3 days at VIR

Well, I'm back from my first time at the track with the CS and I've got to say I'm one happy guy! The car was absolutely amazing and the best thing of all was I didn't bend anything up.

This was a 3 day event at VIR, and we got a lot of track time despite Tropical Storm Hanna blowing through the area Friday night and into Saturday. Even though about 6 inches of rain fell in 12 hours, the VIR folks got the track cleaned and dry and we were back to running by 1:00 pm on Saturday. Considering there was standing water in some locations on the track that morning I thought they did an excellent job getting things ready.

My first runs on Friday were a bit rough, to say the least. It had been at least 3 years since I'd been to the track - in a very different car - and I was more than a bit rusty and sloppy. My instructor was very patient with me, though, and things got a little better as the day went on.

Once we got back on the track Saturday (they combined run groups as many people left for the day, and we were still able to get in three 30 minute runs) things started to improve. I was seeing the line better, getting a lot more comfortable with the car, and understanding a lot more of what was being told to me.

My first run Sunday was much improved and I was signed off to go solo the last two runs of the day. In my opinion those last two sessions were far and away my best of the weekend, so though I still have PLENTY to work on I left the track happy and feeling like I had learned a whole lot.

In the end, I wasn't the fastest guy out there by any means, but I had a great time and getting the learn the Cayman and re-learn the track was a whole lot of fun. What an amazing car! It was really interesting to have a number of 911 folks come up to us and talk about how stable the Cayman looks on the track.

I can certainly say the car saved my butt a few times (I only really got half sideways once - at Turn 4 - and it was very easy to catch) and it has completely convinced me I have the right car for me. It's just so much fun and so easy to drive. I need to get a WHOLE lot smoother, for sure, but the speed I was able to hold through the turns on stock tires made this beginner more than happy. I also think I had an excellent instructor who taught me a great deal.

One thing which surprised me somewhat was how much easier I found it to be driving the track without the instructor in the car. It seemed, to me, it was a lot easier to hit my marks in certain turns without the extra weight of the passenger in the car. Has anyone else experienced this?

I want to say "Thanks again!" to fellow Cayman Club members FT, JCRiggs (and Tony), DanielMellen & John (can't remember his screen name) for a great time at VIR this past weekend! It was very nice to meet everyone, and watch other Caymans on the track. I really appreciate all the great advice I picked up from almost everyone I met. FT and JCRiggs in particular are a whole lot more experienced than I am and I got to talk with them a good bit. It was great to pick their brains on tires, tire pressure, wheels, brakes, etc. I also really enjoyed meeting Daniel and John and hope to see them at another event soon.

So that was my weekend. Very fun, very tiring, and very instructive. My schedule and life in general will probably only allow me one or two DE events a year at the most but I'm certainly looking forward to the next one!