Team-BHP - Michelin Pilot Experience Contest

DAY - continuing from my previous post

FORMULA MICHELIN CAR

this is a 200bhp car and supposedly weighing in at 400kgs, so that makes it 500BHP/TON

2 groups (including ours ) were the first lot to drive this car.

it started with a briefing session on the mechanics of the car. there was a test driver ( he is supposed to be leading in some FORMULA RENAULT series in ASIA ). the briefing was done with a running car mounted on a rollers as in pic below

the test driver gave us basics about getting in/out, removing steering , usage of clutch, brake, accelerator, gear shift, reading the LCD display etc.
then each person was asked to get in , start the car and run it on the rollers ( or treadmill or watever you call it )

the pedals are quite closely placed ( like M800 - i mean wat more do u expect in a slim FORMULA CAR :D )

the brake pedal has almost no play - indicating the amount of braking force that is obtained by a gentle foot on the pedal.

thankfully the accelerator had a lot of play ( because i was quite clear where my foot was going to rest in the next half hour or so )

once the briefing about the car was over, there was a quick chat about the track, the line to be taken etc

we were then taken in a large van around the track twice. the racing line was quite clearly marked out with the rubber laid by previous cars but nevertheless at every corner red cones were placed to show the line to be taken.

we were also told the gear one needs to be ideally in for each corner and then how to step up/down the gears across the track

it was then back to pit and the wait began - the wait to get into a FORMULA CAR for the very first time and drive in a racing track clap:

some pics..

FORMULA MICHELIN - CONTD.

something i missed out to mention in the earlier post ..

the gears are sequential - pushing the lever forward for downshifting and pulling it for up shifts. it was however not a very easy affair with a good push/pull required for gear changes

the clutch was required only during start off from 1st gear and after that down/upshifts were clutchless

the rev limiter was set at 6000-6200rpm and we are asked to shift up at 6000rpm.

the LCD display showed the RPM and the gear one was in. I dont recall seing a speedo and hence really didnt know what speeds were touched in the straights

once my turn came, i got in quite easily given my puny frame :thumbs up
the crew strapped me up tightly and i was just checking the belts once again just in case ! needless to say, my pulse was racing because partly to experience the car and partly because at the end of the say, its a racing car without a roof ( so fearing the worst - u obviously have that nervousness)

once i got the crew's signal i got off quite smoothly. ( not many did by the way )

the sound of the engine is quite deafening and its not a very comfortable place to be in. there was a pace car in front of me - in my case it was a M3 ( all though a CAYMAN was also doing the same duty elsewhere in the track). the pace car basically guides u through the track and controls your pace also to an extent

once we left the pit lane, it was time to hit the pedal and boy did i hit it big time. the car lunged forward with major force ( quite brutal compared to what i expected a "puny 200bhp car to do " !! ) - power to weight ratio after all makes all the difference

reached the first corner, took it at quite sane speeds and then sped off towards the next one upshifting to 3rd. every upshift brings with it a new quota of torque. so initially shifting gears was quite a revelation with the kind of additional torque the engine was putting out.

the 2nd corner was a tight one and it goes downwards towards the 3rd corner. once u do the 3rd, its a long upward straight and that was wen i almost put pedal to metal. the car lunged forward with so much force that i gave out a smile that one usually gives out wen we do something really stupid/whacky stupid:

i downshifted effectively for using the engine braking ( all though the instructor clearly said "use brakes first and then downshift so that u dont breach the rev limit "..

actually speaking, the car decelerates quite nicely wen u just take your foot off the accelerator, so in many corners the services of the brake pedal is really not called for.

after a series of more corners, IT was finally appearing in the horizon - THE LAST CORNER TAKING ONE INTO THE STRAIGHTS !! i was waiting for this and just at the last corner, the M3 also started accelerating big time to give me a signal that i can now take it at full throttle

i tool the last corner at 3rd /2nd not sure. and then it was time to keep pulling the lever. the sound of the gear shifts is just awesome. actually the car's exhaust note and the crackling sound while shifting is better heard from outside than while driving the car itself

did 3 more laps with confidence levels improving with every lap. no wonder on my 2nd lap itself, i pushed the car quite hard in maybe the 4/5th corner which was essentially quite a fast corner caught in between a descent and an ascent. i veered off the racing line in the ascent and briefly went into the gravel
the M3 slowed down ahead of me and kept close to me till i kind of recovered and then it was back to the straights and time to put the pedal back to metal

end of 4 laps and was back in pit lane with a huge smile on my face. brought the car to a good stop at exactly the place where i was supposed to and go it to neutral also ( i take pride in these small things which i did correctly - all though i may not have necessarily pushed the car hard while on the track ! )

some pics..

