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Although I bought the Alfa in the summer of '98 with the expressed interest of tracking the car, my schedule and the inevitable circumstances-beyond-my-control conspired to prevent that from happening. There were four track days left in that '98 season, however, work conflicts resulted in my missing all but one. That one day turned out to be more like 1/3 of a day as very bad brake fade, followed by a destroyed trunion bushing, relegated me to a spectator for most of the event.
That day, however, did prove to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that I had made the right decision. The Alfa was easy and fun to drive and the opportunity to find my (low) limits without fear of reprisal by The Man was an absolute blast. It reminded me a lot of skiing, but without the long lines, uncomfortable boots, or hotshot 5-year olds kicking my butt.
For the '99 season, I had committed myself to make at least seven track events, but prior to the first lapping day of the season, I blew up the motor (see Engine Rebuild for the depressing details). Somehow pushing the car out of corners didn't seem like a lot of fun, so I stayed away until the new motor was rebuilt and broken in. I finally made it back to the track for one of the last track days of the season and had an absolute blast. There were some carburetor problems (one of the floats would hang up under hard braking and flood the engine) that robbed track time, but I did get in a lot of hot laps and definitely made huge strides.
The biggest surprise for me when driving on the track was the radically different line it required. On the street, you tend to take an earlier apex, since you are more concerned with turning before you hit the guardrail than you are with maximizing your exit speed. Once I began to understand that difference, my lap times fell and my confidence grew. ,
That day, however, did prove to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that I had made the right decision. The Alfa was easy and fun to drive and the opportunity to find my (low) limits without fear of reprisal by The Man was an absolute blast. It reminded me a lot of skiing, but without the long lines, uncomfortable boots, or hotshot 5-year olds kicking my butt.
For the '99 season, I had committed myself to make at least seven track events, but prior to the first lapping day of the season, I blew up the motor (see Engine Rebuild for the depressing details). Somehow pushing the car out of corners didn't seem like a lot of fun, so I stayed away until the new motor was rebuilt and broken in. I finally made it back to the track for one of the last track days of the season and had an absolute blast. There were some carburetor problems (one of the floats would hang up under hard braking and flood the engine) that robbed track time, but I did get in a lot of hot laps and definitely made huge strides.
The biggest surprise for me when driving on the track was the radically different line it required. On the street, you tend to take an earlier apex, since you are more concerned with turning before you hit the guardrail than you are with maximizing your exit speed. Once I began to understand that difference, my lap times fell and my confidence grew. ,
