Joenmina1 Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 I attended my first HPDE-1 last Saturday at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma. I was a little leery of tracking my brand new 2011 GT but I took the plunge anyway. Based on my newbie questions on this forum, Steve Kane, Nor Cal SU-ST Director reached out to me and guided me through the process of getting my car and myself ready. He even met me the day before at the track to help me prep the car and reserve a good spot in the paddock! I was at the track by 6:00 AM on Saturday and got everything out of the car. The drivers' meeting started at 7:30 AM sharp and was extremely informative. The instructors were crystal clear about the safety rules and drilled the importance of paying attention to the corner workers into our heads. My instructor was Pierre D. who was just an awesome coach! He was patient, calm and able to articulate race car physics in a newbie friendly manner. I also got a lot of great advice from Jon B. another Nasa instructor at the event. I am super anal about the little details and I was extremely impressed by the level of organization at this event. Every minute detail was planned out and monitored. There were scores of Nasa officials everywhere answering questions and making sure you were in the right place. Infineon is a rather technical course so I was more focussed on driving smoothly and adhering to the line instead of blasting down the straights with my 430 HP car. I pointed a lot of Miata's by during the day My instructor kept explaining the "why's" behind the line in each turn and that helped me memorize the exact spot I needed to place my car and at what speed. I got faster and more comfortable with each session. I got a special treat as Pierre took me for a ride in his Lotus Super 7 during time trials. What a rush! I was a little nauseous at first but really got a better sense of the correct line. I am definitely going back and feel a lot more comfortable with my car's capabilities (all stock except a tune). Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarageSpec Posted February 19, 2011 Share Posted February 19, 2011 Nice..keep it up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
08Bullitt0572 Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I know the feeling about pointing by all of those cars. You have the right attitude. Nice Stang and pics. I have been debating a trade on a 2012 Boss 302 or maybe a GT with Brembo and 3.73 package. I just love my Bullitt so we'll see. Keep having fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audiobuffru12 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Nice, Looks like fun , love the stang Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joenmina1 Posted February 25, 2011 Author Share Posted February 25, 2011 I was very pleasantly surprised by the rock solid handling of the Mustang. I will be back on the track soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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