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Driving the Daytona Rolex Course 2018 in GT350R (new video added)

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Tomster

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Yes, Daytona is my home track. I have a few more in my area, Sebring is the next closest one.

My problem is time. I work a lot and there is so much involved in the pre and post event. It is something that I can only indulge in a few times a year and it is almost like a mini vacation. I'm doing what I enjoy and while surrounded by great people.

The track is more than just going round and round as fast as you can. Its about celebrating the environment and the people that make it up. You meet all kinds of charicters who all share in the same interest.

Glad you stopped by
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Wings1090

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Yes, Daytona is my home track. I have a few more in my area, Sebring is the next closest one.

My problem is time. I work a lot and there is so much involved in the pre and post event. It is something that I can only indulge in a few times a year and it is almost like a mini vacation. I'm doing what I enjoy and while surrounded by great people.

The track is more than just going round and round as fast as you can. Its about celebrating the environment and the people that make it up. You meet all kinds of charicters who all share in the same interest.

Glad you stopped by
Daytona is not a bad home track to have, a bucket list track for me for sure.

Time is the ultimate constraint for all of us. Track days require definitely require a lot of pre and post prep.

Enthusiast events are always enjoyable, learning from one another and sharing feedback and stories.
 

nastang87xx

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I guess it was just a matter of time.

Heel/toe going into turn 1 and the bus stop, Throttle blip going into turn 5. I know it sounds weird, but put a microphone on your rev match under those conditions and see what it sounds like.
:thumbsup:
 
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Daytona is not a bad home track to have, a bucket list track for me for sure.

Time is the ultimate constraint for all of us. Track days require definitely require a lot of pre and post prep.

Enthusiast events are always enjoyable, learning from one another and sharing feedback and stories.
Look into motorsportsreg.com for the audi club event in the first weekend of December. If you would like a fellow 350 guy to show you the track, request me, I'd be happy to help. Pm me if you would like the intro guide I wrote. Either way, if you are in the area, stop by stall 9 in the blue garages.

Next year I hope to be running a GT500 and maybe a 350. We will see how that goes.

Anyway, don't let excuses get in the way, Daytona is one of those tracks you should do at least once in your life.
 

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havasu486

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Hi Matt,
The cameras I use are Gopro Hero 4 Black. I have one facing forward and one facing rearward. I have so much more video that I should process and post, but it is a very time consuming task. I use an external microphone adapter with an Olympus stereo external microphone with windscreens. I tape it to the back of my license plate. If you don't want to go to all that trouble, you can just throw it in the trunk and it works well (except that it will pickup noise from the differential pump when it starts).

I'm happy to see Ford folks here on this forum. I have a friend who works over at the plant who is passionate about these performance vehicles you all build. From the consumers perspective, I feel fortunate that Ford produces such a great product at such a price level. Keep up the great work!

Thanks for your kind comments and don't be a stranger around here. Your perspective and input is valued.

Great video Tom, thanks for sharing. I was at Road America last year. Knock that off of the bucket list. I purchased a Hero 7 Black and love it so far. Gimbal like stabilization without the extra weight. It is winter here so I have not used it yet but I am looking forward to having it on my helmet for the best POV possible.
 

Wings1090

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Look into motorsportsreg.com for the audi club event in the first weekend of December. If you would like a fellow 350 guy to show you the track, request me, I'd be happy to help. Pm me if you would like the intro guide I wrote. Either way, if you are in the area, stop by stall 9 in the blue garages.

Next year I hope to be running a GT500 and maybe a 350. We will see how that goes.

Anyway, don't let excuses get in the way, Daytona is one of those tracks you should do at least once in your life.
I will definitely keep you in mind if I make it down there.

Excuses aside, time and money hamper my goals lol.

Thank you for the hospitality.
 

havasu486

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I will definitely keep you in mind if I make it down there.

Excuses aside, time and money hamper my goals lol.

