My first driver's school

[Andy Bettencourt]

Great deatil-oriented suggestions. I wanted to add to the on-track stuff.

Don't try and run at 8/10ths. You will only end up at 6/10ths. Run fast but run safe. Demonstrate your ability but don't put yourself in questionable situations. You can't win a school but you sure as heck can lose one.

Most importantly, SITUATIONAL AWARENESS is what they are looking for. Can you see point-bys? Can you give point-bys? Can you run side by side? Do you get flustered when a faster car approaches? Are you predictable? Do you see (and react to) the flags? Can you make a clean pass? Do you know where other cars are on track?

As has been said - take instruction gracefully. Ask intellegent questions. Demonstrate confidence but not cockiness. Be safe and have fun!

(Edit: Student times will not stack up so don't worry about it. 3 seconds a lap difference is an absolute eternity that you will work on closing at test days and in races - all with 'race time' under your belt.

[dickita15]

Like everybody else is saying lap times are no big deal. I was mid pack in my second school. I later found out I was 10 seconds of the pace. 8 of those went away within 3 real race weekends. The final two I have been working on for the last 8 years.
Drive fast but be prudent in confrontations and you will be fine.

[joeg]

It appears you are already too concerned about track times.

PUT THOSE OUT OF YOUR HEAD.

Read the Supps. Know the Paddock speed limit.

KNOW YOUR FLAGS.

No passing under yellow; come to a safe stop when they show the Red Flag--don't slamm on the brakes.

The tricky one they are likely to pull is the White Flag. When they throw the ambulance on the track with the white flag, do not line up and follow it. Safely pass it and continue at race pace (but no passing if you are in a yellow area).

Finally--Do not crash into anyone.

Have fun.

[ggnagy]

It appears you are already too concerned about track times.

PUT THOSE OUT OF YOUR HEAD.

Read the Supps. Know the Paddock speed limit.

KNOW YOUR FLAGS.

No passing under yellow; come to a safe stop when they show the Red Flag--don't slamm on the brakes.

The tricky one they are likely to pull is the White Flag. When they throw the ambulance on the track with the white flag, do not line up and follow it. Safely pass it and continue at race pace (but no passing if you are in a yellow area).

Finally--Do not crash into anyone.

Have fun.
[/b]

Shhhhhh.. you didn't have to give out the white flag secret. Next You will be telling how many sheep are involved when the green flag with yellow and white on it is shown.


Do remember that even though they plan on testing you with all the flags sometime during the weekend, including white, black, and red, odds are good that you will see them more than once in a weekend! They can be used at any time for a real emergency. I was at one DS where a driver complained that they had "allready had" a red-black test, and then found out it was for an incident behind him.

[jjjanos]

I'm not worried about where I run in the pack, I just want to be IN the pack.[/b]

Things to remember:
1. They are grading you on whether they think they want to race with you. That means common-sense and fearing to tread where fools rush in. 4-wide passes under the bridge with 2 wheels in the dirt or dive bomb passes that get done JUST before the yellow are warning signs that you lack good judgement.

2. Lap times not so important. Demonstrating knowing the line is important. Getting quicker during the weekend if you start out slow.

3. Courtesy - use your mirrors, give points if you are slow class in the group, wave to the frozen people volunteering their time for this.

4. You will be faster during the first session on Sunday then your car will be. Last night, you got out of a car with warm brakes, warm tires, warm engine, warm track, warm everything. Summit Point on Sunday AM of a school will be cold. The car and the track are as cold as the air temp. Don't expect your car to do what it could do yesterday afternoon right from the get go.

5. Don't argue with the instructors when they say you pulled a Homer. If they mention you, you pulled a Homer. Your only answer is "I screwed up and I'll try to keep it from happening again." Arguing only makes you appear to have an attitude and wastes classroom time.

6. On Saturday afternoon, if you suddenly see corner workers rushing for a flag, you should anticipate a red or black flag VERY soon. On a red flag, DON'T creep. Bring your car to a SAFE and controlled STOP. You can see a flag station no matter where you stop and if you cannot, you will be able to tell when you are allowed to move. If you blow the red flag, see #5.

7. Both feet in.

8. You aren't drinking enough fluids.

9. To finish the school, you need to finish the school.

10. If your car is unable to complete the school, you probably can find a rental VERY easily. Note: I said easily, I did not say cheaply.

