sothpaw2

I'm trying to plan my HPDE schedule for the year. I like late March, April, May and the Fall because my car has no coolers yet.

Here's what I found at Summit Main: (I like )

March 8-9 Car guys March 15-16 National Capital BMW

Who's signing up for these, anyone? I would be shooting for an event with a good mix of Corvettes and other sports cars too. By sports cars I usually mean V8's or V10's but BMW M3's are nice too.

I know NASA has hyper fest in late June and TrackDaze has July 14-15 but these are too close to the NCM VIR and the NVCC July 11 day at Summit.

While I'm at it, is anybody thinking March 28-30 VIR w/ NASA?

Andy

Mikelly

Andy, I'll be at a PCA event March 14-16 at VIR so I won't be able to attend in March. Anything on their schedule for April and May? I know I'm gonna do the May Seattime event.

Mike

CHJ In Virginia

I will be entering all three days of the Car guys event. It will be my first for the year. Can't wait to try the new surface.

sothpaw2

I listed everything for the year for TrackDaze and the BMW clubs for Summit Main; Audi has nothing. NASA has late Aug (hottest weekend of the year) and Oct 11-12. I like October but I don't think I can make anything this year due to commitments--especially not a 2 day weekend. I checked NASA SE and Ohio area too--nothing from them at Summit. So nothing for NASA in the April May time frame.

So, no, nothing April & May. I'd love a May date if anyone finds it.

BSR still has to release a schedule--I called and they said wait until Jan30. Last year's FATT schedule started with a May 10 date so if they repeat that I just might put that on the schedule.

Z06cool

Do you guys like the MAIN configuration or the SHENANDOAH? Pros/Cons? Haven't been to Summit Point yet but goal is to hit at least 1-2 new tracks this year.

Gray Ghost GS

I recommend going to the newly repaved Main circuit first - then try the Shenandoah. Corvette drivers have a "love or hate" relationship with the Shenandoah track. Personally, I love Shenandoah, which I think did a great job preparing me for Watkins Glen. I typically run my 'lil momentum car there (1993 Celica GT) and enjoy playing with the higher HP cars.

sothpaw2

I haven't driven Shenandoah but it's a fact that run off there is much less in places then on the Main and there are concrete barriers there with no runoff where the Main uses tire walls. Forum members also had the issue of damaging stuff on Shenandoah because they got airborne.

The Main is freshly repaved and not as tight a track from what I hear.

Mikelly

Well I've driven both and the new pavement on summit main makes it a lot faster, and eats up the runoff you have there... More cars torn up on main between September and the end of the year than the first 8 months combined.

Vettes do fine on Shenandoah, and a beginner or intermediate driver should drive this course. It's a GREAT place to learn. I found that passing was great on this course, as you have four good straights to pass on. And for the record, my pig weighs about 300# more than a Vette.

Shenandoah isn't as dangerous as some make it out to be. The reason being that the speeds are lower. YES runoff is less, but trust me, if Shenandoah bothers you, don't ever head north to Watkins Glen. There's no run-off there and it's a LOT faster.

Back in October With Mazdadrivers.com we ran Shenandoah in the rain and there were some casualties. That had everything to do with the rain and nothing to do with Shenandoah. I've seen the same amoung of carniage at VIR in the rain.

Both tracks are fun and Summit Main is fast. I find Shenandoah much more challenging. I've spent 4 days on Shenandoah and every time I go, I come home having learned even more about the track and myself.

Mike

sothpaw2

Well that is a reason I haven't run the Glen yet even though I'd really like to--feel the need to improve my skills first. You make a good point that maybe I should go to Shenandoah as a warm-up for the Glen.

Interesting about the re-pave, it's been so long I didn't really notice it was faster, but then I was in a C5Z vs a C4 so it was bound to be faster, plus I couldn't drive the c4.

Mikelly

Having run on the old and new surfaces at Summit Point, I can tell you that I was seeing in excess of 160MPH on the front straight, and no, I wasn't looking at the speedo, I picked it up afterwards when I played a DVD of incar footage I made on my bigscreen. Then I was able to see the tach clearly and at the end of the front straight when Randy and I were chasing that M3 race car last november I was turning about 6.5K RPMs in 5th gear... In my car that's about 160MPH... I've never hit that speed on Summit main, anywhere before...
Mike

Jim 47

The Main track at Summit Point should be an excellent addition to your list, especialy with the new paving. Even with the old paving, it has been a challenging and technical track that will keep you highly focused on getting the most out of your car. It consistes mostly of "higher speed" turns with several lower speed, but highly technical corners. Both the high and the lower speed turns require you best concentration and skills to get through there quickly, and several of the turns are linked closely to the perceeding or following turn.

Coming out of turn 8 did have a dip/rise area that could upset your car as you accelerated up the hill/short straight to turn 9, which took you onto the main straight. Hopefully the repaving has smoothed out this area, and you'll be able to apply more power sooner out of turn 8. On the old paving I've seen several cars spin off the track at that point over the years.

The Main track is challenging in both high and lower powered cars, however the Shenandoah Circuit (SC)is not a happy circuit for higher powered cars. Things are very tight on Shenandoah. Tight turns, tight to the walls, and the turns are placed tightly together. Its a very busy time driving the SC. There is not too much time that your're not setting up and braking for a turn, turning in, negotiating a turn, or accelerating out of a turn, and none of these turns are what could be labeled "high speed" turns. They all are highly technical and require a lot of feel and finesse. SC is a track where you can learn alot about the handling dynamics of your car, hone your driving skills, and gain a lot of knowledge about how to link closely spaced turns together for the quickest lap times.

Both the Main and the SC are very good layouts, but they have different personalities and require different approaches (and mental attitued) to get the most value out of them. Why don't you try both of them and then let us know what your thoughts are about them. If you are at the Main for the Car Guys event, I'll probably see you there.

Jim

1ED1

what kind of times are you running with that top end speed.

Mikelly

Well I'll preface this by saying that Last November was the 2nd day in 10 years that I'd been there, the first being back in September 2004. I have one full session and in one of the laps I ran 1:23s. It was bitter cold and I am still learning the track, and fully expect to drop into the 1:1Xs this year with practice. Now that they've "fixed" Summit Main, It's my "Home" track again!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVluVwKRPeY


I'm adding these to the mix to allow me to haul the new added HP down while out there... This car is now running way faster than it was during that video clip above...

Mike