Thank you for the hospitality.
Matt I see you are in Michigan. May I suggest Waterford Hills in Clarkston, Grattan in Belding, or GingerMan in South Haven? As a first time track these would be the type I would suggest. There is a great event at GingerMan in August that is not listed on motorsportsreg.com This is a great event http://www.mohawktrackexperience.com/
 

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Matt I see you are in Michigan. May I suggest Waterford Hills in Clarkston, Grattan in Belding, or GingerMan in South Haven? As a first time track these would be the type I would suggest. There is a great event at GingerMan in August that is not listed on motorsportsreg.com This is a great event http://www.mohawktrackexperience.com/
I am familiar with those three, and will hopefully attend one or more track day this year (most likely Waterford Hills since they repaved it recently).

Some of my buddies from our local Mustang group attended the Mohawk Track Experience and said it was an awesome experience.

I would also recommend Atlanta Motorsports Park. I was fortunate enough to get to take my R around there as part of a private track event in October of last year.

Daytona is one of those bucket list tracks for me, along with Laguna Seca, Sebring, VIR, Lime Rock, Watkins Glen, and a couple others.
 

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The first weekend in December, the Audi Club gets together with Hooked On Driving and they rent the Daytona International Speedway for a 3 day track event. People from all around the country convene on Daytona with every kind of track focused car you can think of for the love of track driving as well as the experience of driving the Rolex 24 course at Daytona.

Each Driver is assigned to one of four groups. Group 1 is for Pros and Racers, group 2 is for instructors, group 3 is advanced/intermediate, and group 4 is for beginner/novice. This year I was assigned to group 2 and was assigned a student who had his act together. He had a lot of track experience, but just hadn’t driven Daytona before. We went over all the nuances and particulars of the track, specifics pertaining to his car (alignment, tire pressure, etc), general rules of the road, and safety info that is particular to this event. Overall, he did a great job for his first time at Daytona.

In the time leading up to this event, I began to prep my car about a month out. Things like oil change, brake pads, rotors, transmission fluid change, differential fluid change, alignment, torque verification (lug nuts, oil pressure sensor, oil filter canister), new Cup2 tires mounted and balanced, and trakk tape were applied to the front end and impact areas. I was very busy at this time with family and work, so this process was stretched out over the course of about a month.

For those not familiar with my triple yellow R model, HR361 (click here) is stock with a few exceptions. Modifications to the car include a Watson 4 point roll cage, Schroth 4 point ASM harness (driver and passenger), Cooltech belt clips, tear away front windshield film, Vorshlag camber plates, ZL1 titanium front tow hook, Steeda jacking rails, Bob's passenger side catch can, Airaid dry air filter, complete brake fluid swap with Castrol SRF, and a 100% complete Xpel clear bra wrap. To keep it all looking nice for when it's all said and done, I prep the car with Trakk Tape on the front end, A pillars, hood, roof, and wheel impact areas before each track session. I have an MGW shifter that I am yet to install, but time permitting, will be completed before next track session. Other than the above, these cars come from Ford (Performance) without really needing much in the area of modifications. The GT350R is without a doubt one of the best naturally aspirated track cars ever built in this price range.

The event kicked off on November 30th. On November 29th (the day before), everyone was allowed to trailer in. I was there at the crack of 1 and stopped by registration to pick up my documents and credentials. I settled into my garage (I rent one), and a tech inspection of my car was accomplished. Of course, it was found satisfactory. A window sticker was placed on my car to show tech approval and compliance. New people to the track have the opportunity to take a tram ride of the track to show general driving lines and orientation.

Day 1 started with a driver meeting in the morning. This is in a very large conference room where driver participation is mandatory. All the important information is briefed and at the end I received a sticker to put on my windshield to demonstrate that I attended the meeting.

This year, the weather was pleasant on Friday. Saturday, weather came through and it rained off and on making some turns of the Rolex course a little sporty. Sunday was quite warm. Most run Daytona with the windows up due to the high speeds and associated noise. The environmental heat as well as the heat generated by the car make for a hot cockpit. Despite running the fan at full blast it gets quite warm. This is me finishing a session in the afternoon on Sunday (soaking wet).