[Racerlinn]

Do remember that even though they plan on testing you with all the flags sometime during the weekend, including white, black, and red, odds are good that you will see them more than once in a weekend! [/b]

And to see the flags, you must remember where the worker stations are.
How do you remember where they are?
On every out-lap and every in-lap, wave at the corner workers as you go by. Wave vigorously, they like it! :026:
This aids in implanting in your brain where the corner stations are at, not only for catching flags but also in case you get in some trouble and need to get to a corner station quickly.
I still do this every session on track.

[lateapex911]

Student times will be ALL over the map. Just be clean, hit your marks, be consistet, don't miss a single flag, wave at the flaggers and any flag that requires your action (like a black flag) gets an acknowledgemet wave.

And, remember this: At the end of the day, your instructor will have to answer this question: "Would you race with this student?"

Make sure he says yes!

[Knestis]

...5. Don't argue with the instructors when they say you pulled a Homer. If they mention you, you pulled a Homer. Your only answer is "I screwed up and I'll try to keep it from happening again." Arguing only makes you appear to have an attitude and wastes classroom time. ...[/b]

...BUT on the other hand, if you get told something that you know - and I mean KNOW - is wrong, you might need to be able to respectfully stand up for yourself. If you get something from your instructor that just doesn't seem right, you've got the larger responsibility to find out what's up. If you have read your GCR and get a flag, official's direction, or other input that isn't consistent with what you've seen, you need to be able to question it.

You are ultimately responsible if it turns out you are incorrect but like it or not, you will likely see or hear at least ONE thing over the course of the weekend, that's out of line. It won't do you any good later in the year to say, "But they told me X at my driver's school" if in fact X is messed up. This game is about confidence in both your responsibilities AND your rights and information is power in that regard.

Finally, LISTEN TO THE LITTLE VOICE IN YOUR HEAD. If it says "uh-oh," heed the warning. There's a mighty big motivation to just "git 'er done" but if that means (for example) going out with a belt that adjusted itself too loose on the grid, STOP and rethink your priorities.

K

[Wreckerboy]

These are all excellent points - the DC Region puts on an excellent school - I did mine there, and it was well worth the extra effort to do so (I lived in Charlotte at the time). You will be in sensory overload. Slow down, calm down, and relax. Keep telling yourself this is supposed to be FUN.

Just remember:

*You really need a reliable car and a reliable crew member. You will spend all of your time either in class, driving the car, or sprinting between the two.
*No matter what, you haven't had enough fluids.
*Pay attention to yourself - you are going to be in the car a lot and you are going to be really, really tired. If you find yourself driving badly at some point, park the car before you get worse. Odds are, your instructor will be more impressed at your common sense than your ability to run an enduro.
*Bring every spare consumable for the car you think you'll need (belts, fluids, pads). Better safe than sorry.
*Situational awareness. Situational awareness! SITUATIONAL AWARENESS!!!
*This is not a race. Just like in a HPDE, you cannot "win" your school.
*Your goal is to be a sponge and absorb everything you can.

Oh yeah, have fun.

[grendel]

Justin -- go check out www.joe-racing.com. Watch the video, there is some good video of you at the Roebling school.

Great run at Rockingham and welcome to the fold. Are you racing at VIR in May?

Jeff
[/b]

Thanks Jeff, I really want to. Will have to see how the bucks fold out.

[steve b]

several of you have mentioned a "reliable crew". I have one guy.. non racer, non mechanic. He can put gas in the car and get it to the grid. (and I'm sure check air/change tires).

Is that going to cut it?

[JimLill]

several of you have mentioned a "reliable crew". I have one guy.. non racer, non mechanic. He can put gas in the car and get it to the grid. (and I'm sure check air/change tires).

Is that going to cut it?
[/b]

Be prepared to keep an eye on him........... jacking up on the gastank and things like are no good!

[gran racing]

Steve, he'll be fine. Bring somebody, anybody. It wouldn't be a bad idea to make a check list for him to review each session. Make sure you have enough gas, the windshield is reasonably clean, and tire pressures. You have a nice and reliable car. It's easy on tires, brakes, and just plain works.

One piece of advice I do not believe has been mentioned yet: take time to enjoy the moment. Yeah, you'll be running around at the school but take 30 seconds, a deep breath, and look around to see exactly what you have accomplished. Someone else mentioned that their certificate is framed. Mine is on the wall in my garage. This all means something and you will remember this for the rest of your life. It's just awesome and worth all of the hard work.

Oh, bring a camera and ask your buddy to take tons of pictures of you. Or bring a video camera. In additon to on track, have him take pics when you get out of the car for your first session. This is something you'll cherish later on.

