The weekend marks the most crazy autocross weekend in the history of my autocrossing career.

Friday:

Fly from Oakland to Los Angles to pick up my co-driver and his...
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Saturday:

Drive down to San Diego for the final rounds of the Corvette Challenge. Over the course of the whole day I got a total of 10 runs. The car runs in SS with Penske shocks and setup by Guy Ankeny

The car is so amazing! The Z06 is the most amazing car in the world! My first two runs I spun the car when I thought I was only lightly touching the gas but after that I got the hang of it bringing my time from a 77 to a 64 over 4 runs. In the afternoon we ran the course backwards and I got within 2 seconds of the owner who placed 2nd.



After the competition we drove back to Los Angles.


Sunday:

Caught a 8:00am flight back to Oakland then drive to the local autocross to keep in the points running. After the event I tried to watch the F-1 race at home but I passed out from only having 3 hours of sleep the night before.


Full size images (copy paste):
http://www.geocities.com/rineracing/Vette0.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/rineracing/Vette1.jpg

 

I guess that explains why I saw so many trailer queens towed by RV's on the I-15 north at 5:00pm on saturday

 

good job man. I got to Autocross my dad's vette two weekends ago at a Corvette club event here in the midwest. I was a tenth of a second off of the FTD, and it was my dad who had it. It also my second event EVER driving a rear wheel drive car... it was the most fun I've ever had in a car, even more fun that the SRT-10. Props to you!

 

That kicks ***. I've ridden in oneat an autocross...bone stock the thing was amazing. The power is otherworldly.

 

Sounds like big fun. I've really tended to dislike Corvettes for many decades... I'll take a yellow Z06 please. I have only driven a few minutes in late models but everything that I have heard says that starting with the later C4 Corvettes, they are the most bang for the buck in overall performance and the C5 Z06 is nothing short of a true star of cars at a reasonable price.

This weekend I am going to be a speaker for the Eckler's Corvettes Reunion in FL and they are having a mini-Evolution Driving School including having multi-time Corvette Solo II champion Danny Popp instructing and driving. Doubt I'll get any seat time (I think is it BYOC- Bring Your Own Corvette) but I will make every effort to ride shotgun with Danny in one. Back in the late '80s I autocrossed in the Cincinnati area when he was just getting started in his early '70s Vette and even then he could amaze you by shovelling a 17 ft. long Corvette dead sideways through 10 ft. wide gate without hitting a cone and he has only gotten better with time.

 

Gotta say, even though I am not a big American car fan, when I got to ride a session with my instructor at Watkin's glen a few weeks back I fell in love as well.

Not only was it the scariest ride I think I've ever had, for certain it was the fastest I have ever been.

The car was ridicuously fast, the brakes were amazing, it felt planted all the time with the slightest bit of drift just every so often. It felt just totally made for what we were doing and roared to be driven harder.

I would, if I could afford one and I'd be proud as Hell to drive the living snot out of it every chance I got.

The Z06 does rock.

 

I was reading the results from the Runoffs, and in the SSB, the fastest Miatas were 110-112, the GSR on pole was near 120, Z4 a bit faster, but the T1 Z06's were low 140's. Serious power, brakes, and handling. A Zo6 is only about 300lbs heavier than an S2000, and lighter than a new 911 or 350Z. A Vette club guy I know said the new 2005 one should have the motor out to 6.0l and 450+ hp. Maybe that will make the current one drop in price since it won't be the fastest any more?

 

Lee- I would make EVERY effort to DRIVE one at the Corvette Reunion.

I have never been a looker at Vetts and even examining the interior of the Z06 left me seriously unimpressed. Even the stereo and climate are the same ones you find in all Chevy cars/trucks. Going through tech I was informed that the battery tray can't even be securely fastened and that reinstalling it up side down helps a little.

HOWEVER, the first chance to get to put the pedal to the floor and take a turn fast enough to throw you out the passenger side window, then, it is quite apparent that this car is worth every penny of the $50k price tag. The car is all go, no show.

I can't imagine anyone buying one to drive around town in and not intending to autocross the hell out of it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Geratol &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I can't imagine anyone buying one to drive around town in and not intending to autocross the hell out of it.


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we just did the GM Autoshow in Motion over the weekend, and my dad was equally impressed with the Z06 as I was. He had never even looked at vette 'cause he thought he wouldn't fit, but he did. now i've almost got him convinced to sell the ESP Cobra and go play in SS