I picked up a major tick on my bucket list yesterday (Sunday), as I did a Porsche track day at Laguna Seca Raceway in an early 911. It was everything I dreamed it would be, and more! Very exciting track to drive in a classic 911, especially one which had never done a track day before.

Laguna’s been a JG magnet since I saw it in an Elvis movie or somesuch as a kid growing up in Ireland. Built on a dried-up lake bed (Laguna – Lake/Seca – dry), everything that draws me to California is here: great light, incredible sunshine, beautiful landscape of the Monterey hills, close to the ocean at Pacific Grove. And of course, always very cool cars.

This visit was as good as ever. Leaving the San Francisco suburbs at the crack of dawn (above), my buddy Gray and I arrived at Laguna just in time for the briefing. Our beginners’ first session was at 10am, so I passengered my mate for his first laps of the track. That was interesting, to say the least. I will spare his blushes here!

Second session was my turn. I did a warm-up lap, came back in the pits, tightened my belts to the max and rejoined the circuit. Our car is a 911T: 2.2 with E cams and S pistons, SC undercarriage and brakes, albeit with no servo. Tyres are street Michelins and brake pads are road Mintex. It was probably the smallest engine in our group, but we didn’t hold too many people up and even passed a slowish Ferrari 360.

I’m working on a separate post about the lap experience and will get it up later. As with any track day, the social side was good fun and it was great to hang out with Lars and Leif from Denmark (above): Porsche owners who were doing their day in a Chevy hire car. A station wagon! Gotta love Laguna Seca.