You know now you're obligated to writing up a post school report, right?!!!

[steve b]

You know now you're obligated to writing up a post school report, right?!!!
[/b]

That was a given... I was already asked to write some pre-school write-ups.

http://www.smartracer.net/beckley/beckley_racer.htm

I want to thank everyone who has responded to this thread. I'm sure threads like this have popped up a hundred time, but all of you took the time to help out a newcomer. If any of you ever see my car at a track (pictures in the link above), top by and say hi.

[Knestis]

... non racer, non mechanic. He can put gas in the car and get it to the grid. (and I'm sure check air/change tires).

Is that going to cut it?
[/b]

If there is ANY way you can find - in advance - some experienced help, it might make the difference between a successful school and a very sucky one. It sounds like you have the car pretty well prepared but if you can behave like one of those spoiled arrive-and-drive guys, the whole weekend will be more likely to go your way.

There was a guy in my school (at the beginning of my second "racing career") who I was actually afraid was going to kill himself, simply because his car wasn't ready, he had no help, and was short both the time and expertise to deal with the problems that came up. The experts will tell you that no ONE problem causes an airplane to crash - that instead, it requires a series of cascading mishaps. That's what this guy was. He'd have a little issue, get behind the curve, rush to get in the car, go on-track in a fluster, and create bigger problems. (Lather, rinse, repeat.) He came closer to rolling a car without actually accomplishing it than anyone I've ever seen, I think...

...and the last time I saw him, he was trying to participate in a post-session debrief with our instructor while scraping grass out of a tire bead with a big screwdriver, and wondering where to find air. I think he just melted down.

K

[JeffYoung]

Steve, Ron Earp and I will be there crewing for Jeff Roussell. Silver 260Z, black Dodge Ram tow vehicle. Paddock next to us and we'll help you. I'm not sure I qualify as "experienceced help" but Ron definitely does and we will do all we can to get you through school.

My e-mail is [email protected]. Shoot me a note and we'll discuss logistics. We plan on arriving around 4 or 5 on Friday.

[gran racing]

Steve,
I was looking on your site and saw Peter and Dave Lyle's MR2s. LOL Great guys! My friend Jake Fisher (who owns the MR2 on my book's cover) and I went down to Summit for the Labor Day event for a couple of years and got the pleasure of hanging out with them (primarily Peter and his family). Once you get passed the school, contact them and tap into their MR2 knowledge. You can check out Jake's site - www.racerjake.com . I can also put you in touch with Jake if you'd like.


Oh, take Jeff up on his offer!!! (That's very cool of you Jeff.)

[steve b]

Steve,
I was looking on your site and saw Peter and Dave Lyle's MR2s. LOL Great guys! My friend Jake Fisher (who owns the MR2 on my book's cover) and I went down to Summit for the Labor Day event for a couple of years and got the pleasure of hanging out with them (primarily Peter and his family). Once you get passed the school, contact them and tap into their MR2 knowledge. You can check out Jake's site - www.racerjake.com . I can also put you in touch with Jake if you'd like.
Oh, take Jeff up on his offer!!! (That's very cool of you Jeff.)
[/b]

lol... I'd say I've already tapped into Peter's knowledge. I bought his car. I didn't keep the unmistakable paint scheme though.

[mattbatson]

not to contradict everyone else on here...just my two cents.
I went through my first school by myself, and the second one with just my wife.

Before my first school (2004 Moroso), I had just completed my car days before, having built it from the ground up. All I had was some laps around the neighborhood to see if it was going to fall apart on me.
And, it should be mentioned that I am no mechanic, in any sense of the word...

I never felt rushed, sometimes having an hour or two before having to be back out on track. I had to learn how to get buckled into the car on my own, but always made it to grid on time.

I set the tire pressures at 30 all around the night before the school, and never adjusted them afterwards. I only checked the engine oil and cleaned the windshield during the school. Nothing else.

In fact, I missed one or two outings during the weekend (only because it was so damn hot in south florida in july), and no one ever said anything to me.

It can definitely be done on your own. And you should have no problem with any help, even inexperienced help. It sounds like you have a built car from an ex-racer, so you shouldnt have much mechanical stuff to worry about. And you have more track time than I do (even now), so I wouldnt worry about your lap times.

[gran racing]

Ah, so you're the lucky one he sold it to. I would watch him clean and do what he called routine inspections to the car inbetween sessions in awe. You got yourself a nice car which was very, very well taken care of. Good find!