A Day with VCA at 2010 Formula Drift, Sep 11, 2010, Part 1 of 4

[ViperStaring]

I had my first experience of a car race earlier today, as a guest of the Viper Club of America, Northern California Region.

The Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, CA, held Round 6 of the Formula Drift Pro Championship race, and the VCA had a secluded section all of its own at the best vantage point, at the far end of the bleachers right next to the 270-degree turn, whereas the general audience were baking under the sun. A stationary RV sporting the Viper Club of America banner marked the area beyond which ten Vipers were parked, plus a tent for the member drivers to watch the race in comfort. That is reason alone to become a Viper owner.

According to Maurice Liang, president of the regional club, drift racing originated in Japan decades ago, and 2004 was the first year a race took place in the U.S. I used to have tremendous respect for race car drivers as a kid. The drift racing today reawakened my admiration for them. The display of power of focus and seamless execution at the race was a sight to behold, and one that inspires.

Besides good company from the very gracious and hospitable Maurice and fellow members, I also was given a passenger ride by member Bill Todd in his '99 GTS-R! Even though Bill has an aftermarket muffler system for an additional 15hp, which supposedly sounded louder than stock, he took me on a 10-minute drive on the local freeway away from the raceway, and I thought it was not as deafening as the 2007 Ford Shelby GT-500 that I also tested a few months back. More powerful and less noisy. I love that.

My thanks to Maurice, Todd, Robin, Terri, and many others who chatted with me about owning a Viper, whose name I didn't grasp. Now, more than ever, I want to implement the complete evacuation of my warehouse of a garage and garage a Viper in it. My SLK350 will just have to sit on the driveway. The SSG Viper featured is Maurice Liang's personal ride, a 2008 SRT-10.

Postscript: I had intended to post lots of pictures, but found out only paid members have the privilege of posting pictures up to 500MB. Sorry.

 

[bluesrt]

for someone that speaks so knowledgable, and then talks so dum dum--- what r u up to???

 

[mauricev10]

for someone that speaks so knowledgable, and then talks so dum dum--- what r u up to???

What kind of comment is this?

Constantine is interested in becoming a Viper owner, and stopped by our hospitality suite at Infineon Raceway to check out the cars and talk with some Viper owners about what it's like to own a Viper. Judging from his posting, I think our members left him a good impression, and he felt welcome in the Viper community, but your comment certainly does not help support that.

Maurice Liang
Founding President
Viper Club of America

 

[ViperStaring]

I managed to video the event. The 3 videos are now on YouTube:

Practice 1
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VitlBN2dmTw[/media]

Practice 2
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2Mvec1wfWw[/media]

Race
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlfkwEudako[/media]

Enjoy!

I want to thank everyone's support both here in the Forum as well as at the event yesterday. You are an exceptional group.

One thing interesting I forgot to mention. When Bill took me on a drive in his 99 GTS-R freeway, we were on a two-lane road in the left lane, and all cars swiftly moved to the right lane and slowed down. And we didn't even have a siren. I've never been given such privilege in all seven years and two versions of my SLK!

 

[V10SpeedLuvr]

Postscript: I had intended to post lots of pictures, but found out only paid members have the privilege of posting pictures up to 500MB. Sorry.

Unless things have changed (I don't think they have), everyone can post pics. If you can't use the upload software here, use photobucket.com and just copy and paste the links to your thread here. PM me if you need any help

 

[okloneranger]

I was a wanna be Viper owner in '06 trying to find out as much info about Vipers as I could before buying one so as to get the right Viper for me. One Saturday afternoon I called Maurice, long distance of course, to get his opinion on several different years. I had never met him, (still haven't),got his number out of Viper magazine which I had been reading for several years. He was not the only member I called. All of the members I talked to were very kind, patient, and generous with their time and information. Their knowledge and kindness help me to decide which Viper I really wanted and also that I wanted to be a VCA member. I try to emulate their attitude with people who ask me about Vipers.

 

[ViperStaring]

Per GA VCA president Chad's suggestion, I was able to upload the pictures into photobucket.com. Here they are:

VCA at 2010 Pro Championship Formula D Round 6 pictures by ViperStaring - Photobucket

Thank you very much, Chad, for coming to my rescue.

 

[TrackAire]

I had my first experience of a car race earlier today, as a guest of the Viper Club of America, Northern California Region.

The Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, CA, held Round 6 of the Formula Drift Pro Championship race, and the VCA had a secluded section all of its own at the best vantage point, at the far end of the bleachers right next to the 270-degree turn, whereas the general audience were baking under the sun. A stationary RV sporting the Viper Club of America banner marked the area beyond which ten Vipers were parked, plus a tent for the member drivers to watch the race in comfort. That is reason alone to become a Viper owner.

According to Maurice Liang, president of the regional club, drift racing originated in Japan decades ago, and 2004 was the first year a race took place in the U.S. I used to have tremendous respect for race car drivers as a kid. The drift racing today reawakened my admiration for them. The display of power of focus and seamless execution at the race was a sight to behold, and one that inspires.

Besides good company from the very gracious and hospitable Maurice and fellow members, I also was given a passenger ride by member Bill Todd in his '99 GTS-R! Even though Bill has an aftermarket muffler system for an additional 15hp, which supposedly sounded louder than stock, he took me on a 10-minute drive on the local freeway away from the raceway, and I thought it was not as deafening as the 2007 Ford Shelby GT-500 that I also tested a few months back. More powerful and less noisy. I love that.

My thanks to Maurice, Todd, Robin, Terri, and many others who chatted with me about owning a Viper, whose name I didn't grasp. Now, more than ever, I want to implement the complete evacuation of my warehouse of a garage and garage a Viper in it. My SLK350 will just have to sit on the driveway. The SSG Viper featured is Maurice Liang's personal ride, a 2008 SRT-10.

Postscript: I had intended to post lots of pictures, but found out only paid members have the privilege of posting pictures up to 500MB. Sorry.

Glad you got to go this year, work travel had me out of town. I went last year and it was a blast. When first shopping (and deciding on what Gen Viper to buy) for a Viper, Maurice was one of my first calls for advice.

The Drifting is a lot of fun to watch, hopefully next year I'll get to go again.

Good luck with your future Viper choices.

Cheers,
George

 

[vancouver-gts]

we were on a two-lane road in the left lane, and all cars swiftly moved to the right lane and slowed down. And we didn't even have a siren. I've never been given such privilege in all seven years and two versions of my SLK!

I'm glad you had a good experience in a Viper. You probably decided to get one ,stick or not .I do have the same scenario when I have the Viper out , people usually pull to the right lane and waiting for a little burst . When we cruise with my buddies in single files [ Viper GTS , Ferrari 550 Maranello and Noble M400 ] the reaction of motorists is even more unbelievable

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