I think I'm hooked

[Merlotsj]

I did my 1st HPDE on Friday; what a blast! 80 minutes of on track time at Laguna Seca with Hooked On Driving (www.hookedondriving.com, no affiliation). Already looking forward to their next event there in January!

I tried to catch it all with my go pro, typical though, I started and then stopped the recording for the first session before we left the grid. Between the second and third session I moved the go pro from the windshield to the windscreen, didn't get one of the clamps tight enough, and shot great video of the Bose Speaker between the seats from about 2 turns in through the rest of the session. I got that straightened out for the fourth (and final) session, but the windscreen is not a very stable surface at track speeds, trying to get the jitters out of that footage.

Session 2 I did manage to get on video, I've watched it about 20 times already. If any of you are interested https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_NepdvqHZCw . We start with a passing exercise to learn the allowed passing zones for the beginner group. That was supposed to be 2 laps, but the group in front of my partner and I extended that to three laps. I finally got a clear wave-by from both of them, and had clear sailing from then until the end of the session. What a blast!

Mike

[steved0x]

I was hooked after my 2nd one. During my first one I was terrified

[NewArt]

Originally Posted by steved0x

I was hooked after my 2nd one. During my first one I was terrified

I think you have company there!

[JayG]

It's a very slippery slope....

I did 3 weekends this year and can't wait for the next one in January. I expect i will get signed off for solo at that one.

you are lucky with such a great track so close.

Autocross is a lot of fun, but nothing beats continuous lapping.

Now just need to find a 2nd job to pay for my hobby(addiction)

[Merlotsj]

Jay,

I agree, I am very fortunate to have such a great, Historic track so close. Do you run with Hooked on Driving? So. Cal. Track I assume, or do you come north to run?

I ran every autocross with PCA Golden Gate region since I bought my car last April, and an autocross school they offered in August (8 events total). Continuous lapping is definitely more expensive in raw dollars per event, but it gets closer in terms of $ per minute of driving. Although I am pretty sure this day cost more that all 8 autocross events combined (throw away all receipts, right . Maybe all this auto-cross helped with being terrified at my first track day, and I must admit I was a bit nervous about the Andretti Hairpin and the Corkscrew the first few laps, but by the end of the day I had moved my brake point a bit deeper on both.

[rastta]

Laguna's sound policy ruins it for me - I have problems passing even with supertrapps. It's a fun track - but I've always liked Sears Point (Sonoma) better. With the exception of this year - I've coached with HOD for a while - good group. Good friends with many of the guys who run it. Problem with Sears is they don't allow coaching so you need to have a few days under your belt before heading out there.

[JayG]

I run with my local PCA chapter, San Diego

Golden Gate I believe also does events at Buttonwillow
A great fun track, very fast!

[thstone]

Congratulations and welcome! Glad to have another convert to the faith of fast driving!

[Topless]

Glad you had fun out there! Laguna is a pretty awesome track. I was there 2 weeks earlier with PCA Diablo in my Cayman on street tires. It was my first visit to Laguna and I generally ran conservative lines including Andretti. Here was my best lap of the day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrMvp1UK_5Y

[LAP1DOUG]

Originally Posted by Topless

Glad you had fun out there! Laguna is a pretty awesome track. I was there 2 weeks earlier with PCA Diablo in my Cayman on street tires. It was my first visit to Laguna and I generally ran conservative lines including Andretti. Here was my best lap of the day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrMvp1UK_5Y

Wow, that looks like great fun. I gotta get out there and experience that corkscrew. Thanks for the vid.