A day at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
October 22, 2019
Dream Racing provides a chance to drive a number of different sports cars on a race track.
First stop: the simulator. I’m not sure how much this helped since the sensory feedback is only visual. From watching YouTube videos I already had a good idea of the track layout.
Car #1 – Aston Martin Vantage
Video of my first drive of the day in the Aston Martin Vantage. As you can see, Dream Racing provides a great video setup showing driver, track, speed and position on the track.
Comments on the Aston Martin Vantage – the accelerator and brake felt very different from the cars I am used to driving. It would take more experience in the car to drive it better.
Fastest lap 1:07:55, max speed 155 KPH (96 MPH)
Car #2 – Corvette Stingray Z51
Video from my drive in the Corvette
Comments on the Corvette – I did not feel at home in this car and would need more time to get comfortable. It did feel better than the Aston Martin and was faster on the straight so I am surprised the lap time was slower.
Fastest lap 1:10:17, max speed 165 KPH (103 MPH)
Car #3 – Mercedes AMG GT S
Video from my drive in the Mercedes
Comments on the Mercedes AMG GT S – I did feel very comfortable in this car.
Fastest lap 1:03.70, max speed 184 KPH (114 MPH)
Car #4 – Lamborghini Gallardo LP550-2
Video from my drive in the Lamborghini
The accelerator and brakes did not feel comfortable in this car. Of all the cars I drove, this was the only one that locked up the tires under hard braking. It would take some experience to get a better feel for this.
Fastest lap 1:05:62, max speed 175 KPH (109 MPH)
Car #5 – Porsche Carrera S
My instructor for the day was Mike Yenkowski.
Video from the Porsche Carrera S drive
Comments on the Porsche Carrera S – as with the Mercedes, I felt very comfortable in this car. The feel of the car was very similar to the cars I am used to driving.
Fastest lap 1:02:23, max speed 181 KPH (112 MPH)
Car #6 – Porsche 911 Turbo S
Video of my drive in the Porsche Turbo S
Comments on the Porsche 911 Turbo S -Fastest lap 1:05:93, max speed 184 KPH (114 MPH)
This car had more power than I was used to and was the only one that I slid the rear end around while cornering (well-behaved enough to let me easily recover). Although the top speed was slightly higher, the Carrera was over 3.5 seconds faster with the lap time.
All of the cars had semi-automatic transmissions with gear changes via paddle shifters on the steering wheels. The 911 Turbo had the shifters actually incorporated into the steering wheel so was slightly different from the others. I was happy to let Mike do the shifting from the console while driving this car – one less thing to think about!
Car #7 – Ferrari F430 F1
Video from the Ferrari drive
Comments on the Ferrari F430 F1 – Although the accelerator and brake pedal felt fine when pressed, the foot room in this car seemed very restricted and I would need more experience to feel confident with it.
Fastest lap 1:03:05, max speed 177 KPH (110 MPH)
Car #8 – McLaren 570S – with gull wings!
Video from the McLaren 570S drive
Comments on the McLaren 570S – the most high tech of the cars I drove with more power than cars I am used to driving.
Fastest lap 1:03:33, max speed 191 KPH
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SUMMARY FOR THE DAY
Speeds on the videos are shown in kilometers per hour (KPH) so I have provided the conversions to miles per hour (MPH) below.
Aston Martin – Fastest lap 1:07:55, max speed 155 KPH (96 MPH)
Corvette – Fastest lap 1:10:17, max speed 165 KPH (103 MPH)
Mercedes – Fastest lap 1:03.70, max speed 184 KPH (114 MPH)
Lamborghini – Fastest lap 1:05:62, max speed 175 KPH (109 MPH)
Porsche Carrera – Fastest lap 1:02:23, max speed 181 KPH (112 MPH)
Porsche Turbo – Fastest lap 1:05:93, max speed 184 KPH (114 MPH)
Ferrari – Fastest lap 1:03:05, max speed 177 KPH (110 MPH)
McLaren – Fastest lap 1:03:33, max speed 191 KPH (119 MPH)
From a driver’s standpoint, control of the cars is based mainly on three items: steering, braking and acceleration (because of the semi-automatic transmissions, gear shifting effects were minimalized). The steering for all of the cars felt fine but the brake and accelerator feel were widely different. This results in me placing the cars into four categories:
Porsche Carrera and Mercedes – the perfect cars for my driving background, the brakes and accelerator seemed absolutely normal to me. I felt comfortable and confident in both of these (I guess it’s not too surprising that the Carrera is the one that had the fastest lap time since I am experienced with an earlier model).
Corvette and Ferrari – I was not quite comfortable in either of these cars and they both felt like they had more capability than I could get from them on a first drive. I would need more experience with them because their brakes and accelerator were slightly off from what I am used to driving.
Porsche Turbo and McLaren – these high power cars definitely should be faster than the Carrera. They are faster on the straightaway but I need more experience with controlling their power to be faster in the turns. The brake and accelerator did feel okay but my control was lacking. The McLaren did seem the smoother of these two.
Aston Martin and Lamborghini – I was uncomfortable with the braking and accelerator control for both of these cars. They felt widely different from the cars I have driven. Maybe with more experience in them, I would star to feel better about them.
Facilities – Dream Racing seems to be extremely well run. All the cars appear well maintained both mechanically and cosmetically. My instructor said their behind-the-scenes staff includes two ex-Formula 1 mechanics and a dedicated tire person to keep the cars running properly. Their staff makes sure the cars are warmed up before use and there is someone to do the seat positioning each time you get into a car. There is also a photographer to take pictures with each car and handle the video. All of that is in addition to their personable front office staff.
The facility is adjacent to Nellis Air Force Base, home of the Air Force Thunderbirds demonstration team. There were Thunderbird aircraft flying in view much of the day practicing low-level formation flying, smoke release and other maneuvers. A very pleasant way to pass the time while relaxing between cars.
A Tuesday in October was a good time to be there. I was the only one on the track in the morning; in the afternoon, there were other people there for track experiences but only once was another car on the track while I was driving and there was no interference.
A great way to spend a day in Las Vegas! (And as the cover photo shows, there are lots more cars for me to come back to drive!)
Ron's Travels 