No more H-patterns from Ferrari

Toyman01 wrote: In reply to Cotton: In 15 years, I've never seen one at a track day, on track. They'll rev the engines in the paddock, but they won't take them on track. I saw one at a autocross, the dude got pissed and stormed off, because he was slower than a $1000 RX7. Locally, they are a cars and coffee car. Show up, stand around polishing it, put it back in the garage. That's not my thing. I'm about driving. I don't really care what it is. Cheap and fun is all that counts for me. This is my experiance with them, in the area I live. You may be different. Being on here, you probably are. You are a Car Guy. I realise my above statement came across as a personal jab. I apologise.

Now that you mention it, I've never seen a POV (privately owned vehicle) F-car at an open track day, either. Nor a POV Lambo, nor a POV MacLaren. I HAVE seen a number of POV Lotus Elise and Exige at open track days, however. Would I be wrong to assume something about the types of personalities who choose Lotus over F, Lambo, Mac, etc.???

WildScotsRacing wrote: Now that you mention it, I've never seen a POV (privately owned vehicle) F-car at an open track day, either. Nor a POV Lambo, nor a POV MacLaren. I HAVE seen a number of POV Lotus Elise and Exige at open track days, however. Would I be wrong to assume something about the types of personalities who choose Lotus over F, Lambo, Mac, etc.???

I've seen plenty of Ferraris at track days. I know a guy who went from doing track days in his Miata to track days in his 430 after his company went public. Lots of McLarens at track days around here. Lambos do seem a bit less common, though.

A Lotus, even an Exige S, costs less than a third of what the cheapest McLaren or a Ferrari does. Correspondingly there are a lot fewer of them out there, and owners are more worried about getting them damaged at track days.

I think part of the reason they may seem rare at track days is that the Ferrari club runs a bunch of Ferrari-only track days, where they can go without having to mingle with the lesser cars. :)

Most exotic car I've seen at a track day is an R32 GTR

In reply to codrus:

Ferarri club events, didn't consider that. At least PCA will usually let other marks run at their events...

Where are you guys running where you don't see exotics at track days? Maybe it's my proximity to Wall St. but there are two or more of them at any place I go. Ferrari guys even drive them in anger occasionally. THe Lambo crowd... not so much. They are more like Harley guys in that they sit around and rev them up but only drive to the next bar.

There are none by me probably because of the small tracks that don't give you much room to stretch a supercar's legs and the crappy roads that will break those legs right off. There are plenty of rally cars (and some track cars) with supercar money in them though, including some ex-WRC cars, but you don't see those at track days

Actually I know that there are no supercars in the country...closest thing is a garage queen Diablo kit car with a BMW V12 engine.

Huckleberry wrote: Where are you guys running where you don't see exotics at track days? Maybe it's my proximity to Wall St. but there are two or more of them at any place I go. Ferrari guys even drive them in anger occasionally. THe Lambo crowd... not so much. They are more like Harley guys in that they sit around and rev them up but only drive to the next bar.

Yeah, I think location has a lot to do with it. Being in the Bay Area, I see a lot of guys with tech stock money at the track. There was a McLaren F1 amongst the GT350s and Cobras at a Shelby Club event at Laguna Seca a few years ago, for example. At other events I've seen P1s, Atoms, Radicals, even a BAC Mono.

WildScotsRacing wrote: In reply to codrus: Ferarri club events, didn't consider that. At least PCA will usually let other marks run at their events...

PCA lets the common folk run with them? I did not know that.....not sure I want to re-up my membership now.

Cotton wrote:

WildScotsRacing wrote: In reply to codrus: Ferarri club events, didn't consider that. At least PCA will usually let other marks run at their events...

PCA lets the common folk run with them? I did not know that.....not sure I want to re-up my membership now.

Most of the clubs allow anything to run. The local Ferrari club does too on occaison - but only if they don't fill it and then they accept other Italian cars first. So, if you have an Alfa you have a much better chance than say... a Mustang. Except for instructors. I've run an E36 race car with a lot of the clubs.

Huckleberry wrote: Most of the clubs allow anything to run. The local Ferrari club does too on occaison - but only if they don't fill it and then they accept other Italian cars first. So, if you have an Alfa you have a much better chance than say... a Mustang. Except for instructors. I've run an E36 race car with a lot of the clubs.

The Shelby Club runs one event a year at which they require all cars to be Ford or powered by Ford. There's an ongoing joke about whether or not a Miata with an Escort GT valve cover on it counts -- it's got a big blue oval right there, so... :)