I am the driver of the m5. Some background Ive been to porsche driving school and the free M school. This was my first time at Monticello and it was wet and light rain on the track in the morning.
Keep in mind, this is my car so if i crash or go off track and hit the tires I LOSE.
For this event, I changed my oil, replaced brake fluid with high temp fluid, and NEW REAR TIRES. Btw ps2 are $440 each This was all out of pocket (alot) - GM didnt offer or supply anything.
My friend Kamil (
http://www.carguydad.com) and I arrived around 8:15 to our surprise-full camera crews, GM press people, and alot more than just 10-20 cars for a friendly race. We checked in and signed our life/insurance waivers and had breakfast. Around 9 they invited the drivers (regular guys and journalists) to ride in a cts-v with a driver to tour the track. I think it was 2-3 laps then back to pits where we went into our cars. They gave us 5-6 laps uninstructed on our own and then an instructor rode with us for another 2-3 laps. The track was wet and light rain and mist was still present. Car felt good but after 2 1/2 hard laps the brakes werent biting as hard--pedal feel was great and grip was good but need to slow down a little bit more. I tried to push as much as I could-but in the back of my mind I had to "save" something for later and not crash or run off since the grass was very wet (flip over) and still needed to drive her home.
We broke for a press event and then lunch. Next some group shots and more press p/r stuff.
Now for the challenge -groups of 3-4 cars at a time 45 secs inbetween. Each group had 1 journalist or privateer and 2-3 GM reps/pro drivers. So it was somewhat stacked against us with the pros being present. This was GM's party and they werent going to lose. Bob Lutz said at lunch if he didnt post the fast time, he was sure someone here would make sure the caddy comes out on top. LOL
So my turn: 1 lap to warm up and 3 timed laps and then 1 cool down.
The track was drier than the morning but there were still wet spots and puddles in places. I tried to follow the line and hit the apexes right but obviously its easier to say than do. My speeds were decent about 120-125 on front straight and 130-140+ on back. I think I hit rev limiter in 4th on the back
One could go faster but about 1/3 of the way on the back they had a chicane setup (again for safety) that one needed to slow down to 25-30mph before getting on it at full throttle thru 2nd 3rd and 4th before hitting the brakes to about 60-70 on a hard right turn uphill and another chicane.
Speed TV had a helicopter flying over and filming everyone but its rotor wash had blown some corner/braking cones on to the track in 2 different spots making you adjust your line to avoid them.
So I had a great time and wish I could have spent more time practicing and taking more laps to achieve a better time.
The caddy sounded great and is a fast car. It looks good and is cheaper than a bmw m5. I hope I can post some clips or video of full speed/throttle shifts of a big supercharged v8 because it was mean.
That being said -numerous people came upto me and stated that when I came down the front stretch from about 60ish to about 124mph from 2nd to 3rd gear at full throttle-the sound was just awesome!!! Different from the rawness of the american v8 but the full wail of a v-10 at redline was just superb!!!!
I was disappointed after the event that we werent given a chance to drive the cts-v on the track-I guess if one of us pulled a fast lap in the caddy that beat a gm driver then that would have been egg on their face.
The kid in the m3 was very fast and for being 21 was a good driver. The other cars werent close but again its peoples OWN vehicles whose insurance policies probably wouldnt appreciate a claim on the track.
Ill remember more but feel free to ask any questions.
Mike
ps This will air on Speed on Dec 5th--according to nytimes or another post I read
Thanks for aprticipatign and it seemed like alot of fun!
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