Track Day Performance Car Visits VIRginia International Raceway

DANVILLE, VA. – The Ariel Atom, one of the world’s newest supercars, made their first U.S. appearance, bringing the “Experience” to Virginia International Raceway, offering potential buyers the chance to drive one of the rocket cars at America’s Motorsport Resort.

Several of these little open-wheeled track cars have been seen at VIR club days and at lapping days sanctioned by renters, with great interest shown by participants.

Powered by a range of General Motors’ Ecotec four-cylinder engines with choices ranging from 205 to 300 horsepower, the Experience cars feature the supercharged 2.0l Ecotec producing 245 hp. When pushing the ultra light 1,400 lb Atom, this results in under three second 0-60 acceleration.

The Ariel is built of large diameter steel tubing, welded and powder coated, with power delivery through a GM 5-speed transaxle equipped with a Quaife limited slip differential, making it a good choice for track days. The two-seat configuration makes it especially applicable, as a student and instructor can ride together, with the instructor driving or simply coaching the student from the passenger seat. Some track day cars and most race cars have only one seat, making immediate feedback impossible for students.

Trak Motorsports runs the fleet of eight “ultra-performance” cars that offer a taste of track day experience to those wishing to see what it is like without the expense of a car rental and entry fees.

Mark Swain, Sales and Marketing Director for Trak Motorsports, described the school recently: “what we’re doing is we’ve got a fleet of eight Ariel Atoms, which are a pretty unique sports car. They’re a two-seater, ultra-performance car that allows us to let anybody from a novice who’s never been on the track before to experienced racers, to get out on the track, have an instructor beside you, and really experience what it’s like to drive a high-performance vehicle.

“We cater to corporate events, we can take up to 21 people, as well as individuals who can run our full-day program. On our full-day program we supply everything from breakfast, lunch, driving suit, in classroom sessions and extensive on-track sessions. You end up with about two hours of track time on a full day, so everybody leaves with a smile on their face and are worn out by the end of the day, which is good.

“We’ve got a wide variety of instructors. We’ve brought some experienced racers from Canada, we’ve got some current Rolex Series competitors that are instructors, so our guys are top-notch.

The car we use is the Ariel Atom. It’s built by Brammo Motorsports in Ashland, Oregon. These cars are 245 horsepower, 1,400 pounds. You can get faster cars if you want to purchase your own, which have up to 300 horsepower, but these cars accelerate zero to sixty in under three seconds, so it’s the ride of a lifetime. The instructor right beside you lets you build your skills instantaneously, so the feedback’s right there and you can get the most out of your car. We don’t limit any on-track performance, as long as you’re being safe and obeying the rules – you can go as fast as you want.

VIRginia International Raceway is a multi-purpose road racing facility, located on the Dan River between Danville and South Boston, Virginia. Reopened in 2000, VIR hosts a wide range professional and amateur auto and motorcycle racing and track events, and is well established as “America’s Motorsport Resort.” In addition to its historic 3.27 mile natural-terrain road racing circuit, VIR is the cornerstone of VIR Club, America's first motorsports country club; the VIR Raceplex Industrial Park and Motorsports Technology Park, which includes the Virginia Institute for Performance Engineering and Research (“VIPER”); the Plantation Valley Kart Track, a 5/8 mile paved natural terrain karting circuit; an expanding variety of on-site lodging (including 45 hotel rooms and the trackside Villas which are for sale); Camp Motorsport for enthusiasts of all ages; and the Oak Tree Tavern, a full-service restaurant located within the circa-1840 Plantation Clubhouse.

VIR’s next major event is the GT Live/KONI Challenge event, the weekend of October 5-7. With the widest variety of motorsports available, the headliner event will be the KONI Challenge races for high-performance production sports cars, coupes and sedans. With limited modifications, these are the same cars seen on the highways every day. The VIR races will be the finales for the two classes, both featuring a six-hour enduro format. The big engined Grand Sport (GS) racers will take the track in the weekend’s capstone, while the smaller Street Tuner (ST) class attracts the import and hot compact crowd.

GS races feature Porsche, Nissan, BMW, Mustang and Pontiac, while the ST cars attract entries such as Mazda RX-8, Chevrolet Cobalt SS, Dodge SRT-4, MINI Cooper S, Acuras and a variety of BMWs. The entire field races on Hoosier tires, further equalizing the competition.

Other attractions of the GT Live weekend include such diverse programs as:
• GT Sim Race: Ride in some of the world’s hottest cars in cars on VIR’s 3.27-mile Full Course.
• Tarzan’s Lap Battle: Drive your own car in on the 1.1-mile Patriot Course in a Time Attack, competing for lap times
• Rally-X: drive your car on VIR’s gravel rally stage roads.
• Karting Zone: race karts on VIR’s Plantation Valley Kart Track.
• Car and bike shows and fan festivals for Mazda, Nissan/Infiniti, Subaru and Mitsubishi EVO.
• GT Track Attack pitting American tuners against Japanese tuners for cash prizes.
• US Drift Shootout: the best amateur and professional drifters competing on the Patriot Course for cash.
• The best motorcycle stunt riders in the business compete for cash prizes in the invitation-only XDL U.S. Stunt Riding Championship.

For information on the track and other event schedules, call 434-822-7700 or check our web site at www.virclub.com.