Coop
31-05-2005, 02:36 PM
Has anyone out there had a drive of a V8 Super Challenge car before? I was lucky enough to have a couple of sessions paid for by my girlfriend on the weekend (birthday pressie) and I have to say it was the most fun I've had in a long time.
It was run by Fastrack Racing, at Calder Park, and took all afternoon on Saturday just gone. Basically the group (about 30-35 drivers I'm estimating) was split into 4 groups, and each assigned a car & instructor for the day. The cars are all VX Commodore's, I don't know much about the specs but I'm told they are around 450bhp, and come with supercar bodykits.
The groups were taken round in a road car (clapped out EL fairlane in my case) first to show correct lines and braking points, etc, then the fun started - 10 min sessions driving the cars. I was lucky enough to be in the first group out, and although the first session is limited to 4000rpm and 3rd/4th gears, I managed to catch the car in front and overtake on the entry to the main straight. Needless to say, the adrenaline was pumping by the time I got out.
I had to wait for a little over an hour before my next session started, and in that time the temparature dropped right off and some light rain showers came over the track - not enough for the organisers to cancel the afternoon though :) Finally back in the car, I was now allowed to take the revs up to 5000rpm (still well within the car, but a nice increase all the same). Started doing some quicker lap times than I had earlier, and decided to give it a bit more on my last lap - pushed deeper into the corners and cut 3 seconds off my previous best time, and claimed the fastest lap of the day :D All must end though, and it seems just as your getting comfortable with the car the session is over.
One last bit of fun, though, was being taken around by the car's regular driver. Unbelievable braking and cornering, must have been at least 10-15 seconds faster than I had managed (although he didn't have enforced 100m braking zones, rev limits, 3/4 gear restrictions, and he could really drive ;))
If this sounds like fun to anyone out there, I highly recommend it. It cost $620 for the day, and I paid another $125 for a DVD of the experience (taken from 4 in car cameras). The following pic shows the cut down Calder circuit used (in red):
http://www.haroc.1337thing.com/ls1/gto625/calder.jpg
It was run by Fastrack Racing, at Calder Park, and took all afternoon on Saturday just gone. Basically the group (about 30-35 drivers I'm estimating) was split into 4 groups, and each assigned a car & instructor for the day. The cars are all VX Commodore's, I don't know much about the specs but I'm told they are around 450bhp, and come with supercar bodykits.
The groups were taken round in a road car (clapped out EL fairlane in my case) first to show correct lines and braking points, etc, then the fun started - 10 min sessions driving the cars. I was lucky enough to be in the first group out, and although the first session is limited to 4000rpm and 3rd/4th gears, I managed to catch the car in front and overtake on the entry to the main straight. Needless to say, the adrenaline was pumping by the time I got out.
I had to wait for a little over an hour before my next session started, and in that time the temparature dropped right off and some light rain showers came over the track - not enough for the organisers to cancel the afternoon though :) Finally back in the car, I was now allowed to take the revs up to 5000rpm (still well within the car, but a nice increase all the same). Started doing some quicker lap times than I had earlier, and decided to give it a bit more on my last lap - pushed deeper into the corners and cut 3 seconds off my previous best time, and claimed the fastest lap of the day :D All must end though, and it seems just as your getting comfortable with the car the session is over.
One last bit of fun, though, was being taken around by the car's regular driver. Unbelievable braking and cornering, must have been at least 10-15 seconds faster than I had managed (although he didn't have enforced 100m braking zones, rev limits, 3/4 gear restrictions, and he could really drive ;))
If this sounds like fun to anyone out there, I highly recommend it. It cost $620 for the day, and I paid another $125 for a DVD of the experience (taken from 4 in car cameras). The following pic shows the cut down Calder circuit used (in red):
http://www.haroc.1337thing.com/ls1/gto625/calder.jpg