OK, the racing season is really over now!

I could not resist heading out to the track on Monday evening for one last thrashing of the race car. Carl had arranged it so that the lights would be on, allowing us to run later than usual. Here is a little video I compiled:

Here is an awesome picture taken by Jeremy

Sadly, on Monday evening, Franck informed me that the 2011 Boston Marathon was sold out. In fact, it sold out in 8 hours, whereas it took two months to sell out last year. This sucks, as it was our plan to run in this historic event... I guess we'll have to find another event.

The schedule for my girls' basketball team is out and we don't have any regular-season games until late November. In order to keep the practices interesting, I've borrowed a couple of library books with drills. So far, the players seem to be enjoying the variety. My own season starts next Friday. I was drafted by my buddy Jean-Seb, who was newly promoted to team captain this year. We should have a pretty strong team.

In a few minutes, I will head over to the airport to pick up Alex, who will be in town for the weekend. :) :) :)

Cool cars spotted:

Jaguar XK-R

Jaguar XF-R

AMG C63

Audi RS4

Audi S8 V10

Maserati Merak (!)

Maserati GT

Yesterday at St-Eustache, Marc offered me a little test drive in in his Locost/Lotus Seven replica. I have always wanted to try one of these little rockets, so I jumped at the chance. Here is a photo of the car:

Marc's Seven

After a few laps, I felt comfortable enough to try to carry more speed through the corners. Clearly, the car can be driven much faster, but it was still quite thrilling to be driving in a car where you sit so low, with no windshield. I love seeing what my front tires are doing! This is an amazing little car and what is even more amazing is that it was built in a garage by Marc and Fred (who will soon have his own completed version of the same car). Thank you for the opportunity, Marc.

Here is a small video where you can hopefully get an idea of how fun this car is to drive:

Apart from driving Marc's car, I got in a bunch of laps with my own Civic. I was hoping to clock my best lap of the year, but I missed it by a few tenths. I managed a 1:02.91 and several other laps under 1:03. There were a few puddles on the track, which kept us from driving the race line in the dogleg. I again had fun dicing with Pascal and his Civic and Trong and his CRX. It was a fun day and probably the last outing of the year for the race car. The car really felt good anf it's nice to end the season on a high note.

Cool cars spotted:

Ford GT

Lotus Elise

Bentley Continental

Mosport: Fun as Ever!

I had a great day at Mosport on Monday. The event was a track day organized by the ASE Lapping Club, the club that usually hosts Monday night lapping at St-Eustache. We headed West in a convoy of six cars on Saturday morning and arrived at the track late in the afternoon. We were denied access to the big track as the private club who had rented the place Sunday did not allow spectators. We headed over to the smaller DDT track and caught the tail end of another track day. This track day featured some very fancy Japanese cars (Acura NSX, Mugen Honda S2000, Veilside RX7, turbo 350Z and RX8, Nissan GT-R, etc.) but, shockingly, helmets were not required. I can't believe the organizers of such a day can get insurance, although my guess is that they don't have any.

When we were finally allowed access to the paddocks of the big track, we had a great BBQ in the paddocks. I decided not to camp this year and split a motel room with Choo. Carl's brother Perry was staying at the same motel, which allowed us to leave our race cars at the track and ride in comfort to the motel in Perry's Cadillac CTS-V. Nice.

On Monday, the plan was that fellow instructor Jean-Sébastien would share my car. I was running in the advanced group and he was in the intermediate group. For the first session, I took Pascal's girlfriend for a few laps in his Civic hatch so she could see the track. She decided that the track was a bit much for her and decided not to drive it. I got to try Pascal's car and can confirm that it is fast in a straight line, but more of a handful than mine in the corners.

When I finally hit the track in my own car, I had a blast. After a discussion with one of the track marshals, I decided to try a different line (single apex) through corner two. After analyzing the data, I still cannot confirm if it is faster or not. At least I now have two options for entry into that corner, which could come in handy in a race situation.

I managed to follow Pascal for several laps, as I often can when he has a passenger on board. In the following session, I managed to follow him yet again, even though he had no passenger. I managed a 1:43.20 in that session, my best ever lap since installing the 1.6 liter engine in late 2008. I was unable to match that time later in the day as my Toyo RA1 tires seemed to be gripping less and less. Maybe it was the rising track temperature?

