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"Touring laps" at the Mothership's Motorsports Track are the understatement of the year. WOW !!! Once the slower cars got weeded out of the mix and put in their own group we blazed around that road course hitting 95 on the straight and really winding up the turns, fun factor off the chart. The smell of hot brakes permeated the air all morning and my red car was almost black with dust afterward.
Can't wait until next year's Gathering, way big fun.
This is not an understatement and in fact the event as a whole was pretty awesome! My wife and I only made it up Thursday night but there were a ton of things to do that weren't on the NCM website. There was a cruise to a distillery and a cruise to a winery tour that were only listed on the schedule we got when we got there which is too bad since we would have loved to have done those. Either way, the whole thing was a blast and ShootnStarz isn't lying! We easily had the car over 100mph on the straights in our touring laps and we were in the slow group! We would have done the touring laps all day if they had let us. All generations of corvette were there for the laps, even a Lingenfelter 415 was there doing laps which was a sight to behold! You always hear stories or read articles about these cars, but then you see one. Holy Moley!
The rest of the events were fantastic also, we did the VIP plant tour which is well worth every penny of the $50 each it cost to do. It's only 4 people to a guide and you can pretty much ask all the questions you want. Tour is supposed to last 3-4 hours and I think we got done in a little under 3. It was great! We even saw some of the NEW Admiral blue C7s on the assembly line, and a fully optioned and correct C7 Grand Sport in Admiral Blue getting ready for QC testing. Speaking o QC testing, Ken Lingenfelter sent the 1993 Ruby ZR-1 he has with the GEN3 LT5 in it, making 475hp. Only one of its kind made of left over parts found in a box in the late 90s. Can you imagine if they went with this back in 1993 when they designed it? So Cool!
Not only that but the C4 gathering badge they gave you got you unlimited museum access for the few days, meaning you could go through and drool on all the stuff you wanted. Way better than paying to go through once, even if I'm way more into it than my wife is.
Even better, the banquet at the end of Saturday was held in the Skydome and the Museum gifted us all a one of a kind C4 Gathering drinking glass!. A silent auction was held to raise money for the museum and we listened to the man responsible for helping market the Grand Sport Speak, Mr Fred Gallasch!
The whole thing was awesome and even my wife loved it which is great because that means we are going back next year! Highly recommended, and anybody who owns a C4 (or Corvette period) should think about going!
On the second run I got directed into the group with the experienced track guys in the hopped up Z06s that were there. Well in about half a lap they left me like my parking brake was on and I was out there running with no car to follow, and a whopping 5 laps of experience.
How'd that go you ask? Not too good. Just about all the turns are blind so you don't know what's coming up. Took out two cones, hit the rumble strips at least once and completely slid off one corner into the overrun. Even had the rear end step out at about 70 once, caught that one like a pro but it was unnerving at best.
Once that fiasco was over I was back in the normal fast group and enjoyed the rest of the run immensely. Playing follow the leader is a much better way to learn the track before striking out on your own. But it is an educational track, not a race track so it's designed for mistakes, damn good thing too !
On the second run I got directed into the group with the experienced track guys in the hopped up Z06s that were there. Well in about half a lap they left me like my parking brake was on and I was out there running with no car to follow, and a whopping 5 laps of experience.
How'd that go you ask? Not too good. Just about all the turns are blind so you don't know what's coming up. Took out two cones, hit the rumble strips at least once and completely slid off one corner into the overrun. Even had the rear end step out at about 70 once, caught that one like a pro but it was unnerving at best.
Once that fiasco was over I was back in the normal fast group and enjoyed the rest of the run immensely. Playing follow the leader is a much better way to learn the track before striking out on your own. But it is an educational track, not a race track so it's designed for mistakes, damn good thing too !
Pics from MR4, didn't get any at the track.
Rick
Glad you made it through without damage. There's an epic 'vette wipeout from the NCM track on youtube. Really not good.
We were lucky to have visited in March. Had the track to ourselves, so just Mitch leading in a black Z06 with a perfect line every time. What a great job he has. Karen got a fun video. My Nittos were singing 4 part harmony.
My son and I were also part of the C4 get together and while there were some really good activities THE BEST was the opportunity to let your C4 exercise its legs. It is THE BEST $45.00 you will ever spend.
If you're thinking "Oh, you just cruise around the track at 60 MPH, you're wrong. As others have said, you're up to double digits following some very talented drivers if you want to include yourself in the advanced group. But if you're not, there's groups for slower speeds. Its not a race so you're not in a competition with other drivers.
You gotta go next May!!!!!
As my Dad said above, it was a fantastic experience!
We very much enjoyed the "touring laps" at the NCM track, which is an outstanding track with curves to test people of all skill levels; and don't be fooled by designation of touring laps, we had our cars well over 85 mph. In all honesty, I was impressed how well my Dad handled his '95 in spite of having never driven a Corvette on a track before. Furthermore, I never expected having my '96 LT4 on a bona fide track would ever be that thrilling, and for the price, it really cannot be beat. Trust me when I say, you haven't lived until you've driven a Corvette on a racetrack.
Everyone who attended the gathering was very nice and at no time did anything stupid or disrespectful to others. If anyone has even so much as entertained the idea of participating in the C4 gathering in the future, take it from me, it is worth the trip from anywhere! Don't even consider it, just go!!
Last edited by Circuit Doctor; 05-17-2016 at 09:14 PM.
Thanks for sharing your experiences! Reminds me of last year in Austin,TX Circuit of Americas Track...$20 for "parade laps" 😂😂😂far from parade laps! I think I got up to around 125/135mph on some of the back straightaways 🚗☁️☁️.
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05-16-2016, 03:46 PM
Touring Laps at NCM Track
