freeway. It was a first, I think, for the
modern Carrera. The drive toward the city was beautiful, but cold, a winding freeway through pine forests that looked like somewhere near Monterey California. But as we got closer, it became stop and go... mostly stop. The route book was very precise with its directions, but we just hoped the Porsche in front of us knew where they were going. The stop and go traffic for miles upon miles
reminded us that we were dealing with a clutch that was fragile at best. We all finally made it to a stretch just off the freeway and waited while the Federales and Transit Police cleared the last cars off the road. When our turn came, it was just "pedal to the metal " and lets see how fast the ol' Chev could go. We ran a "rev limiter", which was set at 6000 RPM, so when I peaked over at the speedometer, we were at about 130MPH on the red line. The one thing about this was there were two slight hill crests we went over, and at top speed all the weight of the car comes off the suspension making for a feeling of lightness that makes things interesting in an old car at these speeds.
( Here's a link to a video for a ride through Mexico City in a Porsche GT3... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfbEYlQqmhs
As we came to the end of the freeway and a toll booth, we were supposed to turn off toward a service stop for lunch. Somehow the navigator missed that one, and we just kept on going down the highway. You never want to miss these stops because of penalties, unsigned time cards, and who knows what, so our idea was to turn around and get back to where we were supposed to be. This particular toll road had no where to get off for about 8 or 9 miles, and naturally when we did get turned around, here came everyone passing us the other way. Another trip through the toll booth, and a mad dash to catch the stragglers.
The day continued in the mountains outside of Queretaro with some long downhill sections that were tough on brakes. I remember being passed by a Team Tangerine Porsche 356 in the curves that made us feel slow. The last speed section was held at the Autodromo in Queretaro. This is a newer race track that was... quirky, peculiar, odd, take your pick. Now, I don't know much about race track design, but this one didn't seem to have much of a "flow" to it, but we only had to run 6 laps not 500, so no big deal. The idea here was to get through the laps with no dents and no problems. The cars were let out a few at a time, and we somehow began tangling with a Volvo. We were faster in the straights but they would catch us in the turns, which caused them to start honking at us. Honking... on a race track... what's with that?!?
Another long day, about 275 miles, but with pretty smiling faces and cold beer awaiting our arrival in Queretaro, all was well for today. Tomorrow is Mil Cumbres. Today we are 20th overall, 4th in class.
Next Time: Dia 4- Queretaro - Morelia
Next Time: Dia 4- Queretaro - Morelia