GT - 5 CARS

After the time spent on FORMULA MICHELIN ( 2 SESSIONS OF 3/4 laps each ), we had lunch and then moved to the other half of the track to experience the GT-5 cars

in the meantime, during the lunch break, some 3 massage ladies had come for giving us head and neck massage after doing the laps.

the GT-5 car is simply a formula type barebones car with a HAYABUSA engine + gear box at the rear

its a single seater with the driver seat bang on the centre, the body is lightweight fibre. gear shifts were sequential with clutch

the car is quite low, steering very tight and visibility not very good because, you sit low and quite away from the steering. so you have your arms really stretched out to reach the steering

the section of the track used for the GT-5 was also quite challenging with many sweeping corners and ups and downs

we were taken around in vans by the expert drivers giving us a briefing similar to the one given before the FORMULA MICHELIN laps.

it was then time to get strapped on and drive these cars. since its a motorcycle engine, the rev limiter was at 12500rpm or so. and the trainer said we could shift at 12-12500rpm if we want but 8500-10000rpm would do just fine

the grip levels on these cars was also quite amazing but clearly the driving position was a big turn off and i couldnt enjoy this car very much. in one of the sweeping corners i had a major moment when i did very less braking and ended up spinning the car off the track - but managed to hold the clutch and hence the car did not stall. so re started and the trainer said that i was not braking sufficiently early

some pics of GT-5 cars

DRIVING WITH THE PROs

There were 4 pro drivers if i remember correctly.And all of them were appararently top rated drivers in Asia in various champioships at various points of time

after having driven the GT5, FORMULA MICHELIN cars ourselves, it was WITHOUT DOUBT, a revelation to drive with the PROs

I took around 6 laps with the SUBARA IMPREZA STI - PACE CAR. taking the rear seat is strictly avoidable given the way the PROs throw the car around corners !

these cars were driven much much more faster than how we novices were driving the GT5 cars !

in fact, it was an eye opener for me to experience how much these cars ( SUBARUs ) can be pushed in the track ! on the straights the chap was touching 200plus and was holding 180-200 till about 20-30m from turn 1 !!
so you can imagine the braking/grip levels from the tires.

there was a downward sloping turn - a left hander which further slows a bit down quickly into a right hander which then goes upward. when we approached this turn, the PRO said that we need to take it in 4/5th gear at full speed and just gently take foot off throttle.( no braking required )
conventional thought would say "BRAKE HARD" when ur going down a road and a turn is approaching ! when i took the lap with this chap in the SUBARU, it was truly amazing to go down the inclined road at around 140plus and then take left hander only to be thrown to the apex of the next right hander and then start climbing up..

the next car to be taken with the PRO was the PORSCHE GT3 - a completely bare bones car with just seats and roll cage inside. This drive was quite EXTREME. the acceleration was scary, the braking unbeliveable and the cornering was so extreme that in some sharp corners, the brake dust was blowing into the car through the window !
the sight of the GT3 hitting the apex at the penultimate corner to enter the straights was amazing !

The last of the drives with the PROs happened in the 2 seater FORMULA MICHELIN. not every one took this drive . it was definetly scary

u sit quite close to the driver, with the driver sitting on ur feet ahead of you. the acceleration pushes your head back with a violent force and braking takes you straight into the drivers helmet!!

your neck goes for a COMPLETE toss in corners and the g-forces (which were known to me only theoretically ) completely churns watever is inside of you ! there was a sweeping left hander where my head was continuosly moving away to the right for around 5-8 secs and it felt like my head would snap away any moment !

back into the main straights and the acceleration was BRUTAL. while we were braking in our laps on seing the 150m sign, these guys were braking probably 15m from the turn !!

i dont think this experience can ever be replicated ever!!
at the end of the drive, i was feeling quite numb on my extremeties ( hands and legs i mean ). i guess all those g forces meant, my blood had been churned so much it hadnt probably reached my finger tips for quite sometime :thumbs up

The one day spent at SEPANG in the track was truly unforgettable and in all probability an UNREPLICATABLE experience.

I dont think many outside this forum would understand the true nature of this experience

It gave insights into the "different" world racing drivers live in in terms of "reaction times", "speed" etc - not to say its an unreachable level but nevertheless it requires a lot of practise and dedication to even reach the doorstep of motor racing leave alone champion status

The entire organisation of the event was impeccable and there was not even 1 second of the entire day or the 3 days in K-L spent on marketing/promoting Michelin products. So it felt quite odd to just go and experience everything and not hear any marketing talk
cheers: to MICHELIN ( my next tyre will definetly be MICHELIN :D )

It would be great if MICHELIN offers this PILOT EXPERIENCE on a cost basis - i am sure there would be many around the world who would not mind spending a few thousand dollars for such a day in the track. we gave this feedback when we left the circuit

having some problems uploading pics. so leaving you with just one..
will come back and post more.