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Yet another thrilling Driver Ed event at
Road America
sponsored by PCA Chicago Region.
Once again the weather sucked big time! It was hot and humid in Chicago the
day before but the morning of the first day it rained then slowly got cooler
and cooler. By the second day the rain was gone but it was pretty cold (high
50's to lower 60's) and VERY windy!
I chose not to get an instructor this time thinking that I already know the line and that I just need to fine tune my driving. Fortunately, the world famous Todd Serota of Tracquest fame was in town for this event to drive Bill's 996. Todd offered to go with me for a couple sessions and give me some pointers. Not only did I beat my previous best lap time but I beat it by over 6 seconds! My best lap time was 3:02.10, with other laps consistently in the 3:04 - 3:06 range on the second day. With another session or two I know I could have gotten below 3:00!!
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) Our cars ready to go. |
) Lily looking quite spiffy in her driving suit. |
) A wider angle shot showing Jason's and Ron's cars. |
) Lily prepares for her next session. |
) Lily going over a session with Tony. |
) Lily naps between sessions in my car. I guess my SRDs are more comfortable than stock Boxster seats. |
) Ron resting and trying to stay warm. |
) With 1.5 hours between sessions there was plenty of time to socialize. |
) Lily, Todd and myself posing for a picture. |
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) ŠEdmund Lacis 2000 |
) ŠEdmund Lacis 2000 |
) ŠEdmund Lacis 2000 |
) ŠEdmund Lacis 2000 |
) ŠEdmund Lacis 2000 |
) ŠEdmund Lacis 2000 |
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By popular demand, here is some in car video of me taking a lap around Road
America. If you download the QuickTime, please be patient, it's very large.
It could take over an hour to download over a 33.6K modem. If you're on
a slow link I highly recommend viewing the RealVideo version.
QuickTime Movie - Approx. 10.7M |
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Since I spent so much time spectating I took some video of cars in the
advanced and novice groups. The video below is of some cars going through
turns 6, 7 and 8 and into the carousel. The first car you will see is
John's white GT3R, then Bill's silver 996, Ron's Boxster and finally Lily
in the yellow Boxster. I tried to be as stable as possible but I was
pretty high up the hill to get a good view of all the turns and therefor
I had to use a lot of zoom.
QuickTime Movie - Approx. 8.2M |
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) Medical staff checking out the driver. |
) Damage seems just superficial. |
) The back end got some damage too. |
) A blurry picture of another incident. |
) A car off track just past turn 8. |
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This was also the first time I was at Road America where the back parts of the track were open to spectators. I drove from spot to spot to find the ideal vantage point to watch the action. I found the best spot to be at the top of the hill overlooking turns 6, 7, 8 and part of the carousel!
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) Lily is in the car at the back just out of turn 1. |
) Lily in a little traffic in turn 5. |
) Nice shot of Lily in turn 7. |
) Ron on the main straight with some light rain. |
) A shot of Ron in turn 5 with a 968 behind him. |
) Bill's 996 with either Bill or Todd driving. The best shot I was able to get as they were always moving so fast! |
) Another poorer shot of Bill's 996 in turn 7. |
) Kevin in his 930 slant-nose three-wheeling through turn 5. |
) Another picture of Kevin this time on all four wheels in turn 7. |
) First time I've seen John Ruther's GT3R moving in person, or any GT3R! |
) John passing another car up the hill to turn 6. |
) Another picture of the GT3R almost lifting an inside front wheel. |
) Tony's 968 in turn 5. |
) A 996 passing a 911 up the hill on the main straight. |
) Three cars in a row in turn 7. |
) Pete or Brandon in their nicely set up Carrera. |
) The Green Meenie. |
) A really really fast 928. |
) Is that wing big enough? |
) A Speed Yellow 996 cab. |
) I don't see many 914s on the track. |
) A purplish 911. |
) A nice 993 turbo? |
) A 928 being chased by a 911 race car. |
) A 968 in turn 5. |
) A red 930. |
) Wow! A pre-1980 911! |
) This might be a rare 964 turbo. |
) A 944 Turbo. |
) A very modified 911. |
) What the? |
) 911 following a 944 Turbo. |
) Lucky 993 owner got a great car number. |
) Paul powering his 968 up the hill to turn 6. |
) This 911 got the inside front wheel WAY off the ground. |
) A 964 in turn 7. |
) Another 964 in turn 7. |
) Todd Conforti's incredibly fast RS America 8^). |
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