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October 18, 2005
2005 Fall BIR
Marie and I went to Brainerd International Raceway (BIR) over the weekend. We had an fantastic time and unbelievable nice weather for MN in the middle of October. The high for both days was in the mid sixties with mostly clear skies.
This was my 4th time driving at BIR but it was only Marie's first time at a racetrack. Marie was, understandably, a little apprehensive driving her automatic 4 cylinder Honda Accord. This was a North Star BMW CCA Chapter event, so a lot of BMW driving around and a fair share of Porche, WRX and others.
However, as the week progressed, Marie's smile widened and her skills improved. If we had awards for "Most Improved Driver", Marie's was it. She consistently got into the triple digit speed going into turn one, handled very heavy braking going into three and was ready to move over to allow faster cars to pass after turn 9.
She now knows what her car can do, and more important what she can do. She is a lot better prepared to deal with unexpected situations that require performance driving while on the streets and freeways. I feel so much more relaxed knowing that she is safer as a result.
Me? Man, that 91 318is is FAST! With help from my instructor we found some different lines around turn 4 - 5 and for turns 7 - 8 - 9. The car is much faster now through those sections of the track. I was also able to increase my exit speed out of 10. We were able to walk out into the track on Saturday afternoon, after the track went cold, and go examine turn 10. The perspective from the ground is so different. The turn is very wide, long and with some banking. Touching the texture where the material was repaired (the black patch) and the regular track material was educational. It is easy to see how the black patch can be slippery in the rain.
I love my little red car and I cannot wait to go out on the track again next year.
Posted by rimblas at 7:53 AM | Comments (0)