Southrnfresh Mazda Protege 5 Track car project: The first Track Day and Video….

Finally it was time to take the Mazda out on the track and see what it could do.  I was nervous, and anxious to see if the day would end in me towing the car home.  We arrived at Atlanta Motorsports Park bright and early and met up with our friends from Atlanta Speed Company.  

First stop, the drivers meeting, to go over the track and some safety points, to ensure everyone has a safe and fun day.  The track day was hosted by Jzilla, and it was by far the smoothest most organized automotive events I have been apart of.  

Once the meeting was over, our beginner group went to another room and had another brief meeting to meet our instructors for the day.  My instructor was also driving that day in his Mini Cooper.  Henry’s Mini was a terror on the track.  The biggest things were his brakes, power, and racing seat and harness.  It’s crazy how much proper seats and a harness changes your experience, and allows you to focus more on driving…

My first session out, we started out great and the car was solid.  I was most impressed on how well the brakes did.  No matter what I did they never felt weak or had any fade whatsoever.  I did have some scrubbing issues from the right rear on the back half of the track.  We had rolled the rear pretty good , but there was clearly more that could have been done.  

Another positive point with the car was how well the BC Racing DS Series Coilovers kept the car planted.  The digressive style shock of their DS series made a huge difference.  AMP has so many elevation changes and a huge high speed carousel that can easily disturb the cars suspension, but at no time did the car feel unstable. 

The weight of the car, brakes, and suspension, gave me such an advantage in the turns throughout the day.  Even though it was not a race, and most people in my group were learning like myself, it felt amazing to receive the point by some true sports cars.  But I was humbled on the straights, by many others.  

The P5 and I made it through all 5 sessions, and drove home in the same condition it arrived.  One of the best experiences was being able to take the car out and feel it change so much from when I first got it.  Its hard for me to look at another vehicle without thinking of it being driven on a track.  I expected to have a lot more to say about the day, but it was a smooth day overall.  There are a few things I need to work on with the car in the coming months as we prepare for the next track day.  

I managed to record a good amount of video footage of the track day.  Its 28 minutes, but shows some one of my most entertaining sessions, and the last session by myself with the advanced group.