Aug 27th Trackday at SOWS

[wrx265_karter]

Just got back from another fun and successful track day at Streets of Willowsprings yesterday. As usual, there was a wide assortment of cars running. Alot of miatas and subies, a few EVOs and S2000s, a Lotus Elise, a Toyota Echo and a few more odd balls. Daytime temps soared to about 102F (38C) but thanks to ASCALRacing's tent, we avoided getting a bad case of sunburn. The morning sessions were ok except for the beginner group which I was in. There were several spins and I almost rear ended a BMW 540i but I luckily avoided doing so, twice! A note for first time track drivers, when somebody spins in front of you, try your best NOT TO STOP in the middle of the track! This 540 just slammed on it's breaks and luckily I reacted quick enough to avoid him.  Unfortunately, the guy who spun (an eclipse) clipped an S2000 in the rear bumper, tearing it off on one side. Nothing too bad but the S2000 driver was pissed off obviously. With all this chaos, I protested and asked to be moved into the intermediate class. Once in the intermediate class, everything went much smoother.

The afternoon session went well but the heat was just unbearable! I was only able to finish 6 laps before my temp needle swung past 1/2. I need a bigger radiator. Overall, it was a great day. Learned several pointers from Tintop which helped with the later part of my sessions. My miata's setup felt really great and I just need to build up my self confidence for the next track day.  Here's a couple of pictures of us with our miatas. More pics to come.

From left to right: Tintop, ASCALRacing and me, Evo_Z.

[R-A-Y]

The second pic looks a lot cleaner. Hehehehe just kidding guys

I have heard of a lot of horror stories about this track. But I'm glad you guys are here to tell a good tale about your trackday

[Paul]

funny tintop seems to be losing some of his top!

[Accord GTR]

Racing accidents on trackday?        That never happens with us here at BRC.   Maybe its cuz we all know each other and slow down when there are other cars closeby.   We've had lots of spins but thankfully nobody hitting anyone.   Yes, and its normally those novice drivers that do the spinning and off-track excursions.  Experienced circuit drivers don't overdrive their cars eventhough they are a lot faster in lap times.

[Hung Daddy]

Racing accidents on trackday?        That never happens with us here at BRC.   Maybe its cuz we all know each other and slow down when there are other cars closeby.   We've had lots of spins but thankfully nobody hitting anyone.   Yes, and its normally those novice drivers that do the spinning and off-track excursions.  Experienced circuit drivers don't overdrive their cars eventhough they are a lot faster in lap times.

That's why they are called novice drivers.

Where do you race and you don't get to bump too many cars? It's probably a more of a technical track than anything else.

Streets of Willows I have no idea how high speed it is, but novice drivers can get carried away because of excitement and lack of track experience so don't put them down.

Every expert driver started as a novice one time in his life. So a slice of humble pie might be good for you

[Hung Daddy]

funny tintop seems to be losing some of his top!

Maybe that's why the name. It shines like tin

[Accord GTR]

That's why they are called novice drivers.

Where do you race and you don't get to bump too many cars? It's probably a more of a technical track than anything else.

Streets of Willows I have no idea how high speed it is, but novice drivers can get carried away because of excitement and lack of track experience so don't put them down.

Every expert driver started as a novice one time in his life. So a slice of humble pie might be good for you

You're quite right about novice drivers.   But I wasn't trying to put them down.  I was trying to give them a message as a former novice-driver who did all those mistakes that you mentioned.   You were just stating the obvious.  But my message was that novice drivers should learn from the experts and not overdrive their cars to be fast.  

Most novice drivers do not take the time to learn from the experts or experienced drivers and just go out there and try to win, "tame the car", and "conquer the track" and be the fastest on their first time out.  This is not the way experienced drivers do it.   It's not about "no fear" or "pushing your car to the limit" because this will just result in accidents and disappointment.  

You don't know about BRC or the Batangas Racing Circuit?  It is a 3.8km FIA-approved circuit that i currently hold the open-class RWYB Lap Attack record with an average speed of 118kph in an n.a. 1.6-liter Civic Type R.   I can reach 190kph in the 800-meter long main straight.   I belong to a group of enthusiasts who call ourselves the "Trackhos" and we have regular trackdays with our Porsches, BMW's, Evo's, Sti, WRX, the occasional Ferrari and of course, my Hondas.   We were the first "car club" in the Philippines to organize regular trackdays to BRC since 2003.  

