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Yesterday I had the pleasure of participating in the second annual Corvette Club of Michigan’s Driving School at Waterford Hills Raceway northwest of Detroit. Yes, I drove my Viggen. Of the 50 or so cars there, about 40 were Corvettes and about 20 of those were Z06 models. The non-Vettes included a Lotus 7, a V8 powered Triumph TR8, a Dodge Neon ACR, two Nissan 300ZX twin turbos, a supercharged Mustang SVT Cobra, a couple of late-model Mustangs, a Mitsubishi Eclipse, a Subaru Impreza WRX, and a beautiful new red BMW M3.
The good was that I only got passed twice all day long and each time it was by a Z06 Corvette with 180hp more than me. On the other hand I did more than my fair share of passing, including a couple of Z06s. I drove with an instructor in the car with me for the first two of the three sessions. He helped me learn new (and much faster) lines through a few corners. One time we got bunched up behind a slower car going into the back straight (the only zone where passing was allowed) and a C5 Corvette was on my tail. The slow car let us both by and then, as we entered a very twisty section of the cours, my instructor said, “Now let’s watch that Vette in your rear view mirror try and keep up.” Lo-and-behold he was right. We pulled away from him and by the time we completed that lap I had pulled out a lead the entire length of the rear straightaway. I’m still grinning.
It’s always fun at events like this to have people come up to you after your driving session and start asking you questions about your car (the one that passed their car). What kind of engine do you have? How much power? What kind of car is that? Is it all wheel drive? Let me tell you, there’s nothing that puts a grin on my face like passing a 405hp 5.7L V8 Corvette Z06. Remember that in performance driving it’s about 80% driver and 20% car. On my final session of the day I got a big compliment from the person starting us from pit lane. He said to me, “I’m gonna have you wait here for a few seconds so that you get some clear track.” He held me until the previous car was almost to turn number 4. He let the car after me go when I was between turns 1 and 2. The car behind me never got any closer and I eventually caught and passed the car in front of me. Did I mention that I’m still grinning?
The bad came at the end of the day after I got home. My wife and I had to put our cat down. We got him thirteen years ago just after my wife (then girlfriend) and I had moved in together. He was a terrific cat and will be greatly missed. There’s nothing like a sobering loss to bring you down from the euphoric high of a track day.
And now for the ugly. Back at the track, after my first session of the day I had a long break until my next time on the course. I decided to go to the top of the scoring building and watch the lines that some of the drivers were taking through corners that I thought were particularly tricky. Let me backtrack by saying that tires were howling around most of the corners, and howling is a good sound. It’s a sound that says that tires are working hard but are still within their limits. When the howl changes pitch to a squeal (a distinctly different sound) you know something is wrong and someone is probably in over their head. From my perfect view atop the timing and scoring building I watched a brand-new (less than 5,000 miles) silver 2002 Z06 Corvette lose control coming out of Swamp Curve and onto the front straight. The tires were squealing and the back end of the car was coming around when he made the classic mistake of coming off the throttle. The resulting weight shift brought the rear end of the car around even more and he was going down the front straight sideways with the nose of the car facing the inside wall. As the car scrubbed off some speed (but still traveling at about 45-50mph) the tires regained their bite and drove the car nose-first into the cement barrier before pirouetting around and also clipping the rear and then coming to a standstill directly under the control tower. Both airbags deployed and both the driver and instructor climbed from the car immediately and without any injuries whatsoever. Unfortunately the same could not be said about the $50,000+ car. It performed flawlessly and sacrificed itself for the safety of the passengers, but I’m certain that it will be a total loss. The front end was completely demolished. Looking afterwards you cold see the hydroformed rails sheared in several places and suspension components completely torn apart. This incident was an enormous reality check to everyone there.
All in all, the day was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting. Performance driving takes much more physical and mental energy than most people realize. Spending the entire day in 90° weather with high humidity also takes its toll. And the emotional drain of losing our beloved cat put the whole experience in perspective. In the words of an author far more eloquent than me, “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.”
posted by 65.204.85...
, Fri, 21 Jun 2002 23:54:18
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