I've said for a long time that I want to get a turn in before the whole supercar track day thing goes to crap and gets shut down, I did some laps in a Radical SR3 at a local track so I guess that's something...
And once you do it, you realize that stupidly fast cars are overrated. It's not really more fun than driving the crapcans and sport compacts we're used to. They're faster but they're also hard work to drive near the limit, you can't be comfortable driving anywhere near 10/10ths. Having to exercise careful throttle control detracts greatly from the driving experience, the most fun-to-drive cars are those where you can almost use the gas pedal like a switch, not those where going from 0% to 25% throttle too quickly will send you sideways.
In reply to GameboyRMH:
I'll respectfully disagree. While I have no desire to drive a supercar on the street with any frequency, flogging out a good one is a joy (GT3). A car like that is actively working to make you faster, vs. you working to wring the most out of something else - you step out of a GT3 feeling like a better driver than you actually are. 
I've had more fun autocrossing supercars than driving them on track. There's a lot of joy to be had chucking a Ferrari into a corner then balancing it on the throttle--and it's a lot less terrifying to do so in a huge, empty parking lot.
There's a whole topic begging to be started: How much is too much? I heard this AM about a Ferrari that's supposed to see 300 MPH. No concerns there! I haven't been competitive karting in a couple of years, but when I left the hottest new division was the LO206 spec class. Much slower than the top shifter carts, but cheap, evenly matched and intensely competitive.
Don't get me wrong. Power is good and speed is great. But sending inexperienced drivers out with that sort of speed potential...... like someone said, it's remarkable that this stuff doesn't happen more often.
nderwater wrote:
I've had more fun autocrossing supercars than driving them on track. There's a lot of joy to be had chucking a Ferrari into a corner then balancing it on the throttle--and it's a lot less terrifying to do so in a huge, empty parking lot.
Interesting. I always figured that most supercars would be a drag at an autocross: Big, lousy visibility, and the nagging feeling that what you're doing is like asking a top weight-lifter to work out with you at the local fitness gym.
edit: Not to mention the possibility that you'll get spanked by someone in a ratty Starlet.
In reply to Kreb:
most of the ones I've worked were set up as lazy, open auto-x's. top speeds approaching 90-ish if I was driving at 8/10's. The one time I actually got to drive one "flat out" was post event to take the wife on a ride (Gallardo drop top) and saw just shy of 100 on the straight-ish before braking for lap 2. I don't think any customers got close to 80 most of the time.
In that setting, they are really fun no doubt. But the rate they eat tires and fuel, I could do it for much less and have just as much fun. Maybe I just got spoiled now that I can check the "driven a Ferrari and Lambo at the IMS" box on my bucket list.
A couple years ago I did the Nascar experience and got to lap an actual retired "stocker" around the Kentucky speedway at 150mph. My thoughts were on the tires and general wear on the parts at that speed. A few months later a guy stuffed his car doing the same thing on the same track and died.
I enjoy flogging my Miata around autocross and the occasional track day but I'm not sure if moving to something with 5X the hp and worse handling is a clever idea.
KyAllroad wrote:
A couple years ago I did the Nascar experience and got to lap an actual retired "stocker" around the Kentucky speedway at 150mph. My thoughts were on the tires and general wear on the parts at that speed. A few months later a guy stuffed his car doing the same thing on the same track and died.
I enjoy flogging my Miata around autocross and the occasional track day but I'm not sure if moving to something with 5X the hp and worse handling is a clever idea.
Yeah, Adrian and I did that at MIS a few years ago. It was fun, but we both discovered what huge wusses we are, especially when driving someone else's expensive car. 
I agree with the general principle of supercars having such high limits it's hard to enjoy them. There's a reason I'm looking at 944s and Sciroccos for my next toy. I'm all about "slow car fast" now.
I have done the Exotic Car Racing experience in Las Vegas a few years ago. Drove a Ferrari 430 F1 for 5 laps against many Lambos and other exotics. The course is set up so you cannot really get over 125 on the straight, the rest of the course is driven at 60-80 mph. The instructors generally see how you drive the first lap and then encourage you if they see you can drive. I was told to pass the lambo that went high in the sharp left hand turn at the end of the straight after the 2nd lap 
It was a great experience in an amazing car (I can thank my wonderful wife for the experience), I hope they don't shut these down, as while it is very sad to hear of a tragedy such as this accident, there are very few "safe" places to get to drive these amazing cars as they were intended. A race track, with an instructor is one of those few places.
Driving this Ferrari really changed my view of supercars in general, as it was an amazing experience, especially the F1 transmission.
car39
HalfDork
2/14/17 11:08 a.m.
I've experienced the other side of the story. Been to a lot of manufacturer ride and drives. They hire a vendor to provide the instructors, and a few of them were not up to the level they should have. One instance, major damage was done to a vehicle because the instructor kept urging people to drive over their heads. Someone did. Another time we had former major (Indianapolis, Daytona 24 hour) driver who was on the downside of his career. They had to pull him out of the car before he passed out from intoxication. I also got to ride with Roberto Guerrero at an autocross. When we were done, I said "Now I know why I pay to do this, and you get paid to do it". Amazing ride, genuinely nice guy.
Looks like I did this just in time. Now these cars will be strapped down to parade speed... I drove my GT-R. I was happy with the experience. All nannies are on. The make you short shift redline by at least a thousand RPMs. It's so controlled, even with the instructors waving cars by or you getting the wave by, I can't see how this happened unless the driver was impaired or a moron or possibly had a stroke. The most I could pull out of the straight was 99mph. But I think the lambo turned faster times than a gtr.
