The friendliest (and least expensive) track event we’ve ever been to, and we can’t wait for the next one.
I’ve always wanted to go on a track day since I got Project Black (My E46 330Ci), but I know it’s not a highly competitive car, so I avoid proper competitions. Higher speed open track days were also avoided, as I’m worried by the amount of hardware consumption I will have to recover after the activity, like wearing out my tires, brakes, ruining alignment and more. Therefore, track days were dismissed and I carry on with daily driving.
You really think I’d give up on track days tho? Not a chance. There’s always a solution. In this case, it’s UAE’s finest annual evolve.ae fun speed runs.
A quick recap on what evolve.ae does, It’s an annual friendly racing event where every one is welcome to join, whether it’s a race car, a sport car or a super car, to participate in speed test like track day. There are several types of events like an oval circuit with some cones and a drawn course, or a wet track, or even a full open track day.
As soon as I heard about the new season kicking in, I started prepping blackie and headed to track.
I was welcomed by the coolest crowd; Friends, friendly competitors, and all the enthusiasts that I’ve seen or spoken to on social media. Bringing their cars to flex their muscles.
Pre-track preparations included shedding all weight from the car, like tools, spare tire, etc. and to remove any objects that might be moving around in the car. I never felt my car this light/clean. Next, was to line up in the RWD category, and set a target after my first lap.
First time on track, It was a challenge to memorize the gates and layout, but I was able to nail it from first time, and all I had to deal with is the performance. I initially felt some understeer, so after I parked, I had to rework my lines, and I deflated the tires to 27 psi, as I didn’t want to kill my tires’s sidewalls on lower pressure but still get some better traction.
After looking at approximate stopwatch lap time, I found my target. And that was the Nissan 370Zs participating. Our times average was very very similar. So they are the ones to beat in my bone stock 15 year old automatic E46.
I gotta say, the amount of Nissan Zs which were there was surprising. Thanks to the GTZ Club representing, there were a total of 9 cars out of 21 in the RWD category, while the highest second brand was the 86 group, with 5 cars.
So, the GTZ club is my target and I had four more runs to go. I kept learning the track and watching the others race, and compared numbers (Which get sent to a whatsapp group) after every run, and my number kept decreasing.
I was very excited on how the BMW performed. My main nemesis that kept me pushing was Lotfi, the president of the GTZ Club, driving a modified 350Z with coilovers, a cold air intake and an exhaust system. He was only 2 seconds faster than me.
At the end of the day, the first place trophy in RWD category went to Mahmoud who was driving a Porsche Cayman S, and I myself got a best first timer trophy. I know I can’t compete with a Cayman, but who cares? It’s called evolve fun speed runs.
My question at the end, should I modify my E46 and come back? Well, not sure if there’s enough time now, as the next event is on November 3rd. Lets see how things go till then, but for now, I’m glad all I had to do after the race was inflate and re-do the alignment.
Big thanks go to Yaser from evolve.ae for inviting me to the event. I can’t wait for the second event.
