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Racing, Weight Is The Enemy
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I finally pulled the cover off the 997 and disconnected the battery tender to venture down 128 to the New Comers Meeting at IRA Porsche-Audi. This spring, road sand isn’t my big concern when it comes to preserving the new car finish. The new culprits are the monster potholes. They seem much larger and more numerous than in past years. Or maybe I am just more paranoid with 19” wheels at risk. It absolutely makes me cringe when I think what one of those monster holes could do to a 19” wheel and the attached suspension parts! Obstacle course aside, I love this new car! I just can’t get over how quickly this 3.8 liter engine can accelerate in second gear. It pulls like a small block Chevy from the 1970’s. The ride is firm but very comfortable. Sorry to ramble on, but I just can’t help myself! April starts my 2005 track season. After 30 track days last year, I took the entire winter off to recuperate. I figure that for every track day, I spent an additional day, prepping, loading, towing, flying to or from, cleaning, or servicing the racecar. So to do 30 track days, took at least 60 days out of my spring, summer, and fall. Not that I didn’t have a blast, but I had really had enough by November. And combined with the less than great weather last summer, the boat only got 37 hours of use. Now that’s a shame! In hopes to put more boating and fishing time in this season, I have only signed up for 15 track days. Or should I say, committed to 30 racecar days? I did manage to drive three new tracks last year. I drove Homestead, Sebring, and VIR. I love the challenge of learning new road courses. Homestead is 30 miles south of Miami and only about five years old. The NASCAR oval is so big that the entire road course is inside the oval. Even the ovals straight a ways are banked. The whole facility is new and top notch! Sebring is just the opposite. It is in the middle of Florida and steeped in history back to the 1950’s. Although elevation changes don’t exist on Florida tracks, the corners seem to flow from one to the other so nicely at Sebring. Driving on a racetrack with so much history is really humbling. Parts of the track are on old air base runway s that are concrete. The transitions from old to new surfaces are bumpy and take time to adjust to. The garages and other facilities are new which makes the overall experience, fantastic! Then there’s Virginia International Raceway in Danville. This is a new, world-class facility and track. If you decide to tow the 12 hours down to VIR, make sure you sign up for a two or three day event and drive the full course. This track has it all, elevation changes, esses, high-speed straights, and corners that flow and challenge you! I have to mention one other track that falls outside of the usual NER track schedule, which includes NHIS, Lime Rock Park, Watkins Glen, Mont Tremblant, and Mosport. That is Road Atlanta. It is a big and fast track that flows like no other that I have driven. Unlike VIR, the esses are banked and cradle you as you carve your way through them. But the ultimate Road Atlanta memory is the downhill that you can’t see over. There is a bridge at the crest of the hill with lettering on it. You align your trajectory up with the proper letter and just hold on. Because you can’t see over the crest, it appears like you are about to drive off the track. Since this down hill leads to the last turn before the front straight the speeds are staggering once you trust your trajectory. YEEEE HAAAA! |
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