I did a track event at Pueblo Motorsports this Spring which was organized by Nissan Sport magazine. The event was very well organized and I really enjoyed the layout of the track. Well jump forward a couple of months and David Muramoto, senior editor of Nissan Sport, asked me to help with instructing for a local event. Garcia Infiniti was the primary sponsor of the event and they picked up the tab for renting the track for two days.
On Saturday morning we laid out multiple obstacle courses on the track to safely introduce the novice drivers to threshold braking, obstacle avoidance, and a slalom. In the afternoon we removed the sea of orange cones and brought the students out on the track in a lead / follow format to show them the proper racing line around the track. With each track session we increased the pace to match the confidence of the students. I had a great group of people, who were very receptive to learning and trusted my judgement to keep them safe while moving at a high speed around a race track for the first time. Which thankfully was not misplaced.
The following day we built on the skills from the previous day and continued to increase the pace. I also encouraged them to ride along in my car to get a better view of the racing line and the driving inputs. They were all astounded by what they and their cars were capable of achieving in a controlled and safe environment. At the end of the day we organized a exhibition race with the instructors and encouraged all of the students to ride along to see what wheel to wheel racing looks like up close and personal. Shock and awe is the best way to describe the expressions of the students that took advantage of riding along. After two full days of track time they felt that they had a good idea of what was possible on a race track. The racing exhibition really showed what it was like to accelerate hard, threshold brake, and dance on the edge of adhesion through every corner. All while dicing it up with several other experienced race drivers with fully prepped race cars.
I have done plenty of open track days on a variety of tracks and have used several different cars with radically different handling characteristics but this was the first time I have done any form of wheel to wheel racing with open passing. It started out with a tight two by two grid with a rolling start that allowed one lap to warm up the engine and tires. Once the green flag waved it was a mad dash to get into position for turn one. The first couple of turns was very hectic as I tried to push the car to the very edge of its limits to gain a little distance from the other instructors. I had to be very careful with the corner entry speed as my car has a nasty tendency to understeer with little provocation. After two solid days of carefully driving the line I had it ingrained in my brain to the point that each braking, turn-in, apex, and track out point was second nature. It was just a matter of turning up the pace and carrying more momentum through each corner.
I didn't know what to expect during the first race and quickly got passed by the senior instructor in his track prepped 350Z with racing slicks. He went a little wide through the hair pin and it gave me a small window of opportunity to sneak thru and gain a position. After that he got caught up in a battle with a spec Miata and it gave me a chance to pull away and grab the checkered flag. During the second race our roles were reversed and I got caught up in a battle with the same spec Miata and ended up finishing third. For the final race I pulled out all of the stops and everything came together to clinch another checkered flag.
I don't think that two 1st and a 3rd place finish is all that bad for my first wheel to wheel racing experience. I've got to say that I'm pretty stoked and Nissan Sport didn't help my ego any by offering to sponsor my racing. They offered the use of their race prepped Nissan 200SX (B14) and a few sets of R-compound tires. I'll have to give this some serious thought but how can I say no to an offer like that? If I decide to go this route I will definitely be keeping a running blog of my progress.
Pics and video will be posted later.
