Last track event of the year

Photo by Jean Sirota

Last weekend, I was invitied to ICAR for the Perry Performance friends and family track day. In previous years, I have often used this event to try to extract one final decent lap time at ICAR, but this year, the forecast called for rain and the forecast was not wrong. It rained almost all day. 

Given that I don't really have any rain tires, I knew I would not be one the faster cars on track, but it didn't matter. For once, I didn't record lap times, I didn't turn on the camera, I just drove. Despite my mediocre rain setup, I was having a good time. In one session, I even managed to keep a GR Corolla behind me for a few laps. What I was not able to do was catch Jean-Michel Isabelle in a Micra Cup car... that car and driver combo was quite quick in the rain. 

I also got to test drive a Hyundai Elantra N (thanks Dave) for a few laps. It was a dual-clutch model and I simply left it in automatic mode while I chatted with Dave, the car's owner, occasionally downshifting manually before a corner. The car is efficient on track and I can see how people can extract some serious lap times with these cars. 

Rob was there too with his M3. We were in different run groups, so each of us took a turn as passenger in the other's car. It was quite fun, as it was a low-key low pressure event. I went for a drive with Carl's buddy Federico in his E92 M3 and it was another pleasant experience. As the rain got heavier in the second part of the day, my car's performance with the half-worn Nankang AR1's worsened, and I decided to call it a day midway through the afternoon. It was a nice way to end the track season and I have to thank Carl for organizing this wonderful day, and for bringing in the Decarie Hotdogs food truck too!

Riding with Rob, Carl's CTR behind us

Not an action photo, just parked on an unused portion of the track

Rob's M3

Dave's Hyundai, which I drove a bit

Some of Carl's cars

Antoine's Integra Type R, which was our wedding car in 2005!

Subaru was represented too

This Outback had white Sparco wheels on one side and gold ones on the other

Flat six and flat four

There were at least 4 Integras at the track

A wet Civic without proper wet tires

Nice Mustang Bullitt

One of the GR Corollas

Fererico's M3, with Rob's in the background

Nice Integra beside Perry's Cadillac