arrive until December, why not get me something for now and let me have the certificate thing for Christmas or something. Well, I guess my whining and whimpering was too much for them, so they relented and added a trip to Las Vegas with the entire family if I would just STOP THAT WHINING. (I still got it). I was actually excited about the possibility of going south where it was sure to be warmer in December.
On December 11th, Koalaty and I arrived in Las Vegas to a record-breaking cold snap. On our first night, a record breaking two inches of snow blanketed Sin City, snapping off tree limbs and knocking over palm trees – man, what a bunch of wimpy trees! It was the first snow storm they’d had since 1979 and it coincided with our arrival – Koalaty was worried about her plans.
On the 19th, we were picked up at Caesar’s Palace for my grandson’s first limo ride – it was a stretch Hummer. After driving down the strip like so many celebrities, he drove us out to the freeway turned north and drove out of town. I was clueless until I looked out the window as we turned and headed into the parking lot of the Las Vegas Speedway – ding, ding, ding. SURPRISE! Happy Birthday, Grandpa!
To make a long story short, they logged us in, suited me up, and took me into the drivers’ where my Mario Andretti Driving Instructor, Reuben Ibenez, put a video tape into a player while we talked. Before he even started the video, he said, “You already sound like you know what you are doing. It sounds like that game of yours is pretty good. What was it called again?”
“Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. It had everything except the seat-of-the-pants G forces that you get when you stuff a good sports car into a tight curve.”
“Let’s go out to the track and see just how real it is,” he said, then he loaded us into a 9 passenger Ford van and we went out to the Road Course – driving right past the speedway. Once we were on the road course, he spoke again, “We are going to go around the course to show you all of the braking and turn cones, then we will run a lap at half speed.”
OK, Reuben. I am impressed. You took us around the track with a few heavy leans and a lot of noise from a set of protesting Goodyears. I was giggling like a Girl Scout.
After we did a walk-around on a blue BMW Z4 that was outfitted for GT racing, he helped me buckle in to the driver’s seat (4 point setup), then he climbed into the passenger seat and plugged us into a common radio so we could communicate. During the orientation lap, I could easily spot the cones so I started a feeling out process with the car. I pushed it hard into one of the tight curves and it started pushing a little, so I let up to about half throttle and the front end squatted a little, the car turned in nicely, and I could even make the back end step out a little. “Damn, this feels just like the Z4 in GT5! Let’s see just what it really feels like.”
At the end of the first lap I came through turns 9, 10 and 11 (S curves) with hardly a wiggle of the steering and onto the front straight at full throttle in 3rd gear. Just as the engine hit the rev limiter, I hit the brakes hard and turned into Turn 1 (right turn, about 80 degrees), then went into a short chute into Turn 2 (a tight U turn) then into Turn 3 (a gentle left sweeper) where I was again full throttle through a straight section that went through a right hand Turn 4 hard on the brakes almost as if it were straight and into Turn 5, a double apex hairpin that ran me out onto the rumble strips into another short chute and into Turn 6, another tight, right hairpin which pours out through a gentle right hand sweeper, Turn 7, and onto the back straight. Hard onto the brakes into Turn 8 which turns around about 120 degrees in a very tight turn, hard on the throttle while I moved to the left of the short straight and onto the rumble strips to set up for the Ess curves leading onto the front straight.
“Go straight through the Ess curves as if it is part of the front straight,” Reuben said.
I turned hard right into Turn 9, went full throttle, and bumped the curbing on the inside apexes of Turns 9, 10, and 11 – straight through to the front straight where I could see Koalaty standing up on the Flag Stand at the Start Finish with the video camera. As I came out onto the front straight, my instructor nervously reached down and tightened his lap belts. After an especially aggressive run through the infield turns, I came out of Turn 6 full throttle through Turn 7 and onto the back straight where my instructor again reached for his safety belts, this time he tightened his shoulder harnesses.
When I came through the Esses full tilt again and nicked the cone that was sitting on the rumble strip at the entrance of the front straight, sending it spinning into the infield. As we shot out onto the front straight, Reuben raised his arms high into the air above the roll bars and yelled, “EEEEEEEHAH!!”
I guess he knew he was in for an E-Ticket ride or else we were going into the gravel, for a spin, or topsy-turvy somewhere around the track. On each lap, I pushed the car a little harder, and each time I was into Turn 4, Reuben would say, “Wait for it. Be patient.”
For several laps, I didn’t’ know to what he was referring until the last lap, when I realized that I had been turning in at the last braking cone instead of at the turn cone. After the session, Reuben took me into the track map on a white board and said, “There is only one place where you were losing any time – right here at the entrance of this turn,” pointing to the exit of Turn 4 and entrance of Turn 5.
