Record Setting Fasted Factory Five Car

[Dave 53]

After getting rained out of Laguna Seca last weekend, yesterday, I got my 818 out at the brand new Buttonwillow CA Circuit track (the old track is now called Classic). It was the first day open to the public. Out of 166 drivers, only 7 had driven it before. Which means I currently hold the track record for any Factory Five car of any model! Kind of interesting all of us learning a new track together.

Fun track. Flows nicely. But, there's a wall at the end of the straight into turn 1. It protects the track entrance. Would have been nice if they made the track entrance road further out. A couple of hundred feet would eliminate a lot of damage and injury. Turn 2 is banked, so if you go off on entry or mid turn, you're getting seriously airborne. And if you go off at the exit of turn 2, you're hitting a flag stand. Seems like a couple of serious design issues so I'm anxious to find out if any changes will be made.

No track day is without some sort of drama and it was the clutch. Midway through a session, it started slipping. I figured out the peddle adjustment was too tight as if I was slightly pressing the peddle. Made the adjustment, but as the day went on, it started to loosen making shifting difficult because it wasn't completely disengaging. First too tight, then too loose. The lock nut on the adjustment rod was always tight, so....?

(The microphone came unclipped from behind the seat)