Lol.
I wasn't saying I can beat all exotics with my e36... At NJMP last year there were 3 students who were all not very good drivers - one in a GT-R, another in a Viper, and a third in a 997 GT3. OBVIOUSLY, they all beat me driving my 325i - there's only so much you can do when I'm going down the front straight at 105 when they are hitting close to 140.
My comment was obviously a joke - but to clarify I didn't say rich guys are bad at driving, just typically guys with more expensive cars aren't as talented...the rich guys are the only ones who have the $ to get the track experience.
I suppose that's kind of the point of this competition - with my current income and days off each year, the most I can reasonable do is about 5-8 track days/year. I absolutely can't afford schools like Skip Barber, Bondurant, or even afford to go door-to-door racing...
My bad...
I used to actually think more along the lines that you did about rich guys driving, and you are right for the most part. Most of the guys who buy exotics buy them for brand name and then try to be Schumacher without really educating themselves enough or practicing in slower cars first.
Getting a bit OT here but...
After hanging out with some guys from the Ferrari and Lambo forums though, some of those guys are really hardcore. They take their cars to the edge and kick everyones ass in the process. That's on tracks with straights and fast sweepers. Anything that is tight and windy you can even the gap a bit.
I had an e36 as well, mine was an m3. When it was stock I went to a meet in Malibu and ended up blasting through the canyons with a bunch of guys from BFC. The lead guy was in a 330ci I believe and he knew the canyons like the back of his hand. On the way up I was stuck behind all the baller kids with their blingin rims and expensive parts. Then we got to the middle of the mountain and I decided I wanted to follow the leader so as soon as he hopped in his car I followed him up to the top and then on the downhill I was riding him hard to the point where he under steered into the other lane then I kind of backed off. Normally I don't like driving like this on public roads but we had a clear view of what was ahead. We got to the bottom and he got out, walked up to me and shook my hand and said "no one has ever been able to keep up with me, what suspension do you have on that?." I told him stock and he was semi-amazed.
About a minute later the rest of the pack caught up with us as we were parked on the side of the road, then I hear this roaring engine go by and its an Aston Martin Vanquish blasting his way onto the road we just came from. I hopped in my car and tried to catch up, we caught up to him and it felt like a need for speed game haha as soon as I caught him he gunned it and off we were, round 2. I was able to keep close the entire time, he pulled over at the top, got out, shook my hand, said "wow, none of my Ferrari buddies can ever keep up with me, that little thing is fast." I smiled, then got a ride in the Aston Martin and called it a day.
Moral of that long story is, I feel you, I understand what a car like an e36 can do when driven right, it surprises a lot of people, and I am sure given the right circumstances you can mop the floor with people in some pretty nice cars.
If you were curious here is some media from the day.
. The hardcore miata guys love to mop up the time trials, and then claim they did it in a measly little miata...even though their track machines (formerly known as miatas) have way better power/weight than the 964, e36 m3, and certainly my 325i.
