I just went to a open track day with Speed Ventures. They are an
organization that put together track days at different track locations
in the area. This weekend it was held at The Streets of Willow. I've
raced on this track a few times but never in my BMW M3. So I knew it was
going to be fun. I went out there with Rune Glifberg and he drove his
M5. I drove in the Black heat which was point by passing on the whole
track. Which means you wait to get the wave by anywhere on the track
before passing so there are no mistakes in overtaking someone. The Red
heat is passing anywhere on the track without point by. There are full
blown race cars in that group and my car isn't set up in that fashion
due to it being a daily driver (also I was without race tires). Needless
to say I was having the time of my life in my first session and was only
.4 slower than the fastest car which was an all wheel drive with race
tires. (For those of you that don't know race tires make a hell of a
difference. You would rather have a car with 100 horsepower and race
tires than a car with 200 horsepower and street tires when it comes to
track racing.) My second go at it was so dissapointing because my car
was feeling so good but 2nd lap in my car wouldn't hold down the power
coming out of turns. The rpms just kept climbing and I instantly knew it
was my clutch. I just had a new one put in and I went through the ever
so long break in period too, a real bummer. I'm not sure if it's totally
toasted but it drives fine now so I'm led to believe it was either air
in the lines or it was an over heating issue which could be fixed by
adding a transmission cooler (like a radiator for your transmission to
cool it). I still had fun driving in Rune's M5 which is a beast of a car
that just handled and destroyed the track. Definately a fun trip and
can't wait to do it again when my car is dialed in a little better.
Until next time, remember to check your mirrors.
--buckylasek