Car Spotting at Laguna Seca Track Day and a Lap in a C8 Corvette
Nothing blows away the pandemic blues like setting a personal record Laguna Seca lap time in a red Corvette.
Laguna Seca raceway in central California, with its elevation changes, variation in corners, and the iconic corkscrew section, is a thrill to lap in any car. Recently, YouTuber Speed Phenom made it out there in his red C8 Corvette to play with the other supercars and hypercars, and documented his car spotting before hitting the track. We love Speed Phenom’s enthusiasm for getting his Corvette with the Z51 package to the track. We also agree that “… for being the Stingray, or the Z51 performance package, this is still a phenomenal track car.”
Getting to hammer any ‘Vette around Laguna Seca is a joy, but some of the other cars parked up and waiting to go out are worth mentioning. Amongst the Mclaren’s, Lamborghinis and Ferraris, is a particularly exciting car. It might be a Ford, but the GT4 Mustang race car looks the business, particularly upon tire warmers as it waits to go out. According to Speed Phenom, that particular Mustang has been lapping around 1 minute and 33 seconds at Laguna Seca. We were interested to see how a Z51 packaged Corvette compares in an enthusiasts hand.
Out on the track, Speed Phenom might be young, but he’s composed, smooth, and has quick reflexes to catch and guide the car when he gets near the edge. The C8 Corvette might be young, but it’s composed, smooth, and has a ton of grip to go with the balance created by the new mid-engine layout. As a team, they were pushing a 1 minute 38 second lap time before a black flag went up for a Ferrari that fell off the track. That’s not in ideal conditions either, and something we’re enthused by is how the C8 Corvette shows no sign of overheating in 100-degree plus desert weather.
We’re excited about the upcoming track dedicated iterations of the C8 Corvette. However, let’s not forget how good the base model with the Z51 package is a supercar you can drive to the track on a Sunday, then drive to work on a Monday.
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