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I recently completed the Lexus Performance Driving School in Austin Texas at Circuit of the Americas after making the reservation late last year soon after I purchased my LC. One of the main motivations for me was the opportunity to drive the LC on the track. I typically drive like a combination of a drag racer and a low rider, accelerating hard from a stop but then settling down to about speed limit +10 so this was well out of my comfort zone.
Overall it was an amazing experience. (The marketing team will appreciate that) They really put on a first class operation with great attention to sanitizing the cars between drivers. My quick calculation was that there were about $3m worth of cars there that were thrashed and each one that I drove had less than 400 miles on it. So much for breaking them in easy. 😀 There were 4 different groups of about 8 - 10 people in each group. The day consisted of 3 different circuits: autocross, skid pad and hot laps on the big track. IS350 F Sports were the weapon of choice for the autocross, RCF for the skid pad and LC500 for the big track. The autocross was the only timed event with individual and team times recorded and ranked. I actually did better in the morning autocross session and was in 4th place in my group before lunch. The afternoon session did not go so well for me but my team actually won the fastest combined time but it was no thanks to my skills. The skid pad was actually the least enjoyable for me personally. That was my first time driving an RCF and I was really impressed but I found it very difficult to hold a sideways slide in a circle. My best effort was about ¾ of the way around and no one in my group did any better. I personally think that my group had the best rotation since we were the last group in the morning and the last group in the afternoon to drive the LCs on the big track.
The best part of the entire experience IMHO was driving the LC on the big track. The worst part was being 6’4” and wearing a helmet in the LC with its limited headroom. I had to slump way down in the seat to be able to actually fit with my helmet but I found it a small price to pay. On the big track there were only 3 cars in my group not including the instructor who led the pack and communicated to us via walkie talkies that were in each car. I turned the HUD on and remember seeing 122 mph on the back straight away. There was only 1 silver with red interior LC and I won’t say that I ran to it, let’s just say that I walked briskly to ensure that I was able to drive one with the same color combination as mine. At $1000 for the class, plus flight, hotel and rental car I felt that it was well worth it. YMMV
Awesome KayGee! How many laps did they allow you to do in the LC? U didn't mention any brake issue, so I take it was good.
I am itching to try the LC on the track....but knowing the LC is not build for track and seeing the motortrend video asking where the brake was makes me nervous. Usually local track event you can do 20min each session and 4-5 per day depending on how you feel and people.
...How many laps did they allow you to do in the LC?...
We did 3 laps each session for a total of 4 sessions. No brake issues that I noticed
Originally Posted by S2000toIS350
...Were any of the other folks interesting to chat with?...
Scott Pruitt held a session where he talked about his racing experience. I did have a chance to talk to him 1:1 in the afternoon and I think he was impressed that I knew so much about his racing experience (NASCAR, CART, IMSA, Trans-Am and Grand-Am). If you google him you will see that he has raced in almost every type of car. They don’t call him America’s greatest sports car driver for nothing
I met Scott when Lexus was introducing the LFA prior to production. I was invited to the into event at Homestead in FL. He took us out for hot laps. They also had the pavement below the oval wetted down so we could experience the car getting a bit sideways with Scott behind the wheel.
He was also at the LFA driver development event I paid to attend at Infineon. He took a few folks out for hot laps. His parents were at the event and they were a lot of fun to talk with.
I met Scott when Lexus was introducing the LFA prior to production. I was invited to the into event at Homestead in FL. He took us out for hot laps. They also had the pavement below the oval wetted down so we could experience the car getting a bit sideways with Scott behind the wheel.
Bringing back the memories with that video, thanks,
Did you meet Kyle Busch? He was really fun to talk with as well.
He got to take the LFA prototype on the track himself, and the engineers were commenting that he got the car pretty hot and they wanted it to cool down prior to further laps with Scott at the wheel.
Eyes up! Pretend as if the bottom of your windshield doesn’t exist.
want to hear more about how you feel your driving improved, what were your weak points vs. strong (on track, i know you said skid pad wasn't your thing).
what did they do re: covid, masks on the indoor areas, was much enclosed or did they do most everything outside? did you have to wear a mask in the car?
want to hear more about how you feel your driving improved, what were your weak points vs. strong (on track, i know you said skid pad wasn't your thing).
what did they do re: covid, masks on the indoor areas, was much enclosed or did they do most everything outside? did you have to wear a mask in the car?
Masks were required and as far as I could tell everyone wore them the entire time including when driving except for meals of course. Each time that you exited a car there were people that would use a mister to sanitize the interior as well as another crew of people that would wipe down the touch points inside each car with disinfectant wipes. Helmets were required when driving the LC500 on the big track and they also were sanitized between drivers.
Temperatures were taken as we first arrived and people seemed to crowd the registration desk before being assigned to groups. During breakfast and lunch each team had their own hospitality suite which allowed everyone to really spread out. I think there were 2 couples in my group but for the most part everyone observed social distances rules and pretty much stayed to themselves. Being the socially awkward, grumpy old man that I am that suited me just fine. Delta airlines is still blocking middle seats and boarding from the rear to front which was nice but for the most part people still crowd the line when boarding but everyone wore masks.
I personally think that the word “School” was a misnomer. Perhaps it was due to the Covid restrictions that prevented individual instructors from riding in the car with me or perhaps it was due to my superior driving skills that didn’t warrant any improvement 😀 but I don’t feel like anyone received much individual instruction. As you began each autocross run there was someone there telling you to keep your eyes up, be smooth with your inputs and hand movements. At the end of each autocross there was another person there pretty much telling you the same thing. On the skid pad the instructor stood outside and talked to me over the radio but I obviously didn’t learn a thing because I couldn’t keep my slide going in a circle and no one else could either. On the big track we first practiced panic stops and then “walked” the track in the cars, stopping every few turns to talk about breaking and turn in points. After that it was pretty much follow the leader with each of us taking turns being right behind the lead instructor who was talking to us over the radio. He also kept instructing us to look ahead and not to fixate on the bumper of the car in front of us.
To directly answer your question, I don’t know if I should blame it on Covid or on the overall structure of the event or the fact that old dogs really can’t learn new tricks but I really don’t think I learned anything other than “Keep Your Eyes Up”. With all of that being said I would do it again in a heartbeat.
just can't get enough of that induction wail as the LFA flies by; as i alluded to in a nearby post, similar to what i heard from my baby here
when we got it up to cruisin in the 6's... a beautiful sound and i wish we had a track around here so i could hear it again...free from concern regarding
imprisonment...
03-23-21 | 09:53 AM
LC500 at Lexus Performance Driving School
