[Amey Kulkarni]

Hey Peeps,

Last Sunday was exhilarating, fun filled with adrenaline and triumph. Special thanks to Aditya9567 for sharing the invite so that I could participate.

I relived my BIC moments from 2021 riding on two wheels to this one taking the Supra MK5 to the track.

Well, this was an event hosted by Pirelli and limited guests were invited and had to be an RSVP to confirm the participation. Aditya and I could register ourselves in time to clinch a spot. I was excited. Had been watching the track videos on YouTube to get a feel of the track and corners. Supra's running in was finished and couldn't have been better to hit a track day to push her legs.

The Day : Aditya and I were laughing over the morning coffee on how we causally got up and reached the track in just 15mins from our houses comparing to the circus I had to do for BIC back home travelling from Pune to Delhi, shipping bikes etc. It was a complete itinerary.

Registration : As soon as we entered the paddock, along-side registration there was a wide spread of breakfast offered as well. Although the track day was free of cost, it was very well organized, no expenses spared and safety to the maximum which was good to see. There was also a helmet counter on offer if one didn't carry or didn't have one. I initially though they'd charge for it but that was on the house as well. The helmets were properly sanitized and disposable balaclavas were provided to ensure hygiene.

Safety Briefing : Post the registration, we were made to attend the safety briefing of the track, dos and don't on the track, certain markers, significance of green / yellow / red flags etc. It was very useful indeed. A Keynote was to respect the Outlap and have a Cool Down lap before entering the pits. Generally, after hot laps the brakes are on fire and the cool down lap helps them relatively normalize before you come back in.

I had a fear of the track being overcrowded to cause safety issues and accidents, but I must reiterate by stating that the event was very well organized. The track was not crowded at all. The fellow drivers were responsible and didn't see anyone playing up their egos.

I'm guessing there were 50 odd cars ready to headout to the Dubai Autodrome "Club Circuit" is what we drove on; basically a 2.1 Km lap which is not a full lap however still technical and tests the cars to the limits at corners. We were divided into two groups and got three sessions 30mins each.

Green Flag : The sun was already scorching over the track with a slight cool breeze. The morning ambient temperature was around 28-30 degrees and off we went. I was in the first group and had to head out immediately after the safety briefing. This was my first time to drive a car around a track. The tyre pressures were adjusted from 33psi which was the normal setting to 30 psi for the Supra. Sports Mode ON which is the full attack mode wherein the steering, suspensions stiffen up and bull starts roaring with the exhaust flaps open. The first session was targeted to learn the track, observe the racing lines, braking markers in order to maximize the output and cut down on lap timings. It was nervy for sure and didn't turn off Traction Control just to keep myself in check. Back of the head you have a brand new sports car below you and no clue how she's going to handle the aggression. The session went well, didn't push to the limits as I had planned but was already waiting for the second session to commence.

The second session was right after group 2's first session which meant I had 30mins break in between. The brakes had already started showing a slight fade wherein you realize when the pedal starts going in than anticipated.

At the Second session, I had got well versed to the track, Supra was being toyed around the corners and those 382 ponies were made to work. I really wanted to see how every element of the car felt. The chassis is stiff but supremely agile, you point and she'll hit that marker. Body roll felt minimal and the acceleration with the Twin-scroll Turbo never felt lame nor sluggish, the power was available on the tap at any given point. There's torque everywhere in those 7K RPMs. There was a point where I could see myself closing up on the Cayman ahead of me at the pit straight. The braking was bang on. They're not grabby and infact progressive to the point that you start realizing how much peddle needs to be pressed for what amount of bite.

I completed 3 hot laps and was doing 2 cool down laps every session as I knew she was being pushed for the first time. But she never gave up on me.

At the Third session, the sun was right up, it was closer to noon and the track was hot and throwing up marbles. I only did two laps and came in. It was plenty for us and the cars I guess , the brakes started fading and in the last session we decided to call it a day.

Summary: All in all, I must say that the Supra performed above expectations. At stock settings, she handled really well, the tyres were sticky enough, front 4 piston Brembos brakes had a great bite braking from 200+ speeds to 70 ish Kmph in a jiffy to a tough turn 1, change of directions also felt natural, the ZF 8 speed gearbox felt crisp as well. To point out the downside on the car, the suspension could be stiffer, and the steering feel could've been better as well. But that's why you have mods on the car to make it just right for the driver.

