I spent the past weekend at Korea International Circuit in Mokpo. It was a two day event with five sessions each day. It was a lot of seat time! It was also my first time there, so my initial time was a high 1.48-1.50, I quickly brought it down to 1.43 but wasn't able to eek out a 1.40.14 until the very last lap. Next time I go I want to make mid 1.30, like a 1.35 or 1.36. For reference, the Basic Performance track spec M2 is 1.25 and a friend of mine with a lot of experience at this particular track did a personal best at 1.27 in his M3, so I'm definitely slower and I think with enough practice I can eventually hit 1.30. That's my ultimate goal. The GT4 that was there did a PB of 1.23.6.
I'll just go through the pics.
I live about 3.5 hours from the track and had to be there by 8:30 to get my license, so I left my house at 4:30AM to make sure I arrived on time.
By sunrise I had made it all the way to Kunsan, with only about an hour to go.
I arrived to the track about 45 minutes early, and watched the cars unload. Some of my friends utilized a car carrier so they could bring multiple cars and just took the high speed train down. Usually the carrier is privately owned and they get about $400 round trip per car (using Seoul as a starting point), and the drivers will stay overnight and then take the cars back Sunday evening.
Since it was only 14 of us for two full days (two groups of 7), it made no sense to get a bunch of garages so we utilized 2, and the Radical's took 4 garages because they had a whole setup going on.
There was also a S2000 that came, which is very, very rare in Korea.
I couldn't have asked for better weather - low of 2C, high of 10C.
So I attended the license class and exam, which is in two parts, one is a written test and the other is a behind the wheel test where they check your knowledge of the flags.
I didn't know what was said but I could make a guess, I couldn't read the test questions so they let me pass without taking it, and I passed the behind the wheel test and then I was ready to RACE.
I also checked out the Radical setup, they have a whole system. Basically the guys pay a set fee for support for the year, then fixed cost per event, car transport, etc. Expensive hobby.
I did my first 20 minute session, trying to get a feel of the track. There are three high speed corners that I still haven't mastered and brake too much for, but after the safety video during the license class I was afraid to push it because the safety video was 30 minutes of crash footage
After that it was time for lunch.
Then back out on track.
I also rode my friend's GT3RS as taxi passenger - which was beyond fun. And of course much faster than I can drive.
And with that, as suddenly as it began, the day ended and it was time to grab dinner. Since Mokpo is an ocean town (famous for shipbuilding) we went and ate live squid and boiled octopus.
We got back to our hotel just in time to watch the last rays of sun set below the horizon.
The lights are squid boats (they use bright lights to attract the squid, then they net them) with Hyundai Heavy Marine to the side. They're currently building some gas exploration ships.
After break it was time for dinner number two.
And dinner number three.
Bedtime, then time to hit the track again!
We took the first session as a chance to take some photos on track. A friend of ours is a professional photographer, so....
Here are my own unprofessional photos.
Now time to do some sessions. If I wasn't driving, I was riding taxi trying to learn the driving line better. Also i think riding taxi in a GT2RS/GT3RS and a track spec M2 is more fun than say, taxis you find at the Nurburgring because in this instance they are going balls to the wall / hitting the curbs / etc. so it's far more exciting (IMO).
Something that is rarely talked about is at the track you're getting what, 5mpg? 4mpg? I could do about 50 minutes of track time before needing gas so I filled up several times. It's also expensive here (close to $6/gal equivalent)
I have some videos but I don't know how to embed them here, so just use your imagination to think about how awesome they might be. Lol
And with that, day two was over and it was time to go home. In the later part of the day I rode a few laps with a friend with a M3, and he showed me some places I could save some additional time. When it was my turn to go out I did that, and found 3 more seconds. So I can't wait to get back and find even more time out there.
I filled up gas again for the 4th time and drove 4 hours home, as the drive progressed more and more slag flew off my tires making beautiful ping noises as it hits my car...Priceless.
So in the end, I can now say I've gone to a real track. This one was nicer than others I've been to because it's the old F1 track from when F1 was in Korea for ~3 years. It's well designed and well maintained.
After going to the BMW Driving Center multiple times, I don't think I'll go back after trying KIC. BMW DC is more like a kids arena, it's time to go where the actual tracks are. I was contemplating buying a winter pass to KIC or Inje, but might wait until it gets warm again in the spring.
I would be remiss without mentioning that while driving on track is fun, the experience wouldn't have been complete without the people I was there with. What a fun group. Incredibly hospitable, and the environment was very confidence inspiring - people who build you up. I couldn't think of a better group to race with.
Hope you enjoyed.