I also got to try Choo's fast 2.4 liter Civic. The body is identical to my car, but the engine comes from an Acura TSX. After a few laps, I managed to get down to a 1:41. Choo himself managed a 1:37... pretty darn fast. I rode with him for a few laps and he is really driving well. He had the car lightly drifting in corners 2 and 4, which I would not dare to do (on purpose) in my own car.

When Nick offered me the chance to try his E36 M3, I could not refuse. I took it much easier with this car, as I am not that used to rear-wheel-drive. Still, I managed to enjoy myself and I can see why people love these cars.

All in all, it was a great day. The only negative point: I did not get the GPS data on my fastest run because the files were somehow corrupted. At least I have those laps on video (see below).

Here are some pics:

Good vs. Evil Civic coupes

Nick's E36 M3 and Hubert's 996 GT3

My Civic during a break in the action

Action shot by Marc-André Martel

Another cool shot by Marc-André

Cars on the grid

Here is a little video I put together of a fun few laps chasing Pascal around the track:

Pre-season basketball

Although we have only had a couple of practices, my new girls' grade 7-8 team was put to the test this morning in the pre-season qualifying mini-tournament. The goal of the tournament is to determine whether the team will be considered an A team or a B team. Last year, we played in A and won about 1/3 of our games. I figured we would improve this year, as the majority of last year's team is back (now in grade 8) and we are still in the same age category.

The mini-tournament went well. Many of the girls have improved over the summer, one of them drastically improved. Also, one of the new girls is simply astounding. She had no apparent weakness, except that she is really quite short. We won our first game against Jean-Eudes 26 to 10. We won the second game 30-8. Considering that these were 30-minute running time games instead of 32-minute stopped time games, this was a serious offensive performance.

So the tournament went well, but I was quite surprised to find out that, for a technical reason, we have to play in AA. It turns out that three of my girls will be playing on a AAA municipal team, which automatically sends the team to AA. I have seen AA teams in action, and they are pretty good teams. It will be a tough season, but I figure the girls will learn more than they would have winning a bunch of games in A. Also, there are 3 other teams in the same situation, who were planning to play in A and also got bumped to AA because of a few AAA players. We will have to work hard and see how it goes!

I am heading out to Mosport for an ASE Lapping Club track day on Monday. This should be a fun, low-key event. If the weather is nice, I look forward to a fun day. Last Monday, I went to Monday night lapping and ran my best lap of the year: a 1:02.86, which is only 1/10th slower than my fastest ever lap with the 1.6 liter engine. The car felt "hooked up". The tires were semi-worn Toyo RA1's. I hope the strong reliable performance continues at Mosport.

Here is a short video I made of me dicing with Pascal:

News of Alex:

Alex has given her students a mid-term, and it seems to have gone well for most of them. She will be back in town in two weeks for a brief visit. A couple of our friends are currently visiting her. We speak often on Skype and G-mail-phone. I will be glad when she is back for good!

Cool cars spotted:

Porsche 997 GT3

Ferrari 550 Maranello

Bentley Continental

Audi R8

Nissan Skyline R32 GTR

60's Corvette

Maserati GT

BMW M5

AMG C63

AMG E63

AMG SL63

Fall Classic at Tremblant

This past weekend I participated in the Fall Classic at the Mont Tremblant circuit. I had a good time, despite the constantly changing weather, and got reacquainted with sprint races, as opposed to enduros. Unfortunately, despite the very large number of cars, there were few with as little horsepower as mine. As a result, I often found myself running alone. I let Carl run one qualifying race on Sunday and, as often happens, he was faster than me by a few tenths (at least it wasn't a couple of seconds!). I recorded some video and, more importantly, data, so I can see why Carl is faster (he is not faster everywhere, at least!).

I pitted with my friend Pat Boyer and he and his parents could not have welcomed me any better. I enjoyed all my meals with them and shared their motel room. What a nice bunch of people! Unfortunately, Pat was involved in a race incident on Sunday which caused heavy damage to the other car (little damage to his Integra). On top of that, the other driver, a super nice guy named Luc, was pitted right beside us, which led to a tense moment after the race. Fortunately, everyone kept his head.

