Factory Five Racing -Track Time

When you're made an offer you can't refuse, say yes. David Smith, co-owner of Factory Five Racing, recently phoned and invited KIT CAR to drive FFR vehicles at the Bondurant School of High Performance Driving in Phoenix, Arizona. The company needed to perform high-speed stability testing on its GTM Mulsanne supercar. They would also be selecting racing tires for the FFR Challenge Cobra spec racer. Spencer Sharp, a professional race car driver and former Bondurant instructor, was hired to do all the Challenge Cobra tire testing. The lead engineer for FFR on the GTM project, Jim Schenck, would be orchestrating the supercar's high-speed stability testing.

Factory Five transported six cars from its headquarters in Wareham, Massachusetts, to the Bondurant School: two GTMs (one with an LS6 engine, the other with an LS7); a FFR Challenge Cobra roadster; a Type 65 coupe; a Challenge Champ roadster; and a Cobra Mk III street car.

The first three days of track time, FFR and KIT CAR endured unseasonable rain. We began to realize why Arizona's state amphibian is a tree frog. At times we would have preferred seeking higher ground, even if it meant climbing a tree. Fortunately, though, FFR's engineers and Spencer were able to get all their testing done in between weather fronts. That meant I could do a bit of driving, too.

Not 10 minutes after I met Dave Smith, we were touring Phoenix's roadways in a Cobra Mk III. It turns out that FFR engineer Jesper Ingerslev built and drives daily the Mk III roadster we drove. I was so impressed with the Cobra that I decided to write a feature article on the car that will appear in an upcoming issue of KIT CAR.

Thanks to Spencer's superior racing and teaching skills, I also now feel comfortable ripping around a racetrack. We used Dave Riha's Challenge Cobra spec racer, another Factory Five engineer's car, and Spencer gave me a lesson. This was my first opportunity ever to get some track time as the pilot, not the passenger. Spencer drove several laps and pointed out where to brake along the course, where to turn in, the course's shift points, and where I should be applying the accelerator. After some brief instruction, Spencer had me drop him off on the side of the track. With both Spencer and Mr. Riha intently watching and critiquing my progress, I soloed on the course for several laps. Each time around, I tried to improve my speed. These FFR spec racers are a blast to drive! They have the same wheelbase as my Mazda Miata daily driver, with more than twice the horsepower and torque. The balance of Mr. Riha's car was exceptional. I had read that the original Cobras, 289s and 427s, were infamous for being beasts on the street and tail-happy handfuls on racecourses. I didn't loop Dave's spec racer once. Mind you, I can't race like Ken Miles or Dan Gurney, but Spencer told me I wasn't the slowest student he ever taught, either. Was he just being kind? I don't think so.

I'm grateful that FFR Cobra owners Mr. Ingerslev and Mr. Riha entrusted me with their roadsters, and I appreciate Factory Five Racing company owner Dave Smith for inviting KIT CAR out to witness these awesome machines being put through their paces on a road course. Mr. Smith's original intent was to let me race all six of these babies at the Bondurant School. I can only fantasize what may have occurred if it hadn't rained on us for three days. Oh well. I'm hopeful Factory Five Racing will extend another invitation to KIT CAR for some more driving and racing fun. If they do, we won't refuse that offer, either.