Video - Golf R at Sonoma Raceway

Cliff · Sep 29, 2018

I was up at Sonoma Raceway today with Speed Ventures/Track Masters. I think this is the first time I have gotten a point by from a McLaren.Today's goal was to reacquaint myself with this track after a 3 year hiatus before i instruct there in November.

R Golf · Sep 30, 2018

Nice run. Always a good feeling to get a point buy from the screaming fast cars. Those Mclarens can be smoking fast. Fast or slow, I love to see the owners take them to the track.

Cliff · Nov 5, 2018

I was back at Sonoma Raceway last weekend instructing with the Audi Club. Here are a few laps from my best session of the weekend. I am passed early on by an ex-Flying Lizard GT4 Clubsport, get a pass from a friend driving a C5 Z06, then am passed at the end by a Spec E46 piloted by a driver who podiumed 3 times at NASA Nationals at COTA last month and who won his SE46 race at Sonoma a week ago. In the below photo I am giving my advanced student a demo ride and am being chased through the esses by a driver who won his GTS3 race at Sonoma last weekend, and Audri, the R8 LMS car. It was a pretty fast crowd in the Y instructor group this past weekend...

I trimmed about 3.5 seconds off my best time at this track, but I don't spend nearly enough time here. With practice I should be able to get closer to a 2 minute lap in my car.

2015WhiteGTI · Nov 5, 2018

Nice vid! It didn't look too busy out there - a lot of free running.

SE46's are quick little cars considering they only make around 240hp. The suspension is really nice on them and they're so easy to toss around a track. I've driven a well sorted SE46 and they're a blast!

Cliff · Nov 5, 2018

2015WhiteGTI said:
Nice vid! It didn't look too busy out there - a lot of free running.

SE46's are quick little cars considering they only make around 240hp. The suspension is really nice on them and they're so easy to toss around a track. I've driven a well sorted SE46 and they're a blast!

Yup. My best lap, number 2, was completely free of traffic until the last few feet when the Corvette gave me a pass at start/finish. That's usually how fast laps work

I used to have a non-M 330Ci with a 3.46 LSD but it was otherwise not too far away from stock. I could occasionally get a pass from an E46 M3 if the other car was stock and the driver and I were about the level of experience. This SE46 was fresh off a win at this track and being driven flat out by an exceptional driver.

jmason · Nov 6, 2018

I like the quality of your video. What kind of camera are you using and where is it mounted?

Cliff · Nov 6, 2018

jmason said:
I like the quality of your video. What kind of camera are you using and where is it mounted?

Thanks, I am happy with this setup too. I am running a GoPro Hero 5 Black mounted upside down from a suction cup on the passenger side of the windshield in front of the rear view mirror. In the rear I have a GoPro Hero 4 Silver mounted on a suction cup on the hatch between the VW emblem and the rear wiper, and I tie that camera to the wiper hub using paracord. I use a GoPro remote to control them. Data is coming from both the Hero 5 and a SoloDL wired into the CAN bus. I use RaceRender to merge the video and data sources into a video.

jmason · Nov 6, 2018

Cliff said:
I am running a GoPro Hero 5 Black mounted upside down from a suction cup on the passenger side of the windshield in front of the rear view mirror.

Is the suction cup on the "tinted" area in front of the mirror? Curious because I wouldn't think a suction cup would work in that area. I have tinted windows (including the front). I assume that I can't mount a suction cup on the tint.

Cliff · Nov 6, 2018

jmason said:
Is the suction cup on the "tinted" area in front of the mirror? Curious because I wouldn't think a suction cup would work in that area. I have tinted windows (including the front). I assume that I can't mount a suction cup on the tint.

Yes, and I have never had any issues with it coming loose.

Edit: here is a 100% crop from the original of the photo I posted above

jmason · Nov 6, 2018

Thanks Cliff.

GIACUser · Nov 6, 2018

Nice vid, I am going to try and get up there next season. Track looks like fun.

Cliff · Nov 6, 2018

GIACUser said:
Nice vid, I am going to try and get up there next season. Track looks like fun.

Sonoma is an awesome track.

The Audi Club is one of the few organizations that offer in-car instruction at this track. Simraceway has a contract with Sonoma that appears to prevent all commercial track day providers (HOD, Speed Ventures, TrackMasters, etc) and many seeming non-commercial providers (NASA, BMWCCA - and they haven't been to Sonoma for as long as I can remember) from providing in-car instruction at Sonoma. The Audi Club has their Audifest event there every fall. They typically hold it in mid-October, but I think last year's wildfires cramped Sonoma Raceway's schedule this year so we had the event at the beginning of November instead. Hopefully we will be back to a normal schedule next year. The club's Golden Gate chapter hosts the event and they will publish upcoming events on motorsportsreg.com.

I plan to head down your way early next year and do Big Willow and Streets. It has been 4 years since I last did WSIR, and I want to make a weekend of it and combine it with SoW.

R Golf · Nov 7, 2018

Cliff said:
Sonoma is an awesome track.

The Audi Club is one of the few organizations that offer in-car instruction at this track. Simraceway has a contract with Sonoma that appears to prevent all commercial track day providers (HOD, Speed Ventures, TrackMasters, etc) and many seeming non-commercial providers (NASA, BMWCCA - and they haven't been to Sonoma for as long as I can remember) from providing in-car instruction at Sonoma. The Audi Club has their Audifest event there every fall. They typically hold it in mid-October, but I think last year's wildfires cramped Sonoma Raceway's schedule this year so we had the event at the beginning of November instead. Hopefully we will be back to a normal schedule next year. The club's Golden Gate chapter hosts the event and they will publish upcoming events on motorsportsreg.com.

I plan to head down your way early next year and do Big Willow and Streets. It has been 4 years since I last did WSIR, and I want to make a weekend of it and combine it with SoW.

Any idea why they have that policy? Do the other organizations run there without instruction or just skip that track? It seems like it may make clubs lean towards putting people out there who can use instruction (who cant'?).

I'm missing something.

Cliff · Nov 7, 2018

R Golf said:
Any idea why they have that policy? Do the other organizations run there without instruction or just skip that track? It seems like it may make clubs lean towards putting people out there who can use instruction (who cant'?).

I'm missing something.

Hooked On Driving (HOD) runs their events at this track for intermediate and advanced drivers only, and they have a prerequisite that you have to have been signed off for solo by them or another reputable organization before registering. I think other commercial groups have a similar policy and you need to know enough to get around a track safely without someone in your right seat. NASA runs a lot of events at this track, but I think they do lead-follow in their HPDE1 group. I have a number of friends who are instructors with NASA and I will have to ask them.

Of course, Simraceway provides in-car instruction at their HPDE and driving school events at Sonoma, but they are expensive.

Sonoma has walls everywhere. If you go off the odds are good that you will hit something solid. I'd find an instructed event for my first time there.

Edit: I checked with a NASA instructor friend and he let me know that HPDE-1 students will get in-car instruction at their events at Sonoma. I presume that also means that more advanced students can get an instructor to ride along with them to show them the line for a first session at the track.

Cliff · Nov 4, 2019

I was back up at Sonoma Raceway this last weekend with the Audi club. The latest round of mods let me knock 2.5 seconds off my previous best lap. My goal is to get under 2 minutes but at this point the onus is on the driver to up his game. I am probably going to have to visit this track more than once a year for that to happen.

Video - Golf R at Sonoma Raceway

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