Yahoo Autos The Fastest Readers from Our 2024 Lightning Lap Track Day at VIR
The host of our annual Lightning Lap track test, Virginia International Raceway, got some new tire marks from our loyal readership at our fourth-ever Lightning Lap track day. Just like we've run for the past 17 years, our readers pushed for the quickest time among 10 different categories—determined by price—around the 4.1-mile Grand Course. This layout uses nearly every nook and cranny, ultimately challenging those who attempt it with 24 turns. The full layout, used by IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Michelin GT Challenge, and Mazda MX-5 Cup, is 3.27 miles with just 17 turns.
This year's event saw 26 entrants in the Experienced category, which left loads of space during the five hours of track time to set the hottest lap. A few competitors we talked to mentioned they had signed up specifically to take on the Grand Course, which roughly a quarter of the folks who showed up had never driven before.
Three Car and Driver editors participated, including executive editor K.C. Colwell, who has run the quickest Lightning Lap time of 2:34.9 in a McLaren Senna, and vehicle testing director Dave VanderWerp, who has set times at six Lightning Laps in more than 20 different cars. Our all-electric 2024 BMW i4 xDrive40 long-term test car made the 1240-mile roundtrip from our Michigan HQ to get a couple laps in, too.
Founder and CEO of Kaizen Autosport Peter Heffring set laps, offered coaching, and had a crew of track wizards onsite to handle timing and help customers in and out of their fleet of race-car rentals. The Kaizen group runs a racing school, and for those who prefer to arrive and drive, there was a group of rentals ranging from a BMW M235i and Chevrolet Camaro SS 1LE to even more intense cars such as a Audi R8 GT4 Evo and a Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo.
Enthusiast Group
A group of more than 20 drivers arrived at our VIR track day to get comfortable on track. This group is designed to get people out of the paddock who have never been on a track, or who might not have a ton of track experience under their helmet. In a rush to maximize his summer track time, William Samuel brought his Majestic Black Pearl Acura Integra Type S—a 10Best Cars for 2024 winner—to the track with fewer than 1000 miles on the odometer. Righteously, Benjy Messner busted out his 591-hp 2021 Audi RS6 Avant swagger wagon for the occasion, one of two RS6 Avants in attendance. This group proudly finished the day accident-free, without trading paint, just big smiles.
LL2 ($40,000 to $74,999)
There wasn't a car competing for times that fell below the $40,000 mark, leaving the LL1 category vacant. LL2 was the most popular group, fielding seven entrants. Christian Aranha brought his Chevrolet Camaro SS 1LE and left with the quickest time, posting a 2:51.7. An impressive showing for his inaugural running of the 4.1-mile Grand Course. Christian told us he wasn't far behind the 2:54.8 time we set at Lightning Lap 2016, but once he swapped from street tires, he had us beat. A few seconds back, Nathan Bunn annihilated the time he set last year in his 2021 Toyota Supra. His time of 2:55.1 is 3.2 seconds quicker than what he managed last year. His custom aero package and stickier tires helped him just sneak under our quickest Supra Lightning Lap time of 2:55.6.
LL3 ($75,000 to $139,999)
Adam Ruderman's Porsche Cayman GT4 was easy to spot and not just because of its Python Green paint job. The brap from the GT4's naturally aspirated flat-six twisted more neck than a chiropractor. Though not quite as quick as our 2:50.3 time, his time of 3:00.5 was the quickest in LL3 by 10 seconds, where a more civilized Cayman 718 chased behind. All four vehicles that entered into the LL3 class wore Porsche emblems. Ruderman's time also beat last year's LL3 winner, David Hunt, whose 2022 Porsche Cayman GT4 set a 3:02.6 lap time.
LL4 ($140,000 to $280,000)
Matthew Einstein is a machine. One that can't be stopped. He set a 2:45.7 last year in an Irish Green 911 GT3, but was back again this year in a Brewster Green Cayman 718 GT4 RS. Just as he did at last year's event, and the one before that, he got the W in LL4 as its only competitor. His Cayman 718 GT4 RS did a 2:50.7 this time around VIR. The dude's got good taste in cars. We set our 2:40.5 in near-perfect ambient conditions, tying our abilities in the 911 GT3. To Einstein's credit, May 8 was a steamy, near-90-degree day, so we hope he makes another return next time to match his 911 GT3 time.
LL5 ($280,001 and Up)
A man after our own heart, Woody Whichard dusted off his paint-to-sample Porsche 911 GT3 RS (991), plugged in his own Racelogic VBox datalogger (similar hardware to what we use during our Lightning Lap test), and hit the track as the only LL5 entrant. Whichard's time of 2:48.4 isn't his personal best around the Grand Course, but it was the quickest of the day among the street-car categories by nearly three seconds.
LLP1 (Under $125,000)
The LLP1 category is for the race car prototypes. Before anyone got on the track, participants were advised to adjust their mirrors a bit lower, to ensure they see the low-slung Radical SR3 coming up behind them. The SR3 is a four-cylinder with a six-speed sequential transmission and a Quaife limited-slip differential. John Lepak set a class-winning 2:45.9, with Sean Monett a few seconds behind him at 2:48.4.
LLP2 ($125,000 and Up)
Tom Gladdis was the quickest dude of the day, setting a time of 2:30.2 in his Radical SR3. He fought off Michael Eyler, who surprised us all by lapping an open-wheel Ligier, a company that builds Formula 3 and 4 cars. At the end of the event the SR3 and Ligier's best times were a narrow two-tenths apart.
LLR1 (Under $65,0000)
LLR1 was a healthy mix of drivers at the helm of very different autos. Nathan Styles's Porsche Cayman S, which ran a time of 2:58.4, ultimately bested the attempts of Carlos Ramirez in a 2001 Acura Integra and Jonathan Webb in a Nissan 350Z.
LLR2 ($65,000 to $125,000)
Tyler and Bradley Routh showed up with a pair of Corvettes. Tyler ultimately set the quickest LLR2 time of 3:13.9 in his bright yellow C5 Vette that donned a giant Corvette Racing "Jake Skull." Seven-tenths back was the C5 Z06 of Tyler. The Car and Driver Lightning Lap track test started in 2006, after the days of the fifth-gen Corvette, so we don't have any times to compare against team Routh.
LLR3 ($125,000 and Up)
Among the many vehicles getting the ax for 2024, the checkered flag has fallen for the mid-engine Audi R8. However, at VIR, you can rent the 495-hp GT4 version, which used to compete in IMSA and WEC. David Hodge set a time of 2:43.4, the quickest in LLR3. His time beat Peter Heffring in a Lamborghini LP 620-2 Super Trofeo racer—another Kaizen Autosport rental—and John Huang, with whom we shared a garage space, who drove from Pennsylvania to test his recently acquired Porsche GT4 Clubsport.
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