Rob goes to the track
03-11-2017, 11:50 PM
#1
Race Director
Thread Starter
Rob goes to the track
Well boys, I just got back from my first track day.
I woke up early this morning and wrapped various parts of my car with Xpel TracWrap. Worked well, but took me like 1 1/2 hours to do the first time. It was about 1 1/2 hours to the track, and it was raining the whole time. At some point I thought "why am I taking my car tracking in this weather?" The weather was bad. It was snowing at my house when I left. Yeah.
We went to High Plains Raceway in Deer Trail, Colorado. It is about an hour east of Denver. Three guys from RL showed up, so we had a GT4, two 991 GT3's and a 2011 M3. All three guys are experienced trackers. The weather was pretty bad early on. How bad? Try 40 degrees and wet. The track went hot at 11 am, and even then it was pretty cold, and pretty wet. I had decided I wasn't going out in those conditions. Not my first time out.
For my first session I road shotgun with Tyler in his blue GT4. I have to say, that car is a blast. The conditions weren't good, but it gave us a chance to talk through the corners, so I had some clue how to setup each turn. We probably did 5 or so laps, and I came in feeling anxious and excited at the same time. I jump out of Tyler's car and into Bob's 991 GT3. Bob is the most experienced driver in the lot, but the other guys are really good as well. The track was still wet, but Bob gave me lots of pointers, just like Tyler did, and I felt pretty good coming in after another session riding shotgun. I jump out of Bob's car and get into Sean's M3. His car has proper race seats, a cage, and has this bad@ss attitude, much like Sean! The track started drying a bit during this session, so I had a feeling my time was approaching. You can only stall for so long! Sean gave me some pointers, and this was probably the most intense of the 3 sessions, mainly because the track was better, but also because Sean leaves nothing on the track!
Okay I am up. I decide to do my first session solo, figuring if I am going to make a really bad mistake, I prefer to make that mistake alone. Tyler drove out first, and I spent 4 or 5 laps just following him around. We picked up the pace each lap, and I started getting a feeling for the track, and the car. We came back in and I was pumped. This car is amazing on track, and it is very communicative. The track is really fun as well, as it has a little bit of everything, and has a really good flow to it.
My second session out Bob was riding shotgun, and he gave me a lot of great tips. Brake harder! Go wider! Okay, that was too late to brake! We did some good laps, and I felt like I was starting to get this track - a little. For the next session I went out with Sean, riding shotgun in his M3. He gave me a few more tips, and some of this stuff was starting to sink in. Go figure. We headed back in, and I headed out for my last session of the day. This is the video I uploaded. Don't get your hopes up. It was my first session.
So, was everything amazing? No. During one session something hit my windshield and cracked it. I am talking about a foot long crack. So that new windshield I was thinking about getting in a year or two gets replaced now. Yeah, it sucks. But what sucks more is owning a car like this and not getting to experience it in all its glory. It was just an unfortunate aspect of being on the track. Nobody else had a cracked windshield, and in fact I was the only one who bothered to wrap the car. But, the rest of the car was unscathed. **** happens.
As people have said here, the first time out you are probably going to get nervous. Or scared! I was with the slow group, and honestly I was not really nervous. Not really. The great thing about the GT3 is that when you go out in the slow group, EVERYTHING happens in front of you. You are literally faster than almost anyone out there, even when you suck. It just makes it easier. I will probably stick with the slow group for a while, but the full experience comes when you move up to the fast group. Things are a lot more hectic then as people are on your ***, and traffic in general is more complicated. Very doable, but like anything it just takes practice. Don't expect to master this immediately.
Now that I have tracked my GT3, I can see why everyone yells at us to track our cars, even once. You will never ever experience this car in all its glory on the street. Porsche made this car for the track. It works on the street, but it loves the track. I have a bit of a different attitude about my car now. I don't think I will push it nearly as much as I was on the street, not that I was getting crazy in it. I just think that once you taste this car on the track, that is where you will always want to taste it. On the street you aren't even scratching the surface. Go ahead and cruise it. Enjoy being in it, knowing what an ABSOLUTE WEAPON this thing is on the track. But once you've tracked it, driving too spirited on the street is just an unsafe tease. Just something I was reflecting on driving back home today.
