This Image Gallery covers our very first lapping event at the new Calabogie Motorsports Park track near Calabogie, Ontario. Calabogie is only an hour's drive from Ottawa, and is a fantastic word-class track.
We'd been waiting for this moment for over two years. When we first heard of the plans for the track, we (our little local track day group) were quite excited - something new, something close! But, alas, it wasn't to be - at least not right away, in any case. There was a lot of local opposition to the track, and the ensuing legal wrangling took a long time to work out. In fact, for a while I wasn't even sure the track would ever see the light of day.
I'd already gotten a taste of this fantastic track when Luc gave me a pass to the
Grand Opening ceremonies just two weeks' before. We'd had a beautiful autumn day then, and miraculously, it looked like we were going to have a beautiful autumn day today as well!
Our time slot was from 9am to 11am. The logistical progression of sound testing, latecomers, and a driver's meeting all conspired to put us about twenty minutes behind schedule. I'd worked with Luc on a set of lapping rules for our group, and Luc presented these at our pre-driving briefing meeting. It was mostly a re-hash of our existing rules from other tracks (like Shannonville), but we emphasized a few points around the hilly and sight-limited visibility of this track, and about taking it easy and not exceeding the limits of one's driving or vehicle.
Because our track rental was during a daytime period, we were supplied with an ambulance crew and a set of flaggers. The flaggers were well-organized and no-nonsense, and led by a gent with a loud whistle and who would brook no disregarding of the rules!
Finally, at 9:20am, we headed out onto a couple of parade laps. I wanted to get a few pictures from 'on the track', as it were, so I got Jenn to pilot the car around for the parade laps. She was a little nervous, but I assured her that the parade laps were slow and that she'd have no problem with them. It was nice to finally have Jenn in the driver's seat, and I hoped she'd have a little fun with it!
The track was every bit as beautiful as I'd remembered it from two weeks before. Swoops, crests, and a wonderful drive through autumn foliage! As you can see, I took a bunch of pictures, looking fowards and backwards.
