My track buddy Rob Burgoon shots this video from his NA Miata at Buttonwillow Raceway during a MazdaFest event. I saddled him with ballast in the form of my friend Lorelei. That helped me stay in front for a while. Led Zepplin’s “Custard Pie” drives the point home.
This is the first of a few video compilations of our track days, High Performance Driver Education (HPDE) events which allow car enthusiasts to safely push the limits of their vehicles in a controlled environment. I started in 2001 or so and usually run with Redline Track Events, where I volunteer for Chris and Nik as an instructor. Cars range from bone stock street machines to all out trailered race cars, and the variety of drivers is just as diverse. Since this isn’t wheel-to-wheel racing, anyone can come out and enjoy a day of fast cars and shop talk. As I like to drive when I’m calm, the tune running through the background is Tori Amos’ “Ireland.”
The Foo Fighters play “My Hero” in tribute to my buddies who are, well… my heroes. The Scion tC, which tided me over from Vette to MX5, was a bulletproof little front drive that populates this post. Rob’s WRX, Anton & Fred’s 350Z’s, and brief shots of my brother and the great Roy Sakioka are other highlights. There’s also some drifting, rallycross, dragracing at the late LACR (Palmdale), JTC Pro Champion Tarzan Yamada’s R34 GT-R Skyline, and some comments by Rob at the end regarding a powerslide seen in the first video.
Starting off with a few shots of the cars in the paddock (or pits), this video highlights my 2003 Corvette Z06, which I sold shortly after buying my home, and my 2000 Trans Am, which I sold for the Vette. You can also see the great Roy Sakioka’s red Mini Cooper S and his black Elise 111. If not my favorite song of all-time, the featured joint of Bob Marley’s “Mellow Mood” is definitely in the top 5. The only thing that sounds quite as good is the 405 horsepower of the Z06.
This video has cars such as a Dolphin America and a Lamborghini Gallardo, features Manly Ko’s first ever slide in his yellow Elise, and has a lot of in car footage from the venerable MX5. The songs are “T and T” by The Breeders and “Fire Fire” by Peter Tosh.
Unlike a lot of the previous track day videos, some of these were taken at Laguna Seca, one of the finest racing facilities on the west coast. Hopefully I will be able to visit Infineon and compare. The song playing is “Ladies and Gentlemen” by Saliva, made popular to the regular masses by the Sony PS3 commercials. My speech at the end is a lame attempt at being an Italian pro driver. Go-kart pro driver.
This video was taken on US Route 274 from Idyllwild back into the Banning Pass. I barely touch 9000 rpm of the bike’s 14000 redline as speed wasn’t as important as technique. My buddy Jose has been teaching me how to safely lean and tuck in sweepers and I’m still learning. The song is “The Funeral” by Band of Horses. My apologies for some of the scratchy feedback due to camera vibration. I should’ve edited that out but got lazy.