Track Day Prep.

[Blown353]

Another piece of advice I can give is don't try and keep up with the guy in front of you or stay in front of the guy behind you, go your own pace and be courteous to those faster than you and wave them around. I saw a lot of fancy exotics get balled up at Ferrari Club open track days I used to attend over the years when the guys who thought they were fast tried to keep up with the guys who *were* fast. I remember at one of the first open track events I attended in one of the first sessions of the day I got to watch a then-new Testarossa going off into the tires behind my Dad and I at Sears Point; the TR driver had no business running in the "advanced" group but let his ego get the better of him, and he tried to keep up and over-drove his abilities. He was OK, but the car wasn't.

Also remember, most of you guys have to DRIVE your cars home! Sucks calling AAA or finding a trailer to bring a broken car home. So don't totally beat the thing to death.

For guys who haven't run the track before, an experienced passenger is highly recommended to show you the lines and also suggest entry speeds, lest you do something silly like run off into the dirt. If it's the cars first time on the track, it's also good to have a passenger watch the gauges and other stuff for trouble during the first track sessions with the car to watch for oil starvation problems and the like, as the driver typically can't keep his eye on the gauges at the crucial moments where a starvation problem may occur.



Oil temps are another valid concern, as Anthony said, and could very well ruin your day, especially if it's going to be that hot out there. Guys without oil coolers need to be especially cautious. I know for a fact that if I open tracked my car right now I'd cook the engine in 10 minutes or less, as I can get the oil up to 255-260F after about 10 minutes "playing" on my favorite backroads, where I can drive hard but not nearly as hard as I could on a proper track.

Still wish I could be there, but I've been scolded that this "friendship and wedding thing" take priority.

Troy