About time!

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On Sports Car market today.....

 

Yes, it won in the GTS Class in 2003...


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Ride along with Colin McRae in the Prodrive at Le Mans...





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My 550 often thought it was a GT car...


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Anybody who thinks racing is about being smooth is full of ****. We're talking about anger. We're talking about pushing everything to the limit. How these guys do it for 24 hours is beyond me.

 

I agree Dale. The Le Mans footage in Ford v Ferrari exemplified this.

 

Can you imagine doing this for 24 hours? I couldn't do 23 minutes.

 

Dale, although I had prior experience in my 550 on the Rolex 24 Hours course at Daytona, I asked a Rolex Series driver friend to coach me the first time I took my F355 Challenge to Daytona. I made this GoPro video to serve as an instructional video to review prior to subsequent trips to Daytona. I asked him to be liberal with his remarks...





35 minutes and I needed a rest after that.

 

I can't imagine running Daytona.

 

You can do it, Dale. It's not so bad once you get used to the high banking. You can only see out of the left side of the windshield. When you look to the right, all you see is wall and D A Y T O N A flashing by every so often.

This gyrocam video shows what I mean...





The first time I was at Daytona was in 2009 in my 550. When I hit the high banking, I was saying to myself "Why did I come here?! Why am I doing this?!" After 4 laps, I settled down and enjoyed the ride. When we got back to the garage, my instructor said "It took you 4 laps to settle down but then you were fine." I asked him how he knew that. "You weren't wearing your gloves" he replied. He saw the death grip I had on the steering wheel and my white knuckles.

Now imagine NASCAR drivers driving 200 MPH and drafting at Daytona!

 

Many years ago, I had driving instructor tell me about arching your back.

 

Who knows? I might have been doing that too those first 4 laps. Besides the banking, there was also a vector of force perpendicular to the banking pushing me down into my seat. I'm used to it now and enjoyed my two days at Daytona last month. But I'll never forget that first time.

 

Arching your back makes it easier to suck up the seat cushion.

 

Like all streetcars you are horsepower limited there. You can only make up time in the infield and you are so much faster there than the two cars ahead that leave you on the straights. I could tell your coach wanted more commitment from you entering banking and the bus stop when you could have passed some cars there because you can exit the infield better and your line through the bus stop is better than those drivers. All they had was a horsepower advantage. Daytona is a fun track. When we did Runoffs there they let us fish in lake Lloyd. There are some big fish in there.

 

Book price is €630 EU, or about $680 USD. Yowza!

 

Four years ago I would’ve jumped on this and bought a set of these books, but I can’t afford them now, however, if anyone gets a set, I would sure appreciate a look at the plumbing for the electric cooling pumps.

 

So Dale, once you get used to the high banking then you have to learn not to get two wheels below the double yellow line. That's where the 31º of banking abruptly meets the apron...





There's kind of an old saying down here...What goes down must come up

 

There's crazy, and then there is full-blown insanity!

 

Perhaps, but once you get used to the high banking and its G-forces, the limited visibility out the windshield, and learning to respect the double yellow line, it's fun!....more fun than only driving your Ferrari to titty bars.

 

There weren't enough of us going by on the front straight to result in this kind of drama in the stands...








But the few spectators that were there had a good time watching and hearing us go by.



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But back to the 550 Prodrive. Nine years ago John Tirrell at Independent Ferrari Service (Team Pilota) converted a 550 to a 550 GT...


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Here he is passing me going into The Bus Stop at Watkins Glen International...



18:15


The view from inside his car...



Watkins Glen International - John Tirrell driving

As close as you can get to a Prodrive.

 

Damn pesky little cars...

I hope I get to drive Watkins Glen someday.

 

I was at Watkins Glen just last week, Dale...


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The WGI video I posted was taken nine years ago. I upgraded my Challenge suspension last year. Gone are the 2200 lb/in front and 900 lb/in rear Challenge springs and Challenge shocks, replaced by Hypercoil springs and Eibach helpers. The shocks are now Penske two-way adjustable shock absorbers. I'm better around that track now with this modern suspension.

You'd like Watkins Glen with all its history. We have our drivers meetings in the Kendall Classroom...


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...just like the 1972 Grand Prix drivers did...


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Don't wait. Time is wasting. I'll be there end of the month. Get busy living!

 

He'll get around to it, Carl. Hopefully soon.

Well, we missed each other by two weeks again, this time at Watkins Glen. The three of our paths must cross.

Barry

 

I have driven the 348TB quite a bit and raced my 348TS with challenge cage of the day and then a custom welded cage. The welded cage totally changed the character of the car because Ferrari chassis is not stiff so acts like a spring. The 355C also had some extra plates welded into the front shock areas to stiffen it up. I suspect that has been done to your car. The Tb was way stiffer than my Ts but still these cars are not BMW of similar age stiff. If your cage is bolt in you might consider a welded cage especially if you are driving faster. A seat connected to the cage is more safe and effective than a seat mounted to the floor. You will get a chassis stiffness upgrade which allows the suspension to do its thing while taking the chassis out as an unknown spring dynamic. A welded cage is safer than a bolted cage and you can improve your driver's side impact protection. That's the scary thing to me getting hit on my side.