Reading the latest issue, the point about going to school to improve the driver having more effect on lap time than changing anti-sway bars, was not lost on me. Also, if I were a better driver I might not have stuffed my '99 Miata into the tire wall on the inside of turn 4 at Laguna Seca a month ago.
One thing that has become really clear to me is that, after a year of HPDE/track days and the occasional autocross, I have gotten good enough to truly appreciate just how bad I am. ;-)
Sooo, what schools have you attended and which ones would you recommend? My "new" '90 Miata track-car thanks you.
Brian
Mental
SuperDork
3/3/10 2:26 p.m.
Did Panoz a number of years ago at Road Atlanta. Pricey, but worth every penny. They have been placed under the controll of Skip Barber a few years ago. As long as it's the same guys, I can't imagine it would change much. But being in Cali, Road Atlanta would be quite a drive.
But, to get qualified for track days at Pueblo I took a class from Judy Fass at Faaast Driving School. For the money, she is hard to beat. She travels a lot but is based out of Colorado. I think the closest she will get to you would be New Mexico or one of the Colorado dates. But she does the total package, seating postion, nutrition, car setup, mental status, breathing, etc. If you are a graduate and show up at a race/track day she is working, she'll coach you there as well.
oldtin
Reader
3/3/10 2:44 p.m.
I did skip barber at road america. Good instructors except one guy - seemed to be doing it for the track time - either that or just not so good of a communicator. I only had him for one session - pretty much the same feedback from the other folks who dealt with him. OTOH, a few of us got an extra 10 laps in an mx5 cup car with a good instructor because of the cranky one.
Well, Skip Barber seems to be an obvious candidate but best marketing doesn't necessarily mean best training or most bang-for-the-buck. Lagu... sorry Mazda Speedway at Laguna Seca is relatively convenient to me too but I don't want to cut off some lesser-known but better source of training. I am willing to travel (some -- probably not FL) to get to a really good class.
Brian
I learned a lot from Skip Barber and the instructors that I had are great. I'd love to do it again.
car39
Reader
3/3/10 3:57 p.m.
Bertil Roos. A lot of track time, good, consistent feed back. The only downside is the cars take a beating from class room and track series. You have to try the slide car, it's a hoot.
If you don't mind traveling a bit, http://www.hallettracingschool.com/ in Tulsa will give you a ton of seat time for a reasonable price, and they're SCCA accredited (disclosure - my cousins run the place, but even so I'd still recommend them.)
