P.J.S.

Just thought I would post up a review of Oregon Raceway Park (ORP)

The particluars can be found here: http://www.oregonraceway.com/

For the NW crew, this track is just what the doctor ordered. If you are a skier, ORP is a double black diamond run -- very challenging compared to our other local options.

For the record, I have only driven Pacific Raceways in Kent, WA and Portland International Raceway in Portland, OR.

So last Thursday we tracked PIR in Portland and then to ORP for Friday -- with Proformance.

ORP is challenging -- elevation changes, blind corners, off camber corners, decreasing radius turns etc. Mentally you have to be "on" the whole time...

The entire track is done is 2nd, 3rd, and 4th gear.

It is roughly 5 hours from Seattle and 2 hours from Portland.

I stayed the night in Biggs, OR at the Three Rivers Inn (formerly Travelodge) which is located at the intersection of Highway 97 and Interstate 84 which is just south of the Columbia River and about 40 mins from the track itself.

If you search youtube there are a lot of on track videos posted and I can tell you that they do not do the track justice IMHO.

If you get a chance to visit -- take it. I passed on Monterey this year to attend this 2 day track trip and I am glad I did.

I would rank the more popluar tracks in the NW in the following order:
1. ORP
2. PR
3. PIR

Have not tried Mission in Canada but I have heard it is not worth the trip.
I also have not tried Spokane but now that I have the trailer, I plan on giving it a shot.

I am sure we will all hear more about ORP as the facility develops further etc.

AllanJ

Yeah, Mission is a very poor excuse for a track. I'll be there two days this week but the only reason is it's an hour from my house. Hmmm.....maybe I need to get a dump truck and turn T4-6 at Mission into our own version of the ORP half pipe.

ORP is a fantastic track! By far my favorite. I love the half pipe and throttle steering the off camber right hander turn 14 on my street tires. Hey, I had to amuse myself somehow while you guys were zipping past me on those crack Hooters you are using.

I'm shopping for a trailer this week so I can bring some better tires next time.

It was great meeting you, PJ! If you see Nick then please say hi for me.

Cheers,

cab&coupe

PJ Will look forward to seeing you in Spokane

NorthVan

PJ, I have to agree that ORP is a blast! I have watched a number of different video's on youtube and they don't do the track justice. The elevation changes are far more drastic then they appear in the video's, and they G Forces that we encountered where huge. I think that a 911 (particularly a GT3) is well set up for this track. I found that the faster I went through the corkscrew, the more grip I had, this is a roller coaster for cars.

Allan, any improvements you can make to Mission would be great, compared to PIR, ORP and PRI, Mission is boring.

P.J.S.

Yes -- I would add that a trailer is not required for ORP but at this point highly advisable -- for tires, gas, etc. The access road is about 2 miles of gravel but I understand that improvments to the access road are coming.

Allan -- great meeting you as well and I will PM you Nick's contact info.

I look forward to trying it out!

Leigh2

In the last year I've been to Thunderhill, Infineon, PIR, ORP, Miller Motorsport Park, Calgary, Spokane, Reno-Fernley, and off to Laguna tomorrow. Past experience includes Mosport, PR and several others. I'd rate ORP as first for fun and a challenging drive with Mosport and Miller tied for second and Thunderhill a close third. If you have the chance to go to ORP do it!

Jager

ORP was terrific that day, even without crack Hooters as Allan calls them. Its definitely a grip track, 16 turns, some of them banked some off camber, some decreasing radius AND off camber. Lots of elevation changes, lots of blind rises. Its a seat of the pants track, very well designed, turns 8-9-10 are simply riveting and brilliant. A type-A driver's track. ORP did an excellent job designing this track. But bring your crack Hooters if you have them. Staying on line is critical at this track, trust me on this point.