What is Best Track in USA for the GT to run?

[BELIZE91]

Sitting here snowed in in Michigan. I was wondering what would be the best tracks around the country have the ability to put the car through the paces? A lot of tracks are set up for first and second gear speed but you would never be able to top out. I would consider tossing the car on a trailer and going for a roadtrip if it made sense

Where is the track they run the GT commercial at for example?

 

[04mach1]

I havent driven there but Laguna Seca seems like it would be a blast in a GT. The uphill blast to the corck screw and then the corckscrew itself would be the most exciting IMO.

 

[Empty Pockets]

Where is the track they run the GT commercial at for example?

That's "Thunder Hill(s)" in California someplace.

 

[Ferrari Beater]

TALLADEGA. it'd go real fast. :biggrin

 

[S592R]

Road Atlanta ...hands down. Ok, maybe Infineon (still hate that name):biggrin

 

[Ferrari Beater]

I think that the Daytona Road Course would be a ton of fun. Although it is a faster racetrack in higher gears, it would be a blast to drive. Plus, there is so much history there is sports cars and stock cars.

It would be a dream come true for me to race a GT at Daytona!

 

[AJK]

Elkhart Lake, WI " Road America ". Haven't driven it myself but road with my dad in his Porsche and it was like taking a high speed 4 mile drive through a winding/hilly countryside without worrying about cops or pedestrians.

 

[MK2_GT]

Infenion race way , in Sonoma , was a real cool track for the GT....I got to track another Ford GT for a day there and it was lots of fun.

 

[THughes]

Road America is one of my favorite tracks. I have a C5 built by Mallett cars and I could hit 175 before the brake zone for turn one. The track layout is one of the best in the country. Speed seekers have a track day in the spring and the fall. The Fbody club out of Chicago also has track days and they are a great bunch of guys to run with.

 

[Specracer]

2 not yet mentioned, Watkins Glen (long course of course) and Mosport, coming out of Moss corner would be in 1st, and go from there up the hill.

 

[Tungsten]

Best Track

Road Atlanta is a great place to run the GT. There are two nice straightaways, one of which will allow you to carry 150+ MPH, if you have the courage ( which I did not).

Daytona would be a dream run, but I am not aware of any track day events there. Never been to Infinion so no opinion on that one.

Don:thumbsup

 

[ENZO BTR]

I've run my GT (and the Ford GT press car) at Laguna, and it was A BLAST!

It's not a particularly fast track, so if you want higher speeds you're better at Road Atlanta or Elkhart Lake (Elkhart is awesome but it will take a while to truly know the track because it has so many turns). But Laguna is just such a fun course because of the elevation changes and the generally easy-to-learn line (but watch out for turn one -- brake MORE than you think you need to until you really know it). The corkscrew is actually pretty easy, which is why it's so damn fun! You can "get it" quickly and after that it's just brake, aim and GO! :banana

The great thing about the GT is that even on "slower" tracks it's still fun because the brakes and steering are so good. You simply don't have to go over 100 mph to enjoy the car (and that's not true of many exotics).

 

[KMCBOSS]

Seattle Interational Raceway. Open track event sponsered by Mustangs Northwest in July

 

[John B]

In this order IMO

Road America
Road Atlanta
Watkins Glen

I have raced on all and did drive my GT at Watkins Glen, it was a blast!
For any track day I would seriously recomend the following:
1) Change your brake fluid to Castrol SRF.
2) Put in some street / Track brake pads.
3) Put on a "Clear Bra" or similar paint protectant.
4) Install the Ford Motorsport Transaxle cooler
5) If you really want to rock put on some Hoosier DOT slicks. The Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercars are the car's weakpoint on a track

 

[Fast Freddy]

gonna take my GT to the silver state classic > www.silverstateclassic.com

top speed is ulimited provided you have the safety equipment. there are 45 turns on the 90 mile course and lots of hills. i averaged 160 mph for the first 70 miles of this course in my viper (i took some of the turns at 160 mph). i then dropped my speed down for the last 20 miles to average 150 mph for the 90 mile course and got 2nd place in the grand sport class.

the track record is a 207 mph average speed in the unlimited class. with the proper safety equipment and a few more mods to my viper i feel that i could average 180 mph on this course. with mods to my GT, etc i feel that i could average 190-200 mph.

 

[analogdesigner]

gonna take my GT to the silver state classic > www.silverstateclassic.com

top speed is ulimited provided you have the safety equipment. there are 45 turns on the 90 mile course and lots of hills. i averaged 160 mph for the first 70 miles of this course in my viper (i took some of the turns at 160 mph). i then dropped my speed down for the last 20 miles to average 150 mph for the 90 mile course and got 2nd place in the grand sport class.

the track record is a 207 mph average speed in the unlimited class. with the proper safety equipment and a few more mods to my viper i feel that i could average 180 mph on this course. with mods to my GT, etc i feel that i could average 190-200 mph.

Fred,

I went to that race in the "old days," just to watch cars pass by on one of the longer straights. It's wild watching someone shoot by at 160+ MPH on a state highway!

Good luck on this, Jay

 

[canuck]

Wasn't the GT tuned and tested predominantly at laguna?

 

[ENZO BTR]

According to the television program about the GT's development, yes, Laguna was a primary track were the car was tested during it's early stages. But it also visited several other tracks (and during the endurance testing the engineers used many a deserted highway as if it was a test track -- oops, did I say that out loud?). :cheers

 

[MDT]

Viper Days would travel (still do?) the country and go to many of these tracks. Quite a few of these guys liked Texas World Speedway in College Station as apparently it let you go really fast. I always thought there were too many walls there, but every where I went off course was safe...

I was at Road Atlanta for a Panoz course and there was a streak of paint on the left and then right wall down the main straight. How do you hit the wall on a straight away? Miss the shift from 4th to 5th, and hit 3rd instead. I think it was a viper that did it, and I think that shift would take place at about 110.

Personally I think any course where they do pro racing has too many walls to close to the track. I would prefer run off room so I can push the limits of the car without hitting something.

 

[FlorIdaho Chris]

Willow Springs favors high horse power cars. I believe we will get a chance to play on that track at the '07 Rally in August. :thumbsup