Roadtrip!!! (Update with pics)

[Kerry Matthews]

I'm taking the Mustang for it's first roadtrip tomorrow morning. I'm off to Laguna Seca raceway to go watch Champ Car spring testing for a couple hours. A friend of mine's husband is an engineer for Pacific Coast Motorsports, so I should get to check out the new Panoz DP-01 up close. But it's the 3 hour drive each way in the Mustang that I'm looking forward to the most! I get to drive Pacheco Pass & Heckler Pass on Hwy 152! Fun, fun, fun! And it should be in the upper 60's, so it'll be a good day for some top down cruising...

 

[CHRIS DAVIS 2]

have fun and dont forget the pics

 

[Haley Mc]

That sounds like a great road trip.

I would love to take my toy out on that track for a bit of fun.



Enjoy!

 

[Kerry Matthews]

Well, that was a fun trip! Tbe weather was great, the car was great, testing was fun to check out, saw some old friends at the track... It was a good day!

I know we don't have a lot of open wheel fans here, but here's some pics of the new Panoz DP-01 that Champ Car is running this year. They had one next to the Lola that they've been using to compare the two side by side.



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[Travis Munday]

+1 for Panoz...



Paul Tracy actually broke the track record with one during the practice. It's nice to see Panoz get involved in some other forms of racing.

 

[Kerry Matthews]

Did Tracy break it? I didn't think he did. Champ Car put a $5000 'bounty' on the old track record for anyone who could break it... Actually, Sebastien Bourdais broke it on the final lap of practice. I was already in my car by then, headed back to Heckler Pass for another go at it...

 

[Travis Munday]

I thought he did, but re-reading the blurb it only says "the MRLS Champ Car lap record was broken", and it was talking about Tracy in his Panoz at the beginning of the blurb, I didn't read the whole article.

 

[Kerry Matthews]

Yeah, the record was set by Ricardo Zonta last year in a Formula 1 car during the Monterey Historic Races. Now a Champ Car holds the fastest lap at Laguna Seca!



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[Travis Munday]

I don't get why F1 won't race at The Seca. Indy is a great track and all with lots of history and prestige, not to mention the huge amount of money spent to make the infield course, but I think I'd rather see F/1 at Seca then Indy. Ideal would be both...but that won't happen. F/1 doesn't really race at a track like Seca, with the elevation changes and mix of high speed handling, and technical bits. Hungaring or whatever is the closest, and that's usually a pretty good race.

 

[Scott Doughtie]

I got to see the DP-01 still in test configuration and final prep at the Panoz/Elan Motorsports plant in October. We got a tour during the Petit Le Mans as one of the guys in our annual race/camp group has a wife in the finance department there now.

 

[Haley Mc]

I think F1 at L.S. would be great. There would be a lot more downforce used I would imagine. A very different track, but those cars are amazing, it would be a treat to see F1 there.



Great pics...I am envious!