white male consumer

As par for the course, this post is coming several weeks after the fact. As hinted to in various other posts and Twitter, I was able to make it down to Monticello recently to drive the fairly new track there. Billed on their website as “a luxury automotive lifestyle resort and track located 90 minutes from Manhattan,” the drive for me was nearly three hours and I had to be out the door by 4:30 in the morning. (Hitting the sack by 9 the preceding night made it bearable.) If there had been any incidents, you would have heard it by now, so rest assured up front that I had a blast and that the MINI performed without fault.

Monticello Motor Club (MMC) was conceived as an exclusive members-only millionaire’s resort, but for the past year or two they’ve allowed the rabble in to drive. This event was with SCDA, my first outing with them. We were able to get a dozen or more MINIs out this particular day, qualifying for a 10% discount – unfortunately there were only two of us in the novice run group. I spent a bit of time beforehand studying videos and course walkthroughs, so I was fairly comfortable with the track before arrival. Machinery was varied, but with slow corners at regular intervals, the MINI was not outgunned and just about the only car I regularly had to point by was the Ford GT. There were the usual suspects – late model BMWs and Porsches – slowing the pace, and I spent more time than not following in trains (you get one guy who won’t point by an overtaking car, and soon you get a bunched up line of aggravated quicker cars – choo choo!). But never was it an infuriatingly slow pace for long, and there are enough passing zones (or even the option of coasting through the pits) so that my blood never boiled. And heck – I’m fully cognizant of the fact that once I’m into the upper level run groups, these guys with twice the horsepower will know how to use it, and I’ll no longer be the one passing. For now, I enjoy my David v. Goliath moments!

With 20 turns planted in the 3.8 mile full course, MMC is technical and demands that you compromise earlier corners to maximize speeds onto the straights. Speeds by the end of the long back straight match or exceed those of the back straight at Watkins Glen; my speedometer was ticking past the 120 mark, but that’s suspect considering another MINI with more experience, better tires, and data logging showing max speeds in the low 120s also. Course maps of the corkscrew at the end of the long straight don’t do it justice – it’s a quick, right – left – right as you blindly crest the hill, bombing over the curbing and keeping your inputs smooth, as warranted by the elevation changes. I had a wheel or two off here once or twice and have to say it’s probably my favorite element! The hairpin before the next short straight is probably my least favorite, mostly since it’s arduously slow, requiring 2nd gear, and I was early here all day long. I also crunched the succeeding 2nd to 3rd shift twice; it happens as you’re WOT, drifting back to the right, and getting it into gear was taking a tenth of a second longer than my brain would allow.

I remember someone over the course of the day describing MMC as if the designers had a list of different elements they wanted to include, and went about incorporating them as the plot of land dictated. This ends up being a track that’s fast, slow, and everything in between, at different spots. This isn’t a negative in my mind, and I can’t wait to go back! Track Time Photos was there, as was another photographer with some photos included in the SCDA recap (first photo is of me, looking far, far – maybe too far – ahead through a corner).

The Kumho XS held up admirably through the day. My butt still has the imprint of absolute grip from my Kumho V710 autocross tires, but the XS give good feedback and feel the same from start to finish. I might be able to find slightly better pressures – been keeping them at 36psi hot, which looks spot-on as far as rollover is concerned. Brakes were similarly rock solid, and I believe my pads will make it through two more days at the Glen, no sweat. Rotors are a little chewed up and I’ll be watching them. I kept an eye on water temps via my Scangauge, and I was surprised to find temperatures barely above those of daily driving! With a 70/30 water / antifreeze mix, and half a bottle of Water Wetter, the car sits in the low 190*s from day to day, and wasn’t much above 200* while on the track! Ambient temps were comfortable and the tiny little stock intercooler was doing its job. This is another indication that autocross is harder on the car in some respects, since water temps were higher at the autocross May 23rd. More to come on that, later.