Lane's SCA - SPC at Gingerman 3/31/2001 (3)

Bill H (29k)

Bill H, Alex P, Deebs, Tapp, & Brian J rented a car to share for the weekend - a Ford Focus. We've driven this car on the track before, and it continues to be one of the best handling & braking cars (in stock form) in its price class that we've ever driven.

We are proud to welcome yet another car to the NMC Racing team. You can read a bit more about "Not My Car Racing" in my 2000 SPC Rally coverage, as well as several other track events in the archives.

During the two days and more than 350+ miles on the track (that's more than 200 laps & 4 tanks of gas!), the tires looked a little worn. Luckily we rotated them - twice - or they might have been in really bad shape!

Since this was a two-day track event, most of us got a turn piloting or being a passenger in the Focus. It was rare that the car received a break during that time. As soon as someone brought it in, someone else was ready to take it out for another enjoyable session. And with a Hot Lap timing system installed in the car (see description & info HERE), it was great to see what kind of lap times we could extract from the car.

Click the link below for some video of the rented Focus, being driven by Alex P. He's chasing an Audi TT thru turns 5 & 6 doing a 4-wheel drift, with tires howling.

.AVI (requires Indeo codec) - 406k

Indeo 5 codec can be downloaded HERE.

Be sure to turn up your sound.

The guys from SpeedTrial USA also participated in the rental car enjoyment with a Nissan Maxima that did quite a few laps during the two-day event.

SPC standard rental car disclaimer

We realize that there are some people reading this who would think that driving a stock rental car in this manner is dangerous and irresponsible. In the hands of a driver with some experience and the proper safety equipment, risk to the vehicle & driver is minimal, and mechanical wear from a day out on the track does not cause any permanent damage to the vehicle. After all, most of us use our own own daily-drivers on the track and don't drive them much differently.

When a driver demands more from a car than most people do, occasionally bad luck strikes and parts break. However, many of us consider the risk to be a fair trade for the adrenalin of a day of driving a car at speed on the track.

Dave S's motor in his 99 SC2 began making some loud knocking noises while out on the course which quickly worsened. It was time for a rebuild, and Dave's car was towed to the garage where he works. He had been planning a high-performance motor rebuild for quite some time, but didn't plan on doing it quite so soon.

As posted to the Saturn Performance Club Mailing List by David S on 4/1/2001:

"Subject: Another one bites the dust...
AWW, it twas me! :)

It was gonna happen sooner or later..... too bad sooner, but it happened. Rod bearing spun in the infamous 99 SC2."

"3 weeks to the new, improved, higher performance machine *grin* And after all of that.. just remember.. we (including me) still had a blast."

- David

In addition to Dave's, several other cars experienced problems on the track. A Corvette wrecked its motor, a Mustang broke the transmission, a Lotus had a turbo so hot it was glowing, and a Contour was having gear problems. Every driver sets his or her own pace on the track and is aware of the risk that accompanies it.

Except for the bad luck of a few individuals, most of the drivers had a great time and had another great experience out on the track. You can see more pictures from this event on SpeedTrial's website HERE.

Interested in driving, riding along, or spectating? Watch the SPC website for a schedule of future track dates, or take a look at Driving Events.com to find events in your area.