Fun On A Fall Day at Autobahn CC

Having fun on a Fall afternoon.

Cheers,

Fred R.
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I am not a member of Autobahn CC, but I have run there several times in my Porsche Turbo and now the F430. There are many companies that conduct one day events on either the North, South, or combined courses. This was an event on the combined course put on by Laps Inc. I am not a "member" of Laps Inc., but participated as a "Invitee" of a member. The cost was $300 for the day. There was the possibility of 8 x 25 min sessions, but I left a bit early. It was a very low key event with a small but experienced group of cars. With the light turnout, there was very little traffic to deal with. I've also run there with "Hooked on Driving" this past May.

I only purchased the F430 this August was a little nervous about running an unknown car very hard. This was the perfect group with which to work up to speed. I found the F430 suspension to be quite soft for track duty, but the soundtrack was glorious. I do miss that 500 lb-ft of Turbo torque. It really didn't matter what gear I was in. The F430 needs to be turning 4,000+ to stay on the boil.

Now get out there, and drive your car! You may only be saving it for the next owner.

Cheers,

Fred R.

 

I've driven Porsches since 1975. Last car was a 500Hp/500 Lb-Ft 996TT suitably modded for comfortable track performance. In recent years, due to advancing age and friends retiring and moving away, the track days just weren't as much fun. Now that I've retired, I've taken a look at my bucket list, and the top item was to own and enjoy a Ferrari.

As one matures, one notices that the things you think you want, do not turn out to be quite as good as you expected. The same can be true of cars. I miss the ball peen hammer reliability of a Porsche. I cringe at the absolutely ridiculous pricing structure of Ferrari parts. I wonder about the fragility of the F1 clutch system and the effect on many items of all the vibration a V8 flat plane crank engine develops. I'm reluctant to jump in the 430 and take a 1000+ mile trip with no spare and no jack. Why didn't Ferrari include a 7th gear for economical and comfortable highway cruising?

I guess that all of this is part of the Ferrari "experience". It's offset by the sensuous lines of a Pininfarina design, the expansive forward visibility, the buttery smooth all leather interior and that glorious soundtrack as the engine rips to the redline. There's a short 150m tunnel in my area. Timed correctly, I can get two full throttle redline up shifts and the wail reverberates off the tunnel walls. It reminds me of standing beneath the Lowes Hotel in Monaco as the F1 cars shriek by.

So I'll enjoy this experience for a couple of years and decide if it's worth extending, or moving on to something else. Now it's time to tune into the Brazilian GP, and see if my brother from a different mother, Fred Alonso, can seal the deal.

Cheers,

Fred R,