Tanner
August 26th, 2008, 18:32
I took a ride in the R8 around some backroad with a journalist a while ago, was a hoot, but it paled in comparison to what it did on the track. Given that I never have driven or got a ride around the full Mosport in the past, I had the opportunity of getting a (media) ride in the R8 at the ALMS race this past weekend. I missed it ever since the ALMS started giving rides to the media folks when they first brought out the R8 a few years ago, so I was not going to miss it this year. Included is the Corvette and a 911 GT3.
The guy that was driving (from South Carolina), can't remember his name, was a great guy, friendly and a pretty darn good driver. The ride itself, the experience is one of those things as a "first" I'll never forget. I can now fully understand why a lot of people love driving this track and nothing else (well for those in the Toronto area).
The grip around the corners is just amazing. I don't think he was going full out but he wasn't wimping out either, especially around some corners where the tires were howling a bit. You hear horror stories of how folks would lift or loose it around turn two and into the grass and eventually into the tire wall, I can understand why now! ESP was left on but the car did get a bit loose around turn five but that's just because the patchwork they did on that corner, pretty forgiving. Going down Andretti straight, we hit 200km/h but started to slow down a bit, well before the little hump before turn eight, so I'm guessing we could have probably hit 230km/h. I think the drivers were told not to exceed 200km/h.
Trying to take a few photos while enjoying the ride was pretty difficult to say the least!
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3039/2787425698_0200af904f.jpg (http://flickr.com/photos/tanm/2787425698/)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3056/2787426396_6b9b0218b0.jpg (http://flickr.com/photos/tanm/2787426396/)
It's a car that still turns head, even when a nice 911 GT3 is parked next to it.
The guy that was driving (from South Carolina), can't remember his name, was a great guy, friendly and a pretty darn good driver. The ride itself, the experience is one of those things as a "first" I'll never forget. I can now fully understand why a lot of people love driving this track and nothing else (well for those in the Toronto area).
The grip around the corners is just amazing. I don't think he was going full out but he wasn't wimping out either, especially around some corners where the tires were howling a bit. You hear horror stories of how folks would lift or loose it around turn two and into the grass and eventually into the tire wall, I can understand why now! ESP was left on but the car did get a bit loose around turn five but that's just because the patchwork they did on that corner, pretty forgiving. Going down Andretti straight, we hit 200km/h but started to slow down a bit, well before the little hump before turn eight, so I'm guessing we could have probably hit 230km/h. I think the drivers were told not to exceed 200km/h.
Trying to take a few photos while enjoying the ride was pretty difficult to say the least!
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3039/2787425698_0200af904f.jpg (http://flickr.com/photos/tanm/2787425698/)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3056/2787426396_6b9b0218b0.jpg (http://flickr.com/photos/tanm/2787426396/)
It's a car that still turns head, even when a nice 911 GT3 is parked next to it.