If there is one thing every racing driver can appreciate, it’s the surprising lack of sound in the car. Seems odd, right? No music blasting, no humans distracting or annoying…it’s just you, the car, and the sound of our people as you clip apex to apex, turning a ribbon of asphalt into your own personal playground. It’s why I love my track time at NCM Motorsports Park. Whether it’s in my car, their car, or a car that does not belong on the track, the peace that comes with the drive is something to behold. Even when I took my wife on a touring lap of NCM earlier this year, she stayed quiet as well and let me concentrate on the task of keeping Chrysler and crew out of the weeds.
Resident NCM hot shoe Andy Pilgrim’s take of a “peaceful drive” is our “beating the holy #@%! out of a new ZR1 Corvette”. Saying the man can drive is like saying water is wet, and judging from his speeds on certain areas of the track on the video, Mr. Pilgrim was hauling balls around the course at full-tilt when something magically annoying happened: OnStar thought he crashed. Three times in a little over a lap on NCM’s Full Course, he was rudely interrupted by an OnStar operator who thought that he had stuffed the Corvette in a traffic accident instead of having a riot of a time wheeling one of GM’s most potent weapons around a closed course. We understand how it happened when Pilgrim hit the rumble strip. We don’t understand how it happened in the middle of the straightaway. And we are baffled that he managed to remain polite to the OnStar operators as he is banging gears away and hanging on through the g-loads in cornering. That’s the mark of a professional, right there!
(Courtesy: Automobile Magazine)
I truly don’t get this – why did they turn on OnStar. When you buy the car, you’re not required by anyone to activate it…
I’m impressed with the Corvette and the drivers skill – OnStar not so much.
Why does anybody have that intrusive junk in their car and especially in their homes? GM has been caught tracking people through OnStar. Oh, they weren’t tracking YOU. They were just collecting data where GM cars travel. Or those intruders people buy for their homes that listen to your requests. Those have been found to have been hacked. George Orwell, “1984” is here in ways you couldn’t imagine.
But I did enjoy the video. It was great to watch this driver using the shifter like a man who is in total control instead of those sissy paddle shifters.
I agree about the intrusive electronics, both at home and in the car.
I disagree about \”shifting like a man\” and \”sissy paddle shifters\”. Real men don\’t care what gets them around the track faster. Paddle shifting has been used in racing for over 25 years from Formula 1 to WRC to GT3 racing. You may enjoy manhandling your stick, but I guarantee you\’re slower around the track. In fact, that\’s likely the only manhandling your stick sees.