The date has come and gone and I must say the stars aligned themselves this time. The weather was perfect, the cars were perfect, and the people were perfect. I am referring to our little two day track event at Watkins Glen Raceway in upstate New York. The participants were KPV, JROY, PorscheBabe, and HZ@CargraphicUSA. The only two flies in the ointment, as the saying goes, were the maximum speed of 45mph for HZ on the way up to the track (more on this later) and the maximum speed on my traffic ticket………..107mph in a 55mph!!! Oh boy!!

I ran Watkins Glen on my Ducati two years ago and it was great then. After trying it again only this time with the KPV996TT, it is my favorite track at this point. I can’t wait ‘til 2005!!!

Following are pictures from the track days…………..

ARRIVAL

 

PORSCHEBABE

















JROY

 

A BEAUTIFUL LUSTFUL GT3 CLUB SPORT
I tried hanging with this guy for a while but my tires were screaming for mercy!!! WOW, what a car!!!!!



KPV



















I tweaked, changed, adjusted and fine tuned my suspension and what I ended up with was the Holy Grail of handling……………… FINALLY!!!! The Moton Club Sports, H&R springs and GT3 bars and assortment of top secret hard parts combined to create an amazing system!!! The car felt so solid and spot-on that I could simply not get enough!!!

Now, for the really good part…………..
I was instructing PorscheBabe and must say that her skillset has improved immensely!! From the first day at Pocono months ago to the time at Watkins, she came in not knowing the track and fearful of the hard barriers that proliferate at this track and she came away hitting every apex, smoothing out her transitions, getting the line down and improving her speed. She is the star pupil!! I am very proud of her accomplishments and congratulate her on her success!!! Keep up the great work!!
Next stuff up….Lift throttle oversteer and trail braking. I guess we will need to wait for 2005 though!!!

 

Holy SH _ _ Ken!!! Glad the track was a blast. Get a lawyer who works the courts in the area where the speed anomoly occurred. Best of luck.

 

Well I know I said it before, but it doesn't get better then taking your car to the track especially "The Glen"! The help and support from Erik and Hershel is just amazing. Erik watching and giving pointers as I changed my brake pads from pagid blue to pagid orange. Putting on my 18" Cargraphic wheels. Loading my car on an open transport so Hershel could tow it up to the track for me. The cherry on top of it all is having a GOOD friend like Ken being my personal instructor It is awesome to have the same instructor every time you go on the track, simply because he knows my style, my limits, weak points and my strong points. Ken opened this door for me with the track events. He showed me the light, I can't thank him enough. It was so nice to see James (JROY) again and his wonderful wife Stacy. I'm so glad the both of you were able to attend this event. It was great to have you there We also had the pleasure of meeting a fellow 6speeder, Chris (C4S Surgeon).


I was on this track once before about two years ago. A buddy by the name of Lou who is an instructor with Track Masters, he invited me up to see what it is all about. He put me in his sweet GT2 and gave me an overview of the track as he drove through it. After the first couple of laps, I asked him to show me what his car could do.... AND DID HE! He had his car up to 160MPH in the front straight then 120MPH into turn 1. I was so impressed with his ability and car. I have to admit.... I'm more impressed now, simply because I had the chance to run this track and truly realize how challenging of a track it is.

I have to say that PDA is such a well-run organization. This is my second event with them and without a doubt that my track experience with them has been just amazing. From the classroom time, scheduling and safety you could not ask for better. A special thank you to Joe, he runs PDA. I can't thank him enough for taking the time out of his crazy days to help me and share his knowledge and experiences What can I say except A+ to you Joe for helping to make my experience so wonderful!

Phil at Grafik Dezine, thank you for the magnets and decals! You dressed my car and helmet and I'm so pleased with the way it turned out.... I have attached some pics of Phil's work.

Now for the fun part! The experience..... My first session on the track Friday morning... VERY overwhelming. So much going on, so much to do, watch and absorb with such a LONG track. As first I thought that I was crazy to be on this track. Then Ken stepped in and gave me a pep talk. Session two, everything started to become more familiar, the track it self, looking for the right line and remembering everything about my experience at Pocono. Then I get into Ken's car, and see the way I should be running this track. His car was so ON and so was he. Once he warmed up the car and tires we were off! So smooth, the lines just right... Just amazing. On the front straight with the turbos kicking in downshifting for turn 1 then just accelerating through turns 2,3 and 4 known as the "Esses'" and feeling the turbos kick in and push you through... That by far with the butterflies and all my favorite part of the track.
The chicane (or bus stop as it is called) once I got the hang of it I enjoyed it as well. Two turns that got me were turn 7 "toe of the boot" and turn 10... I still need to work on them.

By the end of the second day, I was LOVIN' that track and I never wanted to leave. There is so much to learn and practice I need, I just couldn't get enough. The days were long and crazy between running my car, jumping in Ken's car and classroom time, I enjoyed every minute of it and can't believe its over

I told some friends that I was going to hit this track they were all giving me wonderful advice, I took it all I thank them for calling me, emailing and taking the time to share their experiences and also for their safe wishes.

With all the experiences and opportunities I have, I truly am LUCKY girl The best part I get to share it all with my friends
Once again if you haven't done a track event, get your tail out there!

Some pics of Phil's work:

 

Looks like a fun day!

Any video?

 

ken, michelle, hersh & james....glsd to know you all had a fun time....and more importantly; safe & sound!

 

Awesome!

I'll have my Putnam write up soon.

 

Great pictures and report. The best part is that everyone was having fun and learning at the same time. Once bitten by the track bug, it's hard not to try to go out every chance you get.

 

Sounds like too much fun. I'm headed to the "Glen" in a week. Can't wait. Where did you get the clear plastic protective film on the front of your cars? I've tried a search on the subject but found nothing. Thanks.

 

Alright!!!

 

Kneedrager,
Call Joe at 973.253.3900 for the track wrap.

 

Great weather and hardly any cars!!!!

Were you doing time trials or was it just that empty? Almost like having a track to yourselves!

Ken 107mph without Tony, Sean and Myself?!?!?!!!!! It's good thing we werent there...b/c it would have been 150mph in a 55. LOL! JK! Hope you get everything squared away.

 

What is the plastic that you had on your cars while driving on the track? It looks like Saran Wrap. I'm interested in that whatever it is.

 

Ken thanks for the info. I just ordered a roll.

Kneedrager