I thought some might enjoy seeing what a high performance driving school or lapping day is all about. This is an in-car video from last fall from the iconic Mosport International Raceway in Ontario (renamed Canadian Tire M. P.).


This event was an open lapping day with only one run group, meaning all participants can go on and off the track at any time they wish, and for as long as they wish. All participants at this event have been screened to ensure that they are very experienced and drive at an advanced skill to ensure safety for all. This differs from a "school" where participants would be sorted into run groups based on their varying skill levels, with novice and intermediate drivers only allowed on track with an instructor, and class room instruction in-between their sessions on track. Each run group goes on track separately, and for 20-25 minute sessions at most schools. schools also require participants to first have their cars "teched" by a mechanic to ensure they are in excellent mechanical condition specifically for a day on the racetrack.


The first few minutes of this video shows me going out on track doing "warm-up" laps with cars already on track doing "hot laps". Tires need a few laps to warm-up enough to achieve maximum grip before attempting to run the higher speeds of hot laps, and drivers also need a chance to warm up their brains in order to do it safely! During these laps I'm following a Ferrari for a while.


The last few laps shows me running hot laps at higher speeds. The GPS speeds shown in the upper left corner are from a dashcam which is rather slow and not always accurate. Top speed at the end of the straight is typically 147-152 mph unless I'm slowed by traffic. The last lap is following a Ferrari F430 Speciale race car up the back straight.


All passing is initiated by the car about to be overtaken signaling with arm out the window to the approaching car as to which side he would like to be passed. No signal, no pass allowed, no exceptions. This ensures a "meeting of the minds" between drivers, and the slower car is required to lift off the gas to allow for a quick and safe pass. This is why you see such a difference in speed as passing takes place. If a car shows up in your mirror he is the faster car unless you're bogged down in traffic, and you give him the pass signal at the next designated passing zone, which in this particular group is anywhere except in a corner. Passing zones on this track are usually just on the three straightaways for lapping days and driving schools. The goal is always to ensure safe passing.


I think you'll see that a car can be run at these speeds in a rather gentle manner. While this is in my Viper TA, I drove the XKR in the same manner, topping out closer to 145 mph. Its cornering speeds were less as well owing in part to narrower tires and a less forgiving stability and traction control system that would intervene at the hint of tire slip. I became comfortable turning off those systems and at that point I found the XKR to be very rewarding to track at speed. You'd be surprised just how much grip the tires develop at track temperatures, and how neutral and composed the handling was at high speed where the car's weight seemed to melt away.

 

Good driving, Bruce. Looks smooth and precise. You've come a long ways in that Viper!

 

The passing system made sense, up until the point where the Porsche indicated left to tell you to pass on the left. That would have confused the hell out of me! On the 'Ring, normal German road rules apply: all passing on the left, passing on the right is verboten. And it's convention that the slower car indicates right to show they've seen the car behind and are going to stay right. I haven't done a UK track day yet, so I'm not sure what the rules are here.

 

"Practice makes perfect"...another good quote


There's always a drivers meeting at the beginning of the track days and schools that discusses the passing rules for that day. Sometimes it's that all passing is done on the right, or the left. In this case it was for cars giving the pass-by signal to stay on the race line, and to signal with arm out the window to be passing on either the right or left. As a driver I have no problem following the signal given, whether it technically should have been the opposite. The important thing is that it be done with both drivers understanding each other.

Some events I do actually allow passing anywhere, including in the corners, and it's done with the precision of synchronized swimmers and skaters...and always with a signal! These lapping events are really a cooperative among like-minded driving enthusiasts, as opposed to a competition among those there for the purpose of "win"...and that makes it safe and enjoyable...and no fear of ever being out with a $500 junker

 

The Nordschleife...just no runoff there. Ya gotta stay on track.

 

Yeah - treat it more like canyon carving than track racing, only without any LEOs.

 

Hello gents,


I was hoping to hear that some of you might have probed the performance of your cars over the last few months on track. I booked 12 track days a couple of months ago and the 5th day is coming up on Wednesday. One of the joys in tracking for me has always been travelling to distant tracks and seeing parts of the country I never would have otherwise. We're now planning a road trip to the iconic Road America in Wisconsin with a Corvette C7 Z06 track buddy and our wives. I was there just once 13 years ago and can remember every corner...can't wait to embrace its curves once again and experience the country along the way including at least a couple of days in Chicago.

Hope you're all enjoying your Jags! We did a club cruise through our truly beautiful Muskoka Lakes region yesterday and I really missed the top-down enjoyment of my XKR. If there were ever a better vert to tour in I have yet to see it.

Bruce

 

Good to hear from you, Bruce. Not much happening here when it comes to tracking cars.

Hope your buddy with the ZO6 has some cooling updates on his car, otherwise he may sit out most of the sessions. You knew of the issues with the Stingray and they are true. I am in the process of figuring out what updates are needed to make my car stay cool under hard running. Chevy really missed the boat by making a fantastic car, then cheaping out on penny items, like a good set of coolers.

Have fun at Road America!

 

Thanks Albert. It's a shame that more of us don't have the opportunity even just once to experience the thrill of our prized performance cars on track. That's generally a good thing for our personal safety and that of our cars as some have found high performance driving tends to be rather addictive!



Thanks, and yes, the whole C7 cooling thing is a real disappointment. My Z51 buddy can't track his without one component failing from overheating and my Z06 friend found its limits somewhere around 8/10ths while chasing me around Mosport on a cool day a couple of weeks ago. He'll be fine at Road America as he's doing just one day there as part of a cross country road trip from Quebec to the west coast. He wouldn't be pushing it as he's got almost 7000 miles to drive and the car to survive before making it home again!


Hopefully owner's patience will be rewarded with factory cooling solutions...or failing that, the discipline to not run it too hard. And hopefully it won't cramp your daily canyon carving exercises too much!


Bruce

 

Still planning a 'Ring trip in September. I was hoping to take the Beast to Silverstone for some laps this year, but I seem to have too much else on.

 

In my youth I used to do some auto crossing with a few of my cars . I never thought about it because I never had an autobox but after watching the video it is easy for me to see why the dual clutch paddle shifting evolved. Watching the shifting I can see it looks easier and allows the driver to focus on the track if the paddles were on the steering wheel. Now I realize there are those that still think a manual gearbox is the only way to go but I guess I can enjoy either a dual clutch gearbox or a paddle shifter autobox just as well. I don't need to shift manually at this stage of my driving and even back in the day I don't think I could shift my old 4 speeds any faster then the Jag. So nice video and it looked like fun but I'll leave the need for speed with some of you on the form. Thanks