Thought I'd share some photos of my track days last weekend. These are just a few of my favorites. They had a professional photographer out there and he took over 200 photos of my car alone.

I was at Motorsports Ranch in Cresson, TX with the DriversEdge. My first time on a track so it was a 2 day high performance driving class. It was sooooooo much fun. And I certainly got learn the car a lot better. Hope you enjoy.

 

How did your brakes and tires fair? Did you push it aggressively?

 

Brakes did very well. The instructor told me I wasn't breaking hard enough and wanted to see me go into the ABS.

I ran on my P-Zeros which were at the end of their life so I wasn't to worried about the tires. The right rear pretty much turned into a slick. I had a set of the new Michelin PSS 4S waiting for me Monday morning.

 

Just wondering how many tracks can you do before needing new brakes and tires? I have the super Performance brakes standard on the R.

 

That's awesome!

 

Ah...I see the sickness taking hold....a wonderful way to spice up your day. As has been said before....time well wasted.
The track looks interesting, a bit of up hill, down dale and plenty of run off.
First of the year here will be late April...still snow on the ground. It's time that ended.

 

Those are great shots. Alas, we're still waiting for spring in Canada

 

I skipped to your pictures, saw a couple bluebonnets and thought it must be Texas. Went back and read the post - yep! Looks like so much fun.

 

Yes..that track is awesome !!! I have taken their drivers edge course and had a blast running their Lotus. It has a really nice uphill that scares the crap out of you when you attack it at speed because you can't see the other side...even after a few laps, I was still hesitating to open up over that hill.

Canadairjet....Great pics of your F Type in action !!!

 

That looks like great fun! Some nice pics of a beautifull IRR F-type

Thanks for sharing!

 

Does the car (R or V8S) go into heat soak when ran on the track? Ever taken it out in Texas summers?

I used frequent MSR Houston with a Mustang Boss 302 and am trying to decide between FT and Z06.

 

Nice, the V6 with 6 speed must be very engaging. Yeah, I'd say you are hooked.

I drive the V8 R AWD and its a hoot - a real track hooligan, but AWD keeps the back end from wiggling too much. I am sooooo much looking forward to the next track day - end of April at the famed Barber Motorsports Park.

 

Thanks for all the compliments fellas....it was certainly worth the $375.

The car performed amazing. Never showed any signs of getting hot or overheating. My only concern was with the electronic parking brake as it automatically engages when you turn the car off. I couldn't think of anyway to keep it turn off so the brakes could cool down after each track session.

So after class I would go and turn the battery on and turn the parking break off and sit in the car for a bit. Anyone know of any other way?

I bet that R AWD would be outrageous on the track.

 

Excellent pictures, thanks for sharing...

 

How do you like your Jag over the Porshes you have owned. There were plenty of Porsche guys at the track and a few of them asked me about the Jag.

I tell every Porsche owner 'One of the things I love about the Jag the most is that it's not a Porsche'.

 

i am told that the ebrake with automatically NOT engage if the brakes are too hot - at least on my car.

I think a Best Practice is to take advantage of your last lap as a cool down lap and avoid using your brakes (downshift or otherwise slow the car). Also i allow the car to idle for about 5 minutes after i drive into the paddock before shutting it down completely.

 

My only track experience has been in the F-type, and I think the V6S is an absolute riot on the track.

Actually, the EPB does multiple reclamps if it thinks the brakes are hot. The auto doesn't automatically apply the EPB, and I was careful not to at the track, though I can see why the 6-speed would.

This is from 2014, so auto only, but I would think the 6-speed would do this too.

 

Yes, when the checkered flag came out we all slowed down to a more reasonable pace to let the breaks cool. It was 8 track sessions over 2 days so I was trying to let the brakes cool as much as possible.

At the end of the day tho the car performed perfectly. (More so then the driver).

 

Right, we always did a cool-down lap, with a goal of not touching the brakes.

 

I've only driven a Porsche Cayman 981 model on a track, and the Cayman is really an incredibly good track car. Its' combination of mid-engine balance, light weight, and Porsche engineering make it perhaps the best track car of all time. Of course, there are many other very good track cars too.

I think at the end of the day, Porsche must be given credit for building a car that holds together over time running it hard on the track. They do have some failures, but so much less than most others. Weight is the #1 enemy of cars on the track and Porsche has figured out a way to keep the weight down yet build a car that will hold up both on the street and the track.

The Jag has come to me at just the right time. I've become a more competent driver, and as such I can put to good use of all the benefits of driving the high horsepower car, while at the same time I feel comfortable managing its weaknesses too.

The Jag F-Type AWD is simply a hoot to drive on the track - its definitely more fun, particularly the unlimited (seems to me) power, the sound, and its turn in ability. Having that HUGE SuperCharged V8 over the front wheels really enters like on rails. I think if Porsche engineers would get a hold of it, they would be impressed. But, they would put smaller tires on the fronts as they like the rear to grip more than the front for safety reasons. When fronts slip, it slows the car. When rears slip, its "Oh Shxt"

To me, it is unfortunate that Jag got so much press on the launch of the NON-AWD F-Type as it does not perform as well on the track. The updated AWD really tames a track - its impressive. I think of the AWD as a "super nanny". My back end might wiggle some, but it comes back in line quickly.

Here are my best times on my home track of NOLA so you can compare the Jag to the Porsche in real terms:

1. Porsche GT4 with Dunlop Race Maxx tires 2:01
2. Jaguar F-Type R AWD w Continental ContiForce (slightly wet) - 2:09
3. Porsche Cayman GTs w Goodyear Asym II - 2:11
4. Porsche Cayman S with Pirelli P-Zero - 2:15

What I enjoyed most about the Porsche Cayman on the track was its ability to close the gap on the turns so that I could get right behind much more powerful cars such as Corvettes and Mustangs who were forced to give my slower Cayman a pass by as we exited onto the long straight such that it nullified their higher horsepower.

With the Jag, it closes so fast on the straight that even if I'm behind a lighter car when I come out onto the straight, no worries the Jag has the power to run 'em down. Thats really fun too!