V.I.R. Track Day with THSCC

We're all for making your car look good, lowering it beyond function for the sake of fun and aesthetics just because you can, but sometimes staring at your car in a parking lot gets to be- how shall we say...anticlimactic? Sometimes you want an adrenaline rush from a sweeping right hander at 80mph instead of the adrenaline rush you get after a butt-puckering smash into an overpass transition on the highway on your way to work. Sometimes it's fun to bolt on the lightest wheels and the widest tires instead of the heaviest wheels and the narrowest tires. A day at the track is not unlike any standard car show, the only difference being that once you show up there with your car you actually get to use it.

The overall travel and lodging experience is very similar to any of the major shows we attend. We wake up early prep the cars, load the trailer. We fill the cooler with beer and water, pack snacks, plan our route. This last trip up to V.I.R. our trailer was our lodging, offering shelter and even power- not four star accommodations but certainly sufficient. Best of all you are only steps away from your car in the paddock with no commute in the morning. Just wake up and drive. If roughing it is not your thing, Virginia International Raceway has more luxurious offerings as it is self purported to be a "country club" for racing. We would find it hard to argue with as the facilities there are quite impressive. There are Villas for rent that overlook the track and for some that is better than beachfront property. There is also an awesome karting track and skeet shooting range just around the corner should you want to mix things up a bit. The track itself is broken up into multiple different courses generally during a recreational weekend: North Course, South Course, and Patriot Course. When a major event comes through, North and South Course are combined into one larger "Full Course". This past weekend we had the pleasure of testing our VWs out on North Course putting the little hatchbacks through their paces over two days and multiple sessions of full throttle driving.

In attendance was of course our MK1 Rabbit VR6 Project as well as a few friends with their: MK3 2.0 ABA, 2 x 83' Rabbit, and '95 M3. This driving event was sponsored by Tar Heel Sports Car Club based out of NC which consisted of a variety of vehicles, however a surprising amount of them were European. Several late model M3s, a few Porsches, Minis, Alfas and even the occasional Lotus were out stretching their gears. Our VR6 Rabbit, despite burning up 30 gallons of fuel, made it through the weekend without any mechanical issues to speak of. While we are still dialing in the balance with brake bias and spring rates we are definitely headed in the right direction as the MK1 was able to keep up and hold its own with some very capable cars and drivers out there on track. Even more surprising was just how well our friend Kevin's MK3 ABA 2.not-so-slow performed on track. He has proven that the JOM Blue Line Coilovers are very capable when pushed hard, where before we would typically bill them as street only. Kevin was very pleased with how his car handled and he was even promoted to driving solo as his instructor felt he needed nothing more than just time behind the wheel of the little Golf. All an in all it was a great weekend of driving and learning. We are looking forward to visiting a few more tracks coming up this summer including a return trip to V.I.R. If you see us out there feel free to come stop by and say hello!