So this past weekend, as the second half of my wedding present from my wife, I participated in an HPDE event (first half of the gift was my helmet ) Anyways, this was only the second time I've ever been on a track like this and the first time driving. This was a bmwcca event that I did with a buddy from work. The track was a pretty simple layout, 1.5mi, 5 turns, no elevation changes and pretty much all open, a great beginner track.

I started out in the beginner run group on day one and during my first session my instructor said he may see about moving me to the next group up the following day. The line was pretty easy to get down and after that, there were just too many cars in the group that were underpowered in comparison so I would spend a lot of time waiting for a point by instead of getting to run a lap full out.

I ended up staying in the beginner group for the first day and half of the second having never had anyone in my mirrors and never having to give a point by. There were 2 cars in my group that I never passed. One a newer mustang with IDK what done to it but it said foose all over it and I could tell the thing was booking on the straights. The other a CTS-V. I spoke to this driver after one of the sessions b/c I was on his *** for the second half of it. He was clearly faster on the straights but I had him through the turns and we kept getting slowed up by other traffic, otherwise he said he was going to give me a point by. (I'll get back to him later). All in all, I tracked down a few carreras an E46 M3 and a plethora of underpowered cars.

So second half of the second day and I moved up into the intermediate group and got signed off to drive by myself (although I kept the instructor to continue giving me pointers). First session I was passed by an E90 M3 and would have been passed by a gt3 if it wasn't for a red flag. Aside from that I had a great session with some complete solid laps. Next session I got a little sloppy and was passed by quite a few more cars, 05+ mustang gt (although I stayed on his *** in the twisties) bmw 650, that thing moved around pretty good for a tank. The cts-v moved to this group too and had some room to stretch the right foot so he ended up losing me after a straight or two.

All in all it was awesome, some of the most fun I've ever had. My father came the first day and got a ride in my instructors car (E90 M3 from the dealership he works at). After that and watching me, he began asking me what parts I was going to need next year. I foresee him driving next year too, haha.

Anyways some pics....








Some more pics...
Pocono pictures by cs82685 - Photobucket

BTW, the E90 M3 hauls *** and feels amazing :rocks:

I also got comments all weekend of 'that car's fast' and 'is that thing stock' (it is btw) haha

 

congrats !!! nice pictures. Now you hooked ?

 

welcome to the empty wallet club

 

Very much, but since I don't have unlimited funds, I'm thinking this is going to be a once a year type thing. My only plans are a decent set of track pads and maybe a spare set of wheels/tires so I don't kill my all seasons (they've got quite a few chunks out of them after two days already ) My only other hope is that the evoscan gpsnav's lap timer feature is working by the time I do another event

 

COngrats on your first HPDE and welcome to the addiction. Pocono is an excellent course to safely test the limits of your car since it has lots of run off and not too much to hit. Which configuration did you run?

if you're 100% stock you'll want to look into upgrading your pads and fluids first. If you've been bumped up to HPDE2 already you will soon begin to out drive the stock equipment.

 

Nice pics. Did you get to track you car with the spoiler on? Just wondering if you noticed a turn-in difference.

 

Something serious must have happened. What caused the red flag?

 

Congrats on your 1st. I'm looking to make it to the track one of these days just to have some fun. Gotta save up some money first though I guess, seems to end up costing a bit in the end.

 

We ran the north course going clockwise. I should have mentioned pads and fluid are not stock, I'm on axxis ult pads and used ATE super blue. I wasn't 100% confident in the pads and would like a decent track pad next time. I will say they held up pretty well though and worked for me throughout both days. However it does seem like I got a lot of pad transfer.

No I didn't although I wasn't too keen on the feeling of the car braking and going into turn one at 90mph so next time I think I will put on the lancer spoiler I have just to see if I notice any difference

I don't see a red flag? Only red flag they had while I was on the track was as a test.

It was great, but it's definitely costly once you add up food, travel, lodging, gas (at least $100 for the track), actual cost of the event, plus maintenace prior and wear and tear during.

 

Looks like you had a blast.

 

Prepare to turn large sums of money into heat and noise.