My first ViperDays at Thunderhill

JimT 99RT

Viper Owner
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Well all I can say is it is well worth the time and money. The instruction was very helpful and it taught me a lot about driving the car and what the car is capable of. You quickly learn that if you are smooth with your braking, steering, and throttle that the car sticks to the road like glue and you will be amazed at how fast it will take the corners. If you have a tendency to make quick/jerky steering adjustments, or are always romping on the throttle then it is likely that you will be off the track sometime during the day. I learned this first hand when we had some rain and I ****** the steering wheel while talking to the instructor in turn 11 and spun the back end around and off the track. I was not going very fast and thought for sure I had plenty of margin. There was no harm done and it was a good learning experience. For the most part you and the car are pretty safe, though you will feel a little inadequate when you look at the guys with full roll bars, racing seat belts, and full Nomex suits. As Skip would say, it is a much smarted investment to put your money into good safety equipment and learning how to drive the car than investing in parts to make it go faster.

My thanks go out to Skip, Courtney, the instructors, and the rest of the ViperDays staff, great event! Also, thanks Archer Racing Accessories for your great service at the track, Russ thanks for the new shock/spring setup and the alignment.
 

prodiver

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Jim,
If you or anyone else are interested in running at Thunderhill in the near future the Nor Cal Shelby owners Association http://www.norcal-saac.org/ has an open track event on April 12 and 13. This will be my fourth year at this event. Very well organized and a lot of track time.
 

Fast Viper Dan

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Jim,
You did a great job at learning the track! Started slow and worked up. Too often we see drivers start fast, spin, then slow down and work on being smooth. Your little spin in 10 was partly my fault, I saw it coming but did not see it soon enough to advise. It was a good day for you thou. You showed a lot of improvement in the way you handled your self and car. I hope you come back and continue your participation with Viper Days!
Dan
 
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