my first road racing and autocross experence

[Micheal Tomac]

After three days of SEMA, our group from Optima left Vegas Friday morning and went to Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch in Parumph, NV. Spring Mountain is a country club for racers and people with high end sports cars. The club house features 8000 square feet of resort-style amenities, including a lounge, men’s and women’s locker rooms, massage and fitness center, pool and jacuzzi, an executive conference room, billiards, custom poker facilities and nine plasma televisions. An outdoor veranda with barbeque area and fire pit connects to a 23-foot-tall viewing tower of the track. There is also a racquetball/handball court, an indoor gun range and racing simulators. A one time initiation fee of $15000 plus maintainance fees of $200 month will get you access to the club house, road coarse and access to their in-house professional driving instructors, including Ron Fellows. They also offer six different racing/driving schools, including the one GM gives to all new ZR1 Corvette owners They have two main track configuratins; the North/South road course is 2.1 miles and the west "Radical loop" is 1.5 miles.

Optima rented the track for the afternoon so after lunch at the clubhouse we were able run the short coarse in a Lotus Elise or Mini CooperS. We ran two 30 minute sessions of lead follow behind an instructor. The first session was slower paced so we could get to know the track and the car. The second session was fast paced and alot of fun, especially since I had never driven a Lotus before or done any road racing. The Lotus was hard to get in & out of but it was easy to drive and very forgiving on the track. Then we were able to ride side-by-side with an instructor in a Radical race car for an even faster paced 15 minute heavy g-force laden ride around the 1.5 mile short coarse. I had a smile on the face the whole time, what a rush.

Afterwards we were able to run the Lotus or Mini thru an auto cross course that was setup for the Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational. I picked the Mini CooperS for the autocross coarse since I had never driven one before and I wanted to see how it would do. While the Mini CooperS is no 1/4 mile racer, it has good power, it's light-weight and it impressed me how well it handles.

Not that I need another expensive hobby, but I really had alot of fun and really enjoyed road racing and autocrossing. I wish we had more time so I could have run the Mini on the road coarse and the Lotus in the autocross. But the sun was setting and everyone was getting hungry. So after a day of racing we went to dinner and then to the Hotel for the night.

[whitetrash21]

Looks like a helluva lotta fun....

[Kat]

I attended their 3 day corvette driving school and it was top notch But, I still prefer 1/4 mile racing to road racing.

When my kids turn 16 they will be attending their driving school.

[JoshH]

Sounds like blast! I'm jealous.

[J Spruill]

def sounds like a good time and trip...congrats

[SIKDMAX]

Cool Michael!

But I thought this was gonna be about the DMAX on the track! That is what I want to do next

[RKTMech]

Yea..... road racing is the chit, Thats why theres a round tiller in your cars and trucks because the road is much more fun when you get to go right and left...drag racing is just in front of sled pulling when it comes to retirement motorsports.....zing

[duratothemax]

sounds like it was a good time Michael...congrads on not crashing. Do you have any video??

I did the skip barber advanced 2 day driving school this summer, which basically covered everything, and on the second day we raced (130+ mph) all sorts of cars (lotus exige, 911 turbo, lexus ISF, bmw's etc) around the track at Limerock (in CT)...probably one of the most fun things Ive done. Those Lotus Exige S's are a blast...but definitely a car you "wear" rather than sit in...

ben

[Kat]

Originally Posted by RKTMech

Yea..... road racing is the chit, Thats why theres a round tiller in your cars and trucks because the road is much more fun when you get to go right and left...drag racing is just in front of sled pulling when it comes to retirement motorsports.....zing

[McRat]

Originally Posted by RKTMech

Yea..... road racing is the chit, Thats why theres a round tiller in your cars and trucks because the road is much more fun when you get to go right and left...drag racing is just in front of sled pulling when it comes to retirement motorsports.....zing

Damn knee-drag'r!


Yes, roadracing and AutoX are way more intense than our traditional diesel pickup motorsports. You get out of the car, and your knees get weak.

I'm a Bondurant (roadrace), Evolution (AutoX), and SCCA Solo2 (AutoX) driving school grad, and any of them will certainly put a grin on your face that is very hard to remove. I used to campaign an F-Stock Camaro and a Z06 in local AutoX events before we started racing our tow vehicle instead.

I will admit that I'm starting to pine for the violence and intensity that comes with motorsports that require you to turn both left and right. Someday I'll go back.

[Kat]

Originally Posted by McRat

Someday I'll go back.

If your nice I will let you take the V

[RENODMAX]

Originally Posted by duratothemax

sounds like it was a good time Michael...congrads on not crashing. Do you have any video??

I did the skip barber advanced 2 day driving school this summer, which basically covered everything, and on the second day we raced (130+ mph) all sorts of cars (lotus exige, 911 turbo, lexus ISF, bmw's etc) around the track at Limerock (in CT)...probably one of the most fun things Ive done. Those Lotus Exige S's are a blast...but definitely a car you "wear" rather than sit in...

ben

i did the same thing a few years ago but the cars werent as cool. we had bmw m3s, vipers, bmw 330s for drifting, and your 911s too. fun stuff

[custom8726]

Sounds like a blast, I would love to give it a try in the near future

[McRat]

Cheapest route is to find the SCCA Solo2 organization that is closest to you. You will need a helmet and the schedule. You can even bring a rental car if you don't have a car. Pretty much any safe car will pass tech, and oddly enough, the car isn't the biggest factor. A hotshoe in a Neon will cut faster laps than a rookie in a ZR1.

Bring an inflation gauge, chaulk, tire pump, water and snacks, a pen, a chair, and about $40 last time I checked. You really are supposed to have a rulebook too, but I've never seen them check. Don't remember if you have to join the SCCA first.

You will be expected to work the course, but if you say your a newbie, they will usually put you near experienced people.

http://www.scca.com/contentpage.aspx?content=55

My local club is: www.solo2.com