I wanted to chime in that it was GREAT to spend time with the GTM folks this past weekend. While I’ve seen your names or have met you in passing, it was good to finally have more than a few minutes to sit and talk. In my case, it was great to get some seat time that I want in order to build up my stamina. Fortunately the weather wasn’t incredibly hot or humid but still, for me, it was a good challenge.
Many thanks to those of you who offered to let me drive your cars – you clearly don’t know me well or you’d have been hiding your keys and disconnecting your batteries. I was impressed with the drivers I encountered on-track – very courteous and willing to back-pedal to let a torqueless Honduh pass despite their far superior power. The C group has some pretty damn fast stuff out there – mega-HP cars to say the least!!
Kudos to Shane for being foolish enough to think that I’d be a good “rabbit” for his student in the 700HP Shelby Mustang convertible. It was more than amusing to get a point-by from the driver in odd places like the Karousel and even more fun to out-run that MONSTER in the turns. To say the least, I was working hard to keep pace but it was quite a fun challenge.
The GTM-only sessions were a blast – I only made it out for the Sunday afternoon session and photo-op but had tremendous fun in that session. After all the times we’ve collectively talked trash, it’s even more fun to “take it to the track”. The most memorable impression is the speed and agility of the Ecoboost Mustangs – they’re deceptively FAST and handle quite well considering their size and weight.
Last but not least, I was thankful for the opportunity to be more than just GTM’s RA (resident asshole) and to show at least a few folks that I can drive around a track, albeit slowly. I’ll try to make more of your future events but I’m also trying to get back into racing – time and money, the two biggest challenges!!!
~ Matthew
More photos available in the Vault!
