Yup.

You read that right.

Now... I am trying to remember. I post on Facebook and sometimes forget to post over here. Damned fb is killing us here... among other things... but I will aim to fix that this year.

As many should remember, last year at the Corvette Corral, Grand Prix of Long Beach, I won the drawing for a 2-day Ron Fellows school at Spring Mountain.

Last month we were able to take the trip to Nevada and do it!

A few details....

1. Pahrump, NV, is rather easy to get to. If coming from Vegas, it's about an hour west. If coming from LA, it's a 4.5 hour drive and very easy. It was just as fast to drive as it was to fly and was much cheaper. Breakfast and lunch are included, just have to find dinner!

2. Figure whatever you do, expect to spend $500 per person, above the cost of the class. That includes travel, staying at the condo and souvenirs...

3. Pahrump has a seriously old Vegas feel about it. It's also a bit sprawling... but it is growing. Strange zoning, to say the least.

Observations:

1. The facility is world class. It is about 4 miles out of town on several hundred acres. The buildings are all new and very nice. The condos are real nice. On a par with a Marriott Residence in, and only $110 a night!!!!

2. Bastet44 came along, and was able to sit in on the class time, get the free lunch, and ride with the instructors, for no charge!!!

3. The instructors... damn... if my college profs were nearly this interesting, I would have graduated #1. These guys ROCK.

4. The car... I got to drive a 2017 C7, 7 spd manual, Z51 and MR Shocks. It was Black Rose with black interior. I think it was a 3LT package, the dash was covered in black alcantara, with red stitching. The Vette had about 1500 miles on it and was solid as a rock. The only mods they do is replace the Michelin Pilot Cup tires with Pilot Super Sports. The Cups are the "better" tire, but they are also not that durable. And once they hit about 4k to 5k miles, then the sticky part is gone and they go to hell! The Super Sports last. And, after worn out, they use Hawk brake pads. Finally, after the first oil change, they use a 20-50 Mobil 1, because of the extreme driving conditions of the area and the usage. Another cool feature: Track Log. It records your lap, using the forward facing camera in the rearview mirror. The resolution is very nice and it contains quite a bit of telemetry data.

5. Me... well, the C7 is a bit tight inside. I am tall in the body and the seats sit rather high. The cockpit is also narrow. I actually have more space in my C4, however, I will restate, the C7 dash layout and structure is so much like the late C4, it's scary. It's the same, but very different.

6. The C7 manuals have a really cool feature, "Rev Match". When downshifting, it will automatically rev the engine up to match the RPM to the gear. It is cool and works VERY well.

7. Me... the driver... I didn't wreck. I wasn't the fastest, but I wasn't the slowest. The C7 is so much more capable than I am, it's not even funny. Any dreams of being a race car driver are lost... but if I had taken this class 20 years ago... that's another story for woulda, shoulda, coulda, I guess. The first day was in the rain, and that was a real learning experience. I think back to Le Mans a few years back with Tommy Milner, the newbie on the team that year, was sent out, at night, in the rain, on a track he didn't know very well in a car he was still learning... and ran lights out for the next 3 hours, seriously helping Corvette win that year. I have always respected that drive, now I understand the amount of skill it took. In short, I am not worthy.

8. I have pics and videos. I will upload shortly.

9. I rate this as a 4.75-star experience. If you ever get to do it, DO IT. The cars, the facility, the instructors... all huge wins. The free food was average at best, and thanks to a couple of late visitors, bastet44 never got a couple of laps. That was on the schedule until the niece and hubby of a fellow class participant showed up. I only ding a little bit, because she did get a lot of time riding with the instructors, and I think she also learned a lot.

Everyone was super nice and helpful. I mentioned the headroom space, and they swapped out the hard top for a clear top and that gave me the extra 1/2" needed for my helmet to clear. That helped my upper body to move more freely and allow for my head to turn and view the apex cones better, which improved my confidence, and my times and speed.

10. What did I learn? Vision. Learning how to look ahead, while still maintaining your current line. You inherently follow your eyes, but you need to do that, but when the timing is right. Trail braking... using the brakes to go fast to balance the car so it settles and transfers weight to the front, increasing front bite and keeping the car level. And these are things one can do on the street.

Finally: A huge thanks to Ron for providing this prize. I doubt I would have spent the $2500 on my own, but I am soooo glad I did it!!!

For more info, https://www.springmountainmotorsports.com/

Sounds like a great experience.

Yeh. I'd gladly do it on somebody else's dime. I'm glad we jumped into autocrossing when we did. Though I was/am past my prime I still gave it all I had. I'm not as motivated as I once was to hit the track. We did 1/8th mile fun runs with the Vettes and autocross with the 911's. I'm just glad we did it when we did.






This is the kind of excitement I look for now.

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Sounds like a very cool experience, Andy!

That is big time stuff.......glad you guys got to do all that.......were they using the new Grand Sports at all? So you really liked the C7?

The car you got reflected the car you own... so if you have a Z06, with a 7spd manual, that's what you got. Same with the Grand Sport.

The base coupes were all equipped the same way, with Z51 and MR Shocks. The only difference was the transmission. And my car was a manual. It was black rose, and that paint was sexy hot.

To sum up the C7, it is a killer car. Very well built. Considering mine had only 1500 miles, I would not have been surprised if it had some new car related issues, but no, this thing is well built from the start. No creaks, no rattles... nothing. A close to vault like as you can get.

The C5 and C6 have great structures, but the C7s chassis takes it to a new level of precision.

If I could afford it, I would own one, now. I was in such bad shape after the weekend, I was checking websites for late model C7s!!! If I had $50k sitting doing nothing, I swear Marcus, I would have had the car by the end of the week. No kidding. I haven't wanted a car this bad in a long long time.

But, reality sets in and I am planning an LSx swap of some sort for my 92. Thanks to the fact that truck engines are plentiful and cheap, Corvette and Camaro engines are not as expensive as they were. Especially for LS1 thru LS3 versions. The LSA, LS7 and LS9 are very specialized, but the LS1, LS2 and LS3 are way to much like their truck stablemates.

I found an LS2, 45k miles, fully assembled, harness, accessories, exhaust manifolds, cats, everything ready to drop it into a project, for $3500!!! That's 400hp for $4000 once you ship it. What a bargain... add roller rockers and a mild cam, it's up to 450-460hp... add Mamo or AFR heads, damn, 480-500hp, and still smog legal. Can you imagine a mild mannered C4 with that much motor? No one would see that coming.

So yes, I love the C7. At some point, I will have one.

Sounds like a great time, Andy.

It was, Matthew... had a blast!

Quote:

Oh... so it will be MY fault.

It was a great experience. And you learn a lot. I can't wait to thank Ron in person next month at Sebring.