World Class Driving Review

In October and November of 2008, I participated in two World Class Driving events. The first one took place in Sedona Arizona. I can’t imagine a more scenic place to drive five exotic supercars.
I stayed at the Sedona Hilton, which is where all the participants were to meet, and where all the supercars were parked.

After a catered breakfast and a short driver meeting, we were led outside to the parking lot. Everyone was given a list showing the driver rotations. Since there were five cars, and, I estimate, fifteen to twenty people who would be driving, we would each be driving and riding as a passenger in either the lead or chase vehicle. If someone was there by himself or herself, someone who wasn’t driving could ride along as a passenger in one of the supercars instead of the lead or chase vehicle.

There were two instructors for this event, Didier Theys, and Roland Linder.

Didier Theys is a two times winner of the Daytona 24 Hours, a winner of the Sebring 12 Hours, started in 3 Indy 500’s, and the 2002 Grand Am champion. He also finished 3rd in the last 24 Hours of LeMans.

Roland Linder has 4 podium finishes in Porsches, including GT1 and GT2, and also McLaren M6.

We would be driving in a convoy, the supercars sandwiched in between the lead and chase vehicles. No passing would be allowed.

The five vehicles for this event consisted of an Audi R8, a Mercedes McLaren SLR, a Ferrari F430 Scuderia, a Lamborghini Superleggera, and a Nissan GTR. You might ask why a Nissan GTR was included with this illustrious group of exotics. But, the fact is the Nissan GTR can hold it’s own against any of them.

We spent half a day driving through some incredibly beautiful scenery. The WCD staff did a first class job of choosing the route we would be taking. Whenever we would stop to change cars, if we were in a populated area, we would find ourselves surrounded by onlookers. It was like being a rock star.

The most popular car was the Ferrari F430 Scuderia. It was like driving a racecar. It is a relatively stripped down version of the regular F430. I felt as if I was one with this car. It was almost as if the car could read my mind. And the incredible exhaust note! I kept downshifting just so I could listen to it. If there is driving in Heaven, they’re driving F430 Scuderias.

The Audi R8 was, to me at least, the prettiest car of the group. At 420 hp, it was also the slowest vehicle. However, it was very comfortable and, if you could afford one, would make a good daily driver. You can’t say that about too many supercars.

The Lamborghini Superleggera was, without a doubt, the most outrageous looking car of the group. It was a real head turner. The orange color didn’t hurt either.

The Mercedes McLaren SLR was the most powerful car of the group, having 671 hp. It was the one car that we weren’t allowed to drive alone, I think, for insurance reasons. It has a price tag of $460 K.
When anyone drove this car, they were accompanied by Roland Linder.

Last, but not least, there was the Nissan GTR. What a pleasant surprise. It has all-wheel drive and weighs about two tons. You wouldn’t know it was that heavy when you drove it. It was very responsive and very quick.

All of the cars had paddle shifters. Up until this event, I always felt that a true sports car had to have a manual transmission. But, after driving these five supercars, I now think that paddle shifters are the way to go. The next car I get is going to have them.

The event ended back at the Sedona Hilton with a catered lunch.

The second event took place in Bandera Texas, about fifty miles northwest of San Antonio. The experience was incredible, just like the one in Sedona. The only significant difference, apart from the change in scenery, was that the Nissan GTR had been replaced by a Maserati GranTurismo. It was the slowest car in the group. I thought it felt similar to the Audi R8. It could easily be used as a daily driver. It’s not so much a racecar as it is a touring car. It was very comfortable and also a very attractive car. It also had paddle shifters.

Those two experiences were absolutely incredible. World Class Driving is definitely a first class act.

Having completed two of the regular WCD events, I decided it was time to drive these exotic cars the way they were meant to be driven.

On January 9, 2009, I participated in the World Class Driving Xtreme event. It took place at an airfield near Miami. The airfield has an 11,000 ft runway. The object of this event was to either break the 200 mph barrier, or get as close to 200 as possible.

