Well, I can now finally say I got to do a runway event!! It was a lot of fun, and got better as the day went along. The weather was a bit of a negative, not too cold, but overcast with only a couple of very brief rain delays fortunately.
So here is a blow by blow of the positives and a couple of minor complaints. The MKM staff was very professional and very safety conscious. I thought some of the requirements were a little much. While I understand the safety reasons for arm restraints I did not like using them at all. And while I understand wanting to “familiarize” people with the track I did not like having to burn a run at 140-150 to get “upgraded” to run full out, particularly when weather is an issue and driving our cars at those speeds in a straight line is not exactly rocket science. I glanced over at the speedo on that run I had to burn and I was at 165 :eek and climbing heading towards the ¾ mile mark and I had to back off at the finish to make sure I didn’t go over 150 and get sent to the principal’s office. :bored
The runway was beautiful, very long and wide with perfect pavement. :thumbsup Ideal for the event. No heavy braking was required as we went to the end of the runway before turning around to come back and get our time slips. I accomplished my goals of improving on each of my “real” runs posting a 173.3, 175.4 and my final run of 181.9. Each run I felt I learned more about the car in this type of venue, got better at the launch and got very comfortable shifting right at the rev limiter. On my last run I decided that shifting to fifth just before the end of the run was costing me and I was going to leave it in 4th till I hit/if I hit the rev limiter. It came ever so close but I did not blip the rev limiter and posted my best time of the day. :banana Good job Mr. Heffner for making my car go 181.9 in fourth gear. :lol I think I could have coaxed a couple more mph’s out of it with a couple more runs, but my day was at its end.
The amazingly fun thing about our GT’s, for me anyway, is I am not worrying about the car in any way shape or form at high speeds. It is just so darn stable. I am just analyzing my performance and figuring out how to do better. I wish I could have gone again today because I really feel I have the knowledge to get the best out of my set-up. That said I need more horsepower!!!:bang:bang:bang
Now, the best part of the event was, as always the other GT owners. It is great to be around a group that is so supportive of one another and is cheering each other on like they are a member of your family. Each of us checked on each others runs, congratulated each other, talked about what was working for each of us sharing our experiences so we could all improve. What a great group of people, but you all already know that. :cheers
A special thanks to all of the GT owners for making my experience that much better. A big shout out to GTED (got to know how that last run went pal), tallcarguy, (who made me feel comfortable going for the rev limiter), Apollo (and wife), LOVE CHP (and wife), Fast Freddy (love the hand held atmosphere device), Joe whose last name escapes me and last, but surely not least the fastest GT at the Mojave Mile, Black Ice. It was great watching you analyze your runs and tune your car on the fly like the mad scientist of speed. (and immense thanks for the loan of the arm restraints) It was great to meet Chris A in person (altough I really want to see your GT doors in person as well :lol ) and Piccola always dresses up any GT event.
So in closing it was a fun event. Would I do it again? I would love to, however I would prefer a smaller group of cars, even if I had to pay extra. There was nowhere near the field limit of 150. (don’t know a full count but I would say no more than 90 cars, some only making a couple of passes) I got in 4 runs and people were clearing out by the end and the grid was lighter, but I had to leave for work. Maybe if I stayed for the last 2 hours I could have got 6 runs, but the rain looked like it was on the way back strong. But if the number of cars there limited me to 4 runs by 3 in the afternoon I can’t imagine what a full grid would have been like. You guys who had the GT only day at the Texas Mile must have had a blast. Sorry I missed that one. My ADD makes me impatient. I just want to drive...........okay who am I kidding, if there is a chance to drive my GT I am going to show if possible. I just hope these events start to happen more often out here, that I can get more runs……and that I figure out what direction I am going to go to make my car faster. :driving:
Enjoy the pics and I hope the other GT participants post their experiences.
So here is a blow by blow of the positives and a couple of minor complaints. The MKM staff was very professional and very safety conscious. I thought some of the requirements were a little much. While I understand the safety reasons for arm restraints I did not like using them at all. And while I understand wanting to “familiarize” people with the track I did not like having to burn a run at 140-150 to get “upgraded” to run full out, particularly when weather is an issue and driving our cars at those speeds in a straight line is not exactly rocket science. I glanced over at the speedo on that run I had to burn and I was at 165 :eek and climbing heading towards the ¾ mile mark and I had to back off at the finish to make sure I didn’t go over 150 and get sent to the principal’s office. :bored
The runway was beautiful, very long and wide with perfect pavement. :thumbsup Ideal for the event. No heavy braking was required as we went to the end of the runway before turning around to come back and get our time slips. I accomplished my goals of improving on each of my “real” runs posting a 173.3, 175.4 and my final run of 181.9. Each run I felt I learned more about the car in this type of venue, got better at the launch and got very comfortable shifting right at the rev limiter. On my last run I decided that shifting to fifth just before the end of the run was costing me and I was going to leave it in 4th till I hit/if I hit the rev limiter. It came ever so close but I did not blip the rev limiter and posted my best time of the day. :banana Good job Mr. Heffner for making my car go 181.9 in fourth gear. :lol I think I could have coaxed a couple more mph’s out of it with a couple more runs, but my day was at its end.
The amazingly fun thing about our GT’s, for me anyway, is I am not worrying about the car in any way shape or form at high speeds. It is just so darn stable. I am just analyzing my performance and figuring out how to do better. I wish I could have gone again today because I really feel I have the knowledge to get the best out of my set-up. That said I need more horsepower!!!:bang:bang:bang
Now, the best part of the event was, as always the other GT owners. It is great to be around a group that is so supportive of one another and is cheering each other on like they are a member of your family. Each of us checked on each others runs, congratulated each other, talked about what was working for each of us sharing our experiences so we could all improve. What a great group of people, but you all already know that. :cheers
A special thanks to all of the GT owners for making my experience that much better. A big shout out to GTED (got to know how that last run went pal), tallcarguy, (who made me feel comfortable going for the rev limiter), Apollo (and wife), LOVE CHP (and wife), Fast Freddy (love the hand held atmosphere device), Joe whose last name escapes me and last, but surely not least the fastest GT at the Mojave Mile, Black Ice. It was great watching you analyze your runs and tune your car on the fly like the mad scientist of speed. (and immense thanks for the loan of the arm restraints) It was great to meet Chris A in person (altough I really want to see your GT doors in person as well :lol ) and Piccola always dresses up any GT event.
So in closing it was a fun event. Would I do it again? I would love to, however I would prefer a smaller group of cars, even if I had to pay extra. There was nowhere near the field limit of 150. (don’t know a full count but I would say no more than 90 cars, some only making a couple of passes) I got in 4 runs and people were clearing out by the end and the grid was lighter, but I had to leave for work. Maybe if I stayed for the last 2 hours I could have got 6 runs, but the rain looked like it was on the way back strong. But if the number of cars there limited me to 4 runs by 3 in the afternoon I can’t imagine what a full grid would have been like. You guys who had the GT only day at the Texas Mile must have had a blast. Sorry I missed that one. My ADD makes me impatient. I just want to drive...........okay who am I kidding, if there is a chance to drive my GT I am going to show if possible. I just hope these events start to happen more often out here, that I can get more runs……and that I figure out what direction I am going to go to make my car faster. :driving:
Enjoy the pics and I hope the other GT participants post their experiences.
