"Bryan doesn't drive a 1M" (bryantakespictures)
02/22/2015 at 10:52 • Filed to: autocross, bmw, porsche
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"Bryan doesn't drive a 1M" (bryantakespictures)
02/22/2015 at 10:52 • Filed to: autocross, bmw, porsche | 7
| 5 |
I took the 135i autocrossing yesterday at Bremerton Motorsports Park. The event was organized by the local Porsche and BMW clubs. I'd never been to a proper autocross event before and I had no idea how seriously some of these people take it. There were several fully caged race cars brought in on trailers and running on racing slicks. Good competition for my bone-stock 135i.
It's amazing how different your car feels when being driven on a track vs the street. Normally when I drive my car around town, the suspension feels a bit stiff and the steering feels pretty heavy and it seems like there's no end to the grip. Not so when I got out on the course. The 135i showed its true nature as a not racecar and the steering felt light, the suspension felt just about right, but I've never spent so much time at the limits of grip before, so it felt like I was constantly on the edge of sliding around like a maniac. Clearly there are more hardcore cars than mine, but I've got so far to go in the skills department, that I have no regrets about the 135i. It feels light (yes, I'm aware of how much it actually weighs, thank you internet pedants) and tossable with gobs of power. Just what I wanted.
How'd I do? Eh, not great. Most of the Porsches were below 50 seconds and about half of the BMW's were below 50 seconds. My best run was a 54.8, which placed me 15th out of 17. Not so good. But there were only a handful of newbs at the event, so I'm just happy I didn't run over anyone. My first two runs were within a tenth of a second from each other at around 56.8 seconds. For my third run, I had an instructor ride with me and he explained to me how slow I was going. So I went faster, spun out, and slid off into the grass. 83 seconds on that run. After taking what I learned, I shaved 2 seconds off of my time for my last and best run.
It was a great day to be a car enthusiast. I got to watch, ride in, and drive fast cars all day in a beautiful location with wonderful weather. What more could I ask for?
Oh, and there were breakfast burritos!
911e46z06
> Bryan doesn't drive a 1M
02/22/2015 at 11:17 |
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February in Washington State is a bold time to schedule an autocross event. Looks like it turned out ok though. When I saw the picture up top, I figured that the venue must be in Southern California, and was confused as to why I had never heard of it.
blacktruck18
> Bryan doesn't drive a 1M
02/22/2015 at 11:19 |
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The BMW club guys are awesome! I did a couple of track days with them at Bremerton and Pacific raceways, when I had my Corvettes. Glad you had fun.
DrColossus
> Bryan doesn't drive a 1M
02/22/2015 at 11:22 |
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The Corvette Club near me does autocross events right down the street, so I'm hoping to try it out a few times in my Scion xD, which just turned 100k and is likely to explode.
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Bryan doesn't drive a 1M
> blacktruck18
02/22/2015 at 11:24 |
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Yeah, everyone there was really nice and helpful.
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Bryan doesn't drive a 1M
> 911e46z06
02/22/2015 at 11:25 |
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It was about 50 degrees out, but it could have just as easily been a cold wet mess. Everyone there probably would have been just as happy either way. Chasing cones wouldn't be as much fun in the rain, though.