For the Car folks it’s the famous HOOKED ON DRIVING PROGRAM coming on May 12 & 13th. The HOD track day event offers loads of quality track time and instruction for rookies, intermediates and experts. Use this handy link to learn more and register. Or, pick up the phone and call Dev Clough at 530-356-6365. Great Times Ahead.

Riders!!! PRECISION TRACK DAYS are back at RFR. May 19 & 20. Groups for novice, intermediate, expert. ACR instruction. Trackside support & tires.
Specialty food vendor for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Get your reservations now: www.precisiontrackdays.com. — at Reno Fernley Racetrack.

NASA is headquartered in Napa Valley, CA and has been conducting amateur and professional road racing events since 1991 and holds over 200 amateur races each year as well as a handful of professional races per year.  NASA has created programs that allow owners of both racecars and high‐performance street‐driven vehicles to enjoy the full performance capabilities of their cars in a relatively safe and controlled environment. NASA offers many different programs that will allow enthusiasts to enjoy motorsports on a number of different levels, including their High Performance Driving Events (HPDE), Rally Sport, Time Trial, NASA‐X and Competition Racing programs.

John Wood, General Manager of Reno Fernley Raceway, asserts “that motorsports enthusiasts and participants will be excited and pleased by NASA’s return to RFR.” He continues, “NASA brings diversity car focused events for every level of participant from the veteran or professional racer to the person who just wants to learn high performance driving.” NASA produced events are a great fit for both the novice car enthusiast and the experienced racer who wants more opportunities to race locally.

Jeff Lepper, the new Northern Nevada Regional Director is pleased to bring NASA’s High Performance Driving Events (HPDE) and racing back to Northern Nevada. “I am so happy to return to Reno Fernley Raceway. John Wood, Reno Fernley Raceway’s track manager and I, have been working hard to bring the NASA experience to the residents and racers in Northern Nevada. I can’t wait for our first event,” commented Lepper.

NASA had previously run at the track when it first opened and Wood is excited to have NASA return. “We could not be more excited to partner with an organization like NASA. I know our drivers will be excited as well,” said Wood.

Link to NASA website: http://www.nasaproracing.com/2011/08/introducing‐new‐northern‐nevad.html#more

Grudge Match or outlaw style racing is one of the earliest forms of drag racing. Machines lined up side by side on a section of deserted road and started racing at the drop of a hand or flag from the starter. Soon these races started to attract a crowd to see which car and racer was fastest. Back then, drag racing wasn’t a “big money” sport with a corporate profile.  Smokin’ Hot Drag Races at RFR recreates the fun, spectacle and authenticity of the early drag racing. The emphasis is on action and fun. Racing is done safely on the drag strip and spectators have a clear view of the action from the adjacent hill top where tail‐gating and just relaxing is encouraged.

According to RFR’s general manager, John Wood, “Racers just want to enjoy airing it all out…without hassles”.  RFR’s racing format permits 1st timers and as well as veteran racers to line up and test their machines. Outlaw racing welcomes the sophisticated pure, drag race cars or bikes as well as the ones that drive to work 5 days a week. RFR’s event attracts a diversity of equipment and grudge style, match racing means the action is continuous for 6 hours. Spectators really enjoy the uninterrupted action and Outlaw brings a wide diversity of vehicles to the competition: door‐slammers, diesels, daily drivers and more.

The 2011 event is two evenings of action packed, match racing. Last year’s race event winners pocketed $1000. Wood says he expects 2011 to be even better. Spectators are welcome and track gates open at 4PM, racing starts at 6PM and runs until Midnight both evenings.

Admission is $5/person.

Parking is $5/vehicle.

Two Nights of Drag Racing under the Nevada stars‐‐‐what could be better than that?

