Jeremy Likes This One

The Audi R8 V10

Fall Driving School

Well that's another one in the books. We were back down to Pueblo for the Fall Driving School with the Rocky Mountain chapter of the BMW Car Club, and much fun was had by all.

There were lots of highlights, and the general banter with the gang (as well as before and after on email) was all top notch. Ross made it out without breaking anything, although he was in Franks Elise when Frank decided to go all agricultural at the end of the day. We had a winner in the group for best car of the day (they must have liked the Smurf), and everyone seemed like they were fast and happy by the end of the day (minus a couple of run-ins with the shuffle steer nazi).

Gareth had managed to invest in a set of coilovers, which looking at the laps below, paid dividends. It also makes the A8 lower and meaner, so it looked good in the car park the night before as well as on the track.

Mr Wallace kindly let us borrow his new video camera, and Todd's video is here, while Gareth's is below. I somehow managed to not be able to get the video set up when I put it on my car (obvious user error), but I did get about 800 photos of my drive, which provided the apex hitting evidence at the top there.

Everyone is now looking at whether or not they can get out to the track again before winter sets in - this weekend is meant to be the Audi club at HPR, but snow is forecast for both days so that might be tough. Porsche club the weekend after though 8-)) so there's still a chance, as well as the open lapping days. Stay tuned....

A Definition of Meta.....

Driving Laguna Seca in a Corvette ZR1 on a PSP, while driving around Laguna Seca in a Corvette ZR1.....

458 Video

Just in case you were undecided whether you liked the new Ferrari (although not sure how that could be possible personally), may I present the Ferrari promo video...

HPR (Finally)

So I somehow managed to not drive HPR all summer, despite the fact it's close and new and a fantastic track. I finally got my arse in gear, along with Mr Thompson, and joined the Z Car Club to get in an organized track day, rather than get eaten alive (maybe) on an open day. It was good to try and learn the line in a pretty relaxed atmosphere, and the rain managed to hold off until pretty late in the day (although it wasn't Colorado's warmest day).

The groups we were in meant me and Gareth didn't get much time to hang out during the day, but then the stars aligned in the afternoon and he jumped in the car with his camera to take some video of the laps. This ended up being my last session of the day - a few laps in the brakes went so I had to ease off a bit to get through the end of the session, and they weren't in any sort of fit state after that to handle any more laps (even without the minor flood that engulfed the track). I have a few pics I took out there as well that I need to load up (Gareths are here)which I hopefully will get to this weekend.

And any of you track rats who've been dialing in the perfect line on HPR want to offer any (constructive) criticism on the line, feel free in the comments - this is the first time I've hit a track without any instruction on where I'm meant to be driving, so I'm sure there's plenty of improvement to be made.

Want.....

And here's a little more....

Tomorrow's Activity

Just in case you were wondering what I'm doing this weekend, please see the video below....

Gullwing is Back!

Guess it's a supercar week (what were they thinking, today is a techie day and Apple have an event!), but Mercedes released details of the new gullwing (official name is the SLS AMG I guess). Another good looker, and I've always been a sucker for strange doors....

2010 Mercedes SLS AMG: First Photos, Details! [New Cars]

And now we have pics of the wings in full effect 8-))

Autocrossing the weekend away

So I tried autocrossing last weekend for the very first time, and I really liked it. Before you ask, it's basically just like a mini timed racetrack that's set up with cones in a car park (and no, it has nothing to do with motorbikes, dirt or crashing).

The course is obviously a lot tighter than a track, so you never actually get out of second gear for the whole time, but it feels very very fast as you're blasting around. One of the main problems you have to contend with (apart from not hitting the cones) is actually remembering which way you need to drive. You get a walk or two around the course at the start of the day, but the first time the starter gives you the green light to go, you're basically looking at a sea of orange cones all jumbled up in the parking lot, trying to work out if it's left or right. Luckily there are a few pointers (cones laying down as arrows, some white lines painted around the outside of the track etc), and after a couple of trips around, you start to feel a little bit more comfortable.

