Shenandoah Circuit 10-11 September
09-12-2011, 10:07 AM
#1
3rd Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Norfolk, VA
Posts: 509
Shenandoah Circuit 10-11 September
It's a long one...
BLUF: 06 Mustang GT at Summit Point Shenandoah Cicruit 10-11 September 2011 with the New Jersey Chapter BMW CCA. After 4 previous days on this track, got moved up to intermediate with some buddies. Solo'd first day. Hardly any traffic (only 14 people in the intermediate group). Lots of challenges. Some new lines. Brake issues. Tons of fun! I don't have my vids ready to go yet, but I'll attach them when they're ready.
Artifacts: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Su...ah_Circuit.svg
Discussion: Even though our cars are not built for it, good GOD I love this track. 2.2 miles of everything you (I) can ask for in a track: tight turns, elevation changes, straights, the caroussel, esses, blind apexes, off camber turns, oversteer, understeer, and a butt-ton of fun when it's wet.
Day one started out BEAUTIFULLY. Awesome weather. Met up with some buddies. Got our spot in the paddock, adjusted suspension and tire pressures. Had the drivers meeting and hung out. First session was just after 1000. Four sessions in total. Got re-aquainted with the track. What is pretty cool is that every instructor is different. They always have me taking a different line somewhere on the track. Just when I thought I was doing good at a previous event, another instructor at a current event says, "Why are you taking that line? We're gonna try something different." That's cool. Get me out of my comfort zone. For instance, at turn 5 (see attached link to track map), previous instructors had me stay 2/3 out going through the turn and track out wide and use all of the road. The two instructors I had in my first two sessions had me stay 2/3 out going through the turn, but start bringing it in tight to hit the small "island" and make a bee-line down the straight to turn 6 (you'll see when I get my vids up).
It's definitely a humbling experience moving up in run groups. Back in May I was running a train on the other novices. Here in the blue group it was definitely way more difficult just trying to stay in front of people. When I get my vids all settled, I'll have to go back and look at how many point-bys I gave. Man, I think I even got lapped once on one particularly long session by a 318i that has like a 1/3 of the hp I make (I know this because he told me, haha). Like I said, definitely a humbling experience. The skillset is different. The cars (and their setups) are different. I can't carry momentum through a turn like - say - a miata can. I got lapped by a bone-stock Integra Type-R (a buddy of mine). Granted he went out before me, but still.
Speaking of the setups. I tell people this all the time. I've set my car up for practicality while still able to have some fun doing whatever I do. Rule number one is to never **** off the wife when we get in the car to go somewhere. She's not mean or anything, just don't want her complaining about the ride on a long road trip or something. So, I went with softer Roush springs that only dropped me by 1" in the front and 1.25" out back. Needed the adjustable shocks/struts, but I'm not super competitive and don't need the awesomeness of the Koni's right now. I went with Tokicos at a much lower price (again, didn't want to **** off the wife). I wanted new tires, but wanted them on a budget so as to convince the wife. Went with General Exclaims. They do the job on the street when the pressures are right and the shocks are dialed in right. They were "cheap" to buy. When I got the pressures dialed in correctly on the track, I had them singing. Also, you can't beat 380 treadwear.
They're not Nittos or Dunlops. So, you get what you pay for. I still have a ton of fun out there.
Got solo'd after the third session on day one. I love solo time. A LOT less distractions. I can just focus on what I'm doing.
- break -
Is it just me or do instructors like to have sidebar conversations while you are trying to focus on lines JUST to see if you can successfully process the visual input from the track as well as other distractors? My instructor was like, "So what kind of weapons training do you get in the Navy?" as I'm ripping through the caroussel at 50-ish mph. Me: "Uh, 9mm, 12-gauge, M-14, M-16. Cool stuff," as I launch out of the bowl. Next time around he remarks, "Yeah, I think we're pulling at LEAST a g through here." Really!?
