Hey everyone –

I’m kind of a lurker here….but I attended a cool track day over the weekend and just thought I’d share. I have a lightly modded ’91 Miata that I’ve done a handful of track days with (MidOhio and Nelson Ledges). I’d heard good things about Waterford Hills and was excited when I found a weekend track event with the local Porsche Club.

The track:
Waterford Hills is located about 25 minutes northwest of downtown Detroit. The track is a twisty 1.5 miles with fairly smooth pavement. In addition to some interesting elevation changes, the track is fairly compact so if you mess up one turn it can set you back for a couple. On the rare times I hit the sequences correctly the track flowed beautifully. Since there isn’t a super-long straightaway I don’t think I broke 95 mph. Runoff seems to be pretty good except for the first turn which heads downhill and Big Bend which runs close to a wall. The facilities at the track are much better than Nelson Ledges but then again what isn’t? The two story timing building and central pits offer a great view of the entire track so it’s easy to watch the other run groups. Track times ranged from 1:17-1:18 for a Viper ACR and race prepped 911 to the 1:40’s for the novice group (I was somewhere in the upper 1:30’s…not all that hot). All in all, I’d highly recommend driving this track if the chance arises.

Other comments:
- How come I can wake up at 4:30am on a Saturday to drive to a track event with no problem but I can’t wake up at 7:00am during the week to go to work?!?
- This was my first Porsche club event and the people were great! Everyone was very friendly. In addition to breakfast and lunch, they had a great bbq afterward with LaBatt’s and cigars.
- My instructor was by far the best I’ve had. By the end of the day I was much more smooth and on the line. He drove an NSX – I think the only Honda product present.
- My buddy who has a 996 went up with me. We spent the nite and partied in Royal Oak which was also fun. He went Jager-bomb crazy.

Here’s a pic I took of my instructor’s NSX:




Here’s two of my favorites – an old school 911 and then two newer ones at play:






For all of my pictures: http://www.pbase.com/markusf/0306_waterford

For track info: http://www.waterfordhills.com

For video of a lap (about halfway down): http://www.improvedtouring.com/Videos/

For the local Porsche club’s info: http://www.rallysportregion.com

Sorry for the long post, I guess I have to make up for my low quantity with quality!


Modified by Markus at 8:49 PM 6/10/2003


Modified by Markus at 8:51 PM 6/10/2003

 

I so want to run the Waterford Hills events this year, but gremlins are eating my car and my wallet. Did they get the "rumble strip" waves that occured after repaving last year fixed?

 

Great review, Mark, and as usual wonderful pictures. That shot of the NSX is a beaut.

One of these days, God willing, I will be able to join you...

 

Great Review!

Waterford is where I "cut my teeth" on track driving. The RSR/PCA club does an excellent job with these events...I don't think its possible to give them enough props for the time and effort they put into this. They are well run and structured, plus they have some of the best (most accomplished) instructors I have seen at ANY event.

It is a great track and a great equalizer for low-horsepower cars...very few straights on this baby!

Maybe I'll see ya at the next event on June 24th. I'll be taking my new "baby" out there for the first time...gonna try this RWD thing for a change.

BTW: start paying attention to the Car and Driver pictures and shows. They frequently do testing at Waterford. They always seem to run the track "backward" though...

-Eric.

 

Waterford is a fun track. Tight and technical compared to many others, most of which are on a larger scale. That Porsche club, as well as the SEM/PCA, have events there many Thursdays(if I remember correctly) during the season. Well organized clan.
I've run with them on a few occasion over the past couple of years. That red Viper you saw there ran some laps in the 1:16's last Saturday. He's a co-worker/friend of mine. I have run high 1:17's out there with my '94 civic hatch with Koni/ground-controls, 205/50-15 hoosiers, and an LSvtec motor(~168 whp). Should be a little quicker this year with wider 225/45-15 hoosiers, rollbar/cage, and my latest motor(b20vtec). That Viper is REALLY fast!

 

The old school Porsche to which you refer is actually a 356, not a 911

 

Good review and pics

I still havnt made it out there this year, kinda sucks cause I live somewhat close. Hopefully I will be there June 26. Also I think I will try to attend a couple of those PCA track days.

 

Wow SG - awesome times with your hatch! To be within a second or two of that Viper is pretty darn impressive.

Ken - I didn't notice any excessive bumpyness but then again I am used to Nelson Ledges where you have to plan your line around the bumps...

My bad on what type of Porsche that was, luckily I didn't mess up and say that at the event, the PCA guys might have stoned me!

Once again, I really do recommend the track and that local Porsche group - a good value for the $$!

 

The track is tight, and the Viper is a "big" car. At Gingerman, he's about 3 seconds faster!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The track is tight, and the Viper is a "big" car. At Gingerman, he's about 3 seconds faster!</TD></TR></TABLE>

If you think that's fast, take a look at the WHRRI results sometime. Last year there was a few guys with Civics posting 1:08s on that track!!! Put that in your Viper-pipe and smoke it!

 

What class were they in? I've seen a lot of the results posted out there.

 

So, did you ever figure out the class/series those "1:08 lap" civics are in??? I'd love to know more.

 

Whoa, sorry for sleeping there...

I dunno. I was at the track looking at the results they had posted on the board. I wasn't paying much attention; the only reason I remembered it was a Civic was the shock factor. Here I was running 1:50's in my Cavalier (stock) and I thought I was haulin'...then I seen some Civic placed 1st with an ET of 1:08!!! That's a humbling experience! I didn't feel too bad cause even one of the instructors (running 1:20's) came over and said "Holy S$#@!".

 

Having done quite a few laps around Wateford, I can be reasonable sure that no Civic has ever done a 1:08 around there... at least not without shortcutting from Big Bend to Swamp.

The only tin-tops that even come remotly close to those times are GT-1 cars and the guy with the fire breathing (literally) Cosworth Escort rally car.

 

Yeah, it does seem insanely fast doesn't it. But I'm quite sure it said Civic. If this were true, I would imagine this "Civic" resembles nothing of its street-going counterpart. I've searched their website and didn't see it listed in the record times...but I'm quite sure I wasn't dreaming. I dunno, maybe they had an expo event or something. If anyone finds some information on this mysterious Civic, let me know.

Anyway, I'm gonna **** my pants if I ever run 1:20's in the Z. I'm a rookie RWD'er, so I'm sure it will be a long way off...

 

Must have been a misprint. There's no way any Civic ran that kind of time. I agree.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Must have been a misprint. There's no way any Civic ran that kind of time. I agree.</TD></TR></TABLE>

No it isn't, that was me
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Chad-who has been known to pull a leg or two

 

 

So Jeff, is it true you drove the Tomahawk on a test track?

 

I had to test my "manhood" somehow. No little Honda will do that...

Where did you hear that? Not true, of course...

 

Can't remember, some Detroit kid. Prolly Matt J, just f**king with me.

 

THe next time you talk to Matt, refer to him as " Harold Derriere". After his bike accident, he earned that one!

 

I was thinking of calling him Wheelie.