This event was put on by Lamborghini of Dallas as a DE and concours.

*****I forgot to get my camera back from Will, sorry no pictures*****

Saturday April 21

The day started early, left the house with sun barely peeking over the horizon for the drive out to Motor Sports Ranch. This was to be the first track day for GNAT and my first experience driving MSR at speed. The hour long drive out to the track was uneventful, the Mini ran great, as usual, and this was a good chance to feel how the new TSW supplied coilovers felt on an a freeway drive. While they do make the car firmer it's not to the point where comfort levels suffer. Surprisingly I didn't see any cars I could easily ID as going to the track until I was about halfway up 377 where I saw my first Lamborghini of the day. It was not until I was queued to sign the waiver that I saw a few more. Also in line was an assortment of BMW's Porsche's and another Mini. Made my way to claim my spot for the day, unpacked and prepped the Mini and set off to sign in. I passed what must have been millions of dollars worth of exotic machinery along the way. A gaggle of Lambo's were in the paddock, all huddled together, their various garish colors competing for ones eye. Among all this low slung exotica was a very rare sight. A vehicle I've lusted after since my early teenage years. Towering over countless scissor doors was the massive tired, slab sided Sport Activity Vehicle of Oil Sheiks, the Lamborghini LM002, a vehicle I'd contemplate selling my soul for.

Lamborghini of Dallas supplied coffee and bagels under the awning of their new transporter. Since I had about 1/2 hour before the drivers meeting I wandered about looking at the Ferrari's, Lamborghini's and other interesting vehicles that were arriving. A lovely Pantera was there and as usual at MSR Lotus's (Loti?) were swarming about the paddock.

I registered, only to find I was placed in the advance run group. Feeling that was over my head at this time I spoke with the staff of Apex and moved to intermediate. They also handed me an advanced wristband and told me after a check ride if I wanted I could advance myself. The drivers meeting was like most any other, going over the rules of the day, pointing out what flag stations would be manned and the like. The owner of Lamborghini of Dallas spoke to us as well, thanking us for attending and reminding us of the other events being held that day and rides in the Lambos were available. On the way out we received commemorative T-Shirts and a goody bag.

We divided into groups for a classroom session. For me it was quite informative. The instructor went over safety rules again and then we talked about lines to take. Being the first time I was to drive MSR and the first time the Mini was to be tracked I tried to absorb all he had to say. I’m glad we were running the 1.7 mile track. I’d have been over my comfort level trying to learn all 17 of the 3.1 for my first outing. The familiar sounds of cars on the track was now heard as the Instructor group was out warming themselves up.

The time of reckoning approached. I went through my pre-session ritual and arrived on the grid ready to go. Met my instructor and we chatted a bit then were off. Looking at a flat map on the wall and then trying to translate that into where what is when on track was interesting to say the least. I was lost, not knowing what turn came next. My first laps were spent with arm out the window pointing much faster folks by. By the end of the first session I knew where to go and was starting to probe the limits of GNAT. That had to be one of the fastest 25 minute periods I ever experienced. However, now I knew where I was headed and was feeling confident in a few of the turns. During the session the Check Engine Light came on, the car felt fine and temperature gauge was not moving off its normal spot. Figuring it was the same Bank 1 Rich that it has been lately I didn’t worry. When I checked it after the session it proved to be the code I expected. Mixing it up with many BMW’s that were in the same group was not an issue. I had mentioned this was my first time both with MSR and the Mini and they were cool about coming up on me. The exception was the Lambo’s being used for demo rides. One of the drivers in the monster LMP680 didn’t wait for the pass signal and went zipping by me as I was about to setup for a corner. This was noted by the Apex folks running the event and was not an issue after that incident.

Since we were the last group in to run we had a lot of time between the 1st and 2nd sessions since the lunch break was scheduled between them. We had another classroom session. Most of the drivers had no questions. I ended up nearly monopolizing the time getting pointers to the two sections that still are giving me issues. I’m looking forward to a few sessions with McBee to get these areas ironed out in my head. Lunch was ok, BBQ was served and it was passable. I had a lot more fun wandering around looking at the impressive display of machinery. Some of the highlights for me were a 67 427 Cobra, Ferrari Daytona, the afore mentioned LM002, BMW Z8 (there were 3 there!) and a Lamborghini Diablo VTTT, one of only 6 ever built.

