Another last minute spot at my own track day but this time I’m a little more prepared!
The only change to the car comes in the form of a wheel alignment which provided a new set up of -3 degrees camber upfront and -2 at the rear.
We arrived at Winton the Saturday before the event and were joined by Matt who had arrived from Melbourne, Andy from Canberra (on his way back from a SMSP track day and WTAC) and Pete who had come from Sydney.
Unfortunately, the night before the track day Kam’s S15 had gone into limp mode and he was attending instead in his daily RS4.
Kam: “Reckon you can beat my wagon with your Yaris?”
Me: “I didn’t realise this was a competition Kam…”
SESSION 1: Passenger session
MODE: Track
LAPTIME: Untimed
Having done two track days since owning this car and testing out all the different modes, I knew to not waste time today and just start the day in TRACK mode. It’s almost as if Toyota knew what they were doing when they created the car…
Immediately I could feel the wheel alignment doing it’s thing and felt much more confident in this car than I had at my first Winton track day.
SESSION 2
MODE: Track
LAPTIME: 1:41.77
It usually takes me a while to get back in the groove but I arrived back in the pits to check my tyre pressures and noticed my lap time was only a tenth off my PB. This is a great start to the day.
More importantly, Kam has returned in his completely unprepped Audi with a 1:42.60.
SESSION 3
MODE: Track
LAPTIME: 1:40.78 – NEW PB
Reminded of some feedback given to me by Jimmy D after my first track day, I’ve started to try unlearn some of my Echo habits and maximise the features of this car such as power and grip – previously both missing from the Sportivo.
Another new PB of almost a second better than my first outing and I’m starting to get a better feel for what the car is capable of.
Notably, Kam has come back into the garage with a faster lap time of 1:40.30
SESSION 4:
MODE: Expert
LAPTIME: 1:40.43 – NEWER PB
Apart from NORMAL, SPORT and TRACK mode, the GR Y has another mode referred to as “EXPERT” (their words, not mine) that I’ve not yet tried due to it’s intimidating name.
I’m no expert in anything however, this mode turns off all vehicle assists and also flashes up a ominous red warning on the dash to tell you that if you stuff up, it’s your own fault.
It wasn’t as scary as it seemed and I didn’t die so that’s good BUT Kam is also still ahead of me. At the end of the 4th session Kam had to leave to get back to Melbourne for a Fathers day dinner but not before some parting words to me…
“You better get that 39 .”
With the track noticeably cooler now, it was time to not let my good friend Kam down.
SESSION 5:
MODE: Expert
LAPTIME: 1:39.09 – NEWEST PB!
OHH SHIT EXPERT MODE IS FUN! THIS IS FUN, WATCH ME GO!!!
1:39.7860 – PB
1:39.7150 – PB
1:39.0940 – PEE FREAKING BEE!!!!
This was actually really great right up until my cool down lap where my brake pedal went straight to the firewall and I shot off the track. Thankfully at a place where I could avoid hitting things and instead bounced along the infield at an uncomfortable speed.
I’ll need to look at upgrading my fluid as Gary did not appreciate my enthusiasm for back to back PB’s like Perry once did.
SUMMARY:
I’m starting to understand how to drive this car a bit better now. The second track day saw a 2.6 improvement from the first outing and I’m definitely happier with a 1:39 as baseline lap time to approve upon.
My dream car is still proving to be quite dreamy!
Thanks to:
- Aytac, Steve and Blaire for the support and help this weekend
- Pete for lending me his some PB fuel when I ran out
Noisy Ninja 
What difference did you note between expert and ‘normal’ track mode?
What do you prefer from track mode vs sport mode?
I couldn’t get on with track mode (kept scrabbling for grip on corner exit vs in sport mode).
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I actually enjoyed that it was a little loose in expert mode and that the traction control didn’t interfere with powering out of the corner!
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