McLaren 675LT refuses to let a BMW pass on the track

[bradleyland]

Love watching you stretch the 135i at Sonoma. That McLaren driver is terrified of the cresting brake zone just before the carousel (T6). They're also suuuuuper late on the throttle on exit there. Not that I'm talkin' smack, it's just interesting to see what a difference a driver mod can make.

[1spirit]

Originally Posted by elim11

Nice edit. I wanted to edit my video from my last track day in this fashion. (Had a 3 camera setup) but the stupid external mic adaptor didn't work and have wind noise. No point in making video

Where is your foot cam GoPro placement. I notice it would get in the way when I would heel toe sometime

And it's nice but frustrating to be behind one of these supercars. I've been stuck behind a 918 before and didn't let me pass until the end. Lol.

I’d still love to see it! Using the audio graphic equalizer in your video editing program, you can make adjustments to certain parts of the sound wave to make the wind noise sound much better. Or you could just mute the sound and add a nice song

That cam is mounted below the steering wheel assembly at a height of a few inches below the knee. It sometimes touches against my shin during heel-toe but it’s only a slight rub.

Originally Posted by Bosozoku

Wow 1spirit! Thanks for sharing!
If and when I do my first Sonoma Raceway track day, I'll try to copy your line.
(Not necessarily try to keep up with you if you're actually there though.)

Thank you Bosozoku!

Originally Posted by FLOSS M

Cool video , excellent driving !

Thank you FLOSS M

Originally Posted by Dackelone

Look like you also made the cover of: National Capital Chapter - BMW Car Club of America on FB...

https://www.facebook.com/NCCBMWCCA/?hc_ref=NEWSFEED

That is

Originally Posted by Orange fever

Awesome driving

Thank you Orange fever

Originally Posted by GottWhat

The McLaren driver looked to be out of his comfort zone...early braking, poor racing lines, not letting a quicker driver pass, etc. Nice driving on your part though

Thanks GottWhat

Originally Posted by W///

Excellent video, I thoroughly enjoyed that!

Thank you W///!

Originally Posted by cbertels

Pretty classic example of the senselessness of comparing car lap times I see here regularly. Unless you've developed great track skills, all the horsepower/suspension/tire combinations in the world won't make you any quicker.

Good point

Originally Posted by scotty_miller

lol I see the owner of that 675 on Instagram bragging all the time about his track adventures and his driving

Originally Posted by M3 Adjuster

Really a shame that people don't care to develop their own skillz!!!

It can be! But to each his or her own I guess

[1spirit]

Originally Posted by BigMacMeal

I think the title is misleading ?

I can explain

The corner official between Turns 5 & 6 waved the blue flag to the McLaren to move aside.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racing_flags#Blue_flag

When I see this flag waving at me, I let the car behind pass, regardless of what car it is. I had to brake more and/or use less throttle than I’d like through Turns 6, 10, 3, & 3A. He chose to ignore the flag but it turned out okay with that awesome power to recover with

I should note that the McLaren was a lot farther ahead at the beginning of the session - maybe about 7-8 seconds ahead (I always take the first lap easy). The video only shows after I got very close which took 4-5 laps (edited out for the sake of keeping the video short). Based on the lost ground made up, I was running at a faster pace than the McLaren by around 1-2 seconds per lap.

[M3 Adjuster]

Originally Posted by Park2670

This happened to be but in reverse order. I was way faster on the straights, but couldn't even get close to the cornering speeds of this car. I let him pass and he stayed in front of me (was the nicer thing to do) and I had to go slow on straights and play catchup in the corners.

Still fun, great driving, and cool story to tell nonetheless!

Ideally with advanced drivers that don't have big egos... multiple passes can occur within a lap. I've done laps where I have been given a point by because I was the faster car on the straight.. but then the other car was all over me in the corners... so I let the other driver back by in the corners.. and get another point on the next straight.

I recently was at COTA with a student in an M5...he was able to POWER away from cars like the E9x M3 on the straights but had to give it up to them in the turns. By being courteous and allowing a point by to the slower top speed cars in the slower corners ( for example turn 1-2 ) .. he was able to let them go quickly in the twisty parts of the course and then get a point back by as he motored out of T11 onto the back straight... he was able to be faster on the back straight and front straight and keep his advantage around to turn 1.