Overall, a satisfactory day and already looking forward to the next one.
Here are some captures from the Pirelli Event at Dubai Autodrome :

Supra and Aditya's Cayman GTS (L to R)




First views of the paddock and pits (Left side)


First views of the paddock and pits (Right side)


Arrival to the glorious day


The gateway to the Registration


The heavens with McLarens, GT3RSs


New talk of the town : Supra MK5


Center of Attraction : Cayman GT4RS in Shark Blue


Bird’s eye view of the dream Parking lot


Safety briefing of the circuit


Epitome of Sports Racing


The Limits on the Supra!!!


Cheers,
Amey

[GTO]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

Going to our homepage today

[Monaro CV8]

Lovely thread Amey!

The Supra gets to enjoy what it is meant to be - let loose out on the track!

How were the Michelins holding up on those twisties?
Knowing our past experiences with Pirellis on our bikes, would you prefer them on the Supra too?

By now you must've gotton your eyes set on those braking markers. Next time you go to track, we want the lap timings

[Amey Kulkarni]

Originally Posted by Monaro CV8

How were the Michelins holding up on those twisties?

By now you must've gotton your eyes set on those braking markers. Next time you go to track, we want the lap timings

Thanks Satyen. As per feedbacks from a few friends here, the Michelins Pilot Sport 4s are better off over Pirelli P Zeros in terms of traction. I'm still quite away from the change of tyres but shall keep a lookout on the balance of road and track tyres.

I dearly missed the data logger to record lap timings. Next time, let me try to find a way a solution for this.

Cheers,
Amey

[aditya9567]

I'd like to hijack the thread for a bit and share my experience

The Event
This is the second time I am going for Pirelli's free track day and I have to say, both times the organization has been fantastic. The entire process was smooth and seamless, right from signing up for the event to the actual day itself. Pirelli had organized a decent spread of food, coffee and a nice lounge area in one of the pit garages. There were also a couple of sim rigs with the club circuit set up so we could pass time while waiting for the session. More importantly, they had ensured free availability of helmets which was a boon. There was also a mobile Pirelli unit which could help with tyre pressure changes and minor setup modifications.

These track day events can cost anywhere between 10k and 15k INR when the circuit hosts them. So all in all, kudos to Pirelli. You could also bring one guest to experience the track day with you.The last time I went, it was in the night. I prefer the night session over the daytime session as it is cooler (better for the cars and the people) and honestly, feels nicer to drive on a lit up track.

They had limited the participation to around 70 cars to keep the event manageable. As Amey had mentioned, they were divided into two groups and at no point, more than 25 cars were allowed simultaneously on track as it is a short circuit. The groups were probably divided on the basis of the car to try and keep the pack as homogenous as possible in terms of the potential performance on track, this is purely speculation though. Safety was given utmost importance and in addition to the on track instructions, we were asked to keep our speeds below 40kph in the pit lane and the parking area.

The Line up
Similar to the last event, there was a wide variety of cars. Over 60% of the participants were Porsches as you can probably see from the pics. Surprisingly, or may be not so surprisingly, the majority of the Porsches were the GT cars, mostly 911GT3s. Most of them were 991s, I saw a couple of 997s too. Other participants included BMWs, Lotus, couple of Supras, few Mclarens, a GTI and a Golf R, a Lancer Evo, a Megane RS, an F Type, an Aston and some track oriented cars. We did not see any Ferraris or Lambos, they were probably at the Gumball 3000 event which was happening simultaneously .

Another shot of the Cayman and the Supra


The Caterham and the BAC Mono looking fantastic in the Gulf livery,


Many of these had upgraded exhausts and sounded spectacular on the main straight, especially the GT3s. I finally got to hear the GT4RS too on track and it was amazing.

The Experience
Given that this was my second time at the club circuit, I was familiar with the track but still saw a few guide videos as the last time was more than a year ago. Each run had a warm up out lap, 3 hot laps, 1 cool down lap, 3 more hot laps and finally a cool down in lap taking about 13-15 mins in total. This was to ensure I gave sufficient time to cool the engine and brakes down. In all, I did about 27 laps which now that I think about, was quite a bit. I was also trying to time my run such that there were the least amount of cars. In my last run I did not see a single other car during my hot laps for a large portion of the time.

The rollout


The track itself is technical with a lot of curves and has only 1 main straight. The configuration is preferred by organizers as it is easier for the drivers, has lights throughout, easier to manage and probably cheaper to hire too. As a result, cars don't see more than 230-240kph. I've reached a max of 215kph, but most laps I would be around 200-205kph just before braking. Many of the drivers were seasoned track drivers and almost everyone was very respectful with no dive bombs or risky overtakes. We were told to try and overtake only on the straights. If we were being passed, we were advised to lift off a bit to allow a quick overtake all in the interests of safety.