- break -
Session four was my best of the day. They expanded the track for this event by opening up the pit-straight instead of turning at "Old Ram". I don't know how much time that adds, but I managed to pull off some consecutive 2:11.xx laps. By comparison, my buddy and co-worker said he was turning 2:03.xx in his Acura NSX (advanced run group). Yeah, I don't think I'll be seeing 2:03-anything in the Stang.
I started noticing, though, that I had to start pushing the brake pedal down further and further in order to fully engage the brakes. I've had this problem previously. I mentioned this to my instructor. I got the feeling he really didn't understand.
Day one ended with me friggin pumped. I went back to the hotel, showered, ate, drank a beer and crashed for the night.
Day two! Extremely interesting. Got my instructor back in the car for session one. So, I'm really paying attention to my brakes this morning. Because I'm pushing down further on the pedal it's starting to negatively impact my heel-toe...so much so that I'm not even really rolling my foot over onto the throttle to blip it...it's almost like my foot is already in contact with both pedals. Bad stuff. When I'm done with my down shift, sometimes I can't get my foot entirely off the gas...so it's like I'm giving gas and brake at the same time. Keep this in mind.
First few laps my instructor wants to see how fast we're going down the back straight (after turn 19, "Big Bend") to see how much speed we can carry towards the turn at the end without brake failure lol. He's watching my Diablosport Trinity which I have mounted in my A/C vent. I've got a speedometer gauge setup on it. We hit 98 and everything is cool. I manage to heel-toe just fine from 4th to 3rd. Next lap we hit 110 and I was starting to get a little nervous. The NEXT lap he's like, "More throttle, more throttle, more throttle....brake later....brake brake brake brake...brake!" and off the track we go. Braked in a straight line off the track, came to a controlled stop, turned, got back on the track and we're good. They threw the black flag for me to come in. We talked for a few minutes, described what went wrong, and we're good. Here's what happened: turns out my speedo was reading 116 on that last lap. In fact, though, my speedo is actually off by about 5mph. Yup...hit 120. Also, remember my brake problem in the previous paragraph? Yep, heel-toe down-shift, couldn't get the foot totally off the throttle and wound up with my foot on the brake and gas. We finished out the session well. During the de-brief, I explained further what had happened, and that I was listening to his instructions...but I don't think he fully understood me. I told him to take my car around the lot for a little bit before our second session so he could see what I was talking about. He agreed.
So, I'm sitting there for like an hour trying to figure out how to correct this. Starting to psych myself out, but I was determined. Gathered myself and I explain to my buddies what happened. We came to the general consensus that I boiled my brake fluid. Here's where and why I love being around good-hearted, car guys at a track day: 30 minutes before our next session, we banded together and pulled off the fastest 4-brake fluid flush ever lol. My instructor jumped in to see what I was talking about with my brakes first. He said he understood what I was saying and agreed we need to change the fluid. We got started with 20-something minutes before the session. It was like a serious conveyor belt operation where 6 guys (including my instructor!) were all doing something different, but working in tandem to get all four flushed so we can get back on track. Serious operation. And we made it. The old DOT4 fluid looked like crap. We replaced it with ATE blue race fluid. Guess what? Did the trick. Didn't have any other problems.
Session two was awesome. He drove my car for a few laps first because he wanted to feel what I was communicating to him about the throttle being jumpy due to the tune, the brakes, understeer, etc. After he drove the darn thing he finally understood EVERYTHING I was saying. We switched out, driving my car again, got back on track, psycologically ready. We came to the conclusion that I can hit 115 down the back straight as long as I brake hard and "get some thinner shoes" to assist with the heel toe. I think I'll keep it between 100-105 for now lol. He let me go solo again for the third session.
Third session: never got it on video, and it's too bad because it was a doozy. The guys who were passing me and/or lapping me were either getting passed by me, or could not gain on me...with the exception of the dude with the 318i. He was a beast. I was so disappointed that I didn't get this one on vid because it was my best session by far.
