My first track day. (long)

[Oh Haha]

I did my first track day this weekend at Gingerman Raceway in southern Michigan. WOW!!!! These cars are freakin' incredible on the track! I drove 400 miles on Friday, went to the track, decided to ignore the wife's wishes NOT to track the car, and did it anyway.
It was just a test and tune session so I went out and took it easy the first few laps to get a feel for the layout. I was amazed at how fast the corners come up. I don't think I even got into fifth gear. It is VERY different than rippin' up the public roads, though. I did 5 laps the first time out. The car ran perfect, absolutely nothing went wrong. The temps were around 88 degrees outside but my engine temp never even got above the top white line on my gauge. The second session I did about 10 laps, a little faster into the corners each lap. I certainly was not the fastest car out there. In fact, I was passed by a POS Honda Civic!!! No seriosly, it was a piece of crap but the guy could drive like a MF. The only scary part came when a tricked out 993 with a husband/wife team came up on me going like 400 MPH. I gave them a point by and watched in awe as they screamed away. The most interesting lap was when I spun going INTO turn three. Yeah, I don't really know what happened either. The rear end just kind of gently came around. I wasn't going THAT fast! It spun around and I just sorta parked it just off the track. She fired right back up, I motored bcak to the pits called it a day. Man, that is is a blast. I got the chance to meet some really nice people and check out some iconic Porsches. I could have probably gotten a ride in the cup car today but family obligations had to come first. Yes, my wife was mad at me when I came back to the cottage. I bought her a nice Gingerman Raceway sweatshirt as a peace offering but it probably should have been a necklace or something. She is over it now, though. Only met one Pelican, JTL from Indiana with a nice 84 Guards Red Targa. I took some pics to share with you guys. I drove the car home today 400 miles and absolutely no problems at all. What a testament to the Porsche engineering.
I am going to try to resist the temptation to go crazy on track days. I simply cannot afford to go nuts with this. If you are still reading, thanks for sticking with me. If you haven't done a track day, try it. It is a blast!!

[Doug E]

Welcome to the track side ... once you start you won't be able to stop

The memories of my first track day still seem like just yesterday but that was 3 years ago.

It's a slippery slope so be careful and have fun.

[Oh Haha]

Thanks Doug.
What impressed me besides my car running so good was the people with way more experience and $$$$$$ willing to help a beginner out.
I even met the PCA events planner for the F1 race at Indy! He invited me down to the race(not free, of course). As I said, I didn't even plan on running the car. The Porsches were just so cool to see in person. 993 TT, a cup car, TWO GT3's, and a bunch of 911's similar to mine. I even got a couple of compliments on my exhaust note. Alright, I'll stop now. I am still kinda geeked about it and it happend Friday night.

[JTL]

It was nice to meet you too Wayne. I also had a blast Saturday. My driving was rusty after a 12 month break but things were coming back during the afternoon. Maybe I should have stayed another day!?

My return trip home was interesting. I had replaced the oil pressure sender a couple of weeks ago but it was still leaking a few drops of oil. I decided to tighted it up some before driving home. Well - about 3/4 of the way the oil pressure started dropping; 3.5 bar, 3 bar, 2 bar - wtf. I pulled over to see the back of the car smeared with oil! Had to get a tow the rest of the way. We are then about 1 mile away from my house and the friggin tow truck runs out of gas!!!!! So I waited another 2 hours for their crew to show up and finally got home at 3am.

So now I'm thinking if I had driven the car Sunday on track I may not have noticed the op problems, which would have cost the engine!! Someone is looking out for me...

Good news today though - Kimi won the Canadian GP.

jt

[Oh Haha]

Wow, that's some weird luck. I REALLY wanted to go back on Sundy to get that ride along but we took the kids into see the beach and did some shopping. Sorry but my trip home was pretty uneventful. I DID cordinate a pullover by the State Police of a nutjob in a Camaro driving like an a$$! Yup, I beeped as I went by him on the side of the road!!!!!
Jacka$$!! He had cut my wife off behind me and she radioed me he was coming up fast. When he whipped into the right lane to pass a van he about clipped my bumper, the poor lady in the van just about crashed but slowed enough to catch it. Normally, I would have let it go but he was driving stupid.

Good news about Kimi!!!! I hope he does well in Indy next weekend.

[JTL]

I have had a similar camaro encounter. Some people just don't realize that actions have consequences.

I did get a ride in my instructors 928. That ride was awesome; he was keeping up with a gt3 car! Also drove a friend's -04 m3 with smg. That car absolutely rocks.

[makaio]

Glad you had a good time. Running on a track is a blast, and a very addictive one as Doug pointed out. I was planning on building a spec E30 BMW for the track this year, but changes in my way of life (for the good) are going to prohibit that idea. I always found that my old SC would run much better and smoother after a track day as well.

[molsen]

Sounds like an absolute blast! I've got to get set up and give it a try. Have you ever heard of any track days @ Grattan? From your description it sounds like you got off the throttle going into the turn which unweighted the rear and led to the car coming around,but it sounds like your addicted so you will straighten that out. Cheers!

[Emission]

I remember my first time on the track in March 1998 (in a BMW 328i). I was giddy for several days!

Once you taste it, it's nearly impossible to get out of your system!

[bigchillcar]

sounds like a blast..was your first spin quite a thrill?? i always have wondered if the car feels like it could roll over during one..
ryan

[Oh Haha]

Ryan,
The spin was kind of weird. I have never crashed a car or even spun out.
It just kind of came around. I think Molsen said it, I shifted the weight and it let loose. I actually chuckled a bit when I stopped rolling backwards. Mind you , this was no Nascar spining through grass, mud flyin' spin. Just nice and easy, La De Da, we're going to spin around now type of deal. I let it happen and didn't overreact and that might be why I didn't do any damage. At least I know what it feels like now. I think it's knid of a badge of honor.

[strother]

Originally posted by bigchillcar
sounds like a blast..was your first spin quite a thrill?? i always have wondered if the car feels like it could roll over during one..
ryan

I've spun my 911 way too many times. It NEVER feels like it will roll, or anything like it. Most of my spins were at my first DE. I'd go into a corner with what I thought was too much speed and wouldn't reach for the apex enough because I was afraid of spinning. (I now know this is not likely. My tires give my lots of warning before they completely let go.) The next step was to let off of the throttle. WRONG MOVE. When I did it, the rear became weightless and developed a mind of its own, deciding that IT now wanted to be the front of the car. This type of spin happens FAST, with no warning, but most of the time stops at a 180 spin.

The other type of spin is kinda grin inducing, assuming that you aren't in traffic or next to a wall.

[Oh Haha]

Yup, strother's right on. The car didn't even go all the way around. I guess that would be a half-spin?