If you've been on the fence about tracking your GT3, I recommend you get with a few of your local RL buddies, and go to the track. Trust me, they will show you the ropes. It is a little scary the first time out. Then you just start driving. It is amazing how fast that transformation occurs. The great thing about the GT3 is it is so forgiving. The car never scared me, but then again I never took it over that last hill at Road Atlanta either! And after putting a couple of decent laps together, it just feels awesome. Again, if you are even slightly on the fence, just do it. People here will help you figure out a good track to learn on, and you will have lots of support. It makes a huge difference!
Here's the video. This was the last of my 3 sessions. Lots of time could be shaved off my best lap, which looks to be in the 2:03-2:04 range.
I woke up early this morning and wrapped various parts of my car with Xpel TracWrap. Worked well, but took me like 1 1/2 hours to do the first time. It was about 1 1/2 hours to the track, and it was raining the whole time. At some point I thought "why am I taking my car tracking in this weather?" The weather was bad. It was snowing at my house when I left. Yeah.
We went to High Plains Raceway in Deer Trail, Colorado. It is about an hour east of Denver. Three guys from RL showed up, so we had a GT4, two 991 GT3's and a 2011 M3. All three guys are experienced trackers. The weather was pretty bad early on. How bad? Try 40 degrees and wet. The track went hot at 11 am, and even then it was pretty cold, and pretty wet. I had decided I wasn't going out in those conditions. Not my first time out.
For my first session I road shotgun with Tyler in his blue GT4. I have to say, that car is a blast. The conditions weren't good, but it gave us a chance to talk through the corners, so I had some clue how to setup each turn. We probably did 5 or so laps, and I came in feeling anxious and excited at the same time. I jump out of Tyler's car and into Bob's 991 GT3. Bob is the most experienced driver in the lot, but the other guys are really good as well. The track was still wet, but Bob gave me lots of pointers, just like Tyler did, and I felt pretty good coming in after another session riding shotgun. I jump out of Bob's car and get into Sean's M3. His car has proper race seats, a cage, and has this bad@ss attitude, much like Sean! The track started drying a bit during this session, so I had a feeling my time was approaching. You can only stall for so long! Sean gave me some pointers, and this was probably the most intense of the 3 sessions, mainly because the track was better, but also because Sean leaves nothing on the track!
Okay I am up. I decide to do my first session solo, figuring if I am going to make a really bad mistake, I prefer to make that mistake alone. Tyler drove out first, and I spent 4 or 5 laps just following him around. We picked up the pace each lap, and I started getting a feeling for the track, and the car. We came back in and I was pumped. This car is amazing on track, and it is very communicative. The track is really fun as well, as it has a little bit of everything, and has a really good flow to it.
My second session out Bob was riding shotgun, and he gave me a lot of great tips. Brake harder! Go wider! Okay, that was too late to brake! We did some good laps, and I felt like I was starting to get this track - a little. For the next session I went out with Sean, riding shotgun in his M3. He gave me a few more tips, and some of this stuff was starting to sink in. Go figure. We headed back in, and I headed out for my last session of the day. This is the video I uploaded. Don't get your hopes up. It was my first session.
So, was everything amazing? No. During one session something hit my windshield and cracked it. I am talking about a foot long crack. So that new windshield I was thinking about getting in a year or two gets replaced now. Yeah, it sucks. But what sucks more is owning a car like this and not getting to experience it in all its glory. It was just an unfortunate aspect of being on the track. Nobody else had a cracked windshield, and in fact I was the only one who bothered to wrap the car. But, the rest of the car was unscathed. **** happens.
As people have said here, the first time out you are probably going to get nervous. Or scared! I was with the slow group, and honestly I was not really nervous. Not really. The great thing about the GT3 is that when you go out in the slow group, EVERYTHING happens in front of you. You are literally faster than almost anyone out there, even when you suck. It just makes it easier. I will probably stick with the slow group for a while, but the full experience comes when you move up to the fast group. Things are a lot more hectic then as people are on your ***, and traffic in general is more complicated. Very doable, but like anything it just takes practice. Don't expect to master this immediately.