I did get black flagged, though. So, the instructors ran the session before us. One of the instructors crashed and took out a whole section of concrete wall right at "Big Bend" and the workers shut the track down. It was going to take 3-4 hours to fix, so our "fix" to get back on the track was to make that section of track yellow-flagged and we couldn't pass anyone or exceed 40mph until we got to a green flag station a short way down the back straight. So, during our run, I was was having fun with one of my buddies in his red 135i. We all know those cars are really quick, and his was no exception...plus he definitely had the driver mod. Well, a lap goes by and he didn't give me the point by at the green flag. We were having fun. My "re-start" was in 3rd at 40, so I was definitely NOT in my powerband, but could have definitely gotten a pass. We were having some good old fun. Next lap, I was determined to MAKE HIM give me the point lol. We rolled up to the green, and I hung just off his left rear with me in second. This was going to be a drag race down the straight. He gave me the point right as we came to the green flag and I bounced. Short-shifted to 3rd and ran it out to 4th with him some distance back. Couldn't gauge the car lengths because I had my turn to deal with, and this is the turn where I went off, so I had to make sure my footwork was right. As I'm coming down the pit straight, they throw me the black flag. I come in, and the Chief comes to the car and says, "Man, you got a lotta juice under that hood, man...we ain't drag racing out there, man." Point noted. Didn't realize I was doing anything wrong.
Boy, that session was a blast. Had some good spirted "competition" with some buddies. Had some traffic to deal with...and we beat the rain! Started raining as soon as we pulled into the paddock. Looks like the 4th and final session of the day was gonna be a wet one! Fun fun fun! I love it when the track is wet!
After the third session, we were all talking smack to one another. One of my buddies with a turbo, built motor MR2 tried to stay in front of me on that same back straight once it hit green flag. When I told him that I started in third because he thought I had downshifted when he realized he wasn't pulling away, he looked visibly hurt. Gotta love American muscle.
- break -
Speaking of American muscle: because it was a Bimmer event, there were only a handful of American cars. There were two vettes and three S197's...two of which were owned by the same guy, and the third was obviously mine. The other two Stangs were a supercharged Saleen and a 2008 FR500S ...pretty badass!
The Chief Instructor approached me after the 4th session and told me, "I really applaud you American muscle car guys for coming out to this track...I love it!"
This was also the same guy who, when we were giving our intros in the classroom, and I said I drive "the white mustang", he jumped in and said, "yeah you brought a friggin howitzer to our little party. I know what's under that hood." And everyone started rolling.
- break -
4th Session on day 2: WET. VERY VERY wet...but oh sooooo fun. Reduce the speeds and the 3600lb tank still slides all over the track. Had my instructor back in the car with me. I'm not joking: although I WILL drive my car 1.5 hours back to the house in one piece, I love a wet track! You REALLY learn how to handle your car in these conditions. I did really well with correcting understeer on the turns. My instructor kept giving me kudos, but he wanted me to correct my braking and speeds so I DON'T get understeer. Roger that!
Session ended very well. Hung out with the fellas for a little bit, packed up, told them "see ya when I see ya", and headed back to the house. AWESOME weekend.
Vids coming sometime this week!
By the way, my instructor was awesome. Didn't hold back when I did something outside of his instruction, but didn't berate me. Stern but fair. Every time I nailed a turn or managed to finally get by an M3, he got friggin pumped and started yelling praises. No kidding, you should hear some of the commentary in the vids. Although there was just a slight communication issue regarding the problems with my brakes, the guy was awesome to be around. After day one he offered me a beer. Of course I passed. Dude, the guy even jumped in and was part of the "assembly line" that got my brake fluid flushed in like record time.
I'll close with this: God I love oversteer.
BLUF: 06 Mustang GT at Summit Point Shenandoah Cicruit 10-11 September 2011 with the New Jersey Chapter BMW CCA. After 4 previous days on this track, got moved up to intermediate with some buddies. Solo'd first day. Hardly any traffic (only 14 people in the intermediate group). Lots of challenges. Some new lines. Brake issues. Tons of fun! I don't have my vids ready to go yet, but I'll attach them when they're ready.
Artifacts: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Su...ah_Circuit.svg
Discussion: Even though our cars are not built for it, good GOD I love this track. 2.2 miles of everything you (I) can ask for in a track: tight turns, elevation changes, straights, the caroussel, esses, blind apexes, off camber turns, oversteer, understeer, and a butt-ton of fun when it's wet.
