Well I just got back from my first track day and I had an absolute blast ! !
Woke up to unforcasted rain so was a bit upset as that I had not packed any kind of rain gear for me. Got to PIR a little before 7am for tech. Got thru tech with no hassles and went to the drivers meeting. Was given the basic instructions for the day and was introduced to my instructor Jeff Penick.

The novices were the first group for all sessions of the day, so we got to go out and see just how slick a track can get with a bit of rain on it. Wasn't to bad, my Goodyear F1's were holding much better than just about any other car out there. Jeff drove me around the track for the first session just to point out the line, any problem areas, and to get an idea on how the car handles. He told me after that this was his first ride in a MINI and he was very impressed with the handling and power.

Second session started and the rain had just about stopped, just a bit of a mist. Was able to get up a bit more speed and figuring out the right line. By the end of the session I was feeling very comfortable with the car. I now know how to drift my car thru turn one in the wet. Wait really late on braking, tap brakes as you hit the turn in point, then find yourself sliding a bit sideways thru the turn with just enough grip to get the car to rotate into turn 2. Was a bit of a pucker moment, but Jeff said "nice save" so I guess all went well......LOL

Third session started after lunch with nice blue skies and a dry line on the track. Started getting a bit more aggressive with the braking and accellerating thru the turns. Was definitely getting quicker as I got comfortable getting to the limits of the brakes and the line around the track. As the session wound down Jeff told me that he was impressed with how smooth I was. He got me to a point where I was able to really take the car to the limit. I was able to get into 5th gear on both the front and back straights. The speedo was showing 112 before I had to look up for my braking point on the front straight and was showing at least 115 on the back. Was easy to determine how well I was doing on each lap by how soon I could get into 5th on these straights.

By the 4th session, Jeff told me I was free to go solo after a couple of laps with him. Got rid of my ballast and really had a good time.....LOL. Was able to get real close to 120 at end of both straights by the end of the session. I had 2 very good clean laps after he got out. I was even able to get thru turn 10 in 4th for the last 4 or 5 laps. Man those tires were awsome !

Got done way too early for me. I think they cheated me out of at least 10 mins of the session......by my internal watch anyway LOL !

I have to say that the school put on by the Cascade Sports Car Club was an absolute joy. Very well run, organized, and manned. Had one incident during the day where a Celica turbo lost his bottom end going into turn one and oiled down the majority of the track. This happened in group 2 and was cleaned up very quickly. By the time group 1 was ready to go out again it was a clean track.....so no "moments" for me.....LOL

If anyone is interested in doing their first trackday, this is the club to do it with. Check them out, you won't be dissappointed.

Oh, about my recent suspension mods........HOLY CRAP ! ! No understeer and very well balanced. Also the brakes held up very well.