Circuit of the Americas Track Weekend Report Out: After two of the most exhilarating days of my life, driving my car on the premium Formula 1 track outside of Austin, here are some of my interesting observations and some pics. I was able to do a combined just over 4 hrs. of high speed driving. I was thoroughly spent afterwards, but so, so happy ☺ Was this the last time? Every time I do something major like this, I wonder whether this will be the last one? So, I am incredibly thankful that I had the opportunity. In the end, it was all about just being out there and having fun! The next chance I will get to drive COTA is in March of next year, a little over 5 months away. When your clock is ticking that can be an eternity. I may be able to drive it again, may no longer be here, or be somewhere in between. Who knows, only time will tell… Day 1, Saturday: On Video Games: First session on Sat I was pretty scared. I was told this track eats cars and drivers for lunch. I was running with the intermediate group, where I feel comfortable. What, no instructor available for the first session to show me the track? Oh, crap! But, thankfully I raced the track for many laps on video game before and guess what? It was almost exactly the same as in the game! Sweeet…. On Blind Faith: I soon find out, that just like in the video game, having to turn your car at full throttle into a corner that you can’t see yet, as it is blind and over a crest in the road, in order to make it and not run off the road on the other side, will make your heart skip beats, literally! On Religious Moments: Going full throttle at 140-145mph on the back straight only 200m away from a sharp, bigger than 90 degree turn, praying that your brakes are going to stop you, creates a religious moment – Every.Single.Lap. On Doing It Wet (That’s what she said…;-): What, now I have to do it in the rain? Yep, Sat afternoon came the rain. Now I really understand how stability control can save you when you rear end starts overtaking your own front end around a corner. Thank you for technology in the rain! Day 2, Sunday - Glorious Weather: On The Big Boys: Dang, I get to run with the advanced group today. I am seriously outclassed and outgunned here as the Big Boys came out to play in force. I have never seen so many Ferrari’s, McLaren’s, Porches, Audi R8’s and Viper’s in one place together. I was told they are going to be faster, I just had no idea how much. But, I will learn soon enough... On Golf For Rich People: That’s when I realized that this is “golf for rich people”. Everything in life is relative and it was quite “interesting” to note that my BMW M3, a nice car in itself, was suddenly at the bottom of the food chain. No matter how much you have, there will always be someone with more. Just some food for thought…made me thankful for what I have, but still, dang, a Ferrari would be nice ;-) (I wish...) Wow! They Are FAST: It is unreal to be going full throttle on the back straight, doing 145 mph, just to see a Ferrari or McLaren close in on you like you are standing still, until you can almost see the whites of the guy’s eyeballs in your rear view mirror, before he blows by you…WOW, just WOW! Why is There a Plane Here? To the guy in the 750hp Hennessey Cadillac CTS V that blew by me only around 2 feet from my left, while sounding like a full blown jet engine at full speed (and scaring the crap out of me in the process) – Thank you! That. Was. Awesome! On Losing My Nerve: To the two guys in Porches GTR3’s who rode my ass all the way through the first chicane what felt like only inches behind me, sorry for me losing my nerve, sliding around and blowing the corners for all of us. I got your message loud and clear – If you want to run with the Big Boys, be fast or go home! I was still shaking 10 min after the session ended. On Screeching Tires: Being able to make my tires screech for a good few seconds going around a sweeping corner at speed is pretty sweet...never done that. On Slow Motion: Seeing the Shelby Mustang that just blew by me going into the corner just feet ahead of me, lose his back end and go into a full spin causing me to have to get out of the way, all as if in sloooow motion is pretty cool – I guess that’s what “in the zone” means :-) WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THIS MACAN THING? Last session of the day I chose to ran with my usual intermediate group again as I was hoping to have more fun not being the “slow guy”. A guy in a Porsche Macan SUV pulls up on the front of the grid! “What, a damn SUV?”, I am thinking. “I just have to get around it quick…” A lap later I utterly admitted defeat. I don’t know who this guy was and what this SUV thing was, but humiliating me in an M3, and a guy in a Porsche 911, trying to keep up was stunning. Not only could we not get by the SUV, no matter how hard we tried, we just simply could not keep up and had to let him go. That SUV and the guy who drove it has to be utter beasts. Lastly, On Picking A Way To Go: Sometimes I wish we had the choice to pick how we go in the end. I can’t help but sometimes deep down wish that I could go like this - fast, in a blaze of glory, doing something I love, rather than the slow decay of cancer that slowly strips me of everything I have and everything I am until nothing is left. Would be nice. Wish it was my choice. But it is not. And that is my story. Michiel Live Hard. Live Fast. Live Fearless. Be Kind.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Sep 2014 18:58:39 +0000
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