Redlining A Jaguar On A Wet Racetrack

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“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” In the abstract, thatFriedrich Nietzsche saying almost sounds romantic. But in the context of real lifeexperience, it’s more than just a cliche. Racing Jaguars on an unexpected wet trackdefinitely falls into this second category.To try the stunt I traveled with RPerformance Academy, Jaguar’s driving school, to Monticello Motor Park, 90 minutesnorthwest of New York. I’d never driven on that track, a challenging road coursefull of elevation changes and twisting turns, nor had I driven the cars: Jaguar’stwo-door XKR andfour-door XFR.Formally introduced in 2009, the machines come from a long line of X-types datingback to the mid-20th century. Last year marked the 50th anniversary of the classic XKE(also known as the “e” type), considered by auto purists as the most beautifulof all Jags. The XKR and XFR are the automaker’s attempt at offering a practicalluxury sports car with some real road gravitas at a decent price (the cars startat $97,500 and $82,000, respectively).Both are powered by a 5.0-liter, 510 hpsupercharged V8 engine. In manual mode, paddle shifters on the steering wheel (like an F1car -- upshift on right/downshift on left) bring you through six gears without a clutch.Four-wheel 15-inch disc brakes stop you faster than you can accelerate, which is prettyquick; the XKR goes from 0-60 mph in 4.6 seconds, the XFR in 4.7 seconds. As with mostadvanced sports cars today, a traction control system (computer software that correctsdriver errors) is included.With production XFR and XKR models, top speed iselectronically limited to 155 mph via a governor, but the cars are capable of more. In aspecial prototype test in 2008, Jaguar took an XFR to the Bonneville Salt Flats and, sansgovernor with weight reductions, ran the thing at 225 mph. You and I are not able to dothis, but it does show how powerful the engine is. Heck, that's quicker than the muchpricier LamborghiniAventador.The day of my scheduled Monticello event dawned overcast, andthe weather just got worse. A dense fog turned to heavy rain by the time I arrived at thetrack. It was so bad that, at one point, I thought they would cancel, even though you canrace on a wet road course up to a point.R Academy's team of instructors is animpressive group. Ours included Roberto Guerrero, a Formula 1 veteran with five top-fivefinishes at the Indianapolis 500; sprint car racer Adam Andretti, a nephew of Mario;and Davy Jones, who placed second in the 1996 Indy 500.First, we congregatedin a dry classroom, as is the usual start for events like this. Racing is all aboutphysics, we quickly learn, whether on a dry track or in the rain. Only brake in a straightline otherwise you upset the balance of the car. Slow enough before a corner, thenaccelerate out -- much faster than barreling in too quickly, then having to scrub speed inthe turn. Use the entire track to maximize turning radius and hold momentum. And look farout to where you want to go, not where you don’t.This sounds like commonsense until you encounter a problem at high speed and have to do it all at once, as may bethe case on a track -- or the highway. And rain, well, it only exacerbates thechallenges.After class, we paired into groups and headed to the parking lot.Instructors wanted us to feel the power of 510 hp in close quarters. A series ofautocross, figure-eight and small ovals defined by orange cones became our miniaturetracks. While we all made mistakes and knocked over cones, the cars handled surprisinglywell on the drenched pavement using the traction control systems.Lest webecome too confident, the instructors occasionally turned off the TCS, and quickly werealized we were so not Lewis Hamilton. When Andretti secretly switched mine off on thefigure-eight, I spun wildly. Better to do this in a parking lot, though, than on-trackwhere soft cones are replaced by a heavy steel guardrail. We quickly learned that in therain, everything must be smooth and done at three-quarters speed.Followinglunch it was decided that, despite the continuing downpour, we would head to the maintrack. But because of puddles, some four inches deep, we only would use the 1.6-mile southcourse (the entire track is 4.1 miles). With 12 separate corners, some more than 90degrees, the smaller venue would be challenging enough. Continue Reading

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