Trackdays are not for real "racing" but an opportunity to test, learn about yourself and your car and of course, to have fun with friends and fellow enthusiasts.  But it isn't fun if someone gets into a fender-bender, is it?   It's not worth taking the risk, for just a "trackday"!   I think that's just plain stupid.   I may have been also stupid when I was a novice before but that doesn't mean every novice driver has to go through the mistakes I went through just to be fast  

[tintop]

Streets of Willow is similar to BRC only longer, wider and faster, with lots of elevation change. It certainly does keep you on your toes and has a few off cambered corners this coupled with some very fast machines and some very novice drivers with alot of balls and you`ll get your fair share of excitement....but the spins were slow and harmless and in the end it was all good fun for the 70 odd cars running that day.

[DTNS]

nice pics there!  any pics of the other cars up-close?

[hesperusph]

Streets of Willow is similar to BRC only longer, wider and faster, with lots of elevation change. It certainly does keep you on your toes and has a few off cambered corners this coupled with some very fast machines and some very novice drivers with alot of balls and you`ll get your fair share of excitement....but the spins were slow and harmless and in the end it was all good fun for the 70 odd cars running that day.

SOW is shorter than BRC, assuming the 1.8 miles listed on the track's official website is accurate.

However, i'd agree that SOW is more challenging, based on the track layout, elevation changes, and comments from a friend of mine who has driven BRC several times, and regularly does trackdays in the US on such tracks as SOW or Laguna Seca.

Definitely a track i'd want to try one day.  But i'm getting the Nurburgring out of the way first!  

[Accord GTR]

Streets of Willow is similar to BRC only longer, wider and faster, with lots of elevation change. It certainly does keep you on your toes and has a few off cambered corners this coupled with some very fast machines and some very novice drivers with alot of balls and you`ll get your fair share of excitement....but the spins were slow and harmless and in the end it was all good fun for the 70 odd cars running that day.

Ah yes, we know about Willow in some the video games, car magazine stories and TV programs about the races at Willow.  Yes, I'd say it IS a trickier track than BRC, expecially for the novice drivers.

Wow!   70 cars for a trackday?!   That has never happened at BRC.   I think the biggest trackday ever was that C! magazine trackday in March or April 2004 a couple of years ago when maybe almost 40 cars showed up from a brand-new Sti (who got Fastest Time Of the Day) to a Westfield, S2000, Toyota MRS, BMW's, Audis,  old rally cars and my Type R (2nd Fastest).  Our regular trackdays have at most 20 cars but not all go on-track at once.

It's kinda disappointing that we don't have as much enthusiasts going to the circuit as much as in the US.  But we do have our own advantages too such as lower track costs, lower insurance rates and easier access to the JDM market

[tintop]

SOW is shorter than BRC, assuming the 1.8 miles listed on the track's official website is accurate.

I think BRC has been lengthened over the years...not sure....but when I raced there from 97-2000 it was 2.8 kilometers in length. Like BRC, SOW is a low to medium speed track, perfectly suited for the miata which is why we like running there...lotsa corners and very tricky when run counter clock wise w/c we did. We plan to do another run in Sept and will make a point of taking more pics of other cars...we were just too damn busy having fun this time. If any of you AI members out there wanna join us drop us a message here.

[Leepu Awlia]

That war real fun guys.
SOWS or dearly called "The Streets" is for little boys with their little cars....lol...It's also a good, safe track to get your feet wet in track driving...you just cant fumble at the Streets.
If you look in the picture, you'll see the Streets on the left hand side and the Main track on the right hand side.
The main track is a major horsepower type of track. as a matter of fact, when we were at the Streets, the Big Boys with the Viper Club were at the Main track doing their own thing....lol


Cant wait for next month's track day!!!

[hesperusph]

That war real fun guys.
SOWS or dearly called "The Streets" is for little boys with their little cars....lol...It's also a good, safe track to get your feet wet in track driving...you just cant fumble at the Streets.
If you look in the picture, you'll see the Streets on the left hand side and the Main track on the right hand side.
The main track is a major horsepower type of track. as a matter of fact, when we were at the Streets, the Big Boys with the Viper Club were at the Main track doing their own thing....lol


Cant wait for next month's track day!!!

yeah, that's the thing.  BRC is perfectly suited to the majority of cars we have here in the Philippines.  1.6 - 2 liter cars, that are light and nimble.

Sometimes I wish we had a proper "power" track ala Sepang, so the big boys can have a playground too.  But with the small number of those cars here (and the even smaller number of owners among them who'll be willing to flog their horses at a track,) it simply makes no economic sense for someone to set up such a facility.

Too bad...

[Accord GTR]

I'm sorry mods but do we have to listen to this shit all the time? Accord GTR, do you feel that you have to toot your own horn in each and every post that you make? Even if the topic's not related to BRC you somehow find some magical way to let people know about your record. Here's a hint, nobody gives a f**k about your record.  

I don't give a f**k too if you don't Silverback (isn't that the name of a gorilla or a fish?).  Last time I looked, we are on the racing threads.   If you can't appreciate racer's trashtalking, maybe you should be in another forum