IE IMBA Application Express Yourself I. Show us an activity you enjoy doing. Tell us how you think it contributes to your personal and professional development TRACK DAYS!

1. I. Show us an activity you enjoy
doing. Tell us how you think it
contributes to your personal and
professional development
Andrés Miguel Castro Ormeño
IE IMBA Application
June 22, 2013
Lima, Perú

2. An activity I enjoy doing is…
…participating in track days!!

3. Track days are events organized in racing circuits in which people who
are not racing drivers can enroll in order to race their cars in a safe
and legal environment and under a number of rules and regulations.
Track days are not car races, the goal is to drive your car, get lap times
and learn how you can improve yourself.
In Peru, track days are organized by the Peruvian Car Racing
Federation and its affiliated clubs.
What are track days ??
Me

4. I have always been a big car enthusiast, which is something that I share
with my father and my brother. When I was little, I used to go to car races
here in Peru with my family. I can even say that for me the perfect Sunday
included having breakfast with my family while watching Formula 1 races
(due to time difference with Europe, F1 races usually are at 7am peruvian
time).
In 1998, when I was 13 years old, I went to my first F1 race and since then
I’ve been to 3 others.
Why I like Track Days
1998 Argentinean Grand Prix. From left to right:
me, my mother, my father and my brother

5. My father and I in the 2001 United States Grand
Prix at Indianapolis, IN
My brother and I in the 2009 Australian Grand Prix
at Albert Park, Melbourne
My brother and I in the 1999 Italian Grand Prix at Monza. I guess you can tell that I’m a big Ferrari fan…

6. Being able to drive in track days is for me
like a dream come true. I’ve always
dreamed of being in a car on a race
track and since 2010 that these events
started to happen here in Lima, I could
not let the opportunity pass.
Track days are for me a great way of
enjoying my passion for mechanics and
car racing because I get to set up my
car, race it and then go back to the shop
to fine tune it.
I also like that I get to share my passion
with other people, some of whom have
became great friends of mine. We get
together whenever we can to talk about
cars and share our knowledge so
everyone can learn as much as possible
about mechanics and driving techniques.
Why I like Track Days
My friends and I during a track day in 2010
Me
My
car
Me

7. Even if track days take place in racing
circuits with high safety standards, racing a
car always involves certain amount of risk,
that’s why:
 All cars are equipped with radios so
every driver can follow the event
director’s instructions and guidelines. If
you don’t play by the rules, the director
immediately excludes you from the
event.
 You are not allowed to overtake cars
unless the director tells you to. In that
case, both drivers will be advised how
and when the overtaking takes place.
 Drivers go into the track in groups of 5 to
10 that are put together considering the
experience of each driver and the car
they will drive.
 All cars have to be street legal, which
means all cars must have technical
inspection certificates.
 Drivers must wear racing helmets and
their seatbelts.
Safety first !
Event Director checking a car’s radio
Me wearing my helmet while driving my car
back in an event from 2011

8.  Comply with the rules I mentioned previously
 I have upgraded the brakes of my car so that brake pads and brake
fluid can bear with the high temperature produced by braking from high
speeds.
 I use special tires that can tolerate high speed cornering and powerful
braking. These also give much more grip than regular street tires.
What I do for safety
http://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=BRUZ30W2Xwg
Click on the link on the right to watch a video of
me wearing my helmet, putting my seatbelt on
and setting up the radio while being checked
by the an event supervisor.

9. Doing things I like is refreshing and motivating, and track days, being one of
the most enjoyable activities I can do, are like an intense battery recharge
for me.
It’s not like I go on track days extremely often because it’s an expensive
thing to do (registration fees, gas, new tires and brake pads every now and
then), but just doing it once every other month is more than enough for me
to satisfy my needs as a daydreaming racing legend!
Track Days and Me
Me

10. When I started university I wasn’t sure if I wanted to become a Civil or a
Mechanical Engineer. I took classes from both programs until my fourth semester
so I could learn about both degrees and make a choice with enough
knowledge. I ended up choosing Civil Engineering as my major because I
understood that mechanics was for me more of a hobby. Several years later I
can happily say that I did good with my choice.
Track days give me the opportunity to please that part of me that love
mechanics because I try to fit upgrades to my car by myself whenever is possible
and during track days I usually have to do some fine tuning in my car’s
suspension so that it feels better in the next round I go out.
Track Days and Me
Me tightening a bolt
from a wheel after I
removed the wheel to
do some changes in the
set up of the suspension
of my car.

11. Track Days and Me
Me during a break in a track day doing some
fine tuning in the suspension of my car… while
doing a funny face due to my friends messing
around with me.
This is the engine of my car. Last year I
bought a new air intake system
(inside the yellow oval) and decided
to do the install by myself. It was
quite a big job because I had to take
off the front bumper, some radiator
hoses, the battery and a few other
components. I had a blast doing it
but it did take me more time than I
thought it would. A few weeks later I
tried it on a track day and it work
perfect!

12. During an event, drivers are put together in groups and each of these groups
can go out to the track for 3 or 4 rounds depending on how many participants,
and therefore groups, there are. Each round is 12 minutes long, which means
that drivers get to do between 8 and 10 laps depending on their skills and car.
The level of concentration someone requires in order to drive a car fast through
straights and corners without making mistakes is really high. For example, you
cannot miss a braking point before a corner because if you do, it’s very likely that
you won’t be able to keep the car on the road and make the turn. I would say
that this ability to concentrate really hard for certain amount of time has helped
me in my professional life.
Track Days and Me

13. Track Days and Me
Me in my car going
around a right hand
corner.
Click on the link below to watch a video of
me doing a lap in my car during a track
day back in March 2013.
http://www.youtube.com/watch
?v=qXP_34nlmyY

14. Track Days and Me
Here I am driving my car from my garage to the end of the pit lane to prepare myself before being
checked by the event supervisor for going out for my next round of laps.

15. Track Days and Me

16. Thanks!