Skip Barber

My amazing girlfriend bought me a skip barber intro to racing gift certificate. Here are my questions:

Should I do the mazda mx-5 or formula cars? (I hear the formula is better)

I live in Atlanta so road Atlanta makes the most sense but going down to Sebring is very tempting since the weather has been cold and rainy here…

Any recommendations… thoughts?

Do you spend more time on track in a open or closed wheel car? How many chances do you get to be on track at Sebring? I would think the local track could be done anytime, but track time on a new track is priceless. And good choice in girlfriends!

AWESOME GIFT!! you should probably do the Rd. Atl. its a great track, and if it rains, all the better b/c you learn great car control. Also, b/c its closer, you will save a lot of money on gas and lodging (if you live close enough to drive home for the night)
I'd suggest the Formula cars because it is a great experience to drive something MADE for racing. I have a feeling you would regret it if you didnt.

Have fun! Steven

Be VERY nice to the GF!! Ya got a keeper there.

StevenFV19 wrote: AWESOME GIFT!! you should probably do the Rd. Atl. its a great track, and if it rains, all the better b/c you learn great car control. Also, b/c its closer, you will save a lot of money on gas and lodging (if you live close enough to drive home for the night) I'd suggest the Formula cars because it is a great experience to drive something MADE for racing. I have a feeling you would regret it if you didnt. Have fun! Steven

This man has the right idea!

You live in Atlanta so your expenses are already minimized.

Yeah, the weather here has been cooler and wetter than normal but that's why proper outer-wear and umbrellas were invented.

Choose the formula car option if only because it may be your best opportunity to drive one. Stop worrying about the weather because you'll be so adrenalized by the experience you won't know or care if you're in Honolulu or Helsinki.

And most importantly, recognize that you have a very special woman and constantly work to make the relationship better every waking moment - except when lapping Road Atlanta.

I did the intro course at Lime Rock in the rain a few years back. At the time, they didn't have the MX-5 option, but I would have chosen the formula cars anyway, just because I've always wanted one. I think I learned a lot more because of the rain and getting wet didn't bother me. You'll enjoy it, but it will be over before you know it.

I almost never suggest this kind of thing, but that girlfriend might be worth hanging on to.

Especially if she doesn't rat you out to your wife.

Woody wrote: Especially if she doesn't rat you out to your wife.

This is what Dennis said in our current newsletter:

Dennis said: An unusual Christmas present By Dennis Collins This last Christmas I received an unusual gift from Kelly and my daughters; a Skip Barber Gift Certificate for their ‘Intro to Racing’ program. The schools are held once a month at 12 tracks around the country and since Kelly is from Wisconsin, it had to be Road America at Elkhart Lake. The brochure described the event as 2 hours of classroom discussing the technique and dynamics of racing and 1 hour of track time in an open wheel formula car. To my surprise after about 45 minutes the instructor said “ ready for the cars.” We spent an hour and fifty-three minutes in the cars. Here is how it went: Twelve of us were divided into three groups of four and were instructed to follow the Pace Car. On each consecutive lap the lead car would pull to the right after going thru the ‘KINK’, slow until the others passed and then rejoin the group so each had a chance to lead. Each lap the pace car would increase its speed depending on the abilities of the students. The first few laps I would be coming out of the corners expecting the driver in front of me to be accelerating like a ‘Bat out of Hell’ but found he was braking instead. After my nearly crashing into his rear end several times in the straight-aways (because of the sequence he stayed in front of me except when I led) they pulled all of us over and rearranged the groups, separating the slower and faster drivers. When asked how we were doing and if we had any questions, I had only one: “CAN WE GO FASTER?” What I had not realized was they put me in the fast group and after several laps one driver dropped out leaving only three. As fast as everyone else was, I told Kelly later that I was gritting my teeth because I wanted to, and could have, passed the cars in front of me, but we weren’t allowed to. Once they even pulled the group ahead of us over to let us pass because we were going so much faster than they were. We were doing so well that the instructors decided to pull everyone else off (we didn’t find this out until after) and gave the three of us one more extra lap. What was it like? Lewis Hamilton being interviewed in Top Gear was talking about a spectacular crash he had in Formula 1. The 5 seconds from the time he lost control until he hit the wall as the “most exciting thing I have ever done in my life.” Driving that open wheel car has to have been mine, and what surprised me was that at 63 years old I thought I would be the slowest…

Dennis has a tricked out Spitfire that is quite fast around Hallett.

That sounds exactly like my experience, except I'm not 63, although I hope to be one day.

Don't expect to find a bunch of racers in this course. Some are there with kind of a "fantasy camp" type mentality. There were also others, like the two brothers who were obviously sent there to fulfill the dreams of their father: ("Okay, any questions before we head out onto the track? You in the back...". "Um.. how fast do Nascar cars go?"). I am not making this up.

I was actually happy that at one point, our instructors pulled us all into the pits and yelled at us for not going fast enough.

I think I'd choose the MX5 option -- I'm never going to be an "open-wheel" guy, so I'd like to refine my skills in a production-based car. I wouldn't worry about rain -- I've had as much, if not more, fun on the track while raining. I've learned more, too (and fortunately, not the hard way, as I have yet to have an "off" in the rain).

Formula cars take a while longer to get comfortable in, and therefore, drive fast in. The Brands Hatch America school I went to even had the added complication of their Formula First cars. They used the FWD 1.6 Ford set-up in the back of the car, and the shifter was on the left side. I was six seconds off the track record in the Formula First, and just over a second off the track recond in their Escort GT's.

Great answers!!! Thanks Guys!