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Day 1 for me was busy. I had an issue with the oil pressure sensor leaking. This happened to me last year and despite me making sure it was tight this year, it happened again. Once I figured out the problem, I decided to let my dealership handle it. The car is under warranty, so I didn't want to own the problem. My dealership accommodated me right away, so I only lost half the day’s track time. This is a common problem with the GT350 on the track and it has been well documented here on M6G. Here is a photo of me taken by John Vallo trying to initially isolate the source of the oil leak. The good news is that hardly any oil was lost before noticing the problem.

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Day 2 was a slow track day. The track was wet due to rain and at times it would be dry enough to go out and take it easy. Various turns were precarious and led to some cars losing control and crashing. This year, I know first hand of a Camaro and a GT350R sustaining major damage. I went out and had some fun, but the car was definitely loose on any wet painted surface (like the bus stop corners) with cup2’s.

Day 3 had favorable weather conditions that allowed me to have a lot of fun. At this point, my student was signed off and on his own, I had some time to drive the Rolex course myself, and I was also able to give rides to enthusiasts who were either part of the Audi Club family or people who were really fascinated with the GT350R. I have always been a Ford guy all my life and I saw this as an opportunity to show people first hand what that car is capable of. I received many compliments after the rides were over and many stated that the GT350R was their favorite car based upon all the other rides they had that day.



During lunch break, some instructors were invited to drive the NASCAR oval course at the Daytona International Speedway (no inside course or bus stop on the backstretch). I was fortunate enough to be invited. THANK YOU Craig, John, Paul, Hans, Tom and everyone else who gave the thumbs up. My impressions..... It was interesting and had a different perspective of the speedway. At high speeds, those banks (as steep as they are) only seem to be neutral from a steering perspective at about 140 MPH or so. Go screaming into those turns at 170+, and be ready to add a significant steering input as well as the imposition of significant lateral G's to keep from going into the wall. This session was cut short for a yellow because someone had an issue.



Daytona 2018 was a great time. I look forward to next year and with any luck, I will have a GT500R as well as the GT350R out on the Rolex course of Daytona. The extra top end speed combined with the rumored track enhancements of the 500 should make for a formidable track weapon.

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I edited the video above to include a rear view facing camera. Kinda neat, so I though I'd share.

Very nice. Did you ever get passed?
 

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Very nice. Did you ever get passed?
No, that doesn't happen much in the R, but on other runs, there was a ZR1 and a ZL1 1LE who did. That is why I will (hopefully) have a 500 next year.
 
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svttim

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Thanks for the ride Tomster. What do you have your shift LEDs set up at?


And about that phone,,,,,,, :crazy:
 
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Thanks for the ride Tomster. What do you have your shift LEDs set up at?


And about that phone,,,,,,, :crazy:
HUD set at 7K for the shift point. It leaves a 1.2K buffer and honestly, Im not out there to beat her up.

The Phone? Are you familiar with track addict? It is an app that has Bluetooth connectivity to an OBDII reader that captures and stores various data points. I could put it on a suction cup mount somewhere, but it would interfere with the view and be much less accessible.
 

DavisCustoms

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Yes, Daytona is my home track. I have a few more in my area, Sebring is the next closest one.

My problem is time. I work a lot and there is so much involved in the pre and post event. It is something that I can only indulge in a few times a year and it is almost like a mini vacation. I'm doing what I enjoy and while surrounded by great people.

The track is more than just going round and round as fast as you can. Its about celebrating the environment and the people that make it up. You meet all kinds of charicters who all share in the same interest.
Awesome Thread, you've got me all jealous...
this is the closest to track time the wife we let me get with our Mustang for now:headbang:
but i'll be back up to Sebring in March to watch the Trans-am races.
Sebring.jpg
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