06 Coupes on the Track

[ChrisGTS]

This past weekend, Achilles99 and I did a track event at Talladega Gran Prix Raceway in Alabama. Here are a few pics of the action ...

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Both cars performed well, and the track was a lot of fun. Hope you like the pictures!

Chris

 

[Achilles99]

This was a great event put on by the Georgia Mustang Club. Track conditions were perfect, and the best part about it was hanging out with a bunch of car enthusiasts.

BTW, Chris wins the award for most dedicated driver. He hurt his foot stepping in a hole, continued to drive all sessions (put Viper in 3rd gear the entire time), went to the ER and found out he had a broken foot!

 

[The Great One]

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Love this pic! From the hand motion of the instructor and the way the front end is digging into the pavement, you can tell he was saying something along the lines of "******* the brakes!"

I love seeing people using Vipers for what they were built for

 

[Achilles99]

That's a great interpretation of the pic, let's go with that! This was a shot from my first run (instructor riding shotgun). I had never driven the track before (studied it on trackpedia.com, great site for those who want a breakdown of different tracks). The instructor was very impressed with the braking power... after a few hard brakes, he admitted that I could go deeper into the turn later in the day (I wonder if he meant with him out of the car lol).

Chris - do you remember which corner you took that shot from? There is a spot on the track where you brake from 100+ down to 50mph or so, but I'm not sure which corner this is in the shot.

I have owned a few Vipers in my day (along with 911tt, Gallardo, 360, etc.), and I must say that I am VERY impressed with the stock Gen III brakes. Never once did I feel as though braking power was lacking. Handling was mostly neutral, although I was running stock runflats and stock alignment so understeer was a slight issue (as evidenced by one off-track excursion). Next stop, the alignment shop! Might look for some cheap track wheels and tires as well.

P.S. - Car is stock with the exception of Motul 600 brake fluid

 

[ChrisGTS]

I took these shots on the pit straight, where you are braking from about 100 down to about 60 (or at least I was).

 

[uvbnbit]

That's a good, safe track. We usually try to do an event there each year. We'll (AL/TN Region) probably be back in the summer.

 

[Achilles99]

That's a good, safe track. We usually try to do an event there each year. We'll (AL/TN Region) probably be back in the summer.

One of the Mustang guys (older gentleman) said he used to run events with your club, and was hoping to do more of them (last one was in Chattanooga a few weeks ago I think?). When you decide to run another event at TGPR, please let the GA VCA know!

 

[lonestar]

Looking good Chris and Lin! It's good to see you guys are still enjoying and driving Vipers beyond the streets.

TGPR has changed. I don't recall any concession store.

 

[Achilles99]

TGPR definitely has changed. They made the track bigger, and cars can only run counter-clockwise. Safer than before (which I thought was fairly safe to begin with). Concession store is approximately where the front straight used to be, and is now part of the pit area. Zoom in to google map to see old track. This website is awesome for track descriptions (Chris introduced me to it):

Talladega Gran Prix Raceway - Trackpedia

 

[Alexarz]

Great picture of the black Viper. It looks SOOO clean.

 

[tbsviper]

Impressed by clarity of pic 1, vipers, background, etc. Where's helmet of passenger in pic2? Your vipers in action look great.

 

[Achilles99]

Chris' camera and lens is professional grade, and he has a good photo processing program he uses as well which probably contributes to the clarity. That, and he's a great photographer to boot.

By helmet in pic2, I assume you mean the second action shot (pic3)? My passenger is wearing an open face rally style helmet, which is why you can see his profile. Don't worry, safety was paramount

 

[ShadowLight]

Awesome pictures. I especially love the blue

 

[ChrisGTS]

Thanks everyone for the comments on the pictures. Linh has some video from the day's festivities, hopefully he will post it at some point ...

 

[Achilles99]

I shot the video with a Canon HV20 HD camcorder. Anyone know how to transfer it to youtube easily? I typically just play them straight from tape...

 

[Austin]

Great pics! Looks like fun.