* And just for fun below is a wet "Rain" lap from when I was there in May with an open lapping group. I just kept my 'street' tires on for that session.
4) Circuit Mont Tremblant with BMWCCA - Advanced Group/ISG - Day 3 - Session II
My favorite track. It must sound daft and a bit of a sacrilege that after going to places like VIR or Road Atlanta or Watkins Glen that I proclaim my favorite track is some back water circuit in the hills of Quebec Canada, that most people have never even heard of it. It has hosted some high profile races, F1, once, in back in the 70s, and an Indycar (CART) race in early 2000s. But it's privately owned and low key and few people know of it's existence. (A PS3 racing game/sim called Ferrari Challenge had this track back in 2009 and I already fell in love with it 'virtually'). But there's something about it's flow and character that makes it just spectacular to drive and visit. Trust me, in-car video doesn't do it justice--a lap here is very exciting.
The elevation changes just blow you away and sends tingles up your spine when you're in the car. That first 1-2-3 downhill-uphill-downhill complex is much more dramatic than it appears in the 2D video.
EDIT* the telemetry is about 1.5 seconds off from the video.
OK, just one more.
This video below was from an Open Passing Event - Advanced only - No point-bys at WGI in early May. It was my first time back at Watkins Glen after the repaving and the first time driving my car with Bilstein coil overs and R-compound tires. The initial alignment and set up was way too conservative. I was just getting terminal understeer everywhere and I've had it adjusted twice and it's now much more neutral. But I think my FRS was one of only 3-4 street legal cars at this event, most being full blown track or race car. And I think the majority of the drivers attending were amateur racers. Those guys were totally on it. I like to think I'm pretty quick, but I'm never pushing 10/10ths and I carry a strong survival instinct.
Granted, I was also in one of the slowest cars but the difference in pace was staggering. I really had to keep one eye on the mirror at all times where as the guys in the SCDA group were all out for a 'Sunday drive'. Also kind of ironic was the change in temperature. It was a
high of 46* that day. I had the heater going full blast while I was on track and off track, I spent most of my time pacing, shivering or visiting the men's room (only place on track with a heater).
And almost a month to the day later, I was down at Road Atlanta suffering from near heat stroke.