Here are some pictures I found online and on Flagworld:

Me driving the Civic

Hanging out with the other 4-cylinder guys

Civic on track

Pat and me on Saturday

More Saturday action... a race start

Sunday races

... and another one of the Civic

The Boyer Family and me in front of Pat's Integra

A cool pic of the Civic

In the middle of the pack in the GTE-GTF race

I don't know exacly where I finished in class, but it was not very high. I was in the slowest class, for those lapping in 2:00 minutes or more. Given that my best lap was a 2:02.381, I was well behind the people who were lapping in 2:00.something. Still, I was happy to lap faster than I had at the August VAG lapping day, despite the lack of a limited-slip differential and 4.78 final drive In the enduro, I finished 32nd out of 47 cars. As there were 38 finishers, I was not "almost last". The car performed as well as expected, but I am a little turned off by my lack of power compared to almost everyone else racing in Quebec!

On Friday, I will hold my second basketball practice for the girls. I will make them sign the contract we negotiated which is mainly concerned with disciplinary items. This is part of my plan to increase the level of discipline in comparison to other years. Having an assistant coach should help me stay on top of things. We will see...

My own basketball league starts up on October 15th. I look forward to that as well.

News of Alex:

Alex is still working hard in Chicago! The impression that I get is that her level of devotion to her students far surpasses the ordinary. I hope they realize how lucky they are! A couple of her friends visited her last weekend and she now has a few acquaintances in the city itself. Hopefully this makes her stay in a foreign city more enjoyable and less lonely. Thank God for Skype and Google Phone!

Cool cars spotted:

Porsche GT3 RS

Porsche 930

Ferrari F430

Aston Martin Vantage

Basketball team is a GO

After tryouts last week, I held the first practice for my grade 7-8 girls' basketball team today. Things are looking up this year. Seven girls from last year's team are back (all those eligible, in fact) and 11 girls tried out for the final five spots. It was difficult to cut girls who actually knew how to play (a luxury, compared to the past two years) but the result should be a strong team. Another bonus this year: I have an enthusiastic assistant coach, a player from the grade 11 team.

At the practice, I told the girls I would be increasing the discipline level. It had been pointed out, by my own players, that I was not tough enough on them last year. This year, I thought I would try something different. The plan was to teach the girls about contract negotiation by working out, as a group, the various punishments for infractions like arriving late or missing practice. The first part has gone well, in that we negotiated the punishments. We will now have to see if the application of the contract goes well.

As far as talent and skill go, this seems to be my best team yet. I think it is realistic that we might win half of our games this year. Stay tuned...

This weekend, I will be participating in the Fall Classic at Tremblant. It seemed the perfect way to end the racing season. I have not raced there since 2005, but I got quite a bit of track time last month at the VAG track day and got familiar with the track again. I know I will not be winning any prizes, but it should be an enjoyable (although rainy) weekend. It's been a busy week at work trying to get enough done to afford the day off for Friday practice. There is plenty of track time on offer, including three races. Should be fun!

I saw the new Honda CR-Z on the road. I did not get a really good look, but I did not especially like what I saw.

News of Alex.

Alex was back in Montreal for the weekend. I hope she enjoyed herself, I know I enjoyed having her here. She is working very hard in Chicago, so it was nice to see her taking a breather. She is now back there teaching her class. Luckily for me, she will be back for another visit in October. I miss her when she's gone!

Cool cars spotted:

Ferrari F430

Ferrari California

Lamborghini Gallardo

Lotus Elise

Aston Martin Vantage

Porsche 996 GT2

Porsche 997 GT2

Porsche 993 Turbo

Mazda RX7 twin turbo

AMG C63

Maserati GT

Maserati Quattroporte

Bentley Continental

Rolls Royce Ghost

Corvette Z06

1965 Mustang

Fiat Alfa Romeo Quebec Track Day

Today our Monday night lapping crew organized a track day for the Fiat Alfa Romeo Quebec club members. I had seen the list of entries before the event and was expecting a bunch of Fiat 500's, Spyder's and a few Alfa's. The plan was to provide an introduction to track driving to these Italian car enthusiasts.

My first surprise was that the only cars that had arrived when I got to the track were a nice Porsche 911T and a clean Datsun 510. Eventually, several Fiat's and Alfa's did arrive. Second surprise: there were a couple of Italian cars that had not been on the list: a Ferrari F355, an F430 and a Lamborghini Gallardo. Also, there was a Fiat Barchetta, a neat little two-seater that was never sold in North Amercia. Final surprise: there were two new Fiat 500's. I don't know if these cars are going to be sold in Canada, but, as far as I know, they are not available now. I guess these guys are connected in the automotive world.

