I was doing some training in the Lancaster area this week. I scheduled the Tuesday class for the evening so I could go to the school and see what it was like and hang out with some cool cars and car guys. I did not bring my car and I really should have. :bang
I Imagine Richard will post up something cool down the road. There was a house photographer and Speed Channel on site to record the day. But thought I would chime in here a bit.
1. Seeing 5 GT's hot lapping Willow in a pack was just a cool site. As they were bunched up a bit approaching turn one..........shivers:thumbsup
2. There are many ways to view the action at this track and I drove around to get different vantage points and listen to the music they make. Any day at the track is better than any day at the office. If you want to hear exhaust, this was the place. Stock, Borla, Accufab and Stainless Works via Shadowman. I have to say, the Stainless works just fits here, damn if it did not sound like Lemans when that car drove by. It basically made all the others sound like a Camry in comparison. They all sounded good, but this one was outright exciting, giving you goose bumps. Would I drive it on the street?, no, I would fear attracting the men in blue, but here, Hell yes :banana
3. The weather was the best I have ever seen here and there was actually green stuff growing. This is the High Desert, this is not normal. I have at least 50 track days here and God must loves GT's, because it was beautiful.
4. Richard was a busy man all day, as they helped install belts, tires and wheels, racelogic lap timers, etc. The boys and girls from Speed TV were on site and wired up the cars for some Jeremy Clarkson in car action. They interviewed many of the students and of course Richard Hille and Neil Hannemann. Some of the footage will end up on a show called Super Cars Exposed some day down the road.
5. I did not participate in the class, but the students were happy with the track time and instruction. Not bad with 5 GT's and a CGT owning the Fastest Track in the West. They had former GT Chief Engineeer Neil Hanemann to show them the way in a lead follow And then up close and personal with ride along instruction and Neil driving your car with you as the passenger, showing you what it can do, if you so desired. :thumbsup
They could run till they were too tired to run if they wanted, and many did. I did not see one off track excursion all day. The wheels got a lot of brake dust as one would expect and those cool rubber marks that look like patina on the GT, almost like it should have been a dealer option. :biggrin. You will want car protection of some sort, blue tape or clear bra, if you like paint more than potential patina.
6. Lap times, many will ask. The school is a no pressure environment and the times depended on comfort levels. There were a few very hot laps in the low 30's and some in the low to mid 40's. Finding the line at 10/10ths is not the best way to learn a new track. You could tell where students were gaudawful fast / comfortable and where they were honing their skills. It's a school not a race. The pace was 10 seconds faster from the start of the day to the end by my estimate and the laps I clocked. So, they were running the 9 turn track with an average of well over 90 mph, fast. That is a workout both mentally and physically.
All but one car had new R6 Hoosiers and the 6 spokes. The students with the Hoosiers were very pleased with them.
The Whipple car with the stainless works package was able to break the tires lose at will on certain parts of the track. The car ran flawless, Mr. Shadowman, Scott was very, very pleased. A very nicely done package, I was truly impressed. And in my Color too. You two are a very bad influence.:wink
7. None of the cars overheated. It was about 72 degs, sunny. This is a long track with lots of cool down room. Only one hard braking area after a long front straight. Most others are up hill braking or a brush and go. Easy on brakes over all. With the gears we have it's 3-4 all the way. Figure 3rd gear for about 30% of the 2.5 mile track.
The drivers said the cars ran between 200 -220 degs, nothing over that. There is enough torque that you don't need to beat on the car to go fast here. I suppose there is one more spot where you could use 3rd but it really does not make a ton of difference. If you did, you would be holding it at a pretty high rpm through a very long sweeper. and have to make the upshift for a second or two then back down to 3rd again. Running this long corner in 3rd may make the car run a bit warmer. It does in my other car. But nothing you could not live with.
Over all the best day out of the office in a very long time. Cool people and cool cars, yes even a CGT ran hot laps with the GT's and an impromptu drag race.
And finally some pics...
I Imagine Richard will post up something cool down the road. There was a house photographer and Speed Channel on site to record the day. But thought I would chime in here a bit.
1. Seeing 5 GT's hot lapping Willow in a pack was just a cool site. As they were bunched up a bit approaching turn one..........shivers:thumbsup
2. There are many ways to view the action at this track and I drove around to get different vantage points and listen to the music they make. Any day at the track is better than any day at the office. If you want to hear exhaust, this was the place. Stock, Borla, Accufab and Stainless Works via Shadowman. I have to say, the Stainless works just fits here, damn if it did not sound like Lemans when that car drove by. It basically made all the others sound like a Camry in comparison. They all sounded good, but this one was outright exciting, giving you goose bumps. Would I drive it on the street?, no, I would fear attracting the men in blue, but here, Hell yes :banana
3. The weather was the best I have ever seen here and there was actually green stuff growing. This is the High Desert, this is not normal. I have at least 50 track days here and God must loves GT's, because it was beautiful.
4. Richard was a busy man all day, as they helped install belts, tires and wheels, racelogic lap timers, etc. The boys and girls from Speed TV were on site and wired up the cars for some Jeremy Clarkson in car action. They interviewed many of the students and of course Richard Hille and Neil Hannemann. Some of the footage will end up on a show called Super Cars Exposed some day down the road.
5. I did not participate in the class, but the students were happy with the track time and instruction. Not bad with 5 GT's and a CGT owning the Fastest Track in the West. They had former GT Chief Engineeer Neil Hanemann to show them the way in a lead follow And then up close and personal with ride along instruction and Neil driving your car with you as the passenger, showing you what it can do, if you so desired. :thumbsup
They could run till they were too tired to run if they wanted, and many did. I did not see one off track excursion all day. The wheels got a lot of brake dust as one would expect and those cool rubber marks that look like patina on the GT, almost like it should have been a dealer option. :biggrin. You will want car protection of some sort, blue tape or clear bra, if you like paint more than potential patina.
6. Lap times, many will ask. The school is a no pressure environment and the times depended on comfort levels. There were a few very hot laps in the low 30's and some in the low to mid 40's. Finding the line at 10/10ths is not the best way to learn a new track. You could tell where students were gaudawful fast / comfortable and where they were honing their skills. It's a school not a race. The pace was 10 seconds faster from the start of the day to the end by my estimate and the laps I clocked. So, they were running the 9 turn track with an average of well over 90 mph, fast. That is a workout both mentally and physically.
All but one car had new R6 Hoosiers and the 6 spokes. The students with the Hoosiers were very pleased with them.
The Whipple car with the stainless works package was able to break the tires lose at will on certain parts of the track. The car ran flawless, Mr. Shadowman, Scott was very, very pleased. A very nicely done package, I was truly impressed. And in my Color too. You two are a very bad influence.:wink
7. None of the cars overheated. It was about 72 degs, sunny. This is a long track with lots of cool down room. Only one hard braking area after a long front straight. Most others are up hill braking or a brush and go. Easy on brakes over all. With the gears we have it's 3-4 all the way. Figure 3rd gear for about 30% of the 2.5 mile track.
The drivers said the cars ran between 200 -220 degs, nothing over that. There is enough torque that you don't need to beat on the car to go fast here. I suppose there is one more spot where you could use 3rd but it really does not make a ton of difference. If you did, you would be holding it at a pretty high rpm through a very long sweeper. and have to make the upshift for a second or two then back down to 3rd again. Running this long corner in 3rd may make the car run a bit warmer. It does in my other car. But nothing you could not live with.
Over all the best day out of the office in a very long time. Cool people and cool cars, yes even a CGT ran hot laps with the GT's and an impromptu drag race.
And finally some pics...
