First HPDE - Can't wait for the next one!
 

Well after nearly a year of people working to get me to come out to a track day I finally did it. At the last minute a spot opened up for an already filled track day and I decided to take advantage of someone else backing out. All I can say is that I had a blast!! Paid and registered for the event Friday, bled my brakes and prepped my car Saturday. Got 3 hours of sleep on Sunday, then got up at 3:30 am on Monday to get ready and meet my friend Ryan, (BlackTrack) to head up to Brainerd International Raceway.

Right away in the morning just after our instruction session had ended a spec RX7 had spun out and slid into a wall. (It was raining slightly). Just what I needed for my nerves. All the instructors were out with other students so I took the opportunity to ride shotgun with another friend of mine around the track in his Evo VIII MR. Once we got back I found an instructor to ride with me. We got 3/4's of a lap in before getting called in for lunch...at this point I was kinda bummed. Right after lunch an instructor approached me asking how things were going I told him I hadn't gotten a full session in yet and he asked if he could join me.

We got out on the track and we did a 20 min session with him pointing out the correct line to take, braking points, apexes, etc. He then took over for a 10 minute session to show me what the car is capable of and give me a mental breather. I never realized how much there is to think about. Anyways I then got back into the drivers seat and he noted great improvement. He said for my first day I was doing very well. Anyways we did a few more laps, pulled back into the pits and then I was cleared to go out on my own. Not feeling up to the adventure of being out by myself, I enlisted Ryan (BlackTrack) to ride along with me. This session I felt much more comfortable and was able to push the car harder than I had all day. I worked up taking turn 1 from 80mph my first lap of the day to over 120mph by the end of the day. Only had one sketchy moment this session braking WAY to late and WAY to little for a 120-degree turn. Ended up pulling off a 50-60mph drift through the corner. I thank playing in the snow for helping me to keep calm and recover from my mistake. We ran a few more laps then pulled into the pits. The rain started up again so we decided to call it a day.

I had a great time and can't wait to get back out there to do it again. I definitely need a 4-point harness though. I was sliding all over my seats, Damn SSL! Definitely was a humbling experience and I have a lot more respect for those of you guys whom road race your cars routinely.

Awesome!! Be careful track days are ADDICTIVE haha..

haha welcome to the new addiction.

yeah, the first day on track is an eye opening experience. sounds to me like you have a level head by having someone ride along with you. that is the smart thing to do especially in the beginning.

now you need to get yourself a video setup to record your sessions, that way you have something to look at when you're not at the track :lol:

Welcome to the family brother. Glad to hear you had a blast.

Is that amazing or what? I've only been to one HPDE and after riding with my instructor I was almost scared to hit the track, he was passing racecars on slicks in a mini and I didnt have a steering wheel to hold on to for dear life. Then I got out there and got a feel for my car and had a blast, the Evo is a very fun car to drive on the track. I did 2 full sessions and me and my tires were pretty worn out so we headed home smiling and dreaming of endless stacks of tires.

Glad you had fun Chuck! Hope I was able to help.

Ryan

Good to hear one more person is getting into the sport! Congrats on such a successful weekend. May I recommend going one step further and installing a submarine belt on that 4-point harness to make it a 5-point. Not much extra work, not much extra cost, and keeps your from looking like a crushed can packed into your footwell if anything should go wrong.

The comment about the video is excellent too. You see SO much more than you feel after you get out of a car when you can review the session(s) on video. Its easily one of the best ways to improve your driving skill. My personal difficulty is getting rid of "fast hands" and the in-car footage helps me to see what sort of circumstances bring out the bad trait. It can work for ANYONE.

^^^ not to mention its really fun to hook the camera up to the big screen and watch all the fun in HD w/stereo sound.

^^^ +1 haha my wife always makes fun when I get really into it and lean while going through a corner on the couch. haha

glad I'm not the only one. My wife can't watch because she gets motion sickness easy so instead she tries to make fun of me.