This event lasted all day. It started out at the Miami Airport Hilton. Since we had to all meet at the Hilton at 7:30 am Friday, I decided to stay there.

There were vans available to take everyone to the airstrip located about forty minutes from the hotel. Some people chose to drive their cars instead. I didn’t, and at the end of the day, was glad I chose not to, because I was tired.

Upon arriving at the airstrip, we were served a most welcomed catered breakfast. After checking in, we were all given a pair of Piloti driving shoes, which I found to be very comfortable.

Following that, there was a driver meeting that included the introduction of the instructors. There were six of them.

Didier Theys and Roland Linder were both there.

In addition, Vanina Ickx, the daughter of Belgian Formula One driver Jacky Ickx was there. She is racing a prototype in the European LeMans Series, which is related to the ALMS (American LeMans Series). She told me that the car she’s driving pulls enough g’s to cause tunnel vision, similar to what a fighter pilot experiences. She’s hoping to get a ride in a Formula One car.

Next, there was Jan Heylen. He is a veteran of many race series and expects to get a ride in the Indy Racing League.

Finally, there was Guy and Gregory Trigaux, both of them veterans in multiple race series. Guy is also an aerobatic pilot.

There were six supercars available, the Audi R8, the Ferrari F430, the Mercedes McLaren SLR, the Lamborghini LP560, the Lamborghini Superleggera, and the Ferrari 599GTB.

There was a lot of media coverage for this event.

Greg Anderson of Car and Driver was there. He took part and will be writing a review which will run in the April issue of the magazine. In addition, Greg will be writing a Robb Report Gallery feature, which will include photos.

Tanner Foust, the host of “Supercars Exposed”, and producer John Alexander also were participants. The episode covering the WCD Xtreme experience will be one of the first to be aired starting in March of 2009.

Steve Cole Smith of Autoweek will also be writing a review. It will appear in three to four weeks, along with photos. Steve will also be writing a review for the Orlando Sun Sentinel, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, and eight other major newspapers across the country.

Finally, correspondent Jason Harper will be writing a national news feature on his experience for both Bloomberg News and Bloomberg News Magazine. The stories will run in three to four weeks and April respectively.

We were broken up into three groups. There would be three different sessions.

The first session consisted of running laps on a small road course that had been set up. The purpose of this session was to become familiar with braking, cornering, and accelerating out of a corner. This was not a high speed course. We drove the Ferrari F430 and the Audi R8.

The second session dealt with high speed cornering. The reason for this was because it would be necessary to build up speed coming out of the corner leading onto the runway. It would be the only way to have any chance of reaching 200 mph by the time you reached the point where you had to slow down. The other cars were used for this session.

After everyone had completed the first two sessions, lunch was served. This gave us a chance to relax and assimilate the information we had just received.

After lunch it was down to the nitty gritty. We started doing practice runs down the runway to become familiar with the cars at higher speeds.

In between sessions we were all given a ride in a Koenigsegg CCX. This car was provided to WCD by Universal Autosports. We weren’t allowed to drive it. It’s an incredible car that can hold it’s own with the Bugatti Veyron.

Riding as a passenger, I reached 216 mph. If the runway had been long enough, this car could reach close to 250 mph. The other cars were slow by comparison.

There were three cars in the group capable of reaching 200 mph, the Mercedes McLaren SLR, the Lamborghini LP 560, and the Ferrari 599 GTB.

There were two sets of cones set up on the runway. The first set indicated the point at which we had to lift off the throttle and break. After slowing down to 160 mph, we would downshift at the second set of cones.
Finally, we would turn right and head back up a feeder road. The trip back took a lot longer at ordinary highway speed.

The first car I drove was the Lamborghini. I made a couple of runs and managed to hit 190 mph. Not bad for the first time driving at that sort of speed.

