Yesterday I did something I've never done before, but have always wanted to do... race the full track at Road America. I forgot my camera, but snapped some pics with my phone. Also have some in-car Go-Pro footage that I'll edit and upload in a few days.
This was the
Lamers Motor Racing driving experience event. I scored a free admission ticket from the CEO of the company I work for. Apparently this is a "golf outing for car guys". The event was so much fun. The rules/regulations were relaxed, but the drivers were competitive. Only rule; no metal-to-metal contact. There were three classes, as follows.
GROUP 1: for those street cars that go a little quicker and are more experienced at driving at speed.
GROUP 2: for those who are more interested in driving at a more moderate speed.
RACE CAR: limited to cars that average under 3:00 per lap.
Having never been to this event before, I assumed that group 2 would be for people who wanted to bring their regular car and putz around the track. I wanted a little more than that so I pre-registered for group 1. I figured it'd be perfect because I've done auto-x, 1/4 mile and 1/2 mile events before and I'm comfortable going fast in my car.
Got there, had a brief safety meeting and then it was go-time. No instructors. My group was first. I had no idea what to expect. I don't know the track and have only been to RA once before. I left my ego at the door and turned the power down as far as I could (wastegate pressure, ~450whp).
I put my car in the middle of the pack and figured I'd just follow the cars ahead of me. We merge onto the track and I quickly realize this is the real deal. Everyone is balls out and I'm pushing my car to it's limits. My girlfriend is having the time of her life in the passenger seat. The 15-minute session went by so fast.
We exited the track and I went over to talk to the guys I was playing cat-and-mouse with on the track. They almost laughed when I asked if it was their first time. Apparently most of them had done this many times before. They couldn't believe that was my first-ever lap. I got two more sessions in throughout the day and probably racked up a total of 15 laps.
I couldn't believe how much the car's tires and brakes changed throughout each session. It was interesting because it sprinkled a bit on the last session. The car performed great on the low power setting. I can't imagine how much of a weapon it'd be on a high power setting with a proper driver. Everyone had a great time, people loved the car. I was the only non-M BMW there. There was an E92 M3, F82 M4 and F10 M5 in my class that seemed to be flooded with C6/C7 Z06 and GT350/GT500s.
I'd love to do this again, but would really enjoy doing it in an older car that I don't care as much about. N54 swapped E36?
