Ridin' with the Man . . .
K-Man S, that is! 
So . . . when I registered for the "Heat in the Heartland" DE sponsored by the KCPCA, I was a little miffed that they placed me in group 1 - presumably because I had done only 1 previous DE track day at Heartland Park Topeka (HPT) before. Since that first DE last October I've done 8-9 more track days, including 2 DE weekends, at Hallett, so I really thought I belonged at least in Group 2, but if they wanted me to start in 1 again, so be it.
My spirits lifted a bit the week prior to the event, when I learned that none other than the Cayman Club founder and spiritual leader, K-Man S himself, would be my instructor. I also felt a little apprehensive knowing that he likes the Cayman to show the other cars "a bit of what for" on the track, and as there was only one other Cayman S registered besides the two of us, I knew I would feel a little pressure to perform well.
Saturday went pretty well - K-Man S drove my car ("Tiptronic?!!") for a couple of laps to demonstrate the line; he also took me for a ride in his car for a few laps at his "7/10ths" pace (
), which was pretty exciting. His car was throwing a CEL, which subsequently turned out to be nothing, but he was afraid to push it, which limited his own driving over the weekend.
I did well enough on Saturday (nobody passed me in my group) that K-man S had me promoted to the combined Group 2/3 on Sunday. After the first session on Sunday, he felt I was doing well enough to go it alone, so he signed me off to go solo. Because they combined groups we ran longer sessions: 30 minutes - by the end of a session I could tell I was starting to get mentally fatigued and a little sloppy at times, but it was great fun.
I don't know what my lap times were the first time I went to HPT, but just based on the fact that I am now frequently shifting into 4th gear, in places where I never got out of 3rd before, I know that I am a good deal faster. Some of this is due no doubt to the SRP and my Nittos (which are terrific on the track), but also due in part to K-man S' encouragement and my increasing confidence in the handling capabilities of the Cayman.
Some video highlights are included below (though I have to apologize for the poor audio - I'm still trying to figure out the best way to pick-up sound without wind noise, etc.)
So . . . when I registered for the "Heat in the Heartland" DE sponsored by the KCPCA, I was a little miffed that they placed me in group 1 - presumably because I had done only 1 previous DE track day at Heartland Park Topeka (HPT) before. Since that first DE last October I've done 8-9 more track days, including 2 DE weekends, at Hallett, so I really thought I belonged at least in Group 2, but if they wanted me to start in 1 again, so be it.
My spirits lifted a bit the week prior to the event, when I learned that none other than the Cayman Club founder and spiritual leader, K-Man S himself, would be my instructor. I also felt a little apprehensive knowing that he likes the Cayman to show the other cars "a bit of what for" on the track, and as there was only one other Cayman S registered besides the two of us, I knew I would feel a little pressure to perform well.
Saturday went pretty well - K-Man S drove my car ("Tiptronic?!!") for a couple of laps to demonstrate the line; he also took me for a ride in his car for a few laps at his "7/10ths" pace (
), which was pretty exciting. His car was throwing a CEL, which subsequently turned out to be nothing, but he was afraid to push it, which limited his own driving over the weekend.I did well enough on Saturday (nobody passed me in my group) that K-man S had me promoted to the combined Group 2/3 on Sunday. After the first session on Sunday, he felt I was doing well enough to go it alone, so he signed me off to go solo. Because they combined groups we ran longer sessions: 30 minutes - by the end of a session I could tell I was starting to get mentally fatigued and a little sloppy at times, but it was great fun.
I don't know what my lap times were the first time I went to HPT, but just based on the fact that I am now frequently shifting into 4th gear, in places where I never got out of 3rd before, I know that I am a good deal faster. Some of this is due no doubt to the SRP and my Nittos (which are terrific on the track), but also due in part to K-man S' encouragement and my increasing confidence in the handling capabilities of the Cayman.
Some video highlights are included below (though I have to apologize for the poor audio - I'm still trying to figure out the best way to pick-up sound without wind noise, etc.)
Total Comments 1
Comments
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sounds like a wonderful learning experience! Ken is a great driver, and always good to have an instructor who drives the same type car as you (although he does have some monster mods.)
great that you picked up speed toward the end - you are well on your way to becoming an instructor yourself! |
 
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Recent Blog Entries by KS-CS
- Endurocross Madness (10-09-2008)
- Cleaning Exhaust Tips (08-26-2008)
- Another Lesson Learned . . . (08-08-2008)
- Ridin' with the Man . . . (06-26-2008)
- Wash Day Conundrum (06-09-2008)
