My Supercar Track Day

Wow, that's fantastic - looks like you had one hell of a great time! Thanks for taking the time to write up your experiences and thoughts, it's great to read an opinion of someone who's experienced such cars first-hand and who says it like it is. I'm extremely jealous. :p

And, any more thoughts on the F430? And, any pictures?!

:threadnopics:

The F430 was really just an exercise in how perfect a car can be. Maybe I'm not experienced enough, but it was flawless. That car is all about the driver. Everything was in reach or in focus. I can see how after a very short time you would no longer be focusing on where things were or how they worked, just purely on the driving at hand. The car shows you up for what kind of driver you really are because the car gets absolutely NOTHING WRONG. If there's a problem buddy, it's you. Not true of all the other cars, expect the Ford GT. (The Ford GT was really the American "Ferrari" in terms of what people perceive as excellence but minus all the assistance - exceptional, but instead all about torque and horse power! Sadly, the GT's interior materials seemed like they were made by Tonka.)

It was funny to get out of the car and have nothing negative to say to make yourself feel better, that car really just showed me up as a poor, talentless race driver. :)

The instructor next to me kept teasing me with stuff like "ah, saved again" when I'd screw up the entry and suffer at the apex or exit while the F430 traction control saved my ass.

They'll send me pictures hopefully this week.
 
The R8 doesn't have a double clutch gearbox, but a manual that gets operated via the electronics. That may explain your experience. I don't think they call it DSG in the R8 either, but R-tronic.

Robo-tronic

i think the S-Tronics are the DSG ones right? or do they just call it DSG like VW do?
 
What a neat experience, and the best part is you actually took time to fill us in on the experience and for that I thank you. Where and how did you get to drive these cars?

gallerie_photo_01.jpg


The track is Circuit Mont Tremblant (or "Le Circuit") near Montreal Canada and the event is the Trioomph Super Car Challenge. The track is a 15-turn 4.26km (or 2.65 mile) circuit with elevation changes and other nice features. (Interesting note is that you can now use your Aeroplan points to pay for this event.)

CircuitMontTremblant-02.jpg


Turns 4 and 5 (the "esses") are tough because of the approach angle. Between 7 and 8 is where you are full throttle going left but the road seems to tilt right (negative banking). You come up to bend 9 and then drop under full power which can be a little tricky. Turn 10 is where the F430 got loose on me under heavy breaking (it's the end of the high speed straight-away). Turn 12 is a lot of fun and is just under a bridge. You come up hill fast and then turn sharp left. Turn 14 is a hairpin, full lock.

You can watch a lap of the track here:



That's actually the instructor that was with me in the Ford GT that's driving the F430. He was nice to me when I ended up driving the GT looking out the passenger window coming out of turn 12.

That was a proper lap in the F430. Now watch these YouTube videos:

This one has the MPH at the bottom in a RUF CTR2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp8-WHokVo0

I've been watching a lot of these videos on YouTube (just search for "Mont Tremblant") where people miss the entries, apexes, and exits all the time.

NOW watch Alex Tagliani DESTROY the track in his Champcar not only going two to three or four times the speed cars do it but he NAILS the entries, apexes and exits like it's no one's business. WOW:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQDwaOtOLms

(This by the way is what I meant about your helmet and the door of the Ford GT)

gallerie_photo_04.jpg


So now all that's left to do is organize a FinalGear meet for next year!
 
I am jealous, especially since I know even if I got the chance to do such a thing it wouldn't matter because I am too much of a novice to drive cars like that :(
Who am i kidding, I'm driving a car version of this:
35622.gif

only that is john deer for some reason....?
the Tip-tronic transmission on my bug is HORRIBLY laggy between 2nd and 3rd so I have to shift up myself. Even if I do there is still a lag on it, I can shift faster than the stupid electronic transmission can keep up >:
 
NOW watch Alex Tagliani DESTROY the track in his Champcar not only going two to three or four times the speed cars do it but he NAILS the entries, apexes and exits like it's no one's business. WOW:

So now all that's left to do is organize a FinalGear meet for next year!

Wow, Alex Tagliani is speedy. and yes, we need a FinalGear meet there sometime.
 
The F430 was really just an exercise in how perfect a car can be. Maybe I'm not experienced enough, but it was flawless. That car is all about the driver. Everything was in reach or in focus. I can see how after a very short time you would no longer be focusing on where things were or how they worked, just purely on the driving at hand. The car shows you up for what kind of driver you really are because the car gets absolutely NOTHING WRONG. If there's a problem buddy, it's you. Not true of all the other cars, expect the Ford GT. (The Ford GT was really the American "Ferrari" in terms of what people perceive as excellence but minus all the assistance - exceptional, but instead all about torque and horse power! Sadly, the GT's interior materials seemed like they were made by Tonka.)

It was funny to get out of the car and have nothing negative to say to make yourself feel better, that car really just showed me up as a poor, talentless race driver. :)

The instructor next to me kept teasing me with stuff like "ah, saved again" when I'd screw up the entry and suffer at the apex or exit while the F430 traction control saved my ass.

They'll send me pictures hopefully this week.

Thanks for the write-up. :)
 
If you don't mind me asking, how much did this cost you?
About $5000 USD?
If you do mind, I understand : P.
 
No, not that expensive. My situation was a little special, but I believe it goes for under $4k CAD which is pretty much the same amount these days in USD.
 
I'd love to be able to do something like that, but for now am too young and inexperienced. That day also cost more than my car.
 
about the v8 vantage i've driven one and my only complaint is that the clutch is brital,just a week of deiving that i think i'll walk strange.
 
+rep for an excellent post, I really enjoyed reading that and your follow-up posts. Sounds like you had an excellent time.
 
Top