This dude is one crazy driver....

[kverges]

The driver had good car control and was jacking around IMO, but maybe he did think he was fast, hard to say. If there were any rules that we are accustomed to in the US, he pretty much broke them all. But it was overseas, right? There personal reponsibility is king and it is not the nearest person withthe most money at fault.

Can you imagine the Nurburgring in the US! No one would even accept the risk of some dumbass in his brand new Ferrari killing himself and then the estate suing everyone on earth for not making the car, track, guardrails, emergency response, paving, tires, driving aid electronics, track cleaing, weather reports, etc, etc safer or more clear.

[b.flippo]

He certainly wasn't the smoothest driver. All of the fish flopping was scrubbing off a lot of speed. I've actually heard someone ask why their car had a push going into the corner and an oversteer coming out. Duh... It's called overdriving.

[ThePerfectLine]

Originally Posted by climb4fun

He was racing. Nothing wrong imo. But the Exige passed him again at the same turn, when the porsche was going side way.

That looked like an HPDE to me, I would not want to be on the same track as that guy. If that was a RACE then fine, go for it, balls to walls, but stuffing people going into turns, on the inside, and then barely keeping the back end in line. Any track day organizer I know would black flag the crap out of that guy! He was at 10/10ths the whole time, which is fine when you are racing and have the skill to keep it in check, but in that little video we saw him lose it (he did save it at least) 2 or 3 times. Stay away from me buddy, thats all I ask.

[ThePerfectLine]

Originally Posted by azmurciev12

i thought i was the only one thinking that the porsche driver is purposely doing the drifting maneuver. you can see in his movements that everything is controlled. i don't think a beginner, who didn't purposely oversteer, would react so calmly and calculated.

i actually find the porsche driver quite experienced and simply having a good time. i've been to the track many times and i still cannot do what this guy is doing.

He had decent car control, and like you I cant pitch a car around quite like that. But then again I never had a 996 gt3 to practice with, my last track car a 330ci didnt have enough power to do any amount of drifting. The thing is, i have quite a few friends who are 3 or 4 notches above me in driving skill, and are realyl goo racers, and they can do everything he was doing, but about 500% smoother. They can drift a car through any turn and the whole thing is just so much smoother and controlled than that fella. That leads me to believe he had some skill, but not nearly as much as he thinks he has.

[Monsi]

hammond claims that the GT3 is a breeze to drift around in...

If I was in the exige I would have had a heart attack

[Toad]

What was the bang at 1:35 mark?

[dasmoofler]

Originally Posted by Toad

What was the bang at 1:35 mark?

Him getting "nudged" out of the way?

[Trendy Exige]

This guy drives like a Porsche drift king ....not! I know a few Lotus drivers that drive like that when they are go karting.

Originally Posted by Chili Red

I tell you I would be pissed if someone tried to pass me like this at a HPDE event...

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[Jamolah]

Yah it was a bit dangerous, especially for HPDE. But you have to hand it to the guy, he's got great car control.

[serpent]

he doesnt have great car control...i dont know why people keep saying that.

He has OK car control...i dont think hes a novice track driver so he may have some driving experience on the track. Still ****ty drifting if you can call it that.

Then again like Iko (his friend) said, they were just having fun at the end of a long track day and i dont see anything wrong with that.

[iwilson]

I think people need to understand that a track day in Europe is a completely different beast to an HPDE day in the States (I've done both). In mainland Europe (not the UK which generally has stricter rules regarding overtaking), things are generally very loose. Overtaking can be performed anywhere, and the general rule is to stay on the racing line and let the car doing the overtaking make his own way around. Are there more accidents, definitely! But we're all big boys and no one is being forced onto the track at gunpoint. That's just the way they do things personally I prefer UK track days where overtaking is by the consent of the car in front and only on the left.

Track days in Europe (UK included), are as much about having a bit of fun with the car as clipping every apex. Drifting is frowned upon but a bit of sideways action is not. In addition timing is prohibited for insurance reasons in the UK so while it's great to string a few good laps together you never really know if you're going quicker other than by the seat of your pants or after the event if you have a camera mounted.

If you were horrified by the first clip, then don't watch this one

Exige MkI vs. practically every modern supercar.

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[ryoung99]

Originally Posted by iwilson

If you were horrified by the first clip, then don't watch this one

Exige MkI vs. practically every modern supercar.

Horrified..... HELL NO!!!

That was awesome and the way it should be. The Exige driver was always under control and was laying the smack down.

Honestly he must have a special seat in the car to hold his balls. They have got to be the size of medicine balls.

The way he passed the two Lambo's was awesome (although they could not have been happy). With all their power once the Exige was by you never saw them again. I would have loved to see a simultaneous rear cam during that run to see how bad he pulled away from these "Supercars".

Awesome!

[Bavarian Motorist]

Just found this vid...


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[wcaswell]

Guys, not every event at a racetrack is either an HPDE or W2W race. We usually rent Grattan every spring and bring our friends out. Most of us are track junkies or have significant W2W experience. Sometimes, when my tires are shot and are about to cord, I'll still go out and try and keep it together just for fun (assuming I have no spare tires with me) and sometimes for practice - being used to driving a track car with a corner corded or over heat cycled is probably an extreme no no for I bet most anyone on here. I do know that if its allowed by the event rules and my tires still hold air, I'm going out instead of sitting there watching.

He could have been having fun, taking the last few laps on a set of over heat cycled hoosiers, or simply got his tire pressures way off, didn't realize how cold the track can be at night, and decided to just stay out for a while and play. But no question he knows the other driver well.

I agree he wasn't trying to post a fast lap, anyone with that much car control skill can clearly hit apexes and track out smoothly at 9/10ths. He looked like he was having fun and there were clearly no rules on passing in corners, point by's etc. Looked similar to a few portions of our instructor sessions at some of our local driver schools. You know almost every other car on the track and its driver and have been running with them for years. If you don't recognize, you go a little easy when you pass and do it in a straightaway or with a point by after hounding in the corners, but if its your good friend that you have been tracking with for years and you know each other, let it rip. Not everything has to be so cut and dry.

Don't forget that Grattan has a jump on the downhill back straightaway. I have a picture of my e30 m3 with all 4 wheels at full droop and still 8-10 inches off the ground at approx 90mph. I would assume that alone would be too much for most people, let alone getting a point by just before you hit the jump with a hard right upon landing.

To me its like criticizing a skier for not laying perfect curves the whole way down the mountain, sometime you want hit the trees or crush the bumps and have fun. I have never been to a night school/ open track event. Looks awesome.

[Bleu Omdurman]

Originally Posted by NMRJock

Looked like a 996 911 to me.

He was way over his head in just about every corner. An accident waiting to happen.

I don't know. I think there was some pretty good skill there. Drifting the 911 at speed is certainly not something a newb would be able to do.

I agree that the pass wasn't safe and would be likely to cause an accident if there wasn't some sort of understanding ahead of time. I'm just proposing that the driver had great car control skills. Watch his hands. They do the same thing each turn. Listen to the throttle, a quick lift, followed by hands, followed by a 9 and 3 grip with a little throttle to hold the slide. He does it the same way both drifts. The other ones are just a quick flick of the wrists to catch it. Again, not the fastest way around the track, but pretty impressive corner exit car control.

[mldlaw]

I think it's a girl. Look at the hands and jewelry.

[Bleu Omdurman]

and the hairy knee? This is europe remember.

I sit behind a guy at the institute that wears Prada everyday. I mean, I don't own a single item of prada. The best I can do is Brooks Brothers!