Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/699072
July / August 2016 47 regions Saturday night. There were 120 drivers signed up for the HPDE at COTA, and we were split into two run groups. It seemed like everyone, except Terry and I, was in a 911 GT3. :-)Those cars can hit up to 160 mph on the longest straightaway at COTA, where I was usually hitting 125 mph. Needless to say, I was passed a lot. In spite of this, getting the privilege (twice) to drive at COTA is an experience I will never forget. The track fea - tures many technical turns, which requires patience on entry in order to reap rewards on the exit. The track is wide allowing for many different lines through the turns. This fact was much appreciated, because unlike most HPDEs passing in the turns was per - mitted. Trust me, once you are allowed to pass in the cor- ners, it is hard to go back to only passing on the straights. Tracks designed by Hermann Tilke tend to feature technical turns, and long straightaways followed by tight turns. At COTA there are three straights where you hit triple digit speeds only to have to slow to 40 mph to negotiate the next turn. This tends to punish the brakes because the key to a fast lap is to maximize your speed on the straights staying on the power as long as pos - sible and waiting to brake as late as possible. You can get a feel for what it's like to lap COTA by viewing the in-car video I've included courtesy of Juha Vehnia. He was the fastest (2:34.61) of those in our ga - rage and his in-car video in- cludes track graphics and a g- meter. Enjoy! One of the benefits of stay- ing in Austin is the wide va- riety of dining and night time entertainment choices. There are a bunch of great restau- rants in downtown Austin and it was great to meet up with Hiromi and Lori to share the day's events. One evening, we ate Argentinian cuisine at the Bueno Aires Cafe, which I highly recommend. The He - feweizen beer at the Saturday night social at Live Oak Brew- ing Company was also really, really good. But when isn't a cold beer good after a day at the track? If you want to step away from the track, Wild Bubba's Wild Game Grill is just a short jaunt up the road in Elroy, Texas. One thing is for sure, you won't go hungry in Texas. Once again, the trip home was also eventful. Last year Terry and I had to drive through a tornado warning, and heavy rain with the threat of hail around Waco, Texas. The rain followed us to Dallas and it was one of the scariest storms I have driven through. This year the tornados were in Oklahoma and the rain was so heavy at times the visibility was less than 20 yards. Not sure why a trip to COTA has to feature tornados on the drive home, but fortunately our Porsches made it home okay both times. In summary, this trip in - cluded driving 1,600 miles round trip to Austin, TX, mak- ing every on track session at COTA (for 5.5 hours of total track time), never having to turn a wrench the entire trip, and driving the car to work the following day. Not many cars that you can say that about. Let alone one that is 28 years old with 150k on the odometer. Porsche, there is no substitute! - DAVID