American Car Racing Association is hosting a track day on April 18th, 2007 for $145 per driver.

I drove at one of their events and it was great. Lots of track time, Five 30 minute sessions with plenty of open track.

They have three run groups for each kind of driver, Yellow (beginner) Blue (experienced), and Red (Racer Wannabees). Actually, there are some really fast guys in the Red group.

There are also instructors on hand if you need them. I went to the same track with the BMW CCA ($500) with AAA+++ instructors. Don't excpect alot with this group, the instructors are there to get their fix, and not so much instruction. But hey, who wants another 200 lbs anyway?

Here is the link

http://www.americancarracing.com/events.html

The only kicker is that it is on a Wednesday. Good excuse to take a sick day.

I will be going and although I have been on this track twice, I am going to stay in the Yellow group (Beginners) so I can sand bag it . :-) J/K, this will be my first time in the 8 and I want to get used to it before I go vette hunting... I wish.

See you there.

 

Here is turn 4 back at my last event with ACRA

FUN!!!!

 

Nice event, even on a Wednesday, it is well worth the drive..................

 

I am going up the night before so I don't have to stress the drive. The last two times I stayed in lancaster, once at the lancaster inn, and another at a best western; the best western was by far the better hotel.

FYI, my car was running on stock springs, struts, and sway bars, and it still felt solid. There was an EVO guy that at first I would pull in turn 2, 4, and 8-9, but after he got the line down it was hard to keep him off. Even so, on the straight we were evenly matched in acceleration.

I started to run out of brakes toward the end of each session, and by the end of the last session they were done. My pads in the back wer history, and the fronts really felt glazed over dispite my slotted rotors.

I have since sold my 7, but if I were to do it again I would invest in a nice set of street/track pads. The rotors seemed nice since they never felt like they were warping.

I ran Fuzion Zi tires in the rear and Bridgestone Potenza RE730 in the front, and both tires really gripped well. I thought the Fuzion's would give out early, but they were very predictable, and very well suited for the car, and they are dirt cheap. I will be running them at this next event with my 8, but I am bringing the stockers along to see if there is a big difference.

 

There are a couple decent motels in Buttonwillow. I remember staying at newly renovated Motel 6 last year...

 

What speeds does this get up to and what is required for tech insoection?

 

Good question. Tech is a self tech sheet that you MUST have completed before coming to the event. There is also a liability release form that must be completed as well. You are not required to pay for a tech inspection, just fill out the form and make any corrections to your car if needed.

As for speed...:-)

You go fast. Between Turn nine and one I hit 135mph, and if I had more ***** I would of hit 140 easy. It's all about the exit speed of turn nine.
My brother hit 145 in his E46 M3, but he was in the Red group so it's expected.

Toward the end of the day I was reaching 115mph going into turn 8 which feels faster than going down the front straight.

Turn two is another fast corner where it feels like you will never hit the late apex because it's so far away. Good pucker factor on this turn.

Most people who crash, crash on the section between turn three and four where the road changes pitch from a left bank to a plateau and then to a right bank. The plateau will upset the car if you don't have the wheels somewhat straight before giving it a an aggressive amount gas. I really focused on this section, and I never ran into trouble.

There was a follow the leader on the first run of the day for Yellow group where an instructor leads and with each lap a new driver pulls behind to follow. The instructors are suposed to show you the "student line", but they tend to mix it up a little with a "Race" line. I choose the Student line since that is what I know best, and it's better than guessing where I should be on the track.

 

I have video of my last time out, anyone have a recommendation for getting DVD to mpeg format? If it easy, I would like to post it on youtube.

 

Dang, I know you can do it with iPod stuff. I will be in Camarillo on Friday but not in my 7.

 

How "Dangerous" is Willow Springs, is this the Big Course or Streets ??

I've only driven Butten Willow and am pretty comfortable with that track... and anybody elabrate on where walls and portential Hazards are ??

-DC

 

I would say this is a pretty safe track as long as you stay alert and focused. I think you are more likely to get harmed if you go out with a go-fast mind set, or are too tired.

I strongly suggest you grab one of the instructors for a drive-along. Let them drive your car for a few laps to show you the lines and as well as a safe and fast tempo. Then let him be a passenger for the rest of the session. I don't recommend you try and drive faster than your instructor unless your instructor is being too cautious with your car. I had a great instructor with the BMW Club and his primary goal was to get me on the line, and not to drive fast.
When I am out there alone I pretend he is by my side telling me to wait...wait.. turn in...accelerate...unroll.... I don't think the drive would be nearly as fun if I had no clue where I was going.

As for dangers, there are a couple, but nothing really crazy as long as you are not driving over your head or car. Anywhere the road curves you risk going off, but turns 3-4, and 9 are what you want to look out for.

Like I said before with the area between turns 3-4 you can end up off the track. On both sides there are dangers. The right side has a ditch that will mess up your car. The left side has a retaining wall, but it is pretty far off the track.

Turn nine is a tight right hander that is easy to come in too hot off of turn 8. The off-road section of turn 9 is bumpy, but not really too much to hit. However, the natural exiting point of turn 9 is far left where if you unroll the wheel too late you can get your left tires in the dirt. The best thing to do in this case is to just keep the wheel straight until you reach the road further up. Do not turn or brake while you are in the dirt.

Turn one is also a place to go off if you don't slow down fast enough. It is a very hard left, and banked turn with a slight ditch about 100-200 feet off-road. It's best to brake real early in to this turn to so you can hit your "turn-in" marks with control. It's tempting to brake later so you have a higher top speed, but you'll find that you will pickup more speed if you hit 8-9 just right.

Derek, I hope you make it out. It's been a while since I have been to the club meets, and I am eager to see some familiar faces. Look for me. I'll be in the white 8 with black wheels.

Micah

 

I'd be nice to see you again sometime too... but I'm just more comfortable @ Buttonwillow where I can just run into the dirt @ 80+mph, with plenty of space to stop, unless I try to gun it to get out and screw up

Speaking of which, not to Hijack your thread but there is an event right around that time @ BW, that I had plans on attending, if you change your mind....

-DC

 

Nope,not going to change my mind. i already got my heart set on WS.

 

Here is a video of someone in a BMW. I don't know the driver, but the video illustrates the course pretty well. His lines are pretty close to what I was shown, but his turn five is a little messy. If you watch the elise in front, that driver has a good line.
Oh, the first few minutes are just sitting in the hot pits. You will need to fast forward once it is loaded.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...willow+springs

 

man somwhere around that 10min mark it really shows the elise' holding ability. pretty sick. a better driver wouldve totally left that z4...

 

Yes, those elise cars make a lot out of the little power they have. They are pure track cars. Fun to watch them wiz past you.

 

Here is a much better video. This one has instructions.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...willow+springs

 

Less than a month. After April 8th the price goes from $145 to $170.

 

It looks like this event got enough registrants for a go and I hope to see some of you guys out there.

It's still not too late to have one of the best experiences in your car, early registration is up to the 8th. Worse case you will have to pay $170 up to the track day or $195 at the track.

You get lunch and a nice long-sleeve ACRA shirt.

If you are going, bring lots of water, sun screen, tire gauge, torque wrench, and some driving glove.
Gloves are not manditory. I just picked up some nice "Mechanic's wear" style gloves that fit snug, yet are very flexible. My BMW instructor suggested Simpson style with bright colors for displaying passing, but I found them a little bulky and boy-racer for a couple of weekends a year. Home depot sells some nice form fitting mechanic's/contactor's gloves, both in black and saftey orange. $16.

Don't forget to bring your waiver and tech sheet. MUST MUST MUST.

 

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