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**Ghrankenstein** · 08-08-2007, 01:35 PM

Thanks for the enjoyable and thoughtful takes on the whole experience. When you get to drive something as spectacular as an R8, that most of us would sell kidneys just to ride in shotgun, this is the way to write about it. The pictures are worth the extra horizontal scroll.

I'm especially entertained about what you have to say about the track experience. There's nothing like the combination of a 400+ hp supercar with precious little headroom, a vision-blocking helmet, and a blind floating corner to bring out one's inner dumbass. Cornering limits and stopping distances from racetrack speeds are exponentially bewildering when you've never experience them before, especially from within someone else's gajillion dollar car. It's impossible not to look like a clown when you do something like this for the first time, and it's sobering to think what some owners are doing with their 400 hp cars on public roads.

The only time I've gotten to do anything comparable was at the C6 training, which also included [2004] 911's, Boxter S's, and a lone Z4 3.0i. Many of the laps I turned, at frighteningly difficult Virginia International Raceway, were just darn goofy. The [2005] C6's lack of visceral feedback and comparably insensitive steering made it difficult to ascertain exactly what the car was doing at times where I really needed to know, and I ended up looking like a dummy. Lapping VIR for the first time, in a C6, left me using fear as a substitute for physics, braking early, plunging into corners, and swallowing tobacco that I don't even chew.

I would have felt more comfortable in a C5 Z06, even if it was slightly slower. The 911 felt like that, raw and scare-you-straight informative. My laps in the 911 looked a lot better, partially because I had half an idea what the course was like by that point, but feeling the rear end squirm under hard braking was ample reminder that I was still a complete noob and not to try my luck too much.

Getting some compliments, after the inevitable embarassment and mental insults, feels great. I got most of mine in the slower, more novice-tuned Z4, but doing something right on VIR is an accomplishment.

I'm glad you had a great time. Events like this are an enormous priviledge, and those of us who fall into the category of "the rest of us" are vindicated in feeling a little humbled, and just glad we got to go.

Ghrankenstien

08-08-2007, 01:35 PM	#2 (permalink)
Ghrankenstein GMI Staff Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Springfield, MO Drives: 2004 Chevy Cavalier LS Sport 5-speed. Posts: 3,164	Re: Drove Audi R8 on road & track Thanks for the enjoyable and thoughtful takes on the whole experience. When you get to drive something as spectacular as an R8, that most of us would sell kidneys just to ride in shotgun, this is the way to write about it. The pictures are worth the extra horizontal scroll. I'm especially entertained about what you have to say about the track experience. There's nothing like the combination of a 400+ hp supercar with precious little headroom, a vision-blocking helmet, and a blind floating corner to bring out one's inner dumbass. Cornering limits and stopping distances from racetrack speeds are exponentially bewildering when you've never experience them before, especially from within someone else's gajillion dollar car. It's impossible not to look like a clown when you do something like this for the first time, and it's sobering to think what some owners are doing with their 400 hp cars on public roads. The only time I've gotten to do anything comparable was at the C6 training, which also included [2004] 911's, Boxter S's, and a lone Z4 3.0i. Many of the laps I turned, at frighteningly difficult Virginia International Raceway, were just darn goofy. The [2005] C6's lack of visceral feedback and comparably insensitive steering made it difficult to ascertain exactly what the car was doing at times where I really needed to know, and I ended up looking like a dummy. Lapping VIR for the first time, in a C6, left me using fear as a substitute for physics, braking early, plunging into corners, and swallowing tobacco that I don't even chew. I would have felt more comfortable in a C5 Z06, even if it was slightly slower. The 911 felt like that, raw and scare-you-straight informative. My laps in the 911 looked a lot better, partially because I had half an idea what the course was like by that point, but feeling the rear end squirm under hard braking was ample reminder that I was still a complete noob and not to try my luck too much. Getting some compliments, after the inevitable embarassment and mental insults, feels great. I got most of mine in the slower, more novice-tuned Z4, but doing something right on VIR is an accomplishment. I'm glad you had a great time. Events like this are an enormous priviledge, and those of us who fall into the category of "the rest of us" are vindicated in feeling a little humbled, and just glad we got to go. Ghrankenstien __________________ NEW RIDE: 2008 Carp Poseidon (for fish-head delivery)