The second session started oddly for me, I gridded last hoping to not be so much of a moving chicane. When I finally got out the track was already hot. I had to try and run a warmup lap and be quick. I think they threw the green flag too soon not allowing all cars on track to get up to speed. The pack caught me fast and I was black flagged. Both the instructor and I were puzzled but I went around slow off the line in case I was leaking something. Get in the pits only to find out I was leading the train and they wanted to move me around in the pack. I’d have done less damage to the group if I was able to run and not limped around for almost a full lap holding everyone up even more. Back out in a clear area and I quickly picked up speed. Now I was feeling confident since I knew where the corners were. It was time to start probing the limits of GNAT, building up to them in each corner little by little. By sessions end I was zipping around quite well and not in the way any longer, unless it was one of those Lambo’s now being driven by instructors. After the session I was signed off to solo if I desired.

Between sessions GNAT attracted quite a bit attention. Lots of people admired the Mini and asked lots of questions. I met this one very nice gentleman and his son that had come up from San Antonio. He once had both a 67 Cooper and an 02 Cooper. His son is a car buff and had seen the event listed on the internet. They came up for the unique opportunity to see all this exotica in one place. The kid, mid teens I guess, was in awe of all the cars. When I told them that if they went to the Lamborghini tent and asked an on track ride was available. I saw them again later and the father was thanking me profusely for letting them know. The kid had this grin that went from ear to ear that probably won’t go away for weeks. He had gone out in a few different Lamborghini’s. Just seeing how happy he and his father were made my day.

For session three I started in McBee’s Purple Flamer to test that the fixes preformed had really worked. Thankfully they had and after 6-8 laps I came in and hopped back into GNAT. As much fun as the Purple Flamer with it true track setup I didn’t want to push it in someone else’s car. Went back out in GNAT solo and really started to see how deep I could brake for some of the corners. Also kept working on getting Rattlesnake down. Learned how easy the car is to rotate with the throttle and brake too. All in all it was a good session with a lot of progress.

Between session 3 and 4 I finally gave in and went for a ride in a Gallardo with an instructor. The power is amazing; the brakes are even more amazing. Being all wheel drive finding the line not as important. This car could pull from anywhere in a corner. Loads of fun, a real E Ticket ride.

By the time the 4th session came around the crowd had pretty much left. We were to be the last session of the day. A few of the folks that were in the group had taken off by then as well making for a very empty track. This allowed me to concentrate more on my driving and less on the mirror. I made a lot of progress finding some braking limits with the OEM setup, yep OEM pads too. The balance and poise the Mini has is very reassuring allowing me to probe both my own the cars limits. The session felt as it ended all too early but in actuality it went longer then the 25 minutes allotted.

All in all a great time was had. Apex runs a good clean event for a reasonable cost. I’ll be looking to attend other events they run. GNAT ran great not missing a beat the entire day. I learned a lot and am looking forward to the upcoming 2 day event with the BMW club.

 

Sounds like fun! So... Where are the pics??? Surely with the exotica you did remember to snap at least a couple?

 

Nice writeup! Even without pics, I got a great mental picture of the paddock.
(pics would be nice, too!)

 

Sounds like a great event...I wish I'd known about it. If they do it next year, I will definitely go check it out.

 

Pictures from the event can be seen here.

http://www.hart-photography.com/phot...ewGallery=1700

 

the only drag in a Mini is boneheads in high HP cars that don't realize you're rubbing thier bumper through all the turns just gassing it on the straights and not letting you buy.... But Minis can hold thier own quite nicely on most road courses....

Glad you had fun!

Matt

 

Great writeup! Wish I had heard of the event, I may have gone out to spectate. .

 

It was listed on the MetroplexMini forum. You should check us out we do a lot of stuff in the Dallas area www.metroplexmini.org