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 Factory Five Racing Challenge...  The Factory Five Racing Challenge spec racing series has to be a hoot. We received expert instruction from racer Spencer Sharp and raced FFR engineer Dave Riha's roadster on the Bondurant course. Here, Spencer performed the required spec series tire testing before turning the car over to KIT CAR. FFR chose Toyo Proxes DOT radials for the spec series. |  At this point in the testing,...  At this point in the testing, five of the six Factory Five Racing cars were present and accounted for. Notice the cloudy skies. |  The Bondurant course has several...  The Bondurant course has several elevation changes, making it an excellent course to learn the finer points of racing. The purple 425-horse Challenge Champ roadster looked omnipotent coming off the track's most dramatic rise. It's powered by a 331ci fuel-injected Ford V-8. |
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.
 |  The FFR's owner actually encouraged...  The FFR's owner actually encouraged racer Spencer Sharp to do a burnout on the skid pad. The Challenge Champ roadster offered up every bit of its 380 lb-ft of torque for some prodigious tire smokin' and rubber removin'. |  We reserved the last photo...  We reserved the last photo shoot for FFR's sweet Type 65 coupe. As we began to snap some pictures, it started to snow. |
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.
 The white stuff is more apparent...  The white stuff is more apparent in this side-centric photo of the Type 65. This coupe has a Ford 302ci small-block V-8 that produces 345 horsepower and 330 lb-ft of torque. Independent suspension all the way around enables race car handling. |  |  While the desert twilight...  While the desert twilight beckoned, we took some beauty shots of the black LS6-powered GTM in front of a manmade stream. For all the details on the black and the red GTM, revisit the November '06 issue of KIT CAR. |
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.
 With other cars on the course,...  With other cars on the course, Jesper waited for an opportune time to get the LS6 405-horse GTM on the track. |  As the two GTMs exited the...  As the two GTMs exited the 180-degree carousel turn, one could appreciate the instant acceleration ability of the red LS7-equipped GTM. By mashing the throttle, the driver distanced himself from the pursuing LS6-powered supercar. |  After another successful test...  After another successful test session with the LS7-powered GTM, the supercar's lead engineer, Jim Schenck, was ready to review the results on the onboard telemetry computer. |
 KIT CAR discovered that FFR's...  KIT CAR discovered that FFR's engineers are also accomplished race car drivers. Look how close together the two GTMs were. They were at speed, too, not just parading around the course. Naturally, the GTM with the 505hp LS7 was leading. |  FFR engineer Jesper Ingerslev...  FFR engineer Jesper Ingerslev let KIT CAR drive his Mk III roadster. We'll give all the details on this delicious drop-top in an upcoming issue. |  In 1965, with the World Manufacturers...  In 1965, with the World Manufacturers Championship on the line, this is the sort of view Ferrari and every other contender grew weary of seeing: a Type 65 Daytona coupe's backside pulling away from the field. FFR co-founder Dave Smith took KIT CAR for a thrilling ride in the coupe on the Bondurant course. Maybe next time Mother Nature will permit a different driver. |