[palantirion]

OCRC held a great event on 11-6 and 11-7. This was their first time offering an autoX to the general public and well as their usual HPDE school format and open track sessions for advanced drivers. Needless to say there was a LOT going on! I didn't take as many pics as usual because I was on the track doing demo rides and some basic instruction for new drivers.

First, pics from the autoX. I would point out that the bang-for-your-buck quotient was off the chart. $75 got you as many laps as you could run (several students had to refill their gas tanks!) with NO cone cleanup duty. I think my friend Greg ran something like 60 laps! They reversed the course at lunch, to add variety. Some of these pics are of HPDE students who got some autoX time as a stepping stone between the car control modules and the big track.

 

[palantirion]

Here are cars on the main track. Contrary to what some may think, this is NOT a cone course. It is laid out as a full 2.5 mile race track, with proper width and a large variety of corner types. The cones are there for visual reference (this is a school, remember). Many corners have elevation and/or camber changes, and some have seems or bumps that can upset the car if entered improperly. Bill Folmer changes up the back 1/2 of the track's layout with each school, offering new challenges to returning students. Several race cars (SCCA, Rolex Grand Am, etc.) use OCRC's track for testing, and it's also been used on Supercar Challenge and in the upcoming TopGear USA.

 

[palantirion]

On Saturday we ran a little later, and as the light level fell it made for some interesting pictures.

And speaking of interesting pictures...this thing showed up:

It's a one-of-one scratch-built homage to the MacLaren M8 Low Wing from the mid-'60s CanAm series, but with all modern manufacturing and materials. Look closely and you'll see LED lights and such. Here is a video of it when it departed: http://www.myz4mcoupe.com/images/Scatha 2010/10,11-06&07, OCRC/_vid (1).AVI

I didn't get any pics of Scatha on track, since I was driving her. But I took a couple of static shots when I was out in the middle of the track taking pics of the other students.

Larry, owner of the ESS-supercharged white E90 M3 in the previous pics (the one with blue tape) took a few videos that have Scatha in them. His threads on the event are
here: Brilliant White from SEMA to the Track! - M3 Forum 2011 2010 BMW M3 2009 BMW M3 BMW E90 M3 E92
and
here: Brilliant White from SEMA to the Track! - M3 Forum 2011 2010 BMW M3 2009 BMW M3 BMW E90 M3 E92

My last pic:

 

[greer]

Looks like fun, when is the next school?

 

[palantirion]

Looks like fun, when is the next school?

-I'm not sure yet. They are held roughly quarterly, depending on El Toro's availability. Hopefully Top Gear USA won't screw things up. Funny to see OCRC's track on the TV.

 

[M55555]

Thanks for sharing the pics. Great value at $75.