Racers are invited to simply show up and “run what you brung”. Technical questions are referred to experienced racer and race‐master, Jay Reynolds of IVM in Sparks. 775‐331‐6577

Race Event: Sat & Sun 5/14-15. See Lemons Schedule for 24 Hr Event

Open Practice Test Day: Friday 5/13. Fee is $225 per car. Check or Cash (no plastic)

Schedule:

• 2pm to 6pm Daylight Practice divided into 30 min. Sessions
• 8pm to 930pm Night Practice divided into 30 min. Sessions

Reserve Test Day Slot:

• EMAIL your request to trackman136@yahoo.com
• Be prepared to pay $225 per car to pay Reno Fernley Raceway, LLC in CASH or CHECK.
• You will complete test day registration form & liability waiver in person at track.
• Test Day is only offered to Lemons Event Entrants and their drivers.

Other Logistics

Fuel: Closest & least expensive Street Grades

QUIK-STOP Station. Located 95A about 2.7 miles from track (back toward town on right)

Hotel: Our favorite…BEST WESTERN …Racers get a discount!

Contact: Maybelline Holl (General Manager) 775-575-6776. Tell her that you are racing at RFR in the Lemons event for discount.

Paddock Parking: Please ask the LEMONS staff for assistance.

Garages: none, but we are working on it for next year.

Toilets: Porta Potties only—be prepared

Reno, Nevada — A new trackday provider has scheduled 14 motorcycle track days at Reno-Fernley Racetrack. Precision Trackdays welcomes track riders of all abilities to enjoy Fernley’s serpentine 3.0 mile road course.

Most events will use the familiar three-group format, dividing riders into A, B, and C groups based on their ability to lap the course quickly and safely. The desire to have a great riding experience, track-worthy riding gear and a motorcycle in good condition are required. Complete information is available at www.PrecisionTrackdays.com

Free classroom instruction is available from ARC Trackademics, including racer Cory Call, former American Federation of Motorcyclists #1 plate holder. ARC Trackademics provides accelerated coaching, bridging the gap between expensive superbike schools and regular track day instruction. ARC Trackademics is for riders of all levels with a system designed specifically for the A,B,C track day format. Their mission is to help riders of all levels reach their goals quickly, safely and with huge smiles. ARC Trackademics coaches will also be host free video clinics, projecting the days riding onto the ‘big screen’ after sunset on Saturdays.

Experienced motorcyclists who have never ridden on a track before can “Try The Track” for a few laps for free at lunch time. This is a slow, guided tour behind Precision’s staff that gives newcomers the opportunity to see what the track is all about.

Photography and video services are provided by 4theRiders.com. Tire services are provided by Superbike Performance Laboratories, offering Pirelli tires at competitive prices. Suspension setup and tuning offered by Catalyst Reaction at select events. A range of parts and accessories will be available trackside through 2 Wheel Custom Performance.

Reno Fernley Racetrack, located on highway 95A, five miles from interstate 80, provides a safe riding and learning environment for motorcyclists. Under new management, it is staffed by experienced turn workers and the wide track includes ample run-off room. Reno Fernley Racetrack will host the regions only local race series as TTP Racing builds on the success of their inaugural event last September.

See Article Here >>

BY TONY SWAN, PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHARLIE MAGEE

How fast is fast? How fast is fast enough? Perceptions vary. You might observe, correctly, that this five-rocket salvo doesn’t represent the ultimate liquid-fuel thrust available on today’s automotive launchpad. There are cars—a few—with higher power ratings, higher flat-out speeds, and much higher price tags.

Compared with a Bugatti Veyron, the ultimate example, everything in this collection looks a little more ordinary and a lot more attainable. You could buy the entire group and still have a couple hundred thou left over. But it’s hard to argue that these aren’t some of the most desirable cars on the road. They make us even more grateful than usual that we aren’t quadrupeds. The slowest sprints to 60 in barely more than four seconds, and all can attain 100 mph in less than 10 seconds.

We’d hoped to make this show a little bigger, but the folks at Lamborghini declined to participate. Disappointing. But even with a Lambo in the cast, the star of this show, in terms of sheer wattage, has to be Ferrari’s new 458 Italia. The menacingly  wedgy sheetmetal, amplified by the baritone boom of its 4.5-liter V-8, sends parking valets into fibrillating sensory overload.

