First off I would like to thank Richard Hille, Neil Hanneman and all of the other instructors, staff and support crew for putting on such a top notch event that was incredibly informative but allowed us the maximum amount of time to drive. :bow It was a great introduction to the track for me as a first timer by people with great expertise on the car, or a chance for some of the others going through the school again to hang with other owners and have a minimum number of cars on the track so they could let it all out. All of the other owners were a pleasure to meet and chat with throughout the day. I have to agree with Kendall’s thread earlier this week that we have a very unique ownership group. Two very big :thumbsup:thumbsup to Ford for building the American supercar that attracted such a quality group of individuals.
On the drive to the track I knew it was going to be an interesting day as I looked up and realized it was a full moon. I figured I would reserve judgment on whether this was a good sign or a bad one till after the event. :lol A short 170 mile drive brought me the sunrise and to Willow Springs for the start of the day. We went to the drivers meeting and after a timely (blessedly short) briefing it was time to get on the track for lead/follow……man that was fun, but I should have used the rest room first :willy:willy…..I stayed out longer than I thought I would.
First we followed Neil in a rental and then a Mercedes AMG that picked up the speed. Well I won’t bore you with all the details…...okay I’ll bore you with just a couple. I did a brief 180 once :eek and ended up facing the wrong way, but fortunately I stayed on the pavement. Although halfway through the day I thought I was screwed :bang ! See the pic below……somehow during the morning sessions I actually ended up with a screw through the edge of my tire!!! The Pit crew found it during a tire check and removed it with a Phillips head screwdriver, said no worries, keep going. The tire made it through the rest of the day and the drive home….but Bridgestones are on the way. :lol
Also got to see my first GTX1 that was packing a wicked twin turbo. Very impressive car that Rick drives for full effect. :thumbsup I should have tried to get him to take me for a ride. Obviously he was getting ridiculous speed down the long front straight. It was awesome. Also my ears are still recovering from the loudest exhaust note I have heard to date from Larry K’s machine. I would just stop talking every time he came down the front straight as we would all turn and stare in awe. And as you all know, the great thing about the GT is that there are soooo many options to personalize your car that every single car there was unique and a joy to look at and wonder what the next project will be for your own car. It was a very fun day and most importantly everyone left with their cars intact.
Which brings me to the only negative of the day which was in my overactive head. I have to say that I never fully pushed as hard as I could because I honestly could not get out of my head that I did not want to hurt the car. It had nothing to do with the speed (shhhh :secret: I have gone much faster on my own) or following the instructors directions. It had everything to do with no insurance coverage and the expense of the hurting the car. The instructors are saying “go to the edge of the track more” and my brain was like “not in this car !!!”
I guess this could be solved by buying event insurance. If I did a road track again I would buy a used Z06 and take the crack up worry out of my head because I would have less invested, both monetarily and emotionally. My GT has seen its last track day. However if we can ever get a runway event going in Cali or Nevada I am so in for that. I have got a bit of blue tape left over for that.
…….oh yeah…..the blue tape. :rofl It made it through the whole day intact and when I saw what it prevented my car from eating I was very happy that I spent the time and three rolls of tape protecting her. Besides it gave us a great running joke for the day. Pro and I went to the upper grandstands with one of the instructors to talk about the track and get the birds eye view. We saw our cars together on pit row. He said “Your car looks really blue from up here. You need to take a pic.” :lol All I know was the tape came right off, a little detail spray and except for needing new tires the car is whole again and looks fresh as a daisy. Great Times!!!
On the drive to the track I knew it was going to be an interesting day as I looked up and realized it was a full moon. I figured I would reserve judgment on whether this was a good sign or a bad one till after the event. :lol A short 170 mile drive brought me the sunrise and to Willow Springs for the start of the day. We went to the drivers meeting and after a timely (blessedly short) briefing it was time to get on the track for lead/follow……man that was fun, but I should have used the rest room first :willy:willy…..I stayed out longer than I thought I would.
First we followed Neil in a rental and then a Mercedes AMG that picked up the speed. Well I won’t bore you with all the details…...okay I’ll bore you with just a couple. I did a brief 180 once :eek and ended up facing the wrong way, but fortunately I stayed on the pavement. Although halfway through the day I thought I was screwed :bang ! See the pic below……somehow during the morning sessions I actually ended up with a screw through the edge of my tire!!! The Pit crew found it during a tire check and removed it with a Phillips head screwdriver, said no worries, keep going. The tire made it through the rest of the day and the drive home….but Bridgestones are on the way. :lol
Also got to see my first GTX1 that was packing a wicked twin turbo. Very impressive car that Rick drives for full effect. :thumbsup I should have tried to get him to take me for a ride. Obviously he was getting ridiculous speed down the long front straight. It was awesome. Also my ears are still recovering from the loudest exhaust note I have heard to date from Larry K’s machine. I would just stop talking every time he came down the front straight as we would all turn and stare in awe. And as you all know, the great thing about the GT is that there are soooo many options to personalize your car that every single car there was unique and a joy to look at and wonder what the next project will be for your own car. It was a very fun day and most importantly everyone left with their cars intact.
Which brings me to the only negative of the day which was in my overactive head. I have to say that I never fully pushed as hard as I could because I honestly could not get out of my head that I did not want to hurt the car. It had nothing to do with the speed (shhhh :secret: I have gone much faster on my own) or following the instructors directions. It had everything to do with no insurance coverage and the expense of the hurting the car. The instructors are saying “go to the edge of the track more” and my brain was like “not in this car !!!”
I guess this could be solved by buying event insurance. If I did a road track again I would buy a used Z06 and take the crack up worry out of my head because I would have less invested, both monetarily and emotionally. My GT has seen its last track day. However if we can ever get a runway event going in Cali or Nevada I am so in for that. I have got a bit of blue tape left over for that.
…….oh yeah…..the blue tape. :rofl It made it through the whole day intact and when I saw what it prevented my car from eating I was very happy that I spent the time and three rolls of tape protecting her. Besides it gave us a great running joke for the day. Pro and I went to the upper grandstands with one of the instructors to talk about the track and get the birds eye view. We saw our cars together on pit row. He said “Your car looks really blue from up here. You need to take a pic.” :lol All I know was the tape came right off, a little detail spray and except for needing new tires the car is whole again and looks fresh as a daisy. Great Times!!!