Next, I drove the Ferrari. I got out of the corner leading onto the runway really well. Unfortunately, I upshifted a little early, managing to reach only 199 mph because I lost some rpms. This would end up being my top speed for the day.

I finished up with the McLaren. I had already driven this car twice during the regular WCD events. It is a really twitchy car with extremely sensitive steering. I remember thinking that I could never attempt a 200 mph run in that car. In spite of this, I managed to reach 198 mph. The faster you go in the McLaren the more sensitive the steering becomes.

After everyone was done driving, we were served dinner and awarded plaques showing our highest speed, both driving and riding as a passenger in the Koenigsegg CCX.

It was an absolutely incredible experience and I think I will do it again, possibly in April.

If anyone is interested in either the regular WCD experience or the extreme experience, be sure and visit World Class Driving or call them at:

1 877 597-6403 (Direct office line)

1 302 383-0083 (Amy Tilley)

Absolutely incredible review! Wow, that Xtreme event sounds amazing!! I had no idea they were doing that 200 MPH experience. Also very cool to read about all the press that were there - Supercars Exposed is one of my favorite shows, so it would have been neat to meet Tanner Foust .

Do you have any pics from the event? If so, please post them.

I think I may have to get in on this Xtreme event I see one of the April dates is already sold out. Which one were you thinking about attending?

__________________
"Look, when I was a kid, I inhaled frequently. That was the point." - Barack Obama

Ramon, I just signed up for the xtreme event on april 5. If you're thinking of trying it, I recommend that you sign up soon before the event is sold out.

If you bring your car to the airfield instead of riding in one of the vans, you will be able to find out the top speed of your car if you're interested and haven't already done so.

Yeah, looks like they don't have another event until Dec/09 after that. Guess I'll be having a little chat with the fiancee tonight...

__________________
"Look, when I was a kid, I inhaled frequently. That was the point." - Barack Obama

Thanks. I'd be coming from Toronto, though, so I'll probably fly in for the weekend.

Question - what is there weather policy? Is it rain or shine? Do they still do the top speed runs in less than ideal weather?

__________________
"Look, when I was a kid, I inhaled frequently. That was the point." - Barack Obama

When I asked someone about this , I was told it would be up to the instructors to determine if it was safe enough to continue. There have only been 2 extreme events so far, and the problem hasn’t come up. If it wasn’t safe to continue they would try to continue the following day, weather permitting. If this wasn’t possible, they will issue a full or partial credit, depending on how far into the program everyone was. They don’t issue refunds within 30 days of an event. Hope this helps.

By the way, I didnt take any pictures at the event. If you want to see some videos, go out to You Tube and do a search on World Class Driving Xtreme. There is a video of the first event lasting about 8 minutes. For the first event, some participants drove the Ferrari F430, which isn't capable of reaching 200 mph. They didn't use that vehicle for the 200 mph attempt for the January event.

Here are some pictures of some of the exotic cars I drove. These pictures are from the 2 regular WCD events I did.

Ramon, I e-mailed you some larger versions.

Attached Thumbnails

         

Got 'em, thanks! Great pics. Okay, I think I am going to sign up for the April 5 event in the morning. If so, do you want me to mention your name or anything? Will you get a credit for the referral?

__________________
"Look, when I was a kid, I inhaled frequently. That was the point." - Barack Obama

Ramon, yes, I will get a referal. See the e-mail with the info.

If you want to see the air field, if you have Google Earth, do a search for

Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport

It's 2 miles long and can accomodate jets. It's also an emergency landing strip for the space shuttle. It was intended to be the largest airport in the country, but environmental concerns stopped the process and only one runway was built. It's in the Everglades.

I got the satellite image from Google Maps. Looks very cool, although I'm glad to see there isn't an alligator pond off the end of the runway.

Your review said that you round a corner to carry momentum onto the runway. Do you go East to West or the other way? Or, do they vary it, depending on prevailing winds?

__________________
"Look, when I was a kid, I inhaled frequently. That was the point." - Barack Obama