In the long term Tester Update: Fiesta ST Plus Track Night in America Equals Fun Hella - I was told it is good to start any piece of w...
I was told it is good to start any piece of writing with a curious introduction - you know, something that makes the reader want to click through and read more about the story. The most controversial of the declaration, the better. Well, that's nothing.
You have no excuse for not following your car. Want to know more? Of course, you do!
The Sports Car Club of America and I had a rather sordid history of late. I refused to renew my membership there two years, citing a large proliferation of autocross classes and unnecessary rules. I felt that the club was run entirely in the wrong direction, so I did what any customer would do in this situation: I voted with my dollars. I stopped autocrossing with the club and began to spend my dollars motorsports with 24 hours of lemons and American Endurance Racing. Overall, I felt like this was a good and right decision that I have left to regret a bit.
But then someone at the SCCA had a brilliant idea. Why not hire some great tracks across America, send the organizers and highly qualified instructors to run a few days to break open, and everyone and everyone appear in all they have in the driveway ? The best part of the idea: it's only a hundred and fifty dollars for sixty minutes of track time. It is a dollar and a half a minute to drive as fast as you can about the great circuits as Thunderbolt New Jersey Motorsports Park, Willow Springs Raceway, Grattan Raceway, NOLA Motorsports Park, and the new NCM Motorsports Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky, home of the new C7 Corvette. Appropriately enough, they decided to call Watch Night in America.
Well, shoot. Like the SCCA and I were about to become reacquainted.
I headed to the track Night event at NCM Motorsports Park on May 19 happy driving my Fiesta ST on track for the first time. You see, I praised the ST because I wanted to follow that mofo - I really do not understand that someone who buys the variant of the performance of a vehicle only to watch collect dust in the garage. Also, I had nothing but great things on the track of those who had experienced, including a text from Matt Farah, who had been there the day before driving the new C7 ZO6, who read heard: I did not doubt NCM would be surprising in a gazillion horsepower supercar, but how would it be in the small sports car That Could "This track is incredible whore."?
I had also encouraged some of the local autocross crowd to stand and test their personal courage. I love my friends autocross, and I wanted to remove any mental barriers they might have on the monitoring of their autocross cars. Fortunately, the SCCA had pretty much thought of everything.
Track your car is too expensive? Nope. There is $ 150, about what you already pay for six minutes of seat time at nationals, and you get three sessions of twenty minutes on a world-class circuit.
never done this before and I'm not sure I m ready for this? No problem. Come drive in the free session laps stimulated. Seriously. It's free. Ride along in the car to someone else. He is free.
Do not have all necessary safety equipment? If you have a helmet SA05, you're good. Nothing else is needed. Tech your own car and go.
For not ready to follow? Again, no problem. You can bring anything you want. Bring your Passat. Bring your Sentra. Drive as fast as you want. No timing you.
It is too dangerous? Nope. They have a group of novices with strict rules on the transition and distances between vehicles and wonderful instruction in the classroom. The most dangerous part of a drive to track night is likely to lead to night track.
This brings me back to my original introduction curious. There is simply no reason not to go to a night track event. They have everything covered. They made it as easy as possible for anyone with a total noob to an experienced rider to get on track and have as much fun as possible.
My favorite thing about Track Night is that it is not competition. As coordinator of the intermediate group and advanced Krolewicz Jon said, "This is all about creating an atmosphere of safety. The only thing they can win tonight is a chance to go home safely in their car in good condition. I'm not even a plate of six dollars to give them. If someone is behind them, and they do not just pass them, it means they were caught and they need to move on. I encourage them to think about the other drivers on the course as teammates, not competitors. We all try to provide a safe environment where people can have fun. "
Tom O'Gorman led to the meeting of Novice Night in America track
time coach and driving instructor Tom O'Gorman, that I had the pleasure of knowing from the age of about sixteen, echoed these sentiments to meet his novice drivers. I noticed the encounter with Tom about twenty-five new drivers, many of which were conducted on a race track for the first time. It provided clear instructions crystal way, reporting, and how they should follow the car in front of them. After each session, Tom was available to provide guidance to all those who wished, offering opinions on braking zones, corner entry and exit, and just about everything that one of them wanted to know. I found myself wishing that my first experience of the track had been in such a favorable risk-free environment.