This gen of the Cayman is an absolute delight to drive. The car is incredibly balanced and stable at speeds and while cornering. The learning curve is short and the car is one of those that allows the driver to outperform his skills. The star of the show for me at least is that lovely flat 6 NA engine. It revs incredibly smoothly all the way to the 7800rpm redline howling all the way. My car being the GTS variant has the sports exhaust as standard and because the engine is right behind the driver, the music is amplified. On liftoff, there are pops and crackles. The Porsche flat 6 sound is very characteristic and distinctive.

Snapshot from the inside


The mid engine layout provides a lot of balance and the chassis control is excellent. This is probably the first time however that I felt a suspension upgrade is required. When I was pushing in the corners, I could feel some body roll and am sure that with an upgrade, can easily gain a couple of seconds. This is despite having the upgraded suspension on the car compared to the standard variant. Tires could also probably do with a change, I am currently running P Zeros.

As this is my daily, I was not overly aggressive, especially on the brakes - I would lift and a coast a bit before the braking zone. I am sure there a few more seconds I can gain by going all out. Incidentally, I finally got to use the sports chrono pack on my car to its full potential. Towards the end of the 3 sessions, I could feel the brake fade.

Conclusion
This is an excellent marketing event for Pirelli. The confirmed participants were given a 3+1 offer on new tires, although not sure how useful that is. We were also given a goodie bag with 2 Pirelli caps and a wireless mobile phone car mount.


We had a great experience and will probably go for the upcoming ones too.

Aftermath

Towards the end of the track sessions, the track accumulates marbles and rubber deposits from the tires, especially on the non racing line part of the track. These deposits stick to the tires and it takes a few weeks to come back to normal. During this time, on regular running, the tire noise is different and you can hear as these particles get dislodged and hit the wheel wheels like when running over gravel or freshly laid tarmac. This is not really an issue if the deposits are only on the tires. Sometimes they get flicked off by the car in front and sticks on the body of the car, which is much harder to remove and can cause paint damage - so have to be mindful of that.

My car is 7.5 years old and has 80k km on the clock. A hard track session resulted in this,


No sweat, the car is still under warranty. Turns out one of the ignition coils had gone kaput, a common failure over time which was accelerated because of the track day. Got all 6 of them replaced under warranty and its running butter smooth again now.

Another feature that gets used on track, the G force meter. I achieved my highest ever lateral Gs in this session


Cheers!

[rohitoasis]

Spend months of my life in Real racing 3 where there are multiple different layouts of this track. Nice to see some actually "real racing" in the very same tracks.

[v1p3r]

Nice! I've been to a few of the Pirelli trackdays, including the full GP circuit at night at Yas Marina. Quite the experience! Sadly I was not in town for this one.

Did you guys time yourselves around the Club circuit? I can do a late 1:14 in my dancing elephant, the good drivers in GT3s will do 1:12.

Originally Posted by aditya9567

We did not see any Ferraris or Lambos, they were probably at the Gumball 3000 event which was happening simultaneously .

Pirelli does a separate trackday for the Supercars Majlis (and other exotics) crowd, normally one day before. You'll see some really exotic machinery shrieking down the main straight, or shrieking in the parking lot.

[aditya9567]

Originally Posted by v1p3r

Did you guys time yourselves around the Club circuit? I can do a late 1:14 in my dancing elephant, the good drivers in GT3s will do 1:12.

What car is the dancing elephant?
I did not time accurately but around 1:19 - 1:20, plus usual driver excuses - I wasn't pushing but taking it easy, weather conditions, traffic, only 2nd time on track blah blah

Originally Posted by v1p3r

Pirelli does a separate trackday for the Supercars Majlis (and other exotics) crowd, normally one day before. You'll see some really exotic machinery shrieking down the main straight, or shrieking in the parking lot.

Supercars Majlis do have good cars but a lot of them shriek in the parking lot or on the roads of JBR

[v1p3r]

Originally Posted by aditya9567

What car is the dancing elephant?

I have a GT 63S. It's very quick but also 2.1 tonnes, so I've been through three sets of pads, and one set of rotors in 4 track days. 1:19 is a decent time if you're not pushing it on the Club circuit.

Originally Posted by aditya9567

Supercars Majlis do have good cars but a lot of them shriek in the parking lot or on the roads of JBR

Haha yes, as the saying goes - paddock noisier than the main straight.

We should meet up for a drive when I'm back in DXB.