Open weapons: Formula 2000, the open-wheel starter car
Yesterday, I got a mix of my two favorite things — New Mexico and racing. Al Unser Jr., the ex Indy racer from Albuquerque, and his son (also Al), came out to the East Coast to conduct a speed clinic driving open-wheel cars.
ABOVE: Video of a lap around NJ Motorsports in the Forula 2000
The one-day school was for charity — Unser is supporting research on paralysis, a subject close to his heart since his daughter became a paraplegic, he says, due to a spinal virus. The benefit was the first of its kind under the Unser aegis.
I’ve done a lot of racetrack driving this year (this was my 14th day so far), and so I was feeling pretty good. But these were Formula cars — open-wheel, Indy-style racers. You basically have to crawl into the damn things, your lower body disappearing completely, and you’ve got to find the pedals by feel. Gears are achieved by heel-toe shifts because the gears aren’t sequential, which can be tricky, especially when you’re worried about staying on track.
But… it was thrilling. Seriously, stupidly thrilling. Some of the best times I’ve had in a car, or on a track, in a while. The amount of grip is just astounding. We were driving on the Lightning track at New Jersey Mortorsports — a place I’ve come to really like. It’s fast-fast-fast out there, but you can charge through the first set of esses at speeds I couldn’t imagine using other cars. And I’ve driven
this track in a $400 Lexus LFA, Porsche Panamera Turbo, Ariel Atom and M3.
Down the long front stretch, where I was hitting the rev limiter in 4th gear (the tallest gearing on the car), I was around 115 mph or 120, and the buffeting wind felt like it would tear my helmet off.
The Unser boys were gracious, but obvisouly considered the cars tragically underpowered. They’re used to much faster everything. I will be writing about the experience in greater length in an upcoming Bloomberg column. Even better, I’ll soon get to drive an actual F1 car (an old one, and probably detuned… still) this month. So I’ll have more to report. For the time being, enjoy the video.
I love New York City — been here for 15 years — but getting OUT of the city is a nightmare. Usually I leave hours before a scheduled flight, headed to Newark or JFK. Usually I’m also hours early, sitting around the airport. But once in a while, I still make it by only a few minutes. The issue? The Van Wyck. Or the Cross Bronx. Or getting crosstown. Or…or…or. Traffic sucks and there’s NEVER any guessing just how busy it will be. I recently sat in a traffic jam on my way back from JFK to the city at 1 am.
Which brings me to a recent “trip.”
Porsche invited me to test drive their new Boxster Spyder, a hot little roaster, at Monticello Motor Club, in the Catskills. It’s a great facility with a private membership, costing around $100K. No worries of me joining anytime soon. Anyhow, it usually takes about two hours, without bad traffic.
Heli Hawyood: Porsche driving legend Hurley Haywood, on his way out of NYC
But since Hurley Haywood, the famous Porsche endurace driver, was also attending, and had to catch a flight back out… the company procured a couple of choppers. I hopped a ride. (more…)
These are the problems I like to have. I’ve got the 2011 Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet in my garage right now, sitting next to the 2011 Mustang GT with the big new 5.0-liter V-8. Good stuff.
But it looks like a Maserati GranTurismo convertible is also on the way. So many gas pedals, so little time. If only the damn sun would come out.
When I first contacted Jay Lamm, the “brains” behind 24 Hours Of LeMons — a race where no car can cost more than $500 — I asked if he could put me on a team. “Civilian or journalist?” he asked. I know how other car journalists tend to drive, so I quickly asked for the civie team.
Soon he linked me up with BuckSnort Racing, a family affair out of Michigan, who are hands down the nicest people I’ve ever met. I had about a five minute conversation with Tim Horbal, a 20-something who’s also an engineer at Toyota, before he’d invited me onto the team. No vetting, no wondering about my own credentials (ie, ability to drive). And little concern, seemingly, that all the hours of work, all the money and care put into their quite cherry 1987 BMW 325e could vanish under the hands of someone they’d never even met. I could crash into the wall on the first lap, after all.
All the peeps: BuckSnort Racing and our finery (though missing Jen Machnee for some reason)
My buddy and colleague Joshua Paul accompanied me out to Detroit, where we then made the two-hour drive toward Lake Michigan, where Gingerman Raceway is located. (I thought it was right outside of Detroit… um, research much Jason?)
Minutes upon arriving, I was buckled into the very clean, very well-taken-care of BMW, and was out doing practice laps. Minutes after that I was back on solid ground, confident in both the car and having an idea of the racetrack, and enjoying myself talking to parents Richard and Linda; nephew and his wife Ben and Jen Machnee (Ben is a genius mechanic) and their Austrian friends, the Scherzers. Five of us would be driving 15 hours over the weekend. (more…)
this track in a $400 Lexus LFA, Porsche Panamera Turbo, Ariel Atom and M3.
