Summit Point... has anyone been to "Friday at the Track"? Any comments? (nt)

 

Here ya go...

http://www.autox.net/reviews/schools_bsr1.asp<ul><li><a href="http://www.autox.net/reviews/schools_bsr1.asp">Summit Point Review</a></li></ul>

 

Have been attending Porsche Club track events for about 10 years; tracks include Mid-Ohio, Watkins Glen, Nelson's Ledges, and Summit Point. Layout is nice at Summit, but (at least when I was there) road conditions were atrocious. Track surface had been ground up in an attempt to smooth it out. Also, one of the days I was there it rained, and that track is the SLICKEST in the wet of any I have been on! In the corner after the one at the end of the front straight, was going around extremely cautiously. 911 did a complete 180 degree spin; I swear it took car a complete 15 seconds to complete that spin. On drive back to the pits at about 30 MPH nearly spun two more times. This was on street tires; NOT track R1's!.

Might check with others who have driven there recently.

 

That track is so much fun in the rain! Err, was at least. I dunno if it's as slick as it used to be with the re-pavement and all.

I was out there on a wet day, R1's and all (still had tread grooves). It was in my A4 w/ stock sport suspension. Very predictable, and for 2 sessions I got to run rings around everyone. My instructor's comments after one run: "Boy you're lucky this car has Quadra-drive or whatever it has!" Oh well, he's a Viper & RX-7 guy.

Oh, then it dried up after lunch, and then I managed to go off track chasing down a cautious GT40 :P

Warren

 

in October, for the QCUSA track event. This was after SP was resurfaced (or whatever they did to it). I had a great time; really enjoyed SP! I didn't think it was too slick, about the same as other tracks I've been to; I didn't run in the rain, though (weather held out). I'm sure you'll have fun there too!

Regards,
Geza
99.5 Avant 2.8qMS
97 Boxster

 

Summit Point is one of my favorite tracks, regardless of its varying levels of traction. FATT instructors (the BSR guys, mostly) are a very skilled group and you'll get more from them than the typical car club instructor (Porsche/BMW/Quattro/whatever), since they're doing it all the time. The Point is a great school track. The back side (once you hit Wagon Bend - all the way under the Datsun bridge) teaches "consequence"....you'll get immediate feedback if you make an error in car placement in any of those corners and see the error of your ways, without too many large hard obstacles to hit - alot like Mid-Ohio between the right-hander before Madness and the front straight, another great "consequence" segment. All and all, it's a great combination of mid-speed technical corners and a long fast straight.

The new pavement (Sept. '99) is really sticky. I was having wheel spin and hop problems there in November in places where, in the past, I would just be having lurid slides. I do miss the old slippery pavement, since you could really fly if you had a little hair...

Long ago, I was driving a Sports Renault (tube-frame, center cockpit sports racer that was the predecessor of the current SCCA Spec Racer Ford) in a wet qualifying session at the Point. It had been dry for two weeks, and all the dust and dirt (and oil from all the LeakyBritishCrap) hadn't been washed off until it started raining for our qualifying session (great.....just great...). On our "Out" lap (i.e. first lap out before we got the green flag at Start/Finish), under Full Course Yellow, 7 cars went off and 3 got stuck somewhere in the grass or woods. I've never had an Out lap black flagged before...or since. That's how slippery Summit Point used to be in the wet. I haven't been on the new pavement in the wet, but it feels really sticky. I just hope that they improved the drainage between turns 5 & 9 so that they don't get the same rivers of water in a heavy rain. Oh, yeah....I think I qualified 6th and I know I finished 2nd...still got the trophy kicking around the garage....I really like wet slippery racetracks.....


John
Trained Seals Racing

 

nt

 

Don't know Don...don't know many of the BSR people, actually, but mostly by reputation and my own take on advanced students that I get who've been with BSR before. Those guys have their poop in a pile. I get to Summit Point 3-4 times /year, and it's usually just to race. I only spent one day there instructing last year (Trackmasters), and won't do a lot more this year. It's an 8 hour tow for me, so it's a little much to just go there to teach a school. Racing, of course, would make me travel much further...but occasionally, if the track is cool...hmmm....just got the Track Time instructor sign-up sheet for 2000. Thirty five track days on the Track Time sked....three schools at Road America...hmmm....and a school at Laguna Seca in November......HMMMMM....anybody got a race car I can rent in Northern California ?

John

 

Interested in instructing at the Quattro Club event at Summit Point? Please e-mail me if you want to discuss. Always looking for someone to really give us knowledge of the track, etc.

Jon Linkov

 

Let me know if you want me to check it out.

Steve S.