This past weekend I attended a school at Mosport International Raceway here in Ontario (~1 hr East/North of Toronto). It is supposed to be a very highly acclaimed track in the racing community. It's got a few very technical corners, and a nice highspeed (curved) "straightaway" (the "Mario Andretti straightaway"). I've only raced twice before on the small DDT (driver development track) at Mosport, so this was my first time ever on the "big track" .

Saturday, we were each provided an instructor in the car to give us direction on where the racing line was, when to brake, when/where the turn-in points and apexes were, etc. I asked my instructor to drive my car the first couple laps to "show me the ropes" ...

... OMG!! I never knew my Camaro could do such things!!! My instructor drives an '06 Mustang GT, so he's familiar with a big, RWD, V8 powered car. The minute we hit the track, we were going full throttle through Turn 2, which is probably the most technical of the whole track ... it's a double-apex left corner, down a hill . I was freaked out at first just how fast we were (able to) taking this corner. On the back stretch, my car could hit ~136 mph (not too shabby ). Apparently real high HP cars can hit upwards of ~160 - 170 on the same stretch.

All I have to say is WHAT A BLAST!! I think I may be converted from a drag racer to a road racer!!

And FWIW, my best lap time was 108.118 seconds (1 min, 48 seconds). The fastest of the weekend was 92.xxx seconds, and the slowest was 128.xxx. So I was a little on the faster side of "average" . Not bad, considering the mix of Hondas, Subaru WRX STi's, 'Vettes, BMW's, RX7's, and a couple other F-bodies.

 

I went road racing once here at Mission Raceway Park near Vancouver and although we were following a pace car around we were still going at it pretty fast It was a total blast, one of the most fun things I could have EVER done and would highly recommend ANYONE to give a road course a try! These cars handle great and I had no idea what this car could do until that day... (swaybars/springs and shocks probably helped too).

 

Yup.. my first open track day at PIR was a blast too.. My instructor was impressed how stable and predictable my car was, with the amount of grip it had.. A guy in a Miata came over to take a look at my tires when I stayed right behind him in the twisty part of PIR.. and another guy in a 3 series stopped the trashtalk when I finally got around to pass him down the front straight, and contuned to pull away during the the first 6 turns, then totally disappeared on the backstraight. These cars can do pretty well.



My instructor was also preparing for a race weekend, so I got to watch and kinda led a hand in setting up his Datsun during the break.

 

Yeah, it really is amazing just how well these cars work for such an "antique" (live axle rear, ~20 year old chassis design? )

And another comparison: my instructor's best lap was ~98.xxx seconds compared to my ~108.118 seconds, but A) he's got A LOT more driving experience than I do, and B) he's running Hoosier racing tires of some sort (a lot better than my old, worn out Hankook street tires). BUT, on the back stretch, where I could hit ~136 mph, he can only hit ~127 mph in his Mustang, which makes me wonder, "what if I had better tires and knew how to drive?? "

 

Well like i read in alot of magazines, 4th gens are noted to have a nice suspension setup out of the factory. now as for him taking your car out and whipping it around, are there any mods to the suspension? if not, All id do if i were you would be to put subframe connectors on, bigger sway bars, and maybe adjustable shocks if you want to get that nitty gritty, and see how much of an improvement itll make. I took the Skip Barber racing school back in August, and just like you said I couldn't believe that way they can take a car around the track. But i think what made us all crap our pants was when we were in the new dodge sprinter vans that look like euro trash, and took the class around the track, holy S***! i got a new respect for vans now. OH and what track i went to? Lime Rock CT.

 

At this point all I have are subframe connectors and lower control arms out back. I think that first off, TIRES would make a world of difference, but I'm thinking of doing up some of the suspension over the winter too .

 

Welcome to the world of REAL racing!

Hopefully....flooring the car for 12 seconds at a time in a straight line will NEVER hold the same excitement for you again!

 

I hear you on that. Nothing says racing like turning, hell thats y theres a damn steering wheel in the car. staright line is ok, but its too easy to be honest, autocross is the real deal, wheither its just to go around the track to see what the maro or bird can do, or goin all out in a points system, its such a blast, nothin compares to it. and if you dont believe me, go take a school, or go to an autocross event, youll rethink your answer.

 

Holy crap mac, is that your race camaro? I think im in love lol, sweet break cooling setup, and i love the front lip on the car

 

Yep....that is my car....I got it movin' finally now....it is a BLAST to drive!

 

i was waiting to see this thread. your car looked good pete. i might do it next year.

 

Do it!!

But yeah, thanks ... the car looks a lot better ON the track than OFF, doesn't it?! And walls look better from a distance than up close!!

 

I love autocrossing mine. The best part is that these cars have such a great reputation for drag racing, everybody is either shocked, surprised or impressed as hell that i can toss my car around the way i do. Tons of fun and i think everyone should try it a few times!

 

there's not much autocrossing around here.

 

Not much autocrossing?! Have you seen the Solo II (aka: "autocross") schedule for 2006?! Looks like a busy schedule! Only problem is, a lot of it isn't very "local" except for events at Mosport DDT .

http://solo2.casc.on.ca/schedule/schedule.php