As you've read or will soon read, Kevin, Mike and I made our way down to Monticello in New York State for the International Motor Press Association's (IMPA) Test Days.
As an IMPA virgin (I'm man enough to own up to this), I was stressed out my mind. I expected to have to run around like a madman, trying to get to the cars, wait in line, wrestle for the keys, wait for the guy or gal that's taken too much time with the car, enter my scores, finish my category in time... Aaargh!
What you've just read is a synapsed summary of how things go down at AJAC's TestFest. We have to be scanned every time we want a car and must make sure that we spend a set amount of time at the wheel. Notes must be taken and scores must be awarded. Obviously, all these steps are necessary in order to properly vote for the best of the best, including the car and truck of the year. Test Days are far different.
Mike and I showed up early on Wednesday morning. In fact, we were probably second and third at the Monticello Motor Club, walking around, picking out which cars we'd like to drive, not knowing what we had to do to get the keys or even who to speak to. We walked into the Monticello circuit clubhouse and registered, asked a few questions, got vague answers but no one seemed worried about anything, except perhaps about the weather.
The cars were staged near the clubhouse and to drive off with them, all we needed were our credentials and a smile and a thank you. That was it! No time limit, no scan, no probing, no body-cavity search, nothing! How refreshing.
In essence, I found out that IMPA Test Days are more of an opportunity to meet up with colleagues and industry pros to drive a few cars that we may have missed out on during the previous year. We even get to drive some cars that will shortly be launched (2012 VW Jetta GLI, 2012 Toyota Camry).
As it were, not only did I cruise around Monticello and surrounding areas in some sweet rides such as a John Cooper Works MINI Cooper and a Volkswagen Beetle Turbo, but I also got to properly mash the throttle on a few more on the track.
Thing was that the track was drenched. Thursday morning was grey and rainy and really humid. By 10 a.m., the rain had basically stopped and the sun was making its presence felt and poked its face around the clouds on a few occasions. It was enough to eventually dry up the track and allow us to have a real go at the cars.
I was particularly enamoured with the 2012 BMW Z4 sDrive28i (I'll tell you more about it in a short while), the Volkswagen Golf R (Kevin will take care of this one) and the 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8.
All in all, it was a good and relaxed event complete with a 50th Anniversary cake (IMPA was founded in 1961). I look forward to coming back next year and if any of the comments I got on Facebook and Twitter are any indication, there will be more Canadians signing up in the next 12 months to join in on the party.
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| Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre/Auto123.com |
As an IMPA virgin (I'm man enough to own up to this), I was stressed out my mind. I expected to have to run around like a madman, trying to get to the cars, wait in line, wrestle for the keys, wait for the guy or gal that's taken too much time with the car, enter my scores, finish my category in time... Aaargh!
What you've just read is a synapsed summary of how things go down at AJAC's TestFest. We have to be scanned every time we want a car and must make sure that we spend a set amount of time at the wheel. Notes must be taken and scores must be awarded. Obviously, all these steps are necessary in order to properly vote for the best of the best, including the car and truck of the year. Test Days are far different.
Mike and I showed up early on Wednesday morning. In fact, we were probably second and third at the Monticello Motor Club, walking around, picking out which cars we'd like to drive, not knowing what we had to do to get the keys or even who to speak to. We walked into the Monticello circuit clubhouse and registered, asked a few questions, got vague answers but no one seemed worried about anything, except perhaps about the weather.
The cars were staged near the clubhouse and to drive off with them, all we needed were our credentials and a smile and a thank you. That was it! No time limit, no scan, no probing, no body-cavity search, nothing! How refreshing.
In essence, I found out that IMPA Test Days are more of an opportunity to meet up with colleagues and industry pros to drive a few cars that we may have missed out on during the previous year. We even get to drive some cars that will shortly be launched (2012 VW Jetta GLI, 2012 Toyota Camry).
As it were, not only did I cruise around Monticello and surrounding areas in some sweet rides such as a John Cooper Works MINI Cooper and a Volkswagen Beetle Turbo, but I also got to properly mash the throttle on a few more on the track.
Thing was that the track was drenched. Thursday morning was grey and rainy and really humid. By 10 a.m., the rain had basically stopped and the sun was making its presence felt and poked its face around the clouds on a few occasions. It was enough to eventually dry up the track and allow us to have a real go at the cars.
I was particularly enamoured with the 2012 BMW Z4 sDrive28i (I'll tell you more about it in a short while), the Volkswagen Golf R (Kevin will take care of this one) and the 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8.
All in all, it was a good and relaxed event complete with a 50th Anniversary cake (IMPA was founded in 1961). I look forward to coming back next year and if any of the comments I got on Facebook and Twitter are any indication, there will be more Canadians signing up in the next 12 months to join in on the party.
 |
| Photo: Mathieu St-Pierre/Auto123.com |