SWortham Posted October 1, 2006 Share Posted October 1, 2006 Yesterday was a blast. Don Herring Mitsubishi sponsored another track day at Motorsport Ranch in Cresson, TX. This time Apex Driving Academy was there and I was surprised to see the instructors driving some really nice cars out there. The lead instructor was driving his brand new Lamborghini Gallardo. Another instructor was driving a De Tomaso Pantera. Our first two sessions were lead & follow where each instructor went out with a group of 5 drivers behind them and we'd follow the instructor at a relatively slow pace. I followed the Gallardo during one session and the Pantera in the other. Once it was time for the hot sessions I decided to choose the slower of the two groups because there were so many fast cars out there. I took it fairly easy at first but started to learn how to get the most out of the corners after each lap. I tried to use the whole track, trail brake, and I was really driving more aggressively than most others in our group. I kept up my aggressive pace, and passed my brother's Mazda 6, and an Evo. And then I took a double apex corner too fast and one rear tire just went off the track and back on which caused the car to spin at 70 mph. That was exciting to say the least, but no harm was done. During the next hot session I settled down a bit and collected myself. I worked up to the same kind of pace but this time I was more precise with my braking and cornering speed. I settled into a rhythm before long and did nothing but pass cars. I passed a few Evo's, my brother's car again, a Carrera S (the driver was taking it easy for some reason), a turbo'd Eagle Talon, and a Mitsubishi 3000GT. Of course this wasn't a race but as always I saw it as an opportunity to improve and I wanted to be as fast as possible within reason. I feel pretty happy with what I learned today and of course it's just plain fun driving fast. I'll try to get some video together later. For now enjoy the pics. http://www.gldomain.com/STi/Don%20Herring%20MSR%20Track%20Day%20(2006-09-30)/2006_0930_102308AA_800px.jpg http://www.gldomain.com/STi/Don%20Herring%20MSR%20Track%20Day%20(2006-09-30)/2006_0930_090743AA_800px.jpg http://www.gldomain.com/STi/Don%20Herring%20MSR%20Track%20Day%20(2006-09-30)/2006_0930_114133AA_800px.jpg http://www.gldomain.com/STi/Don%20Herring%20MSR%20Track%20Day%20(2006-09-30)/STI_Gallardo_800px.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWortham Posted October 1, 2006 Author Share Posted October 1, 2006 Here's a video clip from my brother's car. At the beginning of the video I'm on his tail and then he slows down and lets me pass in the straight... http://www.gldomain.com/sti/Don Herring MSR Track Day (2006-09-30)/MSR Track Day (2006-09-30) STI flyby.wmv And here's another video from my brother's perspective during the 2nd hot session. After I pass him this time he stays with me for a few minutes... http://www.gldomain.com/sti/Don%20Herring%...I%20and%206.wmv (45MB, Windows Media Player 9 or newer required) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CasopoliS Posted October 1, 2006 Share Posted October 1, 2006 loved this pic so much I had to play with it http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/9268/stipacmanek5.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axis008 Posted October 1, 2006 Share Posted October 1, 2006 ^Hahaha Thanks for sharing your track day with us. Sounds like it was pretty fun!! -ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Th3Franz Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Sweet. How'd the brakes hold up? Slow web host for the videos.... -Franz The end of a Legacy http://www.youtube.com/th3franz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWortham Posted October 2, 2006 Author Share Posted October 2, 2006 Sweet. How'd the brakes hold up? Slow web host for the videos.... Well I was a bit surprised actually. I didn't expect much fade in those big Brembo's but they faded alright. It was affecting the pedal feel but it didn't affect my stopping distances too much. But by the end of the last session I ran 1 cool down lap and then went into the pits and that's when the brake pedal would go all the way down to the floor. So I definitely need to upgrade pads, fluid, and maybe get brake ducts too. Sorry about the slow downloads (they are big files) and I'm hosting them from my home connection. It might be getting a little more traffic than I expected but I also uploaded the big 45MB video to Google Video today (you can use this if the download above is slow): [ame=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1924371558263176176&q=msr+track+day&hl=en]MSR Track Day -- STi and Mazda 6s[/ame] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Th3Franz Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 k. Yeah I was wondering because I go toe to toe with my friend's modified 05 STi at lapping days... his stock brakes were mediocre for track use. After he switched to new pads and fluid that car stops like crazy. He's still dialing in his car.. in the tighter turns I can actually pull away from him, but in the faster parts of tracks he reels me in. -Franz The end of a Legacy http://www.youtube.com/th3franz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWortham Posted October 5, 2006 Author Share Posted October 5, 2006 I bought some photos from Hart Photography. Here are a few from the event after a little editing. http://www.gldomain.com/sti/Don%20Herring%20MSR%20Track%20Day%20(2006-09-30)/Hart/IMG_3175_800px.jpg http://www.gldomain.com/sti/Don%20Herring%20MSR%20Track%20Day%20(2006-09-30)/Hart/IMG_3014_800px.jpg http://www.gldomain.com/sti/Don%20Herring%20MSR%20Track%20Day%20(2006-09-30)/Hart/IMG_3039_800px.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RochNY91TSI Posted October 5, 2006 Share Posted October 5, 2006 nice pictures! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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