Kreb wrote:
There's a whole topic begging to be started: How much is too much? I heard this AM about a Ferrari that's supposed to see 300 MPH. No concerns there! I haven't been competitive karting in a couple of years, but when I left the hottest new division was the LO206 spec class. Much slower than the top shifter carts, but cheap, evenly matched and intensely competitive.
Don't get me wrong. Power is good and speed is great. But sending inexperienced drivers out with that sort of speed potential...... like someone said, it's remarkable that this stuff doesn't happen more often.
I've actually been thinking about starting a thread on just this topic.
In the last 30ish years we've gone from a purchase car hitting 200 to those capable of 275+, at that rate you could conceivably buy a car in 30 years that you wouldn't physically be able to drive. It's an interesting thought that I'd love to hear from people smarter than myself about.
On topic, I still have every intention of doing this the next time I'm in Vegas, this accident just pushes up that time frame a little bit before is no longer an option. Every time there is a problem, there is usually a larger barrier to entry until it's just gone all together.
While I don't like the idea of being able to rent one for a day, because open desert roads and highway patrol, being able to go run laps in cars worth more than my house just seems like an amazing time, even if I don't break 100mph on track. It's a little disheartening that the super cars I want to flog are no longer available at places like this, but it's nice to know it's still an option.
GameboyRMH wrote:
Having to exercise careful throttle control detracts greatly from the driving experience, the most fun-to-drive cars are those where you can almost use the gas pedal like a switch, not those where going from 0% to 25% throttle too quickly will send you sideways.
I find the exact opposite. Having the throttle as a control that needs to be controlled is a whole other dimension of car control from just pegging it open and leaving it there. I love the feeling of squeezing in juuust enough power that you come off a corner with just a little bit of overspeed, riding those back wheels. Cars that can run full throttle anytime, anywhere are missing this thrill.
I did the Holden V8 Supercar driving experience a few years back. The car was detuned, had slicks on the back and street tires on the front. There was a chicane on the longest straight. Honestly, it was a bit of a disappointing experience but that's because I'm used to something a little more intense. Mostly I just feel like I wasted my laps because I was feeling the car out and not going balls-out from the start. Which is how I approach a strange car on a strange track. But it's slow at first, and I never got it going fast.
And that's the problem. If you've only got three laps in a Lambo, then you will make sure you get all that speed right away and then the Lambo bites.
I know a few guys who instruct for the Exotic experience in Socal. One of them is a national level NASA champ. They get to drive some cool cars, but I would NOT trade places with them.
I've no idea what happened so I'll refrain from speculating. All I want to say is I'm terribly sorry for all those involved and their families. Including others there that day who may not even have been on track. A death, any death is a horrible thing for all involved including the first responders etc. Not that it will change anything, but I really hope someone, somewhere has a massive insurance policy to help those left behind.
The accident may or may not have anything to do with either person in the car, but all I know is you couldn't pay me enough to sit alongside someone else on a race track. Once upon a time a long time ago in a century now departed I did a lot of driving. Some racing, autocross and track days. Around the turn of the century I went to a track day and due to my experience (note experience NOT skill) I was asked to instruct. I had a guy in a then brand new 996 C4. That was the first and last time I sat alongside someone else on track. It was terrifying, made worse by the drivers lack of ability (practice? skill? observational powers?) braking, turn in, apex and power down points all seemed to from a random number generator and overridden by a large dose of confidence in the car and self-confidence of the owner. I'm convinced the only reason we didn't end up in a smoking pile was due to the amazing ability of the platform to find traction and save the drivers errors.
On the fast car, slow car thing. While I'm happy to own slow cars to play with, if i were to pay for anything other than a Bondurant style real race school, I'd opt for another NASCAR school (Like Tom mentioned above) or some kind of super car experience just for, well, the Experience. I can drive my cars or similar anytime I want. I can swap cars, I can borrow fast cars form friends. So if I'm paying money to go to a race track to play, it's going to be in something I can't experience elsewhere, be it a retired Cup car with a 500hp crate motor or a McLaren/Lamborghini type event. The point of these events to me is the Walter Mitty experience, not thinking I'm going to be the next Prost, Senna or Mansell (not enough skill, not enough of a douche and not big enough balls respectively) I realized that 20 years ago.
I know that this is drifting off topic, but there's a need for more tracks that fall between a bona-fide road-race venue and a cart track. I know that I've just described an autocross course, but where I live autocross is too far away and too few runs. But triple digits aren't a prerequisite for vehicular fun, and I'll gladly drive an hour or two for an hour or two of track time, but not for 3 minutes worth.
A big kart track might get you what you want - it's what we have here in town. I can hit 75 mph in one section, but it's mostly just a permanent autox and the slower speeds mean that offs are low-consequence.
In reply to GameboyRMH:
I don't think this could be related. From reading the article, it looks like the ultra exclusive Venenos and Aventadors are the models affected by this. I call it coincidental timing. I think the only models that this driving experience place had was Gallardos and Huracans.
In reply to Adrian_Thompson:
When you say you went to a track
day around the turn of the century I picture this
In reply to DukeOfUndersteer:
The Aventador/Veneno recall is because the fires start when the car is repeatedly overrevved at rest, the evap emissions gets overfilled and vapors spill out into an area where they can be ignited by hot parts. So literally from people sitting still at a stoplight/parking lot/etc and revving the snot out of the engine. Cue the stereotypes...
car39 wrote:
I also got to ride with Roberto Guerrero at an autocross. When we were done, I said "Now I know why I pay to do this, and you get paid to do it". Amazing ride, genuinely nice guy.
I had an opportunity to ride with Boris Said in a stock '03 Mustang Cobra at a SVT Owners track day. I would have said the same thing afterwards if I has thought of it at the time. LOL!