Day one started out BEAUTIFULLY. Awesome weather. Met up with some buddies. Got our spot in the paddock, adjusted suspension and tire pressures. Had the drivers meeting and hung out. First session was just after 1000. Four sessions in total. Got re-aquainted with the track. What is pretty cool is that every instructor is different. They always have me taking a different line somewhere on the track. Just when I thought I was doing good at a previous event, another instructor at a current event says, "Why are you taking that line? We're gonna try something different." That's cool. Get me out of my comfort zone. For instance, at turn 5 (see attached link to track map), previous instructors had me stay 2/3 out going through the turn and track out wide and use all of the road. The two instructors I had in my first two sessions had me stay 2/3 out going through the turn, but start bringing it in tight to hit the small "island" and make a bee-line down the straight to turn 6 (you'll see when I get my vids up).
It's definitely a humbling experience moving up in run groups. Back in May I was running a train on the other novices. Here in the blue group it was definitely way more difficult just trying to stay in front of people. When I get my vids all settled, I'll have to go back and look at how many point-bys I gave. Man, I think I even got lapped once on one particularly long session by a 318i that has like a 1/3 of the hp I make (I know this because he told me, haha). Like I said, definitely a humbling experience. The skillset is different. The cars (and their setups) are different. I can't carry momentum through a turn like - say - a miata can. I got lapped by a bone-stock Integra Type-R (a buddy of mine). Granted he went out before me, but still.
Speaking of the setups. I tell people this all the time. I've set my car up for practicality while still able to have some fun doing whatever I do. Rule number one is to never **** off the wife when we get in the car to go somewhere. She's not mean or anything, just don't want her complaining about the ride on a long road trip or something. So, I went with softer Roush springs that only dropped me by 1" in the front and 1.25" out back. Needed the adjustable shocks/struts, but I'm not super competitive and don't need the awesomeness of the Koni's right now. I went with Tokicos at a much lower price (again, didn't want to **** off the wife). I wanted new tires, but wanted them on a budget so as to convince the wife. Went with General Exclaims. They do the job on the street when the pressures are right and the shocks are dialed in right. They were "cheap" to buy. When I got the pressures dialed in correctly on the track, I had them singing. Also, you can't beat 380 treadwear.
They're not Nittos or Dunlops. So, you get what you pay for. I still have a ton of fun out there.Got solo'd after the third session on day one. I love solo time. A LOT less distractions. I can just focus on what I'm doing.
- break -
Is it just me or do instructors like to have sidebar conversations while you are trying to focus on lines JUST to see if you can successfully process the visual input from the track as well as other distractors? My instructor was like, "So what kind of weapons training do you get in the Navy?" as I'm ripping through the caroussel at 50-ish mph. Me: "Uh, 9mm, 12-gauge, M-14, M-16. Cool stuff," as I launch out of the bowl. Next time around he remarks, "Yeah, I think we're pulling at LEAST a g through here." Really!?
- break -
Session four was my best of the day. They expanded the track for this event by opening up the pit-straight instead of turning at "Old Ram". I don't know how much time that adds, but I managed to pull off some consecutive 2:11.xx laps. By comparison, my buddy and co-worker said he was turning 2:03.xx in his Acura NSX (advanced run group). Yeah, I don't think I'll be seeing 2:03-anything in the Stang.
I started noticing, though, that I had to start pushing the brake pedal down further and further in order to fully engage the brakes. I've had this problem previously. I mentioned this to my instructor. I got the feeling he really didn't understand.
Day one ended with me friggin pumped. I went back to the hotel, showered, ate, drank a beer and crashed for the night.
Day two! Extremely interesting. Got my instructor back in the car for session one. So, I'm really paying attention to my brakes this morning. Because I'm pushing down further on the pedal it's starting to negatively impact my heel-toe...so much so that I'm not even really rolling my foot over onto the throttle to blip it...it's almost like my foot is already in contact with both pedals. Bad stuff. When I'm done with my down shift, sometimes I can't get my foot entirely off the gas...so it's like I'm giving gas and brake at the same time. Keep this in mind.
