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Spa-Francorchamps

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A couple of slow laps (3:17s) from Spa – unfortunately I did not get good video on day 1 when the weather was much better. My theoretical best was 3:11 which I am pretty happy with for a FWD GTI hatchback rented from RSR Spa.

Eau Rouge really is as difficult as they say and the track has a bunch of corners that require way more trust in the car and your abilities than I had for my first time there. This was my first international track day and Book-A-Track did a great job. It was a bit weird to only pass on the left but they ran a great event and I liked the open track (non-session) aspect of it.… Read the rest

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cars personal thoughts track days

Evora S IPS Street & Track Review

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Lets start with the elephant in the room – what possessed a person like me who has never owned a 4 seater car or any automatic go buy a 2+2 Evora Automatic? While I am a Lotus fan and had driven the original naturally aspirated Evora at launch, it just wasnt sufficiently different enough to switch over from my Elise. That changed when ScottW let me drive his beautiful GP Edition Evora S during the 2013 WCLM and I was just blown away. The car finally had the power to match its looks and the effortless acceleration made it a joy to drive on the highway.… Read the rest

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motorsport personal photos thoughts videos

Circuit of the Americas Facility Review

Michael locks a wheel at T12
I had the pleasure of attending the inaugural Formula 1 US Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas last week and want to write up my thoughts after the event. This is not a review of the race itself but rather a review of the venue from a fans point of view and how it compares to other race events I have been to such as IndyCar (Infineon), NASCAR (Infineon) and the 2002 F1 USGP at Indianapolis.

Getting to and from the track
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Having read nightmare predictions about parking at the race I decided to use the free park and ride shuttle from the Travis Expo center instead of shelling out $200 for a parking pass.… Read the rest

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motorsport personal thoughts

Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma

I recently attended the 2011 Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma at Infineon Raceway and was immediately struck by how different the experience was to the US Grand Prix at Indianapolis that I attended in 2002. This post is a quick recap of what I saw at Sonoma and why F1 needs to change and become more fan accessible.

I am a massive F1 fan and have missed watching only a handful of races since I started watching it in 1995. When I moved to the US in 2002 and got funding for my Masters degree the very first thing I did was start planning a trip to the 2002 US Grand Prix at Indianapolis.… Read the rest

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motorsport personal review thoughts

Circus before Dawn

I recently ran into David Miller, a longtime GGLC member and the newly published author of Circus before Dawn, a novel set in a fictional version of the 1999 Formula 1 season about an start-up F1 team based in the Bay Area. As soon as he told me the basic premise of the novel I knew I had to read it and now here is dust jacket description followed by my own review.

Shortly before the dawn of the new millennium, a video arrives at the postbox of internationally acclaimed motorsport journalist, Trevor Banks. The startling images depict the elite driving talents of an intriguing racecar driver.

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