Download ride with mario andretti2/22/2024 Many streetcars tend to wilt a bit after a day’s flogging on a fast racecourse, but the big Porsche suffered none of it. His extreme skill wasn’t any surprise to me, but it was inspiring to enjoy the cornering, braking, and accel of a real live GT class racecar. Sonoma has a couple of semi-blind spots cresting a hill you can’t see so well, and of course, Andretti knew exactly where to place the car so as to exit the hill or corner on the perfect line. I barely remember those laps as they went so quickly. Our ride that day was a Porsche SuperCup GT3. My next ride came at what used to be called Sears Point Raceway, also in central California’s wine country, which at the time was Infineon Raceway, and now Sonoma Raceway, a fast, and highly technical track I’d never driven or ridden on. He handled each car with aplomb, never really inducing any meaningful understeer or oversteer, but without a doubt moving along those hands so perfect on the wheel, and every move, be it acceleration, cornering, or braking, happening with absolute smoothness and conviction-a bit like watching Zubin Mehta conduct the LA Phil. I mentioned to him that he “missed the turnaround point,” and he waited for about 10 beats before he looked at me and said, “Huh? You say something?” I again referenced the turnaround point to head back, and he said, “no, my turnaround spot for this car is still another 10-15 miles away yet.” OK, signore – you’re driving. In the Red 360, he blew past it with his right foot on the floor. The day was lovely, the top was down, the sun was shining, and Andretti was smiling, driving, talking, and having fun.īy the time we got to the predefined turnaround point, Mario had already been there three previous times, and he knew where it was. Our drive route took us 12-13 miles out from his winery to a pre-scouted, turnaround point, then back. He enjoyed paddling the F1 robotic gearbox, and got the most out of the Spider’s mid-engined handling persona. The Ferrari was his clear favorite (big surprise there - or not). A comfortable and smooth GT for long fast drives, he called it. He praised the Z8 for its smooth and strong V-8, stable chassis, and liked that it had a 6-speed manual gearbox, which he shifted masterfully. Somewhat ditto the automatic-equipped Aston Martin, with praise for its howling V-12 engine, and less glow for its somewhat sluggish slushbox that shifted far too softly for his taste.
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