Things learned at my Laguna Seca Media Trackday

A few quick things I learned at my Laguna Seca TrackDay.... (full report of all the cars I drove coming soon):

If a cars MSRP is near or over 6 figures... leave the traction control on.

A 400hp Jag WILL oversteer if you romp on it (see above)

When approaching Turn 3 in a $93K, 400hp Jag that you have gotten completely sideways the last thing on your mind is how soft the Connley leather seats are (see above)

Going fast in a small, light car, like the Lotus Elise, does not require lots of HP, and is lots of fun.

Going fast in a small, light car with 4 wheel drive, electronic brakeforce distribution, ~290hp/290ft.lbs. of torque like the Mistubishi Lancer Evo MR is TONS of fun.

Getting in and out of the Lotus Elise is tough no matter how tall you are, taking the roof off helps if you are very tall.

American V8's are cool. See - Corvette C6 Coupe, Dodge Magnum SRT-8 and Charger SRT-8 for reference.

German V10's and V12's are even cooler - See BMW M5 and 760i for reference

Refer to first lesson when driving the $120k V12 BMW 760i.

Going for a ride in the BMW M5 with a factory BMW ALMS racecar driver behind the wheel is very close to the feeling of going VERY fast on a motorcycle.

Hitting the "M" sport mode button on the 500hp, $110k, V10 BMW M5 is something best left to BMW ALMS racecar drivers (see lesson 1).

The Dodge Magnum is a big car, and will take up the entire width of the Corkscrew if you get on the throttle early.

Some automotive journalists cant drive for sh*te.

Some automotive journalists driving high HP cars on a track dont like getting passed by some tall, long-haired freak driving the Vovlo station wagon.

Listening to classical music on a 7.1 surround sound system at full volume while drifting around Turn 3 is a sublime experience.

Convertible Saabs are surprisingly quick.

Convertibles in general are lots of fun, particularly on a nice day at Laguna Seca.

paddle shifters are cool.

Remembering to check the fuel gauge can save you TONS of embarrassment (I WASNT the one to run the Corvette out of gas )

 

here's the only pics I took... I will have some of the on track action from Dito at GotBlueMilk.com, but those will take a couple of days. I concentrated on enjoying the rides, not covering the event.. so few pictures, but lots of seat time.

all pics of the cars lined up in the pit areas... we had ~60 vehicles.

right to left

1st pic - MazdaSpeed6, C350, Mini and MiniS, Mistu Lancer Evo Mr and RS, 350Z track edition, cant tell what the silver car is, Inf FX35

2nd pic - the BMW line up, 330i 4door, M5, M5 Comp Coupe, 325xi wagon, unkown blue sedan, 760i, 750i

3rd - dodge Magnum SRT8, Jeep SRT 8

fun stuff.
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