Last week my wife and I decided to take our 1M on a vacation trip through Southwest Virginia that included track time, luxury, and twisty roads. Here is a journal of our trip:
Warming up for the trip.
Virginia International Raceway
The first stop on our vacation trip was Virginia International Raceway to participate in the VIR Open House and Charity Laps. This event, that is usually held twice a year, is used to develop business and memberships for VIR while raising money for charity.
This year's spring event benefited the Victory Junction Gang Camp. The Victory Junction Gang Camp provides a summer camp experience for terminally ill and chronically ill children who would not normally be able to attend a normal summer camp due to their condition.
http://www.victoryjunction.org/
Prior to the event, my wife and I stayed at the VIR Villas located onsite at the track. The Villas are very luxurious and provide great access to view and participate in track events.
VIR Villa kitchen/living room.
VIR Villa bedroom.
VIR Villa track view from porch.
VIR Villa, track, and 1M.
Money is raised at this event through the purchase of Charity Lap Sessions ($25 per session) and through Hot Lap Rides ($15 per hot lap).
Charity Lap Sessions
The Charity Lap Sessions consists of 20 minute parade laps between a pace car and a chase car at "highway speeds." All cars have to be "road safe" are allowed to have passengers. Helmets are also not required. The spring session of Charity Laps this year took place on the VIR Full Course.
Having never been to a track day, my wife and I thought this would be the perfect experience to "test the waters" while raising money for a great cause. Also, all donations are tax deductible which makes this one of the cheapest ways to get on a track.
For each session, a group of about 20 cars are staged in the "False Grid" while another group of cars completes its session:
1M staged in the false grid. Notice the 245/40/18 square winter tire setup (Alpin PA3s) and the wife reading her Kindle.
Gathering for the session's driver's meeting to go over rules. The main rules include no passing, no stopping, not video taking (by the driver), and no holding back.
Heading onto the track through Pit Lane with a last minute rules reminder.
The experience was awesome!
While advertised as parade laps at "highway speeds", I would say the pace car and the field drove at 8/10ths through most of the track. The 1M regularly hit an indicated 120 mph on the back straight (135 mph was our best) and 110 mph on the front straight! The car handled excellent in the high speed sections of the track including the Climbing Esses (90 mph) and the Roller Coaster. However, due to the square winter tires (only 245's in the rear), a trunk filled with three suitcases, a set of golf clubs, and numerous pairs of shoes, and my lack of experience I found the car quite challenging in the slower corners. The car was very eager to rotate and I estimate that the traction control light was flashing for over 50% of each lap including a couple of times at 100 mph during a 3-4 shift! While I was slow through the slow corners, the 1M closed ground like no other on the straights. I regularly left (or caught up with) some powerful vehicles including a Mustang GT and Pontiac G8 GXP on the straights. Also, I love the noise of the turbos singing at extended periods of full throttle.
Flying down the Roller Coaster (photo originally posted by someone else on Smugmug).
My wife and I ended up completing 5 Charity Lap Sessions and over 100 minutes on track. There was a wide variety of cars that participated in the sessions including everything from a Prius to a early 1970's 911 to a vintage stock car to a Ferrari 430 to a Cadillac Escalade (lol). There were a couple of spins throughout the day (by riced civics) and a couple of cars that broke down mid lap. Here are some of the M brethren that participated in the event (pictures originally posted by someone else in a Smugmug pool):
Hot Lap Sessions
In addition to the Charity Lap Sessions, a BMW M6 (from the Performance School), an Ariel Atom Spec Race Car, and a Porsche GT3 Cup Car offered ride along hot laps for a donation. My wife and I took hot laps in the M6 and Atom (unfortunately the GT3 hot laps started when we were about to leave).
The M6 is brutally powerful and the BMW Performance driver was a rock star. He asked me what I drove and I told him that I drove a 1M. His response was "so you are one of the lucky ones." He then launched the M6 out of pit lane, drifted through the first several corners and then went full throttle up until the Oak Tree turn. We then hit an indicated 157 mph on the back straight and then absolutely flew down the Roller Coaster.
Picture of my wife grinning after her hot lap in the M6. She thought it was awesome and then commented on how she like the blue brake calipers and disliked the carbon fiber interior (lol). Props to my wife for being so awesome to participate in this event (she is a pediatrician and has a friend who is a doctor who works at the camp).
Ariel Atom Spec Race Car.
Picture from my hot lap in the Atom. The G-forces in turns and during braking were just awesome. I also thought it was cool that the car quickly topped out at its top speed (~127 mph) on the back straight. The staff at the track indicated that the open wheels produce tons of drag that greatly limits the top speed.
GT3 Cup Car hot lap (originally posted by someone else on Smugmug pool).