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The pit lane at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ont. is full of amateur drivers taking a day off work; one participant says he told the office he was “taking a course” and wouldn’t be in. There’s a better selection of cars here than you’d find on any given weekend in Toronto’s fashionably expensive Yorkville: A few Corvettes; a Nissan GTR; a rare Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale road car and its racing cousin from the Ferrari Challenge series; a Mercedes E63 AMG four-door family sedan; a Dinan BMW 1M; an older Ferrari F355 race car; a heavily modified last-gen M3 with ESS Supercharger kit and RAYS Volk rims; a McLaren MP4-12C and a pair of 650s; a black Honda NSX; and many Porsche 911s of various vintages and states of race-readiness, the highlight of which is a genuine 1973 2.7 RS – worth as much as $1-million. Participants talk about how track driving clears the mind, that money or deals are not discussed – it’s about getting away from that. Chatter around pit lane focuses on cars, car parts, new cars and driving cars. The appeal of a track day is in learning a rare skill, learning to push a car to its limit and survive, learning to set a fast lap time. Track days are a pastime best accompanied by a tall pile of cash to burn. Although they can be done on a shoestring, in whatever car you drive regularly, it’s imperative to budget for fuel and tires and a thorough pre-track inspection of the car.

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Gerald Panneton with his Porsche GT3 RS on the track at Mosport.FRED THORNHILL/The Globe and Mail

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Gerald Panneton, top, drives his Porsche GT3 RS on the track the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. The track day, organized by 6th Gear, brings out a wide variety of drivers and cars, who spend their time in the pit lane talking about their shared passion.FRED THORNHILL/The Globe and Mail

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Car enthusiasts on the track at Mosport.FRED THORNHILL/The Globe and Mail

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Car enthusiasts on the track at Mosport.FRED THORNHILL/The Globe and Mail

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Car enthusiasts on the track at Mosport.FRED THORNHILL/The Globe and Mail

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Car enthusiasts on the track at Mosport.FRED THORNHILL/The Globe and Mail

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Gerald Panneton with his Porsche GT3 RS on the track at Mosport.FRED THORNHILL/The Globe and Mail

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Car enthusiasts on the track at Mosport.FRED THORNHILL/The Globe and Mail

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Thoroughbred Porsche waits for ominous clouds to pass on the track at Mosport.FRED THORNHILL/The Globe and Mail

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Car enthusiasts on the track at Mosport.FRED THORNHILL/The Globe and Mail

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Car enthusiasts take cattered lunch break at Mosport.FRED THORNHILL/The Globe and Mail

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Car enthusiasts on the track at Mosport.FRED THORNHILL/The Globe and Mail

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Car enthusiasts on the track at Mosport.FRED THORNHILL/The Globe and Mail

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Car enthusiasts at Mosport.FRED THORNHILL/The Globe and Mail

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Car enthusiasts on the track at Mosport.FRED THORNHILL/The Globe and Mail

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