Laguna Seca 2018

Soon after getting the Z06 in August it was time to make our annual pilgrimage to Monterrey, California to watch the Corvettes race in the IMSA GTLM class.  In recent years we have flown to Northern California to rendezvous with Don and Shirley.  Last year we drove the 2003 50th Anniversary Corvette up and back and had a great time.  This year we decided to take the Z06 on its first road trip.

We left early Friday morning for the 400 mile (one-way) trip.  The Z06 had slightly more than 500 miles on it and was broken in with a fresh oil change.  Last year we used I-5 to transit the San Joaquin Valley, but this time we wanted to drive up the Pacific Coast and visit some wineries, so we used Highway 101 through Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, San Luis Obispo, and Paso Robles.  We had great weather all the way and encountered few traffic delays getting through the LA basin and up the coast.  The roads through the Central Coast are perfect for driving a performance car.

Now that the Z06 was officially broken in, I wanted to experience a bit of its performance.  Passing cars on the remote parts of Highway 101 produced an odd sensation.  When you "give it the juice" electronic sensors activate valves that bypass the mufflers - producing a satisfying roar out the rear of the car, and at the same time, you can hear the whine of the supercharger in the front.  I love this car!

Don has a great pilot-buddy, Sherman Smoot, who is the owner of Bella Luna Winery in Templeton, California, just a few miles south of Paso Robles.  We stopped in for a tasting and left with a few bottles of their signature wine,"Fighter Pilot Red"!

Bella Luna Winery 

A fresh tank of gas and we were back on the road for the final 120 miles to Monterrey arriving at the hotel for a rendezvous with Don and Shirley just in time for dinner. 

On Saturday morning we drove the now familiar route to the Laguna Seca track.  We were preregistered for the Corvette Corral, reserved  parking, and a goody bag of cool Corvette stuff.  Just like last year, the Corvette parking area was filled with cars from every generation and people who had traveled from as far away as Seattle and South Carolina.

This event was the tenth race in the eleven-race season.  One of Corvette Racing's two teams, whose drivers are Jan Magnussen and Antonio Garcia, had the points lead through the first nine races with an accumulation of 269 points, despite the fact that they had yet to win a single race in 2018!  The second place team was the #67 Fraud-GT (only 4 points behind), followed by the #66 Fraud-GT (with 260 points), and in 4th place was the #4 Corvette team driven by Tommy Milner and Oliver Gavin (252 points).  For the entire season the GTLM class was basically a Chevy VS Fraud affair.  With just two races to go, and a very slim lead, it would be important for both Corvettes to do well on Sunday.

On Saturday the boys in the yellow cars fought really hard and finished qualifying in 1st (the #4 Corvette with Oliver Gavin driving the fastest lap of the day in GTLM) and 3rd (the #3 Corvette driven by Jan Magnussen, only 0.122 MPH slower than Ollie) positions.  Those results were way better than the races we attended earlier in the year at Sebring and Watkins Glen.  We were happy.

After qualifying we returned to the Corvette Corral  to hear presentations and a Q&A session with Doug Fehan and Tadge Juechter. Tadge has figured out 100 ways to evade the question,"When is the mid-engine C8 Corvette going to be for sale?"

The highlight for most Corvette fans who attend the IMSA race events is when the drivers and Doug Fehan show up at the corral to autograph posters (and anything else that the fans can carry into the tent!) and answer questions about the race cars and the coming race day.  This Saturday the drivers were all smiles (even Antonio).

By late Saturday afternoon it was time to retreat to our hotel for some liquid refreshment and to get ready for the Annual Monterrey Corvette Banquet.  The 2018 edition was pretty much like the prior years: presentations by the National Corvette Museum promoting their events, a repeat appearance by Doug Fehan and the Corvette drivers, and a presentation by the GM execs telling us all about the manufacturing plant and the improvements they are making to the Corvette brand (all the while never confessing to the existence of an 8th generation of Corvette).

We got to bed early on Saturday night so we could leave for the track early on Sunday morning.  Nan and I wanted to arrive at the track early so that we could secure one of the 100 spots allocated Corvette owners to drive their cars on the track in parade lap formation (this event sells out every year!).  Last year we drove the 50th Anniversary Corvette on the track and enjoyed it.  This year we wanted the experience in the Z06. 

Don got some shots of us on the track!  Entering the corkscrew is still so scary -- I don't know how the drivers do it!

This year we were joined by our dear friend, Bill Athas, who drove his new Acura NSX Supercar.  Bill scored some awesome tickets in one of the vendor suites and invited me to join him.  We had an amazing view ofthe start/finish line with the cars screaming by just underneath our seats.

After the track was cleared of Corvette fans, the racing began. Chaos ensued from the very beginning with a big pile-up even before the first turn.  Bill and I got a close-up view of the carnage. Fortunately both yellow cars made it through the rubble unharmed.  The Corvettes led for pretty much the entire caution-light plagued race, trading the 1st and 2nd place positions a few times. 

By mid-race Bill and I had joined Don, Shirley, and Nan on the opposite side of the track at the corkscrew.  With just a few laps to go, Team Chevy decided to pit both cars for a splash of fuel, expecting the other GTLM competitors to follow suit.  The number 25 BMW M8 and the number 912 Porsche 911 RSR gambled that they could go the distance without refueling (which they did) and they finished 1- 2.  But the Corvettes finished 3 - 4, extending the point lead for the #3 Corvette to nine with a single race to go in the season.  We were bummed that they missed the chance for a Podium sweep, but happy with the results leading into the final event for 2018.  It was a good Sunday at Laguna Seca, and a fitting birthday present for Don.

We closed out Sunday by driving our Supercars to Carmel, a walk around the beautiful town, and finally with a nice dinner with Bill at a small, yet elegant, restaurant.  It was a great day!

On Monday Don and Shirley flew back to San Diego while Nan and I drove the Z06 back down the California coast. For the return leg of the trip we visited the Kynsi Winery in San Luis Obispo.  We have been fans of this brand back to the days when Nan worked with a relative of the owners at Breezecom. The visit was worth the wait -- the grounds were lovely and the wine tasty.  

We scored a few bottles of their best reds.

Kynsi Winery

I behaved myself all the way home, rewarding myself with an average MPG figure of 24+ miles per gallon, including the side trip to Kynsi.  What a car!

I did have one teeny complaint with our first road trip in the Z06, however.  The inside rear view mirror has one red "SOS" indicator for an emergency, and next to it is a blue indicator to show when you are connected to the GM "OnStar" system.  Sometimes, out of the corner of my eye, I would be deceived that a police cruiser was behind me with the red/blue flashing lights causing my heart rate to accelerate and the car to decelerate.  This is one flaw that I can live with!

The next road trip will probably be a visit to friends in Arizona and our first visit to Sedona.  I can't wait.