Friday for me and a friend of mine.
I've been told that the cars will be in the inner paddock at the bottom of the hill. Since there are no structures there like the F1 garages at COTA, I suspect that Ferrari will erect a fairly large prefab garage building that, at first blush, will look quite permanent. Consider the "showroom" building that they erected at the Finali Mondiali event at Daytona a couple of years ago, or the elaborate hospitality chalets that Audi, Porsche and AMG have put up at the Petit Le Mans in recent years. It was hard to believe that those chalets were temporary buildings! And consider the fact that tomorrow morning, the temperature will be just above freezing. The mechanics and drivers need to prepare the cars in heated, well-lighted comfort. It will help that tomorrow the first test session for the XX cars does not begin until 10:20 and for the F1 cars until 11:25, and that it will be warmer on Friday morning when the sessions begin earlier.
I was at Chateau Elan this morning and apparently everyone involved with the F1 events is staying there. Spoke with a few of the Pirelli staffers for a little while at breakfast (they were intrigued by my half Korean daughters, 7 and 9). They seemed to sensibly believe Friday would be the better day due to warmer weather. English was certainly not a strength though!
We have a great turn out for Thursday and Friday and a big thanks to everyone for registering. Please say hello while you're there and more importantly, have a great time!.
Well, not as nice a building I expected - basically a long, narrow tent. But look at all those F1 cars!
I will be there in the yellow 348 spider. Both days. I will be able to hear them from my house only 4 miles away.
This time, even nearby residents who don't normally complain about the noise probably will. A bunch of screaming F1 cars on a track make a lot of noise! And for the first time I can remember at Road Atlanta, I'm going to be using earplugs.
Does anyone know what the absolute lap record (which is likely to get smashed) is at Road Atlanta? The best I've found is 1:06.2 by one of the Peugeot 908 prototypes when they were running in the Petit Le Mans. The most modern F1-type car I remember seeing on the track was the abortive Lotus T125; one of the few made appeared at The Mitty in 2014. While fast, it was nowhere near 1:06.
Sarrazin in the 1:06. I want to say that the Benneton that used to come to the Mitty had a 1:06.8, and that stood till the Peugeot. Will they be timing? sjd
I was present off an on today (Thursday) and timed a couple cars lapping in the 1:06-1:08 but more importantly I heard Gene is present and at some time will be breaking the track record. Expecting a time in the :50s Really outstanding hearing these cars again. haven't heard a V10 live since Indy
Unfortunately there were no 333 SPs on the premises. The count was six 599XX (based on the 599 GTO), one (!) FXX (based on the Enzo) and eight FXXK (based on the LaFerrari). And there were seven F1 cars, ranging from 2001 to 2013, though one blew its engine during the morning session. And Marc Gene did indeed break the absolute lap record (which had been 1:06.2, set by a Peugeot 908 prototype in qualifying for the Petit Le Mans some years ago). I heard it was in the 1:05 range, but I also heard 1:04.4; we will find out exactly in due time. Fact is, with tomorrow supposed to be warmer, the cars may be faster! I'll be posting some photos shortly in a new thread.
Lap record was broke today by 2.5 seconds ! What a great day to be at Road Atlanta- can’t wait for tomorrow !
I had a great time yesterday. Thank you Will and FoA ! The cars were amazing to watch. And the sound! Bring ear plugs if you're going today Wish I could be there again today.
I decided that another 120-mile round trip, in Atlanta rush-hour traffic, was not in the cards. After shooting 140 photos yesterday (many of which I'm posting on the other thread), there isn't that much more I could have done. I would have liked seeing more of my friends who couldn't make it yesterday, but there will be other opportunities for that. For those of you who go today, enjoy! Don't forget your earplugs. And with the Paddock Grill being the only dining option, you may want to bring lunch. And when you get home, please add your Friday photos to the other thread. The more, the merrier!
I heard that Marc Gene did 1:04.4 in the F2008, which isn't even the fastest car available. If he hops in the F2003 or F2004, he might go faster today! Either way, to quote Tom Carnegie, "It's a new track record!"
A change at Road Atlanta that will affect photography. Just to the left of the pickup in the background is a gate, which was a popular place for photographers to get near-head-on shots of cars coming over the brow heading from turn 5 into turn 6, without shooting through a fence. Unfortunately, since last year, they have erected a fence on top of the inside wall beyond the gate. So now it is impossible to get those shots without shooting through a fence, making the spot essentially worthless for photography. All in the name of spectator safety, I guess... Image Unavailable, Please Login
Final lap record of 1:01.2 was done on Friday in the 2003 car. Averaged just under 150mph! It was a great day out there.