World Class Driving Experience

I would think they would not let you go fast / drive crazy

 

Well, the video shows some folks going pretty damn fast and all the stuff I have read says the same, so I have paid my money and wait for my time. I am doing the Nov 22nd run in San Antonio/Bandera. Looking forward to it. There are 3 or 4 of their cars that I want to drive and don't care about the rest... 599/SLR McLaren/430 Scud/Gallardo SL! It is a lead follow format, but I think they let you get a little rambunctious... If they didn't that would certainly not have many repeat customers and it sounds like they actually have quite a few.

There is another one that takes place on race tracks call Car and Driver Live... It is more than 2X the price but I think is an all day deal w/ in car on track instruction... I was hoping that is what this was, but alas it is not.

I will report back, but my event is still several months away! I have paid for a friend to ride shotgun with me too...another car guy! He is psyched about it too!

James

 

That is awesome! Have fun!

On a side note, congrats on your 928th post buddy.

 

hope all goes well

 

I didn't even notice! LOL! That is great...LOVE that number!

 

I did the April event in Napa, it was great. Word of advice would be to sign up for the Saturday morning event, if possible, because there should be less traffic on the road.

As for letting you have some fun, they let you have all the fun you want. The only thing they ask is that you don't do any burnouts and don't overrev 1st gear (they don't want you to drag race from a complete stop, basically). They set you up with a car to follow and a chase car behind, the car in front really keeps quite a pace and occasionally folks couldn't keep up. We ended up on some very twisty mountain roads and a passenger in the 430 actually got sick and had to pull over. All in all, it is a unique experience, done very well and I will do it again. It should be noted, though that you don't drive each car back-to-back. They rotate you in between exotics and the chase/pace cars that someone else is driving. When I first learned this, I was displeased because I felt my experience was being diluted so they could make more $$$. After the experience, I thought it actually added to the way the event played out because you had time to think about the car you just drove and anticipate the next car, instead of just hopping in and out of cars. It also gives you some time to appreciate the roads/scenery/watching the other cars. Happy to answer any questions you may have.

 

What were the chase/follow cars? I am in a wheelchair and it will be hard enough for me to get in and out of the nice big doors of the 2 door "exotic" cars... 4 door cars are WORSE to get in and out of...

Sounds like a good time. Not worried about traffic where I will be driving...not much out that way... Hill Country region of Texas...

I am looking forward to the event FOR SURE!

James

 

They were both rentals, the lead car was a Chrysler 300 or whatever they are called now, the follow car was Chevy Suburan or Yukon. I would give them a call and let them know of your situation before hand. They were all pretty nice and want everyone to have fun so I think they'll do what they can to accomidate you.

 

That looks like a lot of fun. And it even comes to my city. I'd definitely love to try it.

 

There is an event similar to this next month here in Houston at Grand Sport Speedway. it will be limited to 12-15 people and is on the track with professional instructors. Cars to drive are F430, Gallardo, Aston (not sure which), Porsche GT3, Bentley CGT, and I was told that a Merc SLR might be there as well. I left
Sunday Sept 21. Grand Sport Speedway 8am - 5 pm
cost is $4800 + tax

 

Yup, they know I am coming! I was chatting quite a bit w/ JP before I signed up to be sure they could handle me driving their car with sticks (ok, handcontrols that attach to the pedals, but it sounds more rudimentary to say sticks! LOL!) He was good with it... I am having them modded so as to fit more types or cars/pedals.

I won't be able to get in the Suburban. WAY TO tall seats for me to transfer up in to them!

Thanks,
James

 

Gotcha, you will really enjoy the event I am sure! I'm sure once you get there you can figure out which of the chase vehicles is best suited for you and then you can just use that seat each time. Are you doing it on the West or East Coast?

 

Hill Country of central Texas! They did one in Austin back in April, but I was unaware of the program then. This was the closest they were/are going to be to me in '08 now so I signed up for it. Grew up on the roads out in the Hill Country, but not sure we will venture far enough north toward Kerrville to get me on many of the roads I have driven in years gone by... Gonna be a GOOD TIME! I can hardly wait!

James

 

Right, right. I read that in the thread, just spaced out for a minute. I haven't seen much of the hill country of Texas but I am schedule to do the Texas 1000 this November and can't wait!!! I've heard these are some of the best roads in the world, which is almost unbelievable, but I've heard it from multiple sources! Enjoy, take some pics if you can and tell us about it when you get back.

 

I saw this group making their lunch pit stop outside the volcano on the Big island. Everybody was very positive and excited, and they still had half a day left.

 

I've done this three times, Georgia, Arizona and Hawaii. Fantastic event!! On the big Island played chase with the Ford GT and got about 140+ in the Lambo. In AZ with my boy taking video of each ride, over 130+ in the canyons. In AZ they made us ride with an instructor in the 599 and SLR. Got back to the hotel where it was being held. Didier ask if my son wanted to go out in the 599? Duh, he has a blast. Great video. The exhaust note was amazing. Took the wife out to Hawaii, seeing her face when she floored the Mclaren, priceless. Next up 200+ Club in 2009. Highly recommend Jean Paul and Didier, they run a great event.
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JP seems like a really nice guy and I have always admired Didier. I look forward to hanging w/ the guys and driving the hot cars!

Thanks everyone,
James

 

Just did my WCD event yesterday.

AWESOME!

ALL car guys should do this at least once. Save your pennies and ask for it as a Christmas, B-day, etc present! You will have a blast!

