BMW///MPower
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Some two years ago my wife gave me a race experience as a birhday/engagement gift. It took a while to arrange the booking and to find a suitable date but finally last sunday the time had come. On Saturday we alreay drove to Zndvoort (in the Netherlands) where we were going to have the race experience the next day at the Zandvoort race track.
It was a very nice day and the weather was perfect. Our Hotel was just across the street so it took us just 5 minutes to walk to the entrance of the circuit. A lot of people were already waiting for the day to begin. After a short explanation the crowd was devided into groups of 15 and with this group you spend the whole day and you go from event to event.
The first thing we got to do was karting. Not that spectacular, cause I've done this already a few times. The track was wet at some places so this made overtaking very difficult, and since lap times were not recorded the people to ge to the final round were picked on sight. The 6 fastest could drive a final race and then the first 4 got from 1 to 4 points and the rest of us got five points (there where some more events in which you could earn less points then th erest and at the end there would be three winners of all 166 people present that day).
Second event was driving a slalom track as fast as possible without hitting the cones of course. The car for this event was a suzuki swift, but speed wasn't that vital here. First run I was clocked at 16,94 s and I had a feeling I could do better. Because our group was quite fast in getting in and out of cars we had the opportunity to improve our time. Second run I managed to go round the track in 15,41 s so my feeling was correct. Fastest time was 14,31 s.
Third event was stunning. We got to drive formula renault cars round the Zandvoort circuit. Getting into the car was already an achievement cause there's not much room. The cars were rather old so no sequentiel gearbox, but a manual box. The pedals were really close to eachother so it was tricky to use the clutch and not to brake at the same time. We drove three laps round the track behind an instructor, and I can tell you it feels great! Although speeds are not that high (max of about 160 kph) this thing really sticks to the road like glue. If you ever get the chance to drive such a car don't say no thanks, cause you'll be missing out on something great!!
Next event was going round the track in a BMW 130i cup lookalike. The interior was stripped and a roll cage was installed. Same thing here three laps round teh track follwing the instructor. The 130's are really fast and at the straight we managed to get a top speed of around 170 kph. In turns you could feel that going faster in some turns would not be a godd idea if you didn't know what you were doing. The 130 drive completed the first half of the session so next we had lunch.
In the afternoon we started with 'ice driving'. As it as about 30°C it would have been very hard to drive on real ice so the cars where mounted into some sort of rack with wheels that turn to all sides like shopping cart. This makes the rear end of the car break out in every turn. This event was also clocked, but first we got to have a test run. I managed to block one of the cones in the rack the car was sitting on. The timed run was better. We had to drive a slalom track again and I managed to do this in 28,5 s. The second fastest needed over 32s so I was happy to have proven here that I do know how to drive a car
Next step was quad driving. I had never done this before so I was quite excited. At first I took it rather slow to get the feeling but after a few laps I managed to get the speed up. Just when I was starting to enjoy it I managed to tilt the quad ending up eating sand (wasn't that bad didn't got hurt or anything). Still I enjoyed it!
While we where in the sand the next event was driving a 4x4 through a set track with some steep hills, to feel the traction and the engine brakes when going downhill. We did the track in a Suzuki jimmy jeep. This wasn't really spectacular but it was amazing how easy this car goes up and downhill...
There were three events left but for those we had to go back to the racetrack. First thing we got to do is get in a renault clio cup next to an experienced race driver for two laps round the track. There were always two clios racing simultaniously and those guys really want fast. They made some sort of race of it and at times they were drinving at just a few cm's of each other. This really was extremely exciting to see hat they manged to do with these 170 hp raceclio's. This was truly amazing!
Next on the menu was a drive around the track in a Porsche 911. It was completely stripped and it had a racing exhaust. Same as with the other cars we got to do some laps behind the instructor but the feeling was amazing. I have driven a porsche before, but never on track and it is amazing how fast this car goes round corners. You do need to use the right pedal with care when coming out of a turn cause the nose tends to get real light of you hit the throttle.
To finish the day in glory I got to drive a Lamborghini gallardo. It had the automatic E-gear box and as you fire up the engine the sound it really fantastic. When you look in the rear view mirror you see nothing but hot air coming from under the hood. The accelaration is huge, it is clearly faster then the 911 and the gearbox is really fun to drive. It revs the engine when you go down the gears and the sound this produces is stunning!!!!! The end speed at the end of the straight was about 190 kph. To bad the zandvoortcircuit doesn't have a really long straight line, but hey I ain't complaining
After all these great events we eventually got to drive our own car round the track. My MB 200 CDI is not that fast when it comes to speed (only managed to go 140 max at the straight line) but the handling surprised me. The track was dry and when driving good lines I was able to keep up with the rest without problems in turns. The tires probably weren't to happy but I didn't see the ESP light come one once and I was really getting the most out of the engine (mind you that isn't much, 120 BHP for a car that size is just not enough). I was really surprised I would enjoy this that much. My wife on the other hand was getting rather pale after a couple of laps, but of course she hadn't been prepared for this all day long.
So to summarize I would say this was the very best birthday present I have ever received and I enjoyed every minute and second of it and I can really tell you guys that if you don't live to far from the Zandvoort circuit and you get the opportunity to enter this event go for it, it will be a day to remember!!!!!!!
