B.S.Rick

Day one dance card
<img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/179/460173052_4d12633b23.jpg?v=0">

Breakfast was very good. Bus ride was very good too, these were very serious motor coaches complete with lots of tv screens that played some cool audi stuff, mostly about the R8 racecar.

Then we get to the track and everyone assembles under the tent over looking the 'West Track'.
<img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/173/460214305_e24ea58935.jpg?v=0">

Gary Thompson (think Bob Barker'ish guy) starts talking about the R8 and its pretty apparent to me that an R8 or more will be making an appearance soon, so i get my camera ready...
<img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/171/460214309_ea42982317_b.jpg">
<img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/187/460214311_f128c066b6_b.jpg">


The cars fire down the short straight and they are hauling ***! This is the first time i'd seen an R8, it was predictable, but still very exciting. I dont have a nice tele lens for my new camera yet, so the pics are cropped a whole bunch. The cars keep rocketing around the track and then pull right up in front of the tent and we all clap and cheer for the drivers (basically, because Gary told us to)
We get introduced to the drivers (ex racers, forgive me but i didnt take notes and cant remember all of them, so i'll have to skip the details) Then Gary calls out 4 names, 4 people got to enjoy some hot laps in the R8's from the passenger seat. Everyone else went to the railing and snapped pics and video.

<img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/192/460235888_7f5dc17d7f_b.jpg">
<img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/219/460235864_01a87316f0_b.jpg">
<img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/226/459455720_cb9e053dbc_b.jpg">

Then the cars pull back up in front of the tent and everyone spends a good half hour milling around them, taking pictures, sitting in them, looking at the engine bay and trunk areas, and talking to the drivers.

<img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/195/464737199_9afac31236_b.jpg">
<img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/213/464740577_7a5efad343_b.jpg">

Then.....lunch.
And as you can see from my schedule card, after lunch i was off to fufill the TT portion of training. That was very fun, got to drive the the new TT, Z4 coupe(twitchy steering, and i dont fit), SLK350, and Cayman(i actually fit).
Then we had some class time for TT.
Drum roll....now is the time to drive the R8 for the first time.... basically in a sand storm. So freeking windy! This was the autoX course comparison drive... you can see the sand in the distance

<img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/212/460271094_e4018e5220_b.jpg">

This was a blast, despite the wind (and some from it, right in the face).
Here's a not so good shot of the autoX course
<img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/200/460214295_4352e964f7_b.jpg">

First car up, MB SL550...everything was so rushed, i didnt have time to hunt downt the esp/tc off button, so that killed the fun a bit- but not bad overall.
Second up, the 911C2S....very very nice- i could live w/ this car the rest of my days. One of the biggest reasons for me, is that i fit in the car so well. Being a tall freak isnt super fun when i comes to car shopping, too many cars i like- not enough that are built to accomodate my length.
Thirdly, the Aston Martin V8 Vantage. 6 speed manual. The car looks like a million bucks, but drives like about 40pesos! Okay, its not that bad, but it felt like the car was bolted together from a dozen separate parts that had a quarter inch layer of rubber between them. I wouldnt turn this car down though, just a beautiful car.

Then.......it's R8 time....6 speed manual (not much to do on this course- just get it to 2nd and leave it)... Now, everyone went the fastest around the course in the R8. a) because it was the most powerful car. b) because the awd would let you get on the gas the soonest... and mostly c) it was the last car we drove and we knew the course by then. Saying that, it was the most fun to drive on this short autoX. The sound was great, the cornering was as flat as can be, the acceleration was ample, and the throttle response was immediate.
We got out of the cars and got back into one of the main tents, and hoped it didnt blow away.

Then it was time to jump on the bus and got back to the hotel. I went to my room....
<img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/210/465174526_3304b5f176.jpg?v=0">

and crashed for a bit, tried to figure out if i could afford a gently pre owned C2S

Then it was cocktail hour! Yay! (actually that was very misleading...since it was beer and wine only, what crap!)
Next up was dinner. It was excellent. Sat and listened to other Audi peeps talk bs while i ate, funny stuff.

Day 1 ends, Day 2 is where the real deal R8 driving happens... i tried not to think about it.

To be continued...



&lt;img src=""&gt;
&lt;img src=""&gt;
&lt;img src=""&gt;
&lt;img src=""&gt;

April

Thanks for the report! Gary is still there, eh?

B.S.Rick

<img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/234/460906044_baf62e10c1.jpg?v=0">

Jump on the bus, get to the track- the wind has stopped- which is a plus.
Get to the track.....and.....a little classroom time, ugh. Talked about the R8, its purpose in life (basically to further the whole brand, not really about selling it), etc.
Then.....the time has come to drive it on the track! "grab a helmet and get in, dont go to slow and try not to tailgate anyone" That's the extent of the instruction. Oh, "if you dont know how to drive a stick, dont learn today", that too.
<img src="http://firebirdraceway.com/5.5web/images/westcourse.jpg">

Between turns 1 and 2 sits the tent with bleachers, great place to view the festivities.

