Lapping a 488 GTB

[Apoc]

It's been nine years since I was on track, except one 24 hours of LeMons at CMP about six years ago. Despite about 150 track days, I've never driven anything with more than 200 hp on a track and I've never driven anything with more than 350 hp evaR. At 661 hp, I haven't felt anything this scary fast since first fully opening the throttle on my Duc 848. This was also my first time on any track west of Mid-Ohio, even though this one is less than an hour from my house. Everything was rusty and most of my lines show it

If I'm honest, I haven't felt this alive in a long time. I forgot how great it was to be on track... especially when you don't have to do any of the prep. lulz. It makes me want to prep the 911 for a couple auto-x sessions a year. I know it won't be the same as this, but that feeling when you hit a line correctly is pretty addictive. 

The car itself was pretty awesome. The gearbox was way better than I expected, except one time when it got confused when I mashed it on an uphill section. We were supposed to have it on Wet mode because a small shower passed right before I got it, however the instructor had me run it in Sport. I'm a pretty big guy, so I was kinda amazed I fit so well in this car. It was waaaay more comfortable than I expected. My only real complaint was lateral support with the stock three-point belts. If I had a spare $300 grand, I might consider buying one of these. 

They made a giant deal of me clipping an apex cone on lap 4 or 5. The instructor was cool about it, but there was an inspection and copying of in-car video for investigation. They apparently charge $200 to "inspect the car" and also any repairs. It seems draconian, although I guess that's how they make sure these cars stay in working order. Anyway, they didn't charge me anything. My instructor, who was a pretty cool guy, told me he advocated for no charge because that one come was farther into the track than the others. Might be BS, but he declined me tipping him, so I trust him.

[Senor_Taylor]

What a cool opportunity! What spurred you to do this?

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[Apoc]

My mom bought me the experience for Christmas a few years ago. I guess this company only does each track once a year, so I'd registered for this back in December. Managed to dodge the COVID bullet by about a month - a delay woulda put us in shitty winter rain.

[D_Eclipse9916]

Pretty cool and considering your 944 history, that 488 must be insane.

Your experience is what I expect I am at. I sold my race car a month ago and dont miss owning it one bit. I already miss the "driving", but knew I would. Plan to fill in that with doing arrive and drive in AER or Champ Car. The "need" for real competition I think is tampered by all the work; so I think AER/Champ can scratch the itch 2-3x a year. Maybe look into that? Autox is so tough (especially if you arent an autoxer to begin with) to truly feel you scratched the itch enough because of the limited track time.

[Apoc]

My issue is space and/or number of vehicles. I don't think auto-x will compare, but I don't really have the space or tools unless I sell the 911. I was thinking auto-x because there's less chance of me wadding the thing up... although I really do question if lapping cones will fulfill the need. The best part was when I got to pass other cars while following the pace car, so maybe I should just do low-key DE events?

[Senor_Taylor]

Autocross itself is not fun unless you end up having competitive times and are battling for a trophy. If you're just out there doing runs in a car not built for a class, it's boring.

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[D_Eclipse9916]

Just FYI, a buddy is getting his well prepped 944 ready for AER next year and seats should be available. Might be a good and fairly cheap way to get in some of the track time. At least 1-2 events will be in that car that I do next year. It's not very local to you but flights are cheap now hahah.

[ScottyB]

that's awesome.  did you have some nerves being in a car like that?  modern ferraris are so insane these days i think i'd be hard pressed to really relax and enjoy myself.

nice driving, i guess i get why they need to go to extreme measures about hitting anything, cone or not, given the experience level of some of their drivers, but glad to hear your instructor was understanding about it.

any "track-cross" competitions in your area?  might be a great way to get the 911 out and flog it a bit without the full on prep for a track day.

[Apoc]

The turbo kicking in when you're already doing 80 was pretty intimidating. If you watch the video, you can see how quickly it goes from like 70 to 120 - that was unlike anything I've experienced. They have you lift/coast before most of the braking zones, which is pretty counterintuitive for me. I get why they do it, but I found myself lifting too early and/or feathering the throttle more than I needed. I also wanted to trail brake a few corners but they only wanted you to brake in a straight line. From a safety standpoint, I didn't like that I was doing 140 with no cage and a three-point belt. Overall, there was just so much info to process - I couldn't string it all together for more than a few corners.

Racing options around here are PCA-esque track days (three proper tracks within 90 min of home), rallycross, auto-x, or karting. There's a private karting club with their own outdoor track about an hour away, but I've always accepted I'm not going to be fast because I'm fat. Maybe that doesn't matter so much, as long as I'm having fun. I do want to get my kid into karting in the next few years, so maybe I should look more closely at it.