D
ISCOVER
ADVENTURE GIRL
FULL THROTTLE
You can cross ‘race-car driving’ off your bucket list at one local racetrack. BY NIKI JONES, PHOTO BY CARRIN WELCH
I’m sitting in a bucket seat that feels like it is 3 inches above the ground. My hands, while not quite sweaty, have a death grip on the steering wheel in front of me and are fixed on the positions of 10 and 2. My left foot is planted firmly on a metal footrest, while my right foot hovers above the gas pedal. I am in a Ferrari 488 GTB, about to take off. And when I lower my foot, take off is exactly what I do. I’m at Harris Hill Raceway in San Marcos, Texas, to experience Longhorn Racing Academy’s Supercar Driving Experience and I’m psyched.
SMOOTHNESS, TRACTION, VISION The day starts off in the classroom, where Longhorn Racing chief instructor Jeff Sanders affably breaks down the anatomy of a turn, how to corner and the dynamics of a car. Armed with this knowledge, the handful of students and I are ready to head outside and put the pedal to the metal. My first undertaking on this sunny, breezy day is to take two “recon” laps as a passenger to get familiar with the lay of the land and to see and feel the turns in order to get the most out of my driving time. Even as we are traveling at a “medium” speed, these laps are exhilarating—sort of the ramp up for what is to come.
36 | AUSTIN WOMAN | JANUARY 2019
CURVES AHEAD Harris Hill is a 1.8-mile curvy, hilly track with 11 bracing hairpin turns. The beautiful setting is as if a racetrack were dropped in the middle of a rural expanse, with trees and ponds dotting the landscape. From the two-story back porch of the main building, spectators can see every turn on the entire track. Unlike other racetracks of its size, Harris Hill doesn’t have any barriers or fencing on the edges of the speedway, just rolling, grassy fields all around, which helps allay any fears I may have about crashing into a wall. Harris Hill possesses an inclusive friends-and-family vibe, and Longhorn Racing Academy’s friendly and accessible approach to car racing fits right in.
WARM IT UP The first car I drive on the track is a stunning electric-blue Porsche Cayman GTS, just one of LRA’s ever-changing