Feeling comfortable and going fast however, are two very different things. As it was my first time, I didn't have very high expectations - get around without killing myself or the car, and try not to come last. Luckily I managed both. I was actually relatively competitive in the morning - somewhere in the middle of my group, but then I after lunch I screwed up the first run by hitting a cone, and then the next two weren't as fast. Still, I had a blast, and came away wanting to do it again. So of course, I signed up for another one in a few weeks 8-)) Sign up here if you're interested in joining - there's a rumor that Mr Tonkin is going to join me and Wallace out there next time (and it's only 45 bucks!!)...

Noble M600 - It's not cheap

So, it's been a long time coming, and when it finally did arrive, it was a little more expensive than anyone imagined. The new Noble M600 is 200k (and that's pounds, not dollars), but does have 650 bhp and gets you to 60 in 3 seconds flat. Looks wise I'm not too sure - I think they made it just a little bit too long. And that price, for a Noble? It's gonna make it more expensive than the new Ferrari......




Noble M600: 650 HP, 225 MPH Driving Excitement [New Cars]

Ford Focus RS on the 'Ring

Not quite as quick as the current Renault, but still worth a watch if you're into that sort of thing

Tomorrow will be a good day

One of those days when you cross something major off your bucket list, like maybe getting a ride in a McLaren....... (just hope I can get some sleep tonight)



And apologies in advance if I have stupid grin on my face if you see me the rest of the weekend

More Pikes Peak Action

Ryhs Millen's new 2WD record setting run in all it's HD glory. And don't forget kids, Red Bull gives you wings....

CLIMB ATTACK from Will Roegge on Vimeo.

New Ferrari 458 Italia

As usual, Ferrari runs in at the most unexpected moment and steals my heart....


So the F430 replacement just got officially announced (with the pics I'm showing here), and a couple of details - 562 bhp at 9000rpm (!!!?!!), 392 lb/ft of torque and a 0-60 of 3.4 secs. It's got a twin clutch gearbox (similar to the one in the California), and there'll be lots more information at the official release/showing at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.


Loving the way it looks like a baby Enzo....

Oh yeah, and here's a bit of gratuitous music for your ears

Skate Fast, Very Fast.......

Too scary for words.....



Hmmmm - ok, that kinda suxs - pulled already for copyright infringement wasn't what I had in mind when I posted it.

So, to make up for it, here's a little Fiesta heading up for a scenic drive on Pikes Peak the other week......

Lotus Evora

Lotus Evora, originally uploaded by Aaron in Denver.

So yesterday was the turn of Ferrari of Denver to host the Lotus Evora coming out party. Although they've been released over in Europe, you still can't buy one over here until the beginning of next year, so this was the first time for many to see one first hand (including me).

They're actually really nice - it seemed smaller that I thought it was going to be - they're not really that much bigger than an Elise, although definitely easier to get in and out of. The back seats, hmmm. The Lotus guy told me that he'd had people in the back, but I'm not sure - they're definitely of the plus 2 variety, and I couldn't see any legroom with a reasonable sized person in the front.

No-one got to drive them, but I was chatting with the Lotus guys who had driven them cross country - much more comfortable than an Elise was what I got out of them, while still handling well on the track.

Based on the estimated price over here, they're going to come in around the same price as a base 911, but in reality I think they're more likely to compete with the Cayman S form what I've read of the reviews.

Oh, and if you've got a spare $300k lying around, the guys at Ferrari of Denver just took delivery of an F430 Scuderia - it's sitting in the showroom right now with your name on it.......

Real or Fake? Schumacher 'revealed' as the Stig

Not 100% convinced, but definitely got everyone talking about the new series of Top Gear that started back home yesterday



BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Schumacher 'revealed' as the Stig

Evo vs Focus

Tiff and the Fifth Gear team provide the review

Ken Block Gymkhana Two

If you thought the first one was good, just wait for this one. Action really starts about a minute in. This is worth your time......

Bike Control

I normally don't put many bike things on here (they scare the shit out of me to be honest - much prefer 4 wheels when I'm going fast), but this was too good to resist....