surprised me since I have driven this track on over 60 different days and I thought I knew the line well. The second session I decided to try some of his tips, but before I go on, a little background.
I set my last personal best lap time (1:56) at Sears Point a few years ago and have been chasing it ever since. It was frustrating knowing that the car is capable but somehow I am just not getting it. Sometimes I would really focus and get a 1:58 or 1:57, but sometimes trying would only get me a 1:59 or even 2:00.
When I incorporated the suggestions, it was the usual 2:01, then 1:58, so nothing new. Then I got some clear laps and ran a couple more and was shocked to see a 1:55.97......wow! A couple of laps later I got a 1:55.77, so it was no fluke.......I came away elated.
The next session I ran a series of 1:56 laps followed by a 1:55.85.......it was during these laps that I was able to outrun a Ferrari and a Porsche 911GT3. They had caught me, but instead of pointing them by, decided to see if I could outrun them.......fun! I was passed by only two cars that session, so definitely doing better.
I was especially pleased that I was able to run these fast times w/o losing control or any pucker moments (except for one slight slide at exit T2).....I was not driving over my head. This leaves the possibility of further improvement to come.
The day did have some incidents: in the first session, a driver in his WRX found the outside wall in T10 and wiped out the driver's side. In the next session a Mustang driver got a bit greedy with the gas and rolled his Mustang in the carousel (T6); he even showed us his in-car video!
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hunter
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Post by hunter on Oct 1, 2019 15:34:34 GMT -8
What a great read. I bet you were elated.
Sweet!
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mudnducs
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Post by mudnducs on Oct 1, 2019 20:34:17 GMT -8
That is SO cool Jim! I'm glad you got to see how you can do when you simply decide to make them work for it!!
I cant imagine what it must be like to drive a fast car fast.
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dirtyharry
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Post by dirtyharry on Oct 1, 2019 21:05:17 GMT -8
Thanks guys..........I'm going to make sure I have complete notes so I can remember what to do next time at Sears until it becomes muscle memory.
I'm going to see if I can sign up with the same group at the two other tracks I run and get some instruction.
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Post by btl68 on Oct 2, 2019 10:34:58 GMT -8
You should shoot some in-car video for us mere mortals to watch.
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dirtyharry
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WOC King of Speed ( 4 Wheel Div.)
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Post by dirtyharry on Oct 2, 2019 12:23:10 GMT -8
You should shoot some in-car video for us mere mortals to watch. I do have in-car video, but unless someone is screwing up in front of me, it is not very exciting to watch. I drive w/o sliding or much drama to maximize my speed, so all you see are laps; it does not look fast on video. However, if you ride with me, then it may be a different story.................... |
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logmaster
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Post by logmaster on Oct 3, 2019 6:43:56 GMT -8
However, if you ride with me, then it may be a different story.................... where do I sign up? !!!!! |
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