The event at Watkins Glen (aka "The Glen") is over and it was great. It was my first track event and the instruction provided was excellent. The event was run by the Riesentöter Region of the Porsche Club of America (Philadelphia region). They ran a very safe and orderly event and all of the Porsche guys I met there were friendly and always willing to share advice from when they got started on the track. The value for the track time was great. The event cost $225 and you got 3 days with 4 twenty minute sessions per day. Now that's a lot of bang for the buck!

Approximately 200 cars showed up to run. Most were Porsches but there were also a number of BMWs, 7 Corrados, about 30 Dodge Vipers and a few miscellaneous other cars including a set of Caterham-7s, Mazda RX-7s, Toyota Supras and a Honda Prelude.

I was initially disappointed to learn that "The Boot" portion of Watkins Glen was not yet ready and we were running the so-called NASCAR course. However, this is still a very, very challenging course and included plenty of turns and elevation changes. And next year when I am back and it is open it will be like a totally new course! I think Yosh Hakutani and Larry Leff even found this course as fun and challenging as Mont Tremblant was this spring, if not moreso given the high speeds of the course.

I got top-notch driving instruction from Lee Rogers (E30 M3 driver), Todd Sager (VR6 Corrado driver) and Todd Reid (Caterham-7 driver). It was great having 3 very capable drivers ride along with me and give me much-needed instruction during my first event. Getting a ride-along with them was almost equally helpful since I could watch how they braked and steered and took lines at all of the corners I had become familiar with. All in all, this is probably the best driver's education (and fun) event I have been to. Now I can't wait until next year!!

As for my VR6 Corrado, I was very, very pleased with the car's performance. Earlier this year I upgraded the suspension with H&R lowering springs and Bilstein Sport shocks/struts. The brakes were upgraded with Brembo cross-drilled rotors up front, Metal Master pads, Castrol LMA fluid and Autotech braided stainless steel brake lines. The cars suspension was very firm and controlled and the brakes were up to the job of slowing me down from those 115 mph straights in time for some exciting turns.

I also ran my Dunlop SP8000s which held up very nicely on the track and did not show any signs of abnormal wear. The really serious guys ran R1s but I still have some more track learning I want to do before getting a set of stickier tires since the SP8000s did so very well on their own.

Another recent addition to the car was an oil cooler kit from AWE which places the oil cooler in front of the radiator. This gets it right in the airstream and also allows the fan to pull air through it when it is on in slower driving. During the event the ambient temps ranged from 50F to 65F or so and my water temps never went above 215F and oil temps never above 256F. In fact, most of the time the oil temps were around 244F. In contrast, two other VR6s (John Erhardt and Dave Sudlik) ran without oil coolers in my run group. They usually saw peak temps (John's peak) of just over 300F for oil and average temps in the 275F - 280F range.

John planned to install the New Dimensions oil cooler kit prior to the event but did not have time. He plans to install it soon after he returns to Chicago. Needless to say I was very happy since my car ran hotter than most VR6 Corrados prior to the installation of the oil cooler.

Overall, the Corrado is very capable on the track and is a great car to learn to drive fast in that environment. I surprised many a Porsche 911, 944 or BMW M3. I even passed a Viper a few times!! Of course by the end of the first run you really see that the Corrado is as fast and capable as many other cars out there, especially in the corners. There is no match for a Viper's power on the straights or for a 911 Turbo for that matter. But you can very often catch them in the corners or stay with them by taking a better line and braking later, etc. What it all boiled down to was that the experience level of the driver was the biggest determinant of speed. I know I had a blast and learned a lot and cannot wait to do it all over again!

The weekend ended a bit early since two more 911s crashed. Three 911s had been damaged seriously by the end of the weekend and an M3 and RX-7 had some damage from touching the blue armco in a spin (aka "The Blue Bushes"). Two of the 911s were lost at turn one, doing things that they said not to do in the drivers meetings. (They were in my green, or novice, run group.) Things probably happened pretty quickly for a new driver that was going a bit too fast in those accidents anyway. Luckily none of the drivers and their instructors were hurt.

Also great fun was getting back together with so many of the guys from other events. This is often one of the most satisfying aspects of the event -- seeing fellow Corrado drivers and getting to know them well as a friend and fellow enthusiast.

I'd recommend that anyone interested in learning to drive more quickly consider enrolling in a driving school with us next year. The best way to make your car go faster isn't to add those cams but to improve the skills of the driver!!

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