By doing this... both drivers can put in a fast lap without either driver being held up.

Originally Posted by 1spirit

I can explain

The corner official between Turns 5 & 6 waved the blue flag to the McLaren to move aside.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racing_flags#Blue_flag

When I see this flag waving at me, I let the car behind pass, regardless of what car it is. I had to brake more and/or use less throttle than I’d like through Turns 6, 10, 3, & 3A. He chose to ignore the flag but it turned out okay with that awesome power to recover with

I should note that the McLaren was a lot farther ahead at the beginning of the session - maybe about 7-8 seconds ahead (I always take the first lap easy). The video only shows after I got very close which took 4-5 laps (edited out for the sake of keeping the video short). Based on the lost ground made up, I was running at a faster pace than the McLaren by around 1-2 seconds per lap.

Outstanding Rebuttal.

[atopa2002]

It's not about the size of your tool it's about how you use it.

[spuntyb]

Excellent driving, and an awesome car (his too )!

[e92_m3]

Great driving man. Hopefully, I can drive like that in the track someday.

Good watch indeed!

[MSCD]

Great video and great driving- can tell you were pushing the car with the wall coming pretty close there! The power difference is clear but the McLaren had to shed more coming into the corners.

Very enjoyable- well played for not getting frustrated and enjoying the battle!

[raysspl]

"You shall not pass"

[termigni]

awesome. this made me want to hit up the tracks again.

[1spirit]

Originally Posted by wjjkoevoets

Awesome video!

Thank you wjjkoevoets!

Originally Posted by imserious

Cool air brakes on the mclaren.

Yeah, was eye candy each time that rear wing went up right in front of me

Originally Posted by krautmeister

This used to happen to me in my S2000 a lot on track. Guys with more power refusing to give up the turns....

S2000’s are so quick! Love that car.

Originally Posted by Park2670

This happened to be but in reverse order. I was way faster on the straights, but couldn't even get close to the cornering speeds of this car. I let him pass and he stayed in front of me (was the nicer thing to do) and I had to go slow on straights and play catchup in the corners.

Still fun, great driving, and cool story to tell nonetheless!

Originally Posted by ms4cd

Love it, Great Job! Local to this track, great driving!

Thank you ms4cd!

[1spirit]

Originally Posted by bradleyland

Love watching you stretch the 135i at Sonoma. That McLaren driver is terrified of the cresting brake zone just before the carousel (T6). They're also suuuuuper late on the throttle on exit there. Not that I'm talkin' smack, it's just interesting to see what a difference a driver mod can make.

Thank you bradleyland. Great observation! I normally like to begin braking later and lighter for T6 so that I can trail-brake longer and deeper into that downhill carousel to rotate the car more, which would help me get on the throttle sooner…if that makes any sense. Braking harder and sooner for the McLaren shifted everything and left me with some added understeer but that’s something I gotta work on… Doing a mild dive bomb on the inside of the McLaren crossed my mind but no point in that

[1spirit]

Originally Posted by M3 Adjuster

Ideally with advanced drivers that don't have big egos... multiple passes can occur within a lap. I've done laps where I have been given a point by because I was the faster car on the straight.. but then the other car was all over me in the corners... so I let the other driver back by in the corners.. and get another point on the next straight.

I recently was at COTA with a student in an M5...he was able to POWER away from cars like the E9x M3 on the straights but had to give it up to them in the turns. By being courteous and allowing a point by to the slower top speed cars in the slower corners ( for example turn 1-2 ) .. he was able to let them go quickly in the twisty parts of the course and then get a point back by as he motored out of T11 onto the back straight... he was able to be faster on the back straight and front straight and keep his advantage around to turn 1.

By doing this... both drivers can put in a fast lap without either driver being held up.


Outstanding Rebuttal.

Thanks for sharing your experience and insight. I'm on the same page...

Oh thank you!

[1spirit]

Originally Posted by atopa2002

It's not about the size of your tool it's about how you use it.

(I really like using this emoji lol)

Originally Posted by spuntyb

Excellent driving, and an awesome car (his too )!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by e92_m3

Great driving man. Hopefully, I can drive like that in the track someday.

Good watch indeed!

Thank you e92_m3. I highly recommend getting some seat time with a good performance driving coach. You might be amazed at how much you can improve!

