Tydriver

iTrader: (2)

Car and Driver Magazine is having their 50th Anniversary celebration out here at IRP this weekend, and I was invited to attend !! ( visit www.caranddriver.com/50 )

Fellow Typhoon owner JJ decided to attend.. Here's JJ next to a 30" wheel at the Goodyear display:



This event is unlike any I have ever heard of or attended in the past.. It is simply awesome.. I am going out today for another fun fulled day in the grueling heat..

They have the following events going on :

Supercar hotlaps : Want to take a ride in a $400,000 2005 Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren ?


Or howabout a hotlap in a WRC prepped WRX with Petter Solberg at the wheel ?



Howabout a ride in an $440,000 V-10 Powered Porsche Carerra GT ?? )

Each of the above items was/is only $10 for each ride with 2 laps..


Race the Editors : Pick your favorite editor or car and run the clock to beat the editor. A wide range of cars is available for this event (we picked the C6 and Viper)


Bracket Racing : JJ is running his sonoma in this category hopefully will win some prizes here

They have provided a HUGE collection of cars that you can auto cross (anything from a viper/c6 to a miata with everything in between Jags, Mercedes Benz, BMW's) and the cost is only $15 for 2 laps..


JJ and I originally both signed up for Auto X the new C6 corvette, but when we got to the track we were told GM only provided 2 C6's instead of the 4 they asked for.. Car and Driver substituted 2 Brand Spanking new Vipers as a replacement (JJ got his ride in the C6 and I got to drive the Viper)

The event we participated in was RACE THE EDITOR (we raced Car and Driver's Tony Swan).. Against time slips.. I'm sure that he beat both of us on times but I was out there to flog a new hotrod and I did.. Having never even SAT in a viper prior to this event I was clearly overmatched but I had a good time nonetheless. That car acquired speed soo fast it was crazy (and thats just 1st gear).. I managed to kill quite a few cones in the very first run, and when I slam shifted into 2nd gear on the 2nd run I managed to get the car quite a bit sideways on the 2nd run and kill a couple more cones.. It was a blast.. by far, the best 15$ I have ever spent..

I have some video of it, but I havent converted and hopefully will sometime tomorrow.. Today I am going back out for day #2 of the event and going for my ride with Petter Solberg in the WRC prepped Subaru WRX STi. This oughta prove to be very fun.. I cant wait !!

You also get to meet every single editor of the magazine (from Brock Yates on down), and see cars that you may never ever see again grouped together on one area..

More pics are up at : http://www.turbols6.com/gallery/view...ddriver&page=1

LvDemKings

Damn, looks like a lot of fun! How did you get invited to something like that, sounds like a dream

Tydriver

iTrader: (2)

Well its not that I am high up on any list or anything, they held the event here at IRP and I live like 5 blocks from the track.. I think they targeted everyone of their readers in a specific radius to Indy and sent the invites out.. Then last months issue there was mention of it as well to the rest of the country... Fortunately receiving the personal invite via the mail I was able to sign up for the cool stuff before it was closed down !!

Well, I only got to drive the viper through most of first gear (Auto X courses are generally a 1-2 gear affair).. The car itself was very nice and comfortable for a guy thats 6'6" tall... Problem is/was because the car was a ragtop I was all scrunched over to see under the top of the windshield and the TILT steering wheel blocked the top part of the gauges (read, not enough adjustment for us tall guys)..

I think the C6 would have been better overall for a tall guy, the viper is very unfriendly to us taller peeps

That aside, driving the car, Tony Swan (The C&D Editor I was racing) said to use 2nd gear for the entire course, but he was setting the time to beat in a C6 that had traction control and stability control equipped and enabled (they asked that participants leave them ON in the vettes). The vipers dont have either and as a result are alot more of a handful to drive IMO... Also alot funner to because you can get crazy with the car.. Sure I was trying to beat his time, but I think the C6 has a definite advantage through the cones.. The first time through the track all I used was first gear because the viper was such a torque monster.. Its crazy and a blast to drive and I still managed to plow over some cones in 1st gear.. The 2nd time through I went alot faster and I told myself I was gonna use 2nd gear atleast once. SO I wound it about 3/4 way out and slam shifted 2nd gear and the car jumped immediately sideways in a haze of tire smoke and ate a couple more cones (its all on the video).

For finesse driving, I'd say hands down the C6 is king.. For all out mean *** sports car ride the viper is definitely the winner here.. No Traction control, no stability control.. A true drivers car, oh yeah.. and 505hp isnt all that bad either.. Driver height requirements aside I really liked the viper alot, the interior was very nice and BOTH CARS were abused all day for 2 days and came back swinging each day.. VERY IMPRESSIVE..

Tydriver

iTrader: (2)

OK, here's the links for the videos..

JJ is running a c6 and managed to hit no cones..

run1 and run2 is me beating on the viper and I hit cones both times :oops: :oops:

The 2nd of my videos I was doing fine until I decided to get greedy and slam shift the viper at WOT on the 1-2 shift in the fastest part of the track.. Which resulted in immediate tire smoke and instant sideways action.. (Oh yeah, a couple of disgruntled cones too :wink: )

http://www.northeastsyty.com/videos/autox/

spy2520

iTrader: (3)

i saw the ad in the last issue. I wish i could have gone but i live a billion miles away.

LvDemKings

Nice vids. Seems pretty damn cool. Congrats