As head instructor of the fast group, I got the chance to drive several of these cars on the track. Here are my impressions:

Lovely F430

Ferrari F430

I drove this car for ten minutes at a relaxed pace and it just felt at home on the track. The power delivery was awesome, the F1 gearbox worked seamlessly and the car dealt with the bumpy track with no issues whatsoever. This is the first car I have been in where the "engine start" button seemed an appropriate addition to the (beautiful) interior. The seats were awesome and, surprisingly, were manually adjustable. I approve of this, as electric seats add a lot of weight for such a small benefit. What a fantastic track car.

Ferrari F355

This was the convertible version, which is nice if you're only taking a few laps in the car. The interior of the car is also nice. The transmission featured the traditional Ferrari gated shifter. This was a lovely car, but the differences between it and the modern F430 were staggering. The brakes were wooden (I suspect the pads were to blame) and the gas pedal was so stiff that it was hard do modulate. The engine pulled smoothly from low revs, but it had very little torque. Modern performance engines seem to have torque everywhere. The gated shifter takes a bit of getting used to, but has a nice mechanical feeling. I suspect the car would have felt a lot faster with some more revs.

Very orange Gallardo

Lamborghini Gallardo

This car was a blast to drive. It inspired confidence right away. It had the same awesome power delivery as the F430, and felt really planted coming out of the slower corners. Like the Ferrari, the suspension was firm but compliant enough to deal with the track's bumps and rumble strips. The fact that the car was convertible just made the experience more enjoyable because of all that awesome V10 sound. My only criticism was that the shift paddles were a little bit on the small side compared to the wings behind the Ferrari's steering wheel. I guess that that's not a problem if the steering wheel is straight, but the paddles were not always there where I expected them to be. After I drove for a few laps, the owner took the wheel. However, all the day's participants had eaten a huge catered meal, and he was not feeling great after a few laps in the Lambo, what with all its grip and acceleration. The gracious owner encouraged me to go out again for another ride while he sat on the sidelines. What a nice guy! I went back out with one of the club members' kids in the passenger seat. I think he had a fun time... I know I did. What a car!

Vintage Alfa GTV 2000

Alfa Romeo GTV 2000 

I was pretty psyched when the owner of this car asked me to take his son out for a few laps in this car. Lately, I have been wondering what it would be like to drive a sporty vintage car like this. This is the first time I had ever driven a car with a wooden steering wheel. Neat. The shifter was sloppy and the steering was a bit vague, maybe due to the high profile, low performance tires. The car reminded me of my old Mazda 323: peppy and fun. You had to plan what you were going to do well in advance, and there was not enough power to have to worry about wheel spin. The only issue I had was that there was so much slop in the shifter that when I wanted to grab second gear, I would pull the shifter until it hit my thigh, then I had to move over my thigh to get the gear in. I was black flagged by Dave, who thought there was too much smoke coming out the exhaust when I was driving the car. I told the owner and he said it was normal for these engines.

New Fiat 500

Looks pretty good

Fiat 500

OK, I admit that I actually asked the car's caretaker if I could take it out for a few laps. He gladly accepted. I went out for a few laps and quickly realized that this was not a sports car. It was a pleasant car to drive, with adequate power, not unlike a Mini Cooper, but I could not help but wish it had better tires and suspension. Still, the interior is lovely and this would surely make a great daily driver. I'm sure it will sell well in Quebec if ever it is offered for sale here.

Over all, this was a great event and I think the drivers had a great time. I love seeing people enjoy driving on the track for the first time, and I also love seeing people drive their sports cars as they were meant to be driven.

To top off this great day, I was handed a doggy bag of leftovers from the catered meal. What a day!

P.S. Trong asked me if I had now driven most of the cars on my wish list, and I realized that, in fact, I had. Here is a list of cars that I've at some point wanted to drive, and that I then got to drive:

Any Ferrari

Any Lamborghini

Porsche 911

Acura NSX

Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8

Subaru WRX Sti

Nissan Skyline GT-R

Nissan 350Z

Mazda RX8

Mazda Miata

BMW M3 (E46)

Mini Cooper S

Audi RS4

Honda S2000

Lotus Elise

Dodge Viper

Acura RSX Type S

EP3 Honda Civic SiR

Cars not on the list that I'm happy to have driven nonetheless

BMW M3 (E90)

Maserati GT

Porsche 996 Turbo

Still on the list:

Nissan GTR

Mazda RX7 twin turbo

Porsche Boxster

Any AMG 6.2 liter