First few laps my instructor wants to see how fast we're going down the back straight (after turn 19, "Big Bend") to see how much speed we can carry towards the turn at the end without brake failure lol. He's watching my Diablosport Trinity which I have mounted in my A/C vent. I've got a speedometer gauge setup on it. We hit 98 and everything is cool. I manage to heel-toe just fine from 4th to 3rd. Next lap we hit 110 and I was starting to get a little nervous. The NEXT lap he's like, "More throttle, more throttle, more throttle....brake later....brake brake brake brake...brake!" and off the track we go. Braked in a straight line off the track, came to a controlled stop, turned, got back on the track and we're good. They threw the black flag for me to come in. We talked for a few minutes, described what went wrong, and we're good. Here's what happened: turns out my speedo was reading 116 on that last lap. In fact, though, my speedo is actually off by about 5mph. Yup...hit 120. Also, remember my brake problem in the previous paragraph? Yep, heel-toe down-shift, couldn't get the foot totally off the throttle and wound up with my foot on the brake and gas. We finished out the session well. During the de-brief, I explained further what had happened, and that I was listening to his instructions...but I don't think he fully understood me. I told him to take my car around the lot for a little bit before our second session so he could see what I was talking about. He agreed.
So, I'm sitting there for like an hour trying to figure out how to correct this. Starting to psych myself out, but I was determined. Gathered myself and I explain to my buddies what happened. We came to the general consensus that I boiled my brake fluid. Here's where and why I love being around good-hearted, car guys at a track day: 30 minutes before our next session, we banded together and pulled off the fastest 4-brake fluid flush ever lol. My instructor jumped in to see what I was talking about with my brakes first. He said he understood what I was saying and agreed we need to change the fluid. We got started with 20-something minutes before the session. It was like a serious conveyor belt operation where 6 guys (including my instructor!) were all doing something different, but working in tandem to get all four flushed so we can get back on track. Serious operation. And we made it. The old DOT4 fluid looked like crap. We replaced it with ATE blue race fluid. Guess what? Did the trick. Didn't have any other problems.
Session two was awesome. He drove my car for a few laps first because he wanted to feel what I was communicating to him about the throttle being jumpy due to the tune, the brakes, understeer, etc. After he drove the darn thing he finally understood EVERYTHING I was saying. We switched out, driving my car again, got back on track, psycologically ready. We came to the conclusion that I can hit 115 down the back straight as long as I brake hard and "get some thinner shoes" to assist with the heel toe. I think I'll keep it between 100-105 for now lol. He let me go solo again for the third session.
Third session: never got it on video, and it's too bad because it was a doozy. The guys who were passing me and/or lapping me were either getting passed by me, or could not gain on me...with the exception of the dude with the 318i. He was a beast. I was so disappointed that I didn't get this one on vid because it was my best session by far.
I did get black flagged, though. So, the instructors ran the session before us. One of the instructors crashed and took out a whole section of concrete wall right at "Big Bend" and the workers shut the track down. It was going to take 3-4 hours to fix, so our "fix" to get back on the track was to make that section of track yellow-flagged and we couldn't pass anyone or exceed 40mph until we got to a green flag station a short way down the back straight. So, during our run, I was was having fun with one of my buddies in his red 135i. We all know those cars are really quick, and his was no exception...plus he definitely had the driver mod. Well, a lap goes by and he didn't give me the point by at the green flag. We were having fun. My "re-start" was in 3rd at 40, so I was definitely NOT in my powerband, but could have definitely gotten a pass. We were having some good old fun. Next lap, I was determined to MAKE HIM give me the point lol. We rolled up to the green, and I hung just off his left rear with me in second. This was going to be a drag race down the straight. He gave me the point right as we came to the green flag and I bounced. Short-shifted to 3rd and ran it out to 4th with him some distance back. Couldn't gauge the car lengths because I had my turn to deal with, and this is the turn where I went off, so I had to make sure my footwork was right. As I'm coming down the pit straight, they throw me the black flag. I come in, and the Chief comes to the car and says, "Man, you got a lotta juice under that hood, man...we ain't drag racing out there, man." Point noted. Didn't realize I was doing anything wrong.
