This Saturday was the day that North East Quattro Club held it’s first(hopefully another to come) winter driving event on Algonquin Lake in Wells, NY. There are few things that I look forward to more then this event. It’s right up there for me with Christmas morning as a kid or being woken up to the GF drinking my weiner.
Plan was to leave WNY and be on the road at 3pm as it was snowing and snowing east of here as well. 3pm came and went, and then 4pm, and finally at 5pm we left Clarence to head to Wells, NY. Here is the old girl in all her glory getting ready for a 300 mile each way trip with a huge beat session thrown in the mix. Couldn’t think of another car in the world that I’d feel better taking across the state in 5 degree weather. Or, how about 2 equally big heaps of shit?
I did the same event last year at different venue with un studded snow tires. I had a great time, but, after taking out another car with studs, I knew I was hooked and had to get studded snows. So I call up Spam16V (Zac), and ask him to get me some Hankook’s. He bitched like a little girl and said how about Hakka/Nordman 4’s studded? Sure. So, give him my spare set of wheels and this is what the faggot does to them
The fucking asshole spraypainted my studs pink prior to installing them so I got pink tires when the paint ran off them. Better post this on the VW forums as I’ll be 100 times cooler then those faggots with pink wheels, fuck, I’ve get PINK tread!!!
Get to the hotel and this was the first car I see Friday night
The great thing was that my room was right above his parking spot. So, I opened up the drapes and gave it a tug while looking at that.
Algonquin Lake is in the Adirondak State Park and the scenery was absolutely STUNNIG. Driving up 30N was great, huge snow covered evergreens on both sides and the mountains.
Here are some pics of the lake
The event consisted of 2 skid pads, 2 salooms, and after lunch, a road course. The other heap giving a lesson on the skid pad-this was text book car control
Frank in the Dakota salooming it
Oh yeah, she’s loooking good
“Hey Zac, you painted my tires pink.”
And he drew this on my car
Found another shaved leg roadie homo to hang out with
So after a great lunch we start heading back to the lake. There was pretty much nobody there and the course was empty and FAST. So, I head out and have a blast. I’m behind Frank in the Dakota and behind him is an A4 on studded Hakka 5’s who was at the event last year. I want to get around them BAD, but, I have 115hp on a good day. Finally I get a chance, dive inside both of them, and go. I look back and see the A4 guy and then all of a sudden, nothing.
This is why
This here was the best turn, you come into it the opposite way the picture was taken, sliding sideways at 50mph, and then just set yourself up perfect for the next turn.
So we head on the track as a group and it was a blast. The ice was getting polished but I really didn’t have too much of an issue. Actually, I was sliding the whole thing like an absolute mental patient. I was passing everyone, everywhere. I wasn’t passing and not being in complete control and then sliding off as thats idiotic. I was just passing everyone and then going on my way. Well, I passed a car with an instructor in it. I stuck my car in, took the inside line, and walked away like I had been doing all day. I come in and Zac tells me that someone was bitching that I was passing EVERYWHERE on the course, not just in the designated passing area. I was going to bring up the point that if I’m faster, and clearly in complete control, why was I not given the pass signal? So I pull out and the flag guy asks if I heard what the problem was? I told him I heard it second hand and he told me if I wanted, I could go with the instructor group as I was way more advanced then even most of the instructors:tup:
Earlier in the day, the guy who told me not to pass everywhere, give some more room, he went off avoiding Frank who went off and he douched his fender on a WRX. He tells me that if someone in front of me goes off, I’m either going to crash(no, not happening, sorry) or I will go off also.
So, I take him for a spin in my heap. He got it-saw that I was in complete control even when I was deemed “too close”, saw how I was just flicking the car like nothing, just using throttle and not touching the brakes, etc etc. I took about 5 people out and they were all in shock and awe. RS4 driver, 335i faggot driver, and 3 instructors. The best was when I went for a ride with an instructor and he said “i’m not going to teach you anything, you’ve got this down.”
I managed to go off course once towards the end of the day with Whalen in the car. I think it was his big hook nose that upset the balance of the car. So I get towed out and go back to the parking area. I then head out with an instructor and I told him that I lost a bit of my nerve after going off. Basically he said if you go 5mph, you’ll never go off. If you fly, you might go off but so what? With that said I managed to slide out the back turn with the car taking up the whole course sideways, flick it and set myself up for the front straight, fly past the lane letting cars out, pitch the front end towards the course workers while sliding, freak them the fuck out, hit a puddle for some added drama, and look down to see we are doing 60mph on glare ice, fastest speed I hit all day:tup:
I repaired my bumper from the off the only way this car knows how
It will live to fight another event/winter
Hopefully some of the professional photographers post up their pictures soon as there are some amazing action ones.
Long story short-I had the most fun in a car ever Saturday Jan 21st, 2011.
Looks like a fucking blast, very jealous that you did this, I need to get an AWD car again.
