Guys,

Just dropping in with a short report. My wife and I have just returned from the AMG Academy event at Zandvoort in the Netherlands. She is now hooked after doing the Basic course at Hockenheim and so we booked her into the Advanced event at Zandvoort. I decided rather than sitting around watching her have all the fun that I would rent a C63 Black Series and have some 1-on-1 coaching on the 2nd day of the event.

My sessions in C-BS. For any owners of the Black...get the thing on the track. This is one amazing car! I started off with the Conti tires as the track was too wet for the Dunlops semi-slicks that come with track package. I was impressed with the ways the Contis were very progressive in their feel and were very comfortable tire to drive. Later on in the afternoon, we switched tires to Dunlops and after initial scrub-in and 2 laps to put heat into them, started to push the car. What a machine! The car was very positive in its feedback, the grip was solid and the braking was out of this world. Here is a lap in BS with Dunlops.


Excuse the faces/sounds/talking during the video but was having a blast and was pushing fairly hard. Just for reference sake on the performance of the car. The reference lap set by Bernd Schneider for the event was a 1:59.6 and was done in the SLS. My best lap time in Black was a 2:01.6 and Roland Rehfeld who was my instructor for the training went out and did a lap in BS at 1:57.7! This car can simply move and was designed for the track. What a machine! The Dunlops had about 20 laps on them and were getting used up so I think that they will last for a solid track day but probably not much more for those who are considering tracking their BS.

So if you own a black, get it to the track! This car was born to be on the track and you get the most out of it there.

My BS (black/black, CF, track package, rear seat delete) is the dealership in Germany and they are driving it up to Nurburgring where I will take delivery of it and the take it out on the GP track hopefully.

Dave

 

here is vid someone uploaded of C Blacks during auto-cross competition at the event

 

Nice video as always Dave, looks like a very technical course with lots of turns. It looks like you had hard time picking up speed on the short straight & the car looks bouncy (?).

BTW, when r u taking delivery of your BS?

 

Always love your vids David, thanks.

 

You never fail to amaze.

What's the cost for an event like this if you don't mind me asking? Or is just for BS owners? I'm going back to Europe for couple of months and I would love to arrange this. Is there a schedule for similar events?

Thanks.

 

Hi,

Cost for car rental, track time and private instructor was around 3K or so. You can look at schedule of events here http://www.mercedes-amg.com/driving-academy/ and contact them at
amg-driving-academy@zet-project.de to see if there are any open spots. IMHO these events are worth every penny. Let me know if you need any help.

Dave

 

Hi Meng,

It is a great track. The lack of immediate pick-up was due to ESP kicking in under throttle app. I had the option of taking ESP off which would have helped and maybe taken 1-1.5 sec off my time according to my instructor BUT since this was the 1st time I had been on this track, it was not my car and the thought of putting a brand new BS into the fall un-appealing I decided to keep it in sport. The track itself is older one and is bumpy as a result. That been said, the BS when set up for the track and at speed will due to its suspension provide a bumpy ride as it providing direct feedback from tires. Hence you "feel" the track very well.

The BS is been driven to ADA event at Nurburgring at end of the month where we are doing the Nordschliefe in street cars and then SLS GT3 on the GP track.

Dave

 

Cool videos, thanks for sharing!

 

Nice. Very nice. Glad you had a blast!

Thanks for sharing.