I acknowledged that I had just caught the mistake myself then he added, “By the way, you are already turning laps faster than the other two instructors.”
After a short break, I got back into the Z4 and did a solo session, flogging the car to its limits, just as I had done so many times in Gran Turismo 4 and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. At each corner, I was struck by the reality of the situation – it felt just like the Z4s in the games. I tried inducing understeer and oversteer using the throttle and steering inputs, and each effort was rewarded with an expected result as it did in the game. When I rolled the throttle on at the exit of the turns, the back end would squat a little and the car would settle in for the hard acceleration. When I nailed the brakes, the car stooped a little, leveled out and shaved off speed in such a familiar way, I tired to imagine it without the G-forces – just like the cars in the game. Polyphony Digital had gotten it right – hoo hah!
After my stint in the BMW Z4, the instructor said I was ready for the next stage, the Formula 2000 race car. He warned me, “If you push this car just a little too hard, it will punish you. It is geared real tall, so you have to slip the clutch very carefully and give it a lot of throttle to get it off the line.” He pointed to the lever on the right side of the cockpit and said, “This is the gear shift. It is a 4 speed, but you can only use the first two gears on this track today. We have to limit you to 2nd gear.”
I understood the need for the limitations, but I was disappointed. These people don’t know who is getting into their race car. I was ready. I stepped into the cockpit and was immediately struck by the tiny size of the well and seat. I tucked my legs up into the front of the car until I felt the pedals – all flat metal plates – all on about the same plane. I worked each of them until they felt slightly familiar and I could move my feet between them without really thinking about it. I pushed the Start button and the 2 liter Ford engine roared to life, sounding a little more aggressive than any Pinto I’d ever heard. I feathered the accelerator and slipped the clutch, not knowing where it would engage.
Sputter – silence. I killed the darn thing! I touched the Start button again and it fired up nicely. I burped the throttle a couple of times, raised the RPM, slipped the clutch out.
Sputter – silence. AAARRRRGGHH! I looked up and Koalaty had the video camera aimed at me. How embarassing. I looked and sounded like an amateur. I restarted the car and this time I gave it enough gas to get the darn thing rolling down the pit-out road. When I got to the end of pit-out, I looked back up the front straight to make sure it was clear, then I was off; yes this thing is geared REAL tall. II went through turn 2 while still in 1st gear, then rolled the throttle on at the exit, then into 2nd gear as I exited Turn 3 – oh this thing is fast! I stood on the brakes pretty hard going through Turn 4, locking up the left front wheel, eased off, reset the brake and set the car up for the double apex. I was in a learning mode because Gran Turismo didn’t have anything like this in any of their games.
I finished up the infield without incident then entered the Esses leading out onto the front straight – this thing had legs! Yeah, but I found that limit too quickly, as I hit the rev limiter just as I passed the flag stand at the start finish line – ack-ack-ack-ack all the way to turn one. I was sure that they were going to call me on the radio and tell me to take it easy on their car. No call. I started really lighting this thing up through the turns and was delighted by its sticking prowess – it ran like a slot car. OK. There is NOTHING in Gran Turismo that can prepare you for the kind of G-forces you pull through the corners. Now I know why the cockpit pins you in so tightly. If you were loose, you’d be killed with the flailing in the cockpit. After a while, I was growing physically tired. Part of it was from the combined effects of the session, part of it was the elation of the experience, and part of it was the physical work of handling the brutal G-forces of the F2000.
When I finished my last session, Koalaty took a ride around the road course in a NASCAR ride with a professional driver. When we returned to “racing central”, Reuben presented me with a framed license and pictures of me in my driving suit standing by each of the two race cars. After we debriefed and celebrated a little, he remarked, “If you ever come out here again, come see me personally. I will call the owner and personally ask to have all the limits removed for you. I’m sure you could have handled either of these cars all out.” Then he added, “It looks like you found your calling a little late in life. I was really surprised. Most of the people that come here for this kind of experience never get these things near the kind of speeds you were running. Make sure you look me up next time you are here – my name is Reuben Ibenez, like the guitar.
Now if you ever go to Las Vegas, go for the experience if you have the money. Don’t go for the ride – go for the drive. I know you TPRA guys could handle it, one day I hope to host some you for that drive. The reality of the drive is VERY close to the simulation of the drive in Gran Turismo 5. It is all there but the seat-of-the-pants G-forces. I have raced both cars and motorcycles before, but this was the first time I had driven “purpose built” race cars on such a tight, complex race course. Ask me if I am pumped about it. I want to bring my simulation experience to the real world at every level. It feels real in Gran Turismo – but nothing can match the reality of the wind and the G-Forces. Next year. Next year, you and I will meet at Las Vegas and do a little “reality” check.