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Old 05-21-2015, 08:16 PM   #21
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I DID drive like a bat out of hell. 100% all the time when it was safe to do so. This was a strictly controlled event with passing only allowed in certain straight sections, and then only with the permission of the leading car. Permission was given by putting on your left indicator and hugging the right side of the track, slowing enough to let the faster car by. The idea was to give up position to a faster car and not try to race him or prevent the pass. As this was a PCA event, everyone behaved like gentlemen and we all had a good day without incident.

One of the frustrating aspects of the event was catching up to the 911's in the twisty parts of the track, only to have them pull away hard down the main straight. Then I would gradually catch up to them again until I was right on their tail just before they hit the main straight again and opened up the distance. One of the 996's let me pass him because I was crowding his tail for most of the track and he couldn't get enough distance in the straight to stay ahead of me. That felt really good!

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Old 05-21-2015, 08:20 PM   #22
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The only thing that I'd add is to say if you've never done a track day, you really should. The experience, even if only once, will be worth 10x the price of admission. You will finally really understand why they say, "Porsche. There is no substitute"!
Couldn't possibly agree more with that. It was a real eye-opener.
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Old 05-21-2015, 08:36 PM   #23
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Mark, glad you had a great track day. The weather gods were shining on you. I can't imagine what it would have been like a few days earlier on the May long weekend with that horrible weather.

So the new 918 owner is 83 . . . . then there is still hope for me I guess..

Paul, check out the snow along the barricade on the right:



Btw, I met your old buddy that you were telling me about... girlfriend's brother or something like that? Hopefully see you at the next meeting.
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Old 05-22-2015, 02:55 AM   #24
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Hey, NASA is one of my customers, you must have a hot Cayman if they are inspecting it.
I wondered why they were in moon suits.

Tires and brakes are consumables if you get into DEs. There's a good chance as a rookie you'll wear more off your tire shoulders because you take the wrong line thru a corner and the car chatters for traction on the exit. Your car will tell you when you find the proper line.
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Old 05-22-2015, 03:04 AM   #25
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I just signed up for a DE on the Indy Road course. Can't wait to cross this off the Bucket List.
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Old 05-22-2015, 04:21 AM   #26
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Lafamme02: PCA track weekends here are $300 for the event registration. Add to that a half a set of brake pads for newbies and 1/4 set of tire tread shot if you're a hot dog around the corners. You'll also get a whopping 7 mpg so toss in a tank of fuel every day of driving. Add two night's motels in there. And then there's the needed oil change after the event because you've heated it up real good and often.

So when I sign up for a PCA high speed DE weekend (Sat and Sunday driving, 4 - 30 minute sessions per day) I save up a grand. You may not spend this much on your first one, but it includes the wear and tear on the brake pads/discs and tires and the oil change afterwards.
That's what I was afraid of...I was hoping to get lucky and be able to do a track day for a couple hundred, everything included. Obviously, that was naive.

I wonder if it would be worth it for local law enforcement to subsidize track days. Maybe if you provide an outlet for driving fast on a track drivers will be less apt to "track" open roads. That will never happen but I'm reminded of a police barracks in Las Vegas I think, that routinely drag races a car built by the cops (not with
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Old 05-22-2015, 04:22 AM   #27
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Lafamme02: PCA track weekends here are $300 for the event registration. Add to that a half a set of brake pads for newbies and 1/4 set of tire tread shot if you're a hot dog around the corners. You'll also get a whopping 7 mpg so toss in a tank of fuel every day of driving. Add two night's motels in there. And then there's the needed oil change after the event because you've heated it up real good and often.

So when I sign up for a PCA high speed DE weekend (Sat and Sunday driving, 4 - 30 minute sessions per day) I save up a grand. You may not spend this much on your first one, but it includes the wear and tear on the brake pads/discs and tires and the oil change afterwards.
That's what I was afraid of...I was hoping to get lucky and be able to do a track day for a couple hundred, everything included. Obviously, that was naive.

I wonder if it would be worth it for local law enforcement to subsidize track days. Maybe if you provide an outlet for driving fast on a track drivers will be less apt to "track" open roads. That will never happen but I'm reminded of a police barracks in Las Vegas I think, that routinely drag races a car built by the cops (built with personal, not tax, dollars) to give the kids in the area an outlet for safe competition.
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Old 05-22-2015, 06:09 AM   #28
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I too was at my first DE event this past Monday and Tuesday. It was put on by my local chapter of the PCA which is Rennsport. The session was held up at Le Circuit Mont Tremblant (LCMT).

Before the DE weekend, the club held a half-day theory class in April (one in Montreal, one in Ottawa) and then earlier in May held a one-day ground school at a small track just north of Montreal. These proved to be great stepping stones and prepared us well for our first time at the big, technical and fast track that is LCMT.

Costs were along the line of other threads - $350 for the two days which included lunch both days and 4, 20-minute runs per day, each with an instructor. We were assigned the same instructor for both days. Mont Tremblant is far enough away from Ottawa and Montreal that everyone rents at least two nights of hotels. Fortunately the club has negotiated a 25% discount with one of the hotel companies that has five nice hotels. I figure that with the entry fee, the hotel, meals and gas that the two days cost about $1k.

However we really must appreciate that PCA DE days are considerably cheaper than most other alternatives because the instructors are volunteers. Another track local to Ottawa, Calabogie, puts on a two-day lapping event with one day with an instructor and one day solo and it costs $800. If you need an instructor the second day, it costs another $300.

The car porn at this event was amazing. You would think 911 GT3 RS's were common (there were at least 10) and there was even a Cub car. Tons of people brought their cars up on trailers with the just the trailers costing more than my humble little 986. However the camaraderie was awesome with both members and instructors being extremely friendly and helpful. There were plenty of other Boxsters - another 986, several 987's and several 981's. The 981's were having no problem holding their own in the black run group. Many of the senior members and instructors had owned Boxsters in the past and they were well respected cars.

A tech inspection form was mandatory and had to be completed by a club sanctioned mechanic. Before I had my inspection I had my car fully serviced including new brakes. The guy who did my tech inspection did it thoroughly but I passed without needing any additional work.

I had an absolute blast of a time. To drive a true sports car on a track is truly a bucket list item. The event was very mentally exhausting with so much information to process while on track. It took me longer than I expected to just truly memorize the track and lines. Thankfully my instructor was patient and managed the passing. On the second day my previous instructor from the ground school day took me out as a passenger in the blue run group. That was a huge help as by then it allowed me to just watch his lines as by then I was getting fairly familiar with the track.

I'll be doing at least one other event this summer and hopefully two. As others have said, at the beginner level you are fine in a 986 with street tires. I too only wore them down slightly and wore my break pads down only about 25%. However this is an activity that can get real expensive if you really get into it.
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Old 05-22-2015, 06:43 AM   #29
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Lucky you! I couldn't make the Tremblant DE this past weekend but i'm signed up for June 15 & 16. A birthday present to me! Hope to see you there!
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Old 05-22-2015, 08:01 AM   #30
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Paul, check out the snow along the barricade on the right:



Btw, I met your old buddy that you were telling me about... girlfriend's brother or something like that? Hopefully see you at the next meeting.
Cool, I didn't realize Gilles was going to the event. I think that is his 996 on the right in the pic. For the record he is my older sisters former boy friend . . . from the early '70's. He (and I) are old, but not quite as old as the 918 owner.

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