We ran the course counter clockwise, with no chicane on the main straight (i guess they had one for TT training). We two groups of cars behind RS4 lead cars being driven by the instructors.

<img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/234/462105374_225be6b43d_b.jpg">

First time out i rode shotgun with an older(than me) guy named Dan. He was probably mid 50's. I was worried he might not go fast enough, but then he mentioned that he was a life long motocross racer... he went fast enough!
First lap was slow, but even then i could tell this car was very well suited to the track.
It just had a great feel to it, even from the passenger seat.
From the 2nd lap on, we went as fast as everyone could manage. The instructors would be giving us tips and corrections, etc from the RS4. (they would joke that by the last lap "i almost had to look ahead instead of in the mirrors")

I think we did about 5 laps, it was back to 'the pits' for a driver change.
That meant me- in an R8- on the track. I was very excited and a little nervous.
Jump in the car, squish down my spine to fit with the helmet on
<img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/203/460268731_dbd29a16d5_b.jpg">

and were off!
First lap for me was a little quicker since everyone driving now had a chance to absorb the layout and car a bit.

And of course, i 'got stuck' behind someone who couldnt manage to keep up too well. "#2 car, please catch up to #1, you're holding up the rest" said our instructor. Great.
I could've easily passed the car in front of me right at the beginning of the main straight, but i dont think that would've been too well recieved by the instructor. "make sure you get on the gas fully when your front wheels are pointed down the straight." said instructor. I said in my own little head "F that!". Turn 4 was a nice 2nd gear corner, and i would get on the gas fairly early. This would get the car to push ever so slightly, but would result in very good drive off the corner (which was snubbed by the driver in front of me).
We'd get up to ~110+mph by the end of the str8, the R8 pulls very hard all the way down.
Then its time to bring it down to ~45mph and second gear. This car is fantastic under braking. great feel, easy to modulate the attitude of the car and get it rotating into the left hander. (the braking zone was very bumpy. my 'co-driver' wasnt too subtle getting on the brakes, and i could feel the car move around a bit.)
Hard back on the gas outta #5 and find that there are some orange cones set up through #6 and #7 to keep the speeds down a bit.
Down shift back into 2nd right before the entry to the artificially widened apex for #7 and then get your R8 as far to the left as you can before #8- a fun/quick direction changer setting you up for #9 which is a very nice, skidpad like left that really tests the car's ultimate grip. Lemme say, it grips! What's really impressive is how flat it is threw all the corners. All the R8's there had the 'regular' non magneride suspension. I think it was excellent, and everyone 'in the know' said that the MagneRide set up is a huge step up. (same system that Ferrari uses on the 599, not the same as what GM uses, although their version is very good as well).
#10 is another modified apex corner (cones), as is #11- put there to keep the exit speed of 11 down so we arent going insano speed going past the big sweeper that is #1 and #2 together.
This picture shows the cones that make for the apex of #10. (foreground)
<img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/226/465424475_b86c7abf4a_b.jpg">

Middle of pic below is turn 11 area.
<img src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/225/465424505_c42515ce3d_b.jpg">

.
Now for the 'funnest' section. Going from 1 down to 3. I would guess we were going thru there at about 90mph or so... and there were some bumps in there that would've probably 'upset' some other cars, but the R8 took these bumps in stride. The back end would start stepping out a bit and i think my co-driver was getting off the throttle a bit in this section and the back end would rotate a bit more than it would for me- he was getting the ESP to correct for this. The ESP doesnt correct like it does in other Audi's, where it's extremely obvious that it's happening. (he didnt know it was kicking in). It was super subtle, and it didnt impede on the fun at all, imho.
.
Hard on the brakes again getting up to #3, careful not to assume to go out to the right to setup for 3 (thats what the pro driver told us).
Then track on out to the edge to get setup for 4 (where i would be held up the most....again....sigh)

That's it.
2 sessions behind the wheel, 5 laps per. I could've handled more, more, MORE PLEASE!
Very happy to get what i got. Such fun. A 1st class experience from Audi. Food was good, class time was good, wind/sand storm sucked, hotel was very nice, etc. (cancelled flight coming home, sucked.)

I'm way more envious now of the folks that are going to own this car. They are in for a great time w/ a great car. I hope the owners get this car on the track too, would be a shame to not do that.
(most of the cars had &gt;1000 miles of mostly track time and most of them had the original tires! They were at the end of their life, but hanging in there for us. The brakes were original too, pads and rotors. They were in great shape. Point being that this car has such good balance, it doesnt chew itself up, even when being driven by a bunch of ham fisted monkeys.)

Let me know if i made any sense at all, or if anyone has any questions.

RB







&lt;img src=""&gt;

B.S.Rick

Yup, he's a big time cheerleader! ; ) Super nice guy,

crespo

I know what you're talking about with how well Audi does its events. We did get some more driving time in the A8 than what you seem to have gotten in the R8, though.

Still, it was no R8

B.S.Rick

thx! I heard about that A8 training from some folks that went, sounded insane!