Originally Posted by MSCD

Great video and great driving- can tell you were pushing the car with the wall coming pretty close there! The power difference is clear but the McLaren had to shed more coming into the corners.

Very enjoyable- well played for not getting frustrated and enjoying the battle!

Originally Posted by raysspl

"You shall not pass"

Originally Posted by termigni

awesome. this made me want to hit up the tracks again.

[marcva]

That's a pretty typical DE experience. On my third DE, I was at Pocono with an infield track that opened onto the Tri-oval for a stretch. My three days gave me enough of a sense for how to operate my car, and I ended up behind a newbie in a Lamborghini that couldn't drive, plus was concerned about wrecking his 6 figure car. I would coast behind him in the infield around the corners, then watch him blast off around the tri-oval. By the time my 325 caught up, he was back in the infield section with no room to pass. In those instances, it's best to go into the hot pits and ask for space. They'll find an appropriate slot for you

[1spirit]

Originally Posted by marcva

That's a pretty typical DE experience. On my third DE, I was at Pocono with an infield track that opened onto the Tri-oval for a stretch. My three days gave me enough of a sense for how to operate my car, and I ended up behind a newbie in a Lamborghini that couldn't drive, plus was concerned about wrecking his 6 figure car. I would coast behind him in the infield around the corners, then watch him blast off around the tri-oval. By the time my 325 caught up, he was back in the infield section with no room to pass. In those instances, it's best to go into the hot pits and ask for space. They'll find an appropriate slot for you

It ended up working out fine and still had a great time...

In regards to finding an appropriate slot, this was the most advanced open passing group where the cars are mostly race prepped so the drivers are all pretty experienced and quick. Fortunately, newbies are not permitted in this group nor are they even allowed to drive on this particular track. (The prerequisite at Sonoma Raceway is to have at least intermediate level experience at other tracks to be able to run.)

I should say Sonoma tends to slow down even experienced drivers who may be pretty fast on other tracks. There are plenty of guys I know who avoid this track because they are terrified of it. (I tell them to go to Nurburgring lol)

I call this track The Great Equalizer! Power is less rewarded here than most others, which is one major reason I love this circuit

[lowbudgethero]

Originally Posted by bradleyland

Love watching you stretch the 135i at Sonoma. That McLaren driver is terrified of the cresting brake zone just before the carousel (T6). They're also suuuuuper late on the throttle on exit there. Not that I'm talkin' smack, it's just interesting to see what a difference a driver mod can make.

when you have that much power in that expensive of a car I think I'd be driving the same way

good to see the 135i when the suspension is sorted out can be a great track car

nice vid OP

[1spirit]

Originally Posted by lowbudgethero

when you have that much power in that expensive of a car I think I'd be driving the same way

good to see the 135i when the suspension is sorted out can be a great track car

nice vid OP

Yeah the car is surprisingly good. Better than I ever expected. I thought I needed an ///M car

Thanks!

[alrock'M]

Awesome vid and driving! Enjoyed watching. If I let my wife watch this she won't think I'm a professional driver anymore! Or, atleast it won't help my case.

OP, you were shifting like a boss!

[jgoens]

That was very entertaining to watch. Thanks for sharing.

[1spirit]

Originally Posted by alrock'M

Awesome vid and driving! Enjoyed watching. If I let my wife watch this she won't think I'm a professional driver anymore! Or, atleast it won't help my case.

OP, you were shifting like a boss!

Thank you alrock'M!

You're too kind!

Originally Posted by jgoens

That was very entertaining to watch. Thanks for sharing.

[jgoens]

Originally Posted by 1spirit

It ended up working out fine and still had a great time...

In regards to finding an appropriate slot, this was the most advanced open passing group where the cars are mostly race prepped so the drivers are all pretty experienced and quick. Fortunately, newbies are not permitted in this group nor are they even allowed to drive on this particular track. (The prerequisite at Sonoma Raceway is to have at least intermediate level experience at other tracks to be able to run.)

I should say this track tends to slow down even experienced drivers who may be pretty fast on other tracks. Many track guys I know don't even visit this track because they are terrified of it. (I tell them to go to Nurburgring lol)

I call this track The Great Equalizer! Power is less rewarded on this track than most others, which is one major reason I love this track

Oh..this is Sonoma..didn't even recognize it or notice you are in the Silicon Valley. I grew up in Sonoma and now live in San Mateo.