Monterey Reunion Corkscrew Hillclimb | FerrariChat

Monterey Reunion Corkscrew Hillclimb

Discussion in 'Events Discussion' started by PenP, Sep 4, 2022.

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  1. PenP

    PenP Formula Junior
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    55 cars total, most were vintage race cars used at the Reunion races. Two Ferraris - street cars - a LaFerrari and a 1970 365GT 2+2 went up the Corkscrew. (There were three Ferraris in the actual vintage races, including an F1 car.)

    My 365 was the only Ferrari entered, but at the last minute the LaFerrari showed up. Ads if the Ferrari police global satellite was alerted that the only Ferrari in this new Hillclimb event at the Monterey Reunion would be a 2-ton 2+2. And a tatty one at that. And brown! So in response, the LaFerrari was airlifted in by some secret Ferrari Brand Identity Police Squadron.

    Fellow FCA members gave me a hard time back in 2004 when I did the track days at Laguna at that year's Annual. But were then surprised at how fast and composed it seemed to be on the track. Me too, but I had nothing to compare it to – it was my first time on 4-wheels on any track.

    So it was a sentimental cycle-of-life thing for me, to get the 365 back up to Monterey and back on the track.
    In preparation for the '04 track days, Steve Tillack installed a custom-made harness bar (with a 4-pt race harness) and installed an OMP race seat. All of which I installed for this event. And why not throw in a set of Avon CR tires while I'm at it?

    The car did great, even though on my first run, I thought I was going to spin out into the flag station at the top of the hill.

    So...if any of you was there or just saw any photos online and were thinking, "Who was the fool who took a 355 2+2 up the hill?! Well, that would me!

    Cheers,

    Pen Pendleton
     
  2. PenP

    PenP Formula Junior
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  3. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    Very cool!

    I always wanted to take my 330 GTC on the track, but never did.
     
  4. Il Tifoso

    Il Tifoso Formula 3
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    Very cool - the car looks great on track! Any more details you can share about the event? Was it just running up the corkscrew (in reverse?!) or was there a larger piece of track?
     
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  5. PenP

    PenP Formula Junior
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    The harness bar in my car was first made for guy with a GTC. Lucky for me because that guy paid for the engineering & fabrication time (it's a trickier piece than you'd think.) It bolts into the holes on the b-pillar where the factory 3-point shoulder belt connects.
     
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  6. Il Tifoso

    Il Tifoso Formula 3
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  7. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    Texas!
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  8. PenP

    PenP Formula Junior
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    Very cool! Thanks!
     
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  9. PenP

    PenP Formula Junior
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    By the way, we all did three runs up the Corkscrew. There were supposed to be four runs – two "practice" and two "timed", but we did three runs total, and I suppose all were timed. For some reason, the times/results were not published by Laguna management either with paper printouts at the track or on their website. Maybe some day. And although technically part of the "Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion", the folks who actually manage the vintage races – HSR – were not involved in the Hillclimb. This was a purely homemade, relatively last-minute idea, and especially for a first-try, was well done.

    Anyway, I'm not sure which run is shown in the video, probably the first - or last - just a guess. My first run was a real mess, but you can't tell in this video because I got out of shape at the top, out of range. Kind of seems like Run #3.

    Great find, by the way - thanks again. A few of us looked online but could only find the Laguna-released video on YouTube of the five "Finalists".
     
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  10. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    I'm trying to think about running this course in reverse. Truth is the corkscrew is nothing. You brake hard and turn left. As you shoot out, you come to T9, great god almighty. And then, and then, you come to T10. Many, many people have met Jesus at T10.

    I love Laguna Seca.
     
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  11. PenP

    PenP Formula Junior
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    I almost forgot that the first time I went down the Corkscrew was on a motorcycle in 1986 at a California Superbike School. On a Kawasaki GPZ550. At the time, I happened to own my own GPZ550, and my experience level was pretty high, so I would've had a reasonable level of confidence going into it, but I'm sure that still didn't stop me from peeing in my pants just thinking about going down the thing the first time. I used to spectate from there at the Grand Prix motorcycle races, so I was well aware of how crazy it seemed.

    But, thinking back on it, I honestly don't have any hard memory of that first time in the Corkscrew. So either it was such a traumatic experience that I've blanked it from my memory, or it was perhaps just not as big of a deal as I assumed it would be.

    Interestingly, however, I very much remember the first time I went down there in a car, and it was definitely a "Whoa Nelly" experience. It was in the star of this original story, the 365GT back at a 2004 FCA track event.

    So no problem remembering that! And it remains a great experience as I've been going down the CS every year for the past 10 years in a couple different, but very similar, small lightweight, low-horsepower vintage sports racers. As well as an open-wheeled vintage Formula Ford and a Porsche 914 vintage race car.

    And any time I go down the CS and I'm not in traffic (and get to concentrate only on the track itself), it's still a totally nutty, breathtaking, fun experience. Never gets old - never is routine.

    I think the reason a cars is (counterintuitively) a more impactful, memorable Corkscrew experience than a motorcycle is just because of the sheer mass of a car. And that you're strapped in and have limited visibility. So there's more of the 'jumping down an elevator shaft blindfolded' compared to a motorcycle.

    Which obviously makes sense, since it reflects the fundamental difference between riding a motorcycle and driving a car on a twisty piece of road or track, regardless of a Corkscrew being involved. Physics, and all that…

    (I'm thinking out loud here, so don't respond with a "Duh", please...)

    All I can say, is that Laguna Seca is a great track in many different ways, and there are a few ways to get a street car on there. I recommend it highly!
     
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  12. Texas Forever

    Texas Forever Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    I've always thought the corkscrew was a bit of a nothing burger from a driver's perspective. You top the small little ridge, brake hard, turn left, and then zip, you're out of it. T9 and T10, however, is another story. You have a sweeping downhill right hander out of the screw, and then left into a downhill T9. Do everything right, you hit T10 as fast as a Miata can go!
     
  13. fatbillybob

    fatbillybob Two Time F1 World Champ
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    Very cool Pen! I have never had the pleasure of Laguna clockwise…you got a rare treat.
     
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  14. PenP

    PenP Formula Junior
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    FBB!!!! What are you up to? Any chance you're doing the West Coast Racing track day in a couple weeks at Willow? Just like old times.....
     
  15. PenP

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    It was a standing start, where got waved off, one-by-one. This happened on the front straight abut halfway between the official starting line (the bridge) and the exit of T-11. So you start getting up some speed and immediately have to slow for T11, and accelerate into and out of T10 and T9 (which are pretty cool running uphill), and then you go up and through through the Corkscrew - which, the first time is crazy mainly because of the "last" right-hand exit. And then the finish line was soon after T7 that on the uphill (now downhill) after the Corkscrew. I think.....

    The pace car would wait for about 5 cars to finish and then lead us back around the track (backwards) to line up again. It was pretty cool running the rest of the track backwards, too, even though we were slowed by the pace car.
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  16. fatbillybob

    fatbillybob Two Time F1 World Champ
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    Nope. 100% of my racing has been with SCCA. I'm in the middle of my 2nd vette racecar build and should be race ready for the 2023 season testing by late October.
     
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