I have lots of pictures, but have spent already anhour today uploading them but I'm having some problems doing that. Normally imageshack works fine but not today apparently. A soon as I get that fixed I will edit and put in some pictures of all the events!!!
It was a very nice day and the weather was perfect. Our Hotel was just across the street so it took us just 5 minutes to walk to the entrance of the circuit. A lot of people were already waiting for the day to begin. After a short explanation the crowd was devided into groups of 15 and with this group you spend the whole day and you go from event to event.
The first thing we got to do was karting. Not that spectacular, cause I've done this already a few times. The track was wet at some places so this made overtaking very difficult, and since lap times were not recorded the people to ge to the final round were picked on sight. The 6 fastest could drive a final race and then the first 4 got from 1 to 4 points and the rest of us got five points (there where some more events in which you could earn less points then th erest and at the end there would be three winners of all 166 people present that day).
Second event was driving a slalom track as fast as possible without hitting the cones of course. The car for this event was a suzuki swift, but speed wasn't that vital here. First run I was clocked at 16,94 s and I had a feeling I could do better. Because our group was quite fast in getting in and out of cars we had the opportunity to improve our time. Second run I managed to go round the track in 15,41 s so my feeling was correct. Fastest time was 14,31 s.
Third event was stunning. We got to drive formula renault cars round the Zandvoort circuit. Getting into the car was already an achievement cause there's not much room. The cars were rather old so no sequentiel gearbox, but a manual box. The pedals were really close to eachother so it was tricky to use the clutch and not to brake at the same time. We drove three laps round the track behind an instructor, and I can tell you it feels great! Although speeds are not that high (max of about 160 kph) this thing really sticks to the road like glue. If you ever get the chance to drive such a car don't say no thanks, cause you'll be missing out on something great!!
Next event was going round the track in a BMW 130i cup lookalike. The interior was stripped and a roll cage was installed. Same thing here three laps round teh track follwing the instructor. The 130's are really fast and at the straight we managed to get a top speed of around 170 kph. In turns you could feel that going faster in some turns would not be a godd idea if you didn't know what you were doing. The 130 drive completed the first half of the session so next we had lunch.
In the afternoon we started with 'ice driving'. As it as about 30°C it would have been very hard to drive on real ice so the cars where mounted into some sort of rack with wheels that turn to all sides like shopping cart. This makes the rear end of the car break out in every turn. This event was also clocked, but first we got to have a test run. I managed to block one of the cones in the rack the car was sitting on. The timed run was better. We had to drive a slalom track again and I managed to do this in 28,5 s. The second fastest needed over 32s so I was happy to have proven here that I do know how to drive a car
Next step was quad driving. I had never done this before so I was quite excited. At first I took it rather slow to get the feeling but after a few laps I managed to get the speed up. Just when I was starting to enjoy it I managed to tilt the quad ending up eating sand (wasn't that bad didn't got hurt or anything). Still I enjoyed it!
While we where in the sand the next event was driving a 4x4 through a set track with some steep hills, to feel the traction and the engine brakes when going downhill. We did the track in a Suzuki jimmy jeep. This wasn't really spectacular but it was amazing how easy this car goes up and downhill...
There were three events left but for those we had to go back to the racetrack. First thing we got to do is get in a renault clio cup next to an experienced race driver for two laps round the track. There were always two clios racing simultaniously and those guys really want fast. They made some sort of race of it and at times they were drinving at just a few cm's of each other. This really was extremely exciting to see hat they manged to do with these 170 hp raceclio's. This was truly amazing!
Next on the menu was a drive around the track in a Porsche 911. It was completely stripped and it had a racing exhaust. Same as with the other cars we got to do some laps behind the instructor but the feeling was amazing. I have driven a porsche before, but never on track and it is amazing how fast this car goes round corners. You do need to use the right pedal with care when coming out of a turn cause the nose tends to get real light of you hit the throttle.
To finish the day in glory I got to drive a Lamborghini gallardo. It had the automatic E-gear box and as you fire up the engine the sound it really fantastic. When you look in the rear view mirror you see nothing but hot air coming from under the hood. The accelaration is huge, it is clearly faster then the 911 and the gearbox is really fun to drive. It revs the engine when you go down the gears and the sound this produces is stunning!!!!! The end speed at the end of the straight was about 190 kph. To bad the zandvoortcircuit doesn't have a really long straight line, but hey I ain't complaining
After all these great events we eventually got to drive our own car round the track. My MB 200 CDI is not that fast when it comes to speed (only managed to go 140 max at the straight line) but the handling surprised me. The track was dry and when driving good lines I was able to keep up with the rest without problems in turns. The tires probably weren't to happy but I didn't see the ESP light come one once and I was really getting the most out of the engine (mind you that isn't much, 120 BHP for a car that size is just not enough). I was really surprised I would enjoy this that much. My wife on the other hand was getting rather pale after a couple of laps, but of course she hadn't been prepared for this all day long.
So to summarize I would say this was the very best birthday present I have ever received and I enjoyed every minute and second of it and I can really tell you guys that if you don't live to far from the Zandvoort circuit and you get the opportunity to enter this event go for it, it will be a day to remember!!!!!!!
I have lots of pictures, but have spent already anhour today uploading them but I'm having some problems doing that. Normally imageshack works fine but not today apparently. A soon as I get that fixed I will edit and put in some pictures of all the events!!!
