Help me setup for ONE track day!

[mitch]

Learned a little more about the event, they are trying to get instructors to give a class before sending us out...not ideal but better than nothing I guess.

This would make me a wee bit nervous.

ALL clubs that do HPDE ALWAYS have a classroom session for Novice drivers. Usually about 3-45 min. as well a drivers meeting in the morning.
They must go over:
Flags
Passing rules
Pit in/Pit out
What to do, or what not to do if your stuck on track,
and other things.

I dont see any way they could just take a bunch of guys and say "Go ahead, drive the track!!" That wont happen. If it does, pack up and leave.

There HAS to be classroom sessions, download sessions etc. AND instructors.

 

[Speedboosted]

We find out the "final" details next month. From talking with one of the guys who helps run it, they are trying to get instructors for a class beforehand. If they aren't able to get instructors, they will cancel the road course portion.

Dumb question, what is a download session?

I've sat in on some HPDE meetings while with NASA but never listened to a download session

 

[csamsh]

Download is after you've been out, everybody comes back together, discusses what went right or wrong, and asks all the questions they didn't know they had before the first session

 

[Speedboosted]

Download is after you've been out, everybody comes back together, discusses what went right or wrong, and asks all the questions they didn't know they had before the first session

Thanks, thats what I was figuring it was, but wasn't quite sure. I just want May to get here sooner! Maybe I'll do a quick NASA day in April as well, who knows

 

[Norm Peterson]

This would make me a wee bit nervous.

ALL clubs that do HPDE ALWAYS have a classroom session for Novice drivers. Usually about 3-45 min. as well a drivers meeting in the morning.
They must go over:
Flags
Passing rules
Pit in/Pit out
What to do, or what not to do if your stuck on track,
and other things.

I dont see any way they could just take a bunch of guys and say "Go ahead, drive the track!!" That wont happen. If it does, pack up and leave.

There HAS to be classroom sessions, download sessions etc. AND instructors.

I have no idea who is running Speed's upcoming event, but I'm afraid that it was still possible as recently as the Spring of 2012 to find yourself at an event where all you got as a never-done-this-before newbie before rolling down the hot pit lane (running solo in a group of drivers with widely varying experience in cars of hugely different performance, no less) was the driver's meeting prior to everybody's first session.

In hindsight, that was a little like being asked to jump into water over your head before you knew how to swim just to find out how well (or even if) you could swim. Except that the swimming episode didn't have anything comparable to autocross or other performance driving to fall back on to help see me through it.

I can't recommend this path to any other newbie to the track, but on the other hand if you and all the other drivers keep your wits about yourselves (and there is light traffic in terms of cars per mile of track) it is at least possible. Mitch - I'm leaving a lot out, some for the sake of brevity and some to protect the other party involved.


Norm

 

[Speedboosted]

I have no idea who is running Speed's upcoming event, but I'm afraid that it was still possible as recently as the Spring of 2012 to find yourself at an event where all you got as a never-done-this-before newbie before rolling down the hot pit lane (running solo in a group of drivers with widely varying experience in cars of hugely different performance, no less) was the driver's meeting prior to everybody's first session.

In hindsight, that was a little like being asked to jump into water over your head before you knew how to swim just to find out how well (or even if) you could swim. Except that the swimming episode didn't have anything comparable to autocross or other performance driving to fall back on to help see me through it.

I can't recommend this path to any other newbie to the track, but on the other hand if you and all the other drivers keep your wits about yourselves (and there is light traffic in terms of cars per mile of track) it is at least possible. Mitch - I'm leaving a lot out, some for the sake of brevity and some to protect the other party involved.


Norm

We find out more next month. I didn't plan on racing if there wasn't any kind of instruction at all. From what I've heard, we will end up breaking up into small groups and have a number of instructors ride along with everyone for at least one session, hopefully more. The limit of cars is somewhere around 60 so I would think we have ample time to have small groups.

Mitch, money was just sent for the pads