The Mercedes SLS AMG also got a lot of attention whenever we popped its gullwing doors, a move that could draw a crowd in Antarctica.

This is not to suggest that the other contestants are wallflowers. All three—Aston Martin Vantage, Audi R8, Porsche 911 Turbo—are familiar faces [“Everyday Supercars,” July 2007]. But “familiar” does not mean “same as.”

The Aston checks in with the DBS’s 5.9-liter V-12. Similarly, the R8 5.2 has a V-10 to increase its urgency index. And the 911 Turbo, a sports-car benchmark for more than four decades, emerged from its recent makeover faster (of course) and easier to manage at high speed on challenging roads. The example we have here is the 30-hp-boosted Turbo S version.

We opened the comparo at Nevada’s Reno-Fernley Raceway, in the bleak desert hills about 30 miles east of Reno. That’s where we generated our test numbers, and these merit a couple caveats. Like most desert tracks, Reno-Fernley is dusty, which likely diluted both launch and braking performance a bit. Also, the skidpad’s unswept surface, bumpy paving, and tight radius (180 feet) diminished lateral-acceleration results.

We drove west from Reno-Fernley, to sparsely populated roads in the Sierra Nevada. The High Sierra experience—unknown public two-lanes, sometimes requiring extraordinary responses—revealed behavioral traits and capabilities that the racetrack could not.

Extraordinary, of course, is what these machines are. But inevitably, some emerged as more extraordinary than others.

It’s an oversimplification to characterize this car as a mere engine swap, but that’s the essence of the V-12 Vantage. Bolting in the 5.9-liter V-12 increases curb weight by about 150 pounds, to 3738; puts a little more of the car’s mass on the front axle (52.6 percent versus 49.4); and reduces its 0-to-60-mph time to 4.2, 0-to-100 to 9.2, and the quarter-mile to 12.5 at 117.

Those are pretty serious stats, ones that slightly upstage the flagship DBS; plus, the V-12 Vantage wears the supercar mantle more comfortably than does the V-8 model. However, the V-12 is only a tenth quicker to 60 mph, and two-tenths quicker in the quarter-mile, than the last V-8 Vantage we tested. And the Aston trails the Audi by a half-second across the board—the Ferrari, the Porsche, and the Mercedes by considerably more. At 140 mph, the other cars have all become little dots up ahead on the horizon.

The story was the same in most other areas of performance evaluation. The Aston’s chassis was as good as any in terms of rigidity, and its steering drew positive reviews, particularly for on-center feel. But the Aston’s transient responses aren’t super crisp. Sure, 67.8 mph is a swift lane-change speed, but the other cars all snaked through at more than 70 mph. And in our High Sierra frolic, the Vantage sometimes had to work hard to keep pace.

The exception to the foregoing was the braking test. Equipped with carbon-ceramic rotors and sticky Pirelli P Zero Corsas, the Aston went from 70 mph to all-stop in 156 feet, tying the best-in-test Audi.

Assessed as a place to be while the miles whistle past, the Aston fared well, thanks to gorgeous interior materials and décor, plus seats that were as supportive as any, and more comfortable than most.

We were also pleased that the Vantage comes only with a manual gearbox, one of two so equipped in the test, although this exposed one of two ergonomic demerits. The high center console made hasty shifting awkward—our Reno-Fernley lap king peeled a little chunk out of his elbow with one upshift. And the car’s high cowl limited forward sightlines.

Distinguished from the V-8 Vantage by its louvered hood—they’re functional, by the way—the Aston’s classic styling drew appreciative stares from passersby (when it wasn’t being upstaged by the Ferrari). And the yowl of the V-12 as it climbed toward redline triggered primal pleasure receptors in our brains. But in this group, the Aston scores as the V-8 Vantage did back in our 2007 comparo: “an 8/10ths car in a 10/10ths game.”

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