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| - Fantastic!!!
( If you plan to join, give them my Ambassador Reference Code: 2b46d66b )
Where else can you drive 5 exotic sports cars on a tour of a local scenic town?
Where else do you get to drive an exotic in the rain? Yes, many owners of these vehicles only take it out on special occassion or in perfect weather days.
Where else you can you buddy along with professionals in the automotive racing, who's been on teams for Andretti Green (IRL), worked in pit crews at the Indy 500, been part of other racing organizations or even started their own race teams?
Where else can you be led by former (& current) race car driver, Didier Theys?
For 2007, slide yourself into a Ferrari F430, Lamborghini Gallardo Spider, Mercedes McLaren SLR, Porsche GT3, & Ford GT.
My event set out from picturesque NAPA CALIFORNIA, on a soon-to-rain day. The morning started out dry, but as the afternoon went on, light sprinkles dampened some fun, raining my parade for a top-down Gallardo Spider drive.
You are professionally greeted, today at The Meritage Resort. Quick registration, get a lanyard & WCD cap. Walk into the meeting room for some breakfast & a briefing. Meet with owner & organizer Jean Paul. Introduction to the staff, & giving an overview as to the rules & schedule.
They run two groups per time session, 10 drivers total. You switch off between driving & riding in one of the chase vehicles: Chrysler 300C and Dodge Durango.
The Napa event only ran two sessions, morning & afternoon. I was in the morning group, got there at 9:30a for the 10:30a session. They wanted folks to arrive early since this was the season opener, & you know, to iron out the kinks, so to speak.
There are some rough edges to this day, more later...; otherwise professional crew & awesome experience.
I found out about this organization in 2006, but deferred signing up due to the choice of vehicles they had & the price was more than this current year. Given that 2007 was a new season, brand new 2007 model cars (yes, a few hundred miles when I got to drive them) & a lower price, plus I was going to be in Napa for a prior dinner engagement, I opened my wallet & went for the experience.
Minor reservation issue, got flopped around, but was offered a comp guest. One of my friends going up for the dinner, got luck & she got to ride shotgun in all but the SLR, she became my videographer and papperazzi.
One excitement & unforgettable by a few was when the CHP were hidden away with radar gun in hand. Three cars managed to get pulled over, but only received warnings. Can you guess which three?
Once we returned, we were greeted by a gourmet luncheon (at 4pm, yes we were very running late). Got to share stories, see our digital photos as well as CDs that were burnt onsite while we ate. We also received a certificate & a "trophy": a 3D etching of the vehicle we enjoyed the most.
There's a promo before end of May; register for any 2007 cities, they'll kick in Piloti Prototipo shoes.
Here's my suggestion for improvement:
* First of the season, a touch disorganized, but not by much. Otherwise they have their act together.
* Need a little more explaination to the cars, maybe open the hood & speak about each car we're about to drive
* Need to give some tips in relation to the weather condition; ie. headlights, wipers
* Need to have contact cell # of the group leader, in case we're at a light or need to have the group tighten up. The chase car's aren't enough, people will get lost, too many cars with street traffic/ traffic lights/stop signs/ etc. Better yet, get walkies for all cars.
* Pace cars need to have some identifiable mark on the trunk, stickers on the side aren't visible if you're right behind, & a 300C can blend in and be mistaken.
* Need to give us some idea where we're going, otherwise we're just headless follow the leader.
* Not rush the day, the day started off fine, but as we got behind schedule, they seem to rush us along... less time to take photos, get to know the car we just got into. Maybe they're scheduling is too tight, 3 sessions with 2 groups are too much to handle?
* Not many bathroom breaks, you better go before you start, & hold it.
* The 10:30a session miss lunch, by the time you really eat it's like 2-3p, & closing in on dinner. Plan ahead if you select this time.
* Felt a bit bad for the 2pm crew on this day, they didnt' start the drive until close to 3:30p when we arrived; plus the chase car drivers, they didn't really get to eat since they had to go back out & follow the PM session.
* More communication before the day of event, we didn't really get a formal letter or event address. We just got an email to arrive at a certain time & the name of the Resort. I ended up having to Google that resort, look up the address, etc. Some of my other emails wasn't promptly replied; then again, I'm sure they're all busy gearing up to the first event. So I'll let it slide.
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