Drivers could choose themselves Novice, Intermediate or Advanced. Although I really wanted to experience each group, I felt as if I would have the lowest chance of incident on the track in the Advanced group (Jon informed me later that I wrong about this. They only had two incidents so far in the program, and both were in the Advanced group). I grabbed my helmet and gloves and goes on the track in the Fiesta. My advanced group "teammates" are:
- A Nissan GT-R
- two fully prepped racecars into real cage on slicks
- a Cayman
- some slob with long hair in a WAIT C7 Z51 OH THAT'S JACK
Two ends of the American sports car spectrum in one picture
Needless to say, I let them all go to the track in front of me - no need to be all agitating the small ST in the first corner. Speaking of which, let's look at the track
We will conduct the West course with the chicane, which meant the Fiesta would not be much of a disadvantage. - But we must not delude ourselves here. Also, I had to remember that there was not a competition. Right. There was no way in hell I'll leave that C7 turn me into a twenty minute session.
I could give you a turn-by-turn description of the track, but this is the year 2015. LET'S GO TO THE VIDEO!
If you are at work or something lame like that, let me explain what you do not see. The Fiesta is a pinball champion. Yes, it turns a bit. No, I did not quite understand how to relax properly in tight corners when kicking vectoring brake. OEM Bridgestone tires squeal like banshees angry. But what a car . Que. A. Car. I was driving in Sport mode, but I never felt the kick AdvancTrac. In the right back line, I could see speeds between 105 and 108 mph. The suspension managed the beautifully slow, set small hatch down after each summit.
If you did watch the video, you'll notice how easy the car is to drive. My hands were relatively quiet as the car just went where I pointed. Heel-toe movement is really possible in legitimate running shoes, as the brake pedal and accelerator are not positioned exactly where you want them for correct performance of the heel-toe. That said, once you get it, it is sublime; notice how the car just hustles forward right into the chicane, maintaining a great balance and holding the proper racing line. Virtually nothing disturbs ST. It is definitely better FWD car I am a FWD driver at this stage. I'm still learning exactly when and how he likes to have the throttle applied in corner exit because there is sufficient torque available to control the front wheels to almost any point of the torque curve.
However, the brakes weren 't really to sixty minutes of track time. At the time of the third session began, brake fade was noticeable, and half way, it was almost impossible to manage. I had just decided the car was not really Drivable more when the checkered flag stirred the final corner station. You can watch me cook more because brake corner entries in the following video, but more importantly, you can watch me catch a Cayman that began nearly a minute before me. (Disclaimer: SCCA TRACK NIGHT IN AMERICA IS NOT A COMPETITION WHETHER YOU SPEND ANY PERSON OR THEY WILL PASS.!)
Thus, summary, let me say this: track Night in America is the best and cheapest way for virtually everyone to experience a track in his own car. You can spend your nights Tuesday to watch a sitcom or passively watching a sporting event or you could get your ass in your car and be a DRIVER . Even if only for an hour. Even if you never actually racing. You participate. You are an active member of your own entertainment. I promise you, you'll catch the bug.
As for the Fiesta, I order a set of goods follow brake pads capable for it as we speak. I am happy to thrash the OEM Bridgestones within an eighth of an inch of their lives, but after that, I will order a set of something a little more suitable for double duty on the track and the street . The old adage "drive fast heavy car?" Eff that. The Fiesta is a fast car that you can drive fast. You too can go Porsche hunting for less than twenty-five mile.
So that 'is it stopping you?
the Sports Car Club of America provided the nightfall Track in America event in NCM Motorsports Park. Photo credit goes to the legendary Danger Girl.
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