Boy, that session was a blast. Had some good spirted "competition" with some buddies. Had some traffic to deal with...and we beat the rain! Started raining as soon as we pulled into the paddock. Looks like the 4th and final session of the day was gonna be a wet one! Fun fun fun! I love it when the track is wet!
After the third session, we were all talking smack to one another. One of my buddies with a turbo, built motor MR2 tried to stay in front of me on that same back straight once it hit green flag. When I told him that I started in third because he thought I had downshifted when he realized he wasn't pulling away, he looked visibly hurt. Gotta love American muscle.
- break -
Speaking of American muscle: because it was a Bimmer event, there were only a handful of American cars. There were two vettes and three S197's...two of which were owned by the same guy, and the third was obviously mine. The other two Stangs were a supercharged Saleen and a 2008 FR500S ...pretty badass!
The Chief Instructor approached me after the 4th session and told me, "I really applaud you American muscle car guys for coming out to this track...I love it!"
This was also the same guy who, when we were giving our intros in the classroom, and I said I drive "the white mustang", he jumped in and said, "yeah you brought a friggin howitzer to our little party. I know what's under that hood." And everyone started rolling.
- break -
4th Session on day 2: WET. VERY VERY wet...but oh sooooo fun. Reduce the speeds and the 3600lb tank still slides all over the track. Had my instructor back in the car with me. I'm not joking: although I WILL drive my car 1.5 hours back to the house in one piece, I love a wet track! You REALLY learn how to handle your car in these conditions. I did really well with correcting understeer on the turns. My instructor kept giving me kudos, but he wanted me to correct my braking and speeds so I DON'T get understeer. Roger that!
Session ended very well. Hung out with the fellas for a little bit, packed up, told them "see ya when I see ya", and headed back to the house. AWESOME weekend.
Vids coming sometime this week!
By the way, my instructor was awesome. Didn't hold back when I did something outside of his instruction, but didn't berate me. Stern but fair. Every time I nailed a turn or managed to finally get by an M3, he got friggin pumped and started yelling praises. No kidding, you should hear some of the commentary in the vids. Although there was just a slight communication issue regarding the problems with my brakes, the guy was awesome to be around. After day one he offered me a beer. Of course I passed. Dude, the guy even jumped in and was part of the "assembly line" that got my brake fluid flushed in like record time.
I'll close with this: God I love oversteer.
Last edited by moochman4life; 09-12-2011 at 10:44 AM.
09-12-2011, 07:58 PM
#2
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Harrisburg PA
Posts: 1,778
Nice write up Greg. I almost signed up for that event but missed the cut off date. 120 is pretty quick on that back straight, thats about what I hit, and I have less weight and better brakes than you, so I can definetly see the pucker factor there. Plus that left hander at the end always seems to have dirt and mud on it.
Are you going the Oct 1-2 Trackdaze event?
Are you going the Oct 1-2 Trackdaze event?
09-13-2011, 08:35 AM
#3
3rd Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Norfolk, VA
Posts: 509
Brad, thanks! Man, you would've had a lot of open track in the advanced group. No run group had more than 15 people. Would've got a good look at that Saleen, too. He ran advanced. He took that out when he broke the hood mounts on his FR500S. First session of day 1 he goes out WITHOUT his hoodpins inserted. He wasn't out for more than a minute and his hood blew back, smashed into his windshield, cracked the glass and broke his mounting brackets. That sucked big time. I've never seen an FR500 in person and was really excited about seeing him run. Instead, we got the Saleen. I got a video of him lapping in the Saleen on my phone. I might put that up on youtube, too.
Yeah, for now I'm not going to experiment with anything more than 105 on that straight until I can get my braking down. Believe it or not, the stang would actually still stop after hitting 115-ish, but it's a little nerve-racking when it's a totally new exercise, you know? When my instructor took her out he got her up to 115 and was able to brake at the end. Not perfect, he was still a little hot and didn't nail his line. I'm sure with some practice it might work. Right now, not so much. It is awfully interesting that there can be such a drastic difference in your ability to brake by adding/removing JUST 5mph. Crazy.