Now that I have tracked my GT3, I can see why everyone yells at us to track our cars, even once. You will never ever experience this car in all its glory on the street. Porsche made this car for the track. It works on the street, but it loves the track. I have a bit of a different attitude about my car now. I don't think I will push it nearly as much as I was on the street, not that I was getting crazy in it. I just think that once you taste this car on the track, that is where you will always want to taste it. On the street you aren't even scratching the surface. Go ahead and cruise it. Enjoy being in it, knowing what an ABSOLUTE WEAPON this thing is on the track. But once you've tracked it, driving too spirited on the street is just an unsafe tease. Just something I was reflecting on driving back home today.
If you've been on the fence about tracking your GT3, I recommend you get with a few of your local RL buddies, and go to the track. Trust me, they will show you the ropes. It is a little scary the first time out. Then you just start driving. It is amazing how fast that transformation occurs. The great thing about the GT3 is it is so forgiving. The car never scared me, but then again I never took it over that last hill at Road Atlanta either! And after putting a couple of decent laps together, it just feels awesome. Again, if you are even slightly on the fence, just do it. People here will help you figure out a good track to learn on, and you will have lots of support. It makes a huge difference!
Here's the video. This was the last of my 3 sessions. Lots of time could be shaved off my best lap, which looks to be in the 2:03-2:04 range.
Last edited by robmypro; 08-16-2017 at 03:22 PM.
03-12-2017, 12:09 AM
#2
Rennlist Member
Congratulations.
Pretty soon you'll be looking for a trailer. Those 'to the track' miles will add up more quickly than you now think.
03-12-2017, 12:15 AM
#3
Three Wheelin'
Glad you had fun today. Always a blast when we get a few rennlisters all at the track...especially for the second weekend of march. Outside of the wet track on the first few sessions it was a great day. Relatively light traffic and good company.
You had some great laps in the last session when we did follow the leader- no doubt I'll be giving you a point bye some day.
Sorry to hear about the windshield. That sucks!
You had some great laps in the last session when we did follow the leader- no doubt I'll be giving you a point bye some day.
Sorry to hear about the windshield. That sucks!
Last edited by Buteo; 03-12-2017 at 01:01 AM. Reason: Bummer
03-12-2017, 12:22 AM
#4
Race Director
Thread Starter
Glad you had fun today. Always a blast when we get a few rennlisters all at the track...especially for the second weekend of march. Outside of the wet track on the first few sessions it was a great day. Relatively light traffic and good company.
You had some great laps in the last session when we did follow the leader- no doubt I'll be giving you a point bye some day.
You had some great laps in the last session when we did follow the leader- no doubt I'll be giving you a point bye some day.
03-12-2017, 12:40 AM
#7
Three Wheelin'
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03-12-2017, 12:56 AM
#9
Three Wheelin'
Nice Rob!! Cool to have a couple RL dudes meet you out at HPR. Now, let's get you to other tracks in Colorado. Pueblo flows the best. HPR is pretty technical to go fast. Funny you mention the windshield impact. In my old car, same thing happened to me. **** happens.
03-12-2017, 01:08 AM
#10
Race Director
Thread Starter
It is once you see what this car can really do.
Whatever Bronson. LOL
Sounds good! Yeah, **** happens.
03-12-2017, 01:30 AM
#11
Burning Brakes
Rob sounds like you had a super fun time! Nice account of your first track day. Can't wait to see the vid. Thanks for sharing your experience. Hopefully it is inspirational to others who have not yet tracked their GT3/RS's!
03-12-2017, 05:23 AM
#14
Race Car
Another convert. Glad you enjoyed it and suffered only minor damage! Sounds like you have the perfect attitude and some good volunteer coaches.
03-12-2017, 08:44 AM
#15
Drifting
Rob good for you.
Every future track day gets a little better. Don't worry about what group your in...I found when I was learning the lead/follow with the instructors was very helpful to see the speeds you can carry through the turns.
AS mentioned before street driving doesn't hold a candle to being on the track. Best of luck with future track days.
Every future track day gets a little better. Don't worry about what group your in...I found when I was learning the lead/follow with the instructors was very helpful to see the speeds you can carry through the turns.
AS mentioned before street driving doesn't hold a candle to being on the track. Best of luck with future track days.