I'm not talking about casual, occasional track days, or DEs...I'm thinking about the maybe 10 percent of truly experienced Porsche track rats who are at the front of whatever fast group exists in whatever event they are running. Running a car hard, bouncing on the bump stops HARD on the curbs, and burning through a set of pads and tires every few track days and rotors every few weeks...well, after you've done that for a decade or two, it's actually not that fun or challenging anymore. Up until my last 911, I've run every car I've owned in the past 25 years in some fashion on the track, in some cases taking a brand new car and partially gutting it to install a welded roll bar or partial cage, then run it without a care about costs or wear and tear. At age 61, having done this for 30 years (although not the last 4 or 5 years) in Porsches, BMWs, S2000s, Type R etc, I'm not going to get any faster in a street car. Thinking about getting back into it with my wife (who is doing a 3-day open wheel school at Mont Tremblant in October), it just makes sense to us get a couple of $25k or $30k FCs or FFs and a trailer, and keep the street cars for the street. Go faster...have a ton of fun...maybe learn something new...and spend less money.
BTW, maybe if I was a bit younger I'd do Rotax or even Shifter karts, having spent the better part of a decade taking my son up the ranks from Junior Yamaha through JICa, ICA and then shifters I know the thrill/cost equation is crazy appealing...but DAMN, 20 minutes in a fast kart is hard on this aging frame. Out there with the young bucks, the adrenaline starts flowing and I feel compelled to try and get and stay up front, then can hardly move the next couple of days. A bunch of old racers giving 'er in 20-year old Formula cars sounds a whole lot more pleasant, and my kind of "retirement racing." As a bonus, I never have to deal with another Ferrari or Lamborghini driver at DE or Time Attack event sporting a pristine Nomex suit, gloves and boots who is a danger to himself and everyone else on the track.
I completely understand the urge to run whatever you have, as hard as you possibly can, at every opportunity. I think I'm realizing I'm at a stage in my life where my DD just needs to be quick and precise and entertaining on the street, and won't be asked to run regularly near the edge of its performance envelope to give sensations that don't thrill the way they used to.
I wonder if all old farts who were once hard-core track rats end up here? Will you, and Ken and others be thinking similar thoughts 20 years and thousands of laps down the road?