I was a bit concerned about the ride/drive thing. You drive then you ride, then you drive, and you go back and forth with that for the whole event till you have driven all 5 of the cars that they bring out and in the long run it is nice to have that little break between cars. It is a bit overwhelming to drive cars that are maybe up to $500k in value for the first time as well as cars that are as fast as these. At first I was not excited about the break between cars, but it really is a good idea. Now, the best way to do it is to take a friend along who also wants to drive and then the two of you can switch back and forth w/o having to ever ride in the lead or follow cars...you will be in one or another of the super cars either driving or riding all day!

Lead/follow? Yea, that is right. What are you following? Chrysler 300 rental w/ a V6! LOL! Well, as anyone who has been to the track already knows it is mostly the driver for the first 80% to 90% and THEN the car comes in to play. Most of the folks on my tour this weekend couldn't keep up with the lead Chrysler no matter which super car they were in, so that also shows that no matter your experience level you can REALLY enjoy this event.

The only thing that kind of hacked me off was I emailed many times to confirm that the 599 would be there at my event because that was THE CAR I wanted to drive. I was assured it would be there, but when we pulled up it was MIA... So, that was a bit of a bummer, but in the long run I'll just go do it again and hope the 599 is there next time!

What did I drive:

McLaren SLR
Ferrari 430 Scud
Lambo Gallardo Superleggera
Maserati Grand Tourismo
Audi R8

I'll have more info and a link for pics later! Till then go book a drive with World Class Driving!

James

 

Here are my thoughts on the cars I drove with WCD and the link to all the pics we took. Enjoy!

Here are my thoughts on each car:

Ferrari 430 Scuderia - If you are looking for a track car and don't want a GT3RS, THIS IS THE CAR! This thing is unreal. We were not allowed to put it in "race" mode or defeat the traction control and I never even felt the need to do so. In race mode it shifts in 60ms and I am not sure what the shifts are in regular mode but they were WAY faster than any other car I drove! It was telepathic too. It knew where you wanted to go and took you there. VERY, VERY easy to drive quickly! An amazing car to say the least! To spartan and to hot to use everyday, but for a track machine it would be VERY, VERY hard to beat.

Lamborghini Gallardo SuperLeggera - I call this car the Prince of Darkness because of its dark interior and more so its sound. Deeper than all but the SLR and much more brutal than any, other than the SLR. Loved the V10 howl though. I don't know if this one had a brake problem or what, but there was no bite and then FULL BRAKING no matter how fast or slow you were going and those brakes are SUPER POWERFUL! There is no finesse in this car. The shifts were slow and severe and the down shift blips were loud and obvious (vs. the total finesse of the Scud). Probably would have been better in a different shift/traction mode. Considering it is 4wd it has really good steering feel. Not nearly as direct as the telepathic Scud but it was very good. I would say other than the brakes this car might be a touch better than the Scud for street use, but I would need more time with both to be sure.

Audi R8 - This is the closest thing to a 928 in this group. Very, very comfortable, very easy to drive, very forgiving. Not as fast as most of the rest of the group is was quiet and everything was right where it should be and it was just precise. You could easily use this car every day. Now if they would build this car with a Boxster body or a 928 body or an Italian supermodel body or something other than the ugly metal they draped it in I would be in love... BUT, to my eye it was just as ugly in person as it is in pictures. That is totally subjective and I know others just LOVE it, but not me. You can't beat the car for comfort and speed though. It is truly Germanic as you would expect from Audi.

Maserati Granturismo - If I could only have ONE CAR it would be this one! You can seat four adults in this thing. It is plenty fast, makes good sounds, handles VERY WELL and is drop dead GORGEOUS! This is the one car in the group that can do it all! I loved this car! It was the last of the cars that I drove and I fell in love with this thing! Someday I WILL OWN ONE! It was a 928 with real back seats and slightly less sporting nature. If they hold up over the long run this car will be hard to beat for decades. Not to fast, but certainly no slouch and good handling nature without going over the top! As noted if it holds up over the long haul these cars will become real icons and highly sought after!

McLaren Mercedes SLR - The GOD OF THUNDER! This car is WILD! From the moment you enter this car it is trying to KILL YOU! Roland (40 year pro racing veteranand WCD instructor) was shotgun in this car for all the drivers and for good reason! This car WILL KILL YOU! Now, it could be that they got the recent alignment wrong or it just does not like the tires it is on, but this car was ALL OVER THE PLACE! My '92 GTS is the same way but it is on crap tires right now so any pavement irregularities cause the car to be all over. The same was true of the SLR BUT the big difference is the steering on the SLR is WAY to fast! Not to mention with all that HP on tap you can get into trouble in a real hurry. This would be a great supercar to have though as it is really striking looking. In fact I saw the prototype of this car a long time ago at the Indy F1 race and loved it. Then the production version came out and it had to many gills and too long a nose and I didn't like it anymore, but in person this car looks much better! Nothing like it out there. That said, Roland said he would take a Carrera GT over an SLR or an ENZO ANY DAY! He has driven the wheels off ALL of them so he should know! It is one WICKED fast car FOR SURE!

So, how does a '92 928 GTS (or any other 928 GTS) stack up to these cars? Well, a decade plus of engine development would put the GTS right in the thick of things with these cars. It is as easy or easier to drive than any of them as comfortable or more so than any of them and to my eye every bit as beautiful. Basically the GTS needs another 100 - 150 HP to really play with these cars and if it had that (like from a S/C or turbo) you would really not be missing out on anything that these cars have... But, don't take my word for it, go check out World Class Driving for yourself. It is expensive but worth every penny in my opinion, I WILL join them again next time they are in Central Texas!

Here are the pics: http://www.samos.org/WCD/

Best,
James

 

Glad you had fun!