Man, I'm not kidding about being humbled moving up in groups. Everyone is smoother and faster. It actually took me 1-2 laps of working some M3's, a vette and a miata to get around them...and I didn't always succed, hehe. In the novice group, it was always right at the next straightaway lol.
Nah, not going back 1-2 October. I had to cash in my credit with FATT because I'm not sure if I'm going to get a chance next year. I transfer sometime in the middle of next year. They have FATT at Shenandoah on 24 September (a Saturday), so I'm signed up for that with the credit. More importantly, found out a month and a half ago that my wife is pregnant. She's due in March and we're trying to transfer before July. Not really going to get a whole lot of track time, if any, before we leave.
I might go back to VIR in November, though, to close out the year.
Yeah, for now I'm not going to experiment with anything more than 105 on that straight until I can get my braking down. Believe it or not, the stang would actually still stop after hitting 115-ish, but it's a little nerve-racking when it's a totally new exercise, you know? When my instructor took her out he got her up to 115 and was able to brake at the end. Not perfect, he was still a little hot and didn't nail his line. I'm sure with some practice it might work. Right now, not so much. It is awfully interesting that there can be such a drastic difference in your ability to brake by adding/removing JUST 5mph. Crazy.
Man, I'm not kidding about being humbled moving up in groups. Everyone is smoother and faster. It actually took me 1-2 laps of working some M3's, a vette and a miata to get around them...and I didn't always succed, hehe. In the novice group, it was always right at the next straightaway lol.
Nah, not going back 1-2 October. I had to cash in my credit with FATT because I'm not sure if I'm going to get a chance next year. I transfer sometime in the middle of next year. They have FATT at Shenandoah on 24 September (a Saturday), so I'm signed up for that with the credit. More importantly, found out a month and a half ago that my wife is pregnant. She's due in March and we're trying to transfer before July. Not really going to get a whole lot of track time, if any, before we leave.
I might go back to VIR in November, though, to close out the year.
09-13-2011, 08:09 PM
#4
3rd Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Norfolk, VA
Posts: 509
Ok, here we go.
Did a quick track entrance vid. Never seen one before for this track. Camera was already mounted, so I gave it a go. Nothing spectacular, but it felt awesome outside and the view was pretty cool:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyIkAfIBAcE
First solo session on day one, not much traffic. I started from the paddock because the initial commentary was pretty amusing. Just ignore the weird cough I have for the first couple minutes. I don't know what the hell that was about:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmVWTH9_td4
Solo session with a few minutes of open track:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gP_uubqjS8
Did a quick track entrance vid. Never seen one before for this track. Camera was already mounted, so I gave it a go. Nothing spectacular, but it felt awesome outside and the view was pretty cool:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyIkAfIBAcE
First solo session on day one, not much traffic. I started from the paddock because the initial commentary was pretty amusing. Just ignore the weird cough I have for the first couple minutes. I don't know what the hell that was about:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmVWTH9_td4
Solo session with a few minutes of open track:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gP_uubqjS8
Last edited by moochman4life; 09-13-2011 at 09:23 PM.
09-13-2011, 08:16 PM
#5
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Harrisburg PA
Posts: 1,778
Wow, congrats to you and your wife. Thats awesome. Believe me, I'm still humbled as well. Sometimes i will be one of the fastest guys in my group, then at the next event I'm getting passed left and right. I had Mike Skeen drive my car at New Jersey this summer. He turns into corners far earlier than I do. At first I was like 'whats up with that, the instructors preach late apex, late apex'. Then I realized he was feeding in a little slip angle, he was entering the corners at such speed that as soon as he turns in the car is sliding, intentionally and that makes him apex perfectly. It was really cool to watch. I'm definetly not there, when I try that it results in a spin. I learned a while back - you never stop learning in this sport. I might go to that VIR event also.
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