171soon

Calling on any veteran road racers out there... How did you learn to race a road course? I hear people say things like "lines" and "braking points" and have vague ideas of what they mean, but know nothing of the theories behind them.

My experience so far is basically driving through the canyons of LA... If you put me on a starting line I think I'd get around the track alright, but I assume anyone watching would be laughing at my (um, lack of) technique and/or lap time :P

Of course I see the posts about "track days", which seem like a great way to have fun (and spend money), but will I learn anything from them?

Looking for advice and well as be pointed in the direction of any resources. I prefer paper books to online reading but will take what I can get. Thanks for any leads!

Paul 75 L82

Watch a NASCAR road course race and you will learn a lot.

GeorgeZNJ

Our little group of driving crazies used to do a lot of high speed driving in the twistie mountains of PA/NJ/NY. After one memorable event we realized how easily you could wreck, kill yourself or others. 11 of us got together and decided to fly out ot Parahump NV and take the 3 day high performance driving school at Spring Mountain ( all corvettes). Because we went with people we know, we had a blast and learned a lot. The school was very good, the instructors were great, but the hospilitality we were promised sucked. But we all learned a great deal. Then you need to run with organizations that have top notch instructors. we ran with PDA and SCDA exclusivley for years. But the pricing became an issue and we started to run with the PCA(Porshe Clubs of America) One of the best instructors I had while with PDA was Bob Fisher (porshe driver)
Get some schooling, find an organization and just get out there, leave your ego home and have fun.

skyavonee

Re-post in the SoCal regional forum, and I'm positive you'll get some responses from local seasoned veterans that are more than willing to help you out.

Here's an example of how welcoming they can be:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/sout...sion-shop.html

If you show up to any of the Corvette Challenge events, you can get a ride-along with a veteran in their car and/or real time instruction in your own car.

Last C5

http://www.hookedondriving.com/

This will get you started.

JeremyGSU

IMO, if you go to a good reputable track club you will learn more in one day there then you will in years on the street. I don't care what anyone says. You just can't push your car on the street to learn the limits like you can on the track. Track is the best place to learn for sure.

Sign up for a DE and begin your training.

AU N EGL

NASA So Cal schedule

http://socal.drivenasa.com/

March 3rd-4th Auto Club Speedway (Crossover w/ Arizona)
April 21st-22nd Buttonwillow Raceway Park
May 26th-27th Willow Springs Int. Raceway
June 23rd-24th Buttonwillow Raceway Park
July 28th-29th Auto Club Speedway
September 6th-9th NASA Championships Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
October 13th-14th Buttonwillow Raceway Park
November 10th-11th Buttonwillow Raceway Park

Please note that all events will award season points unless noted otherwise by class rules. All race groups will be able to drop the 3 lowest scores (including "0's"), which allows a competitior to skip a weekend without penalty. Individual race series such as AI, CMC, HC, etc my have class rules that supercede this format.

*Note- National Championship does not award SoCal Regional Points.
Competition License School hosted by http://www.drivingconcepts.com

_________________

AU N EGL

and of course the Road Race and Auto-X section here on Corvette Forum

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/auto...cing-23/?id=23

red1vette

I did level 1 and 2 at spring mountain in the last year and a half and that has really helped out a lot knowing what i need to do and look for while driving.

63Corvette

First I worked Flag stations at SCCA races.

Next, I ran my Porsche in autocrosses.

Finally, I did some Driver's School.....I think it was the "School of Hard Knocks"

Grimlock

I think the best way to start is by autocrossing or attending a good driving school. BMW CCA in my area runs a driving school twice a year for people with any type of car.

Black0ut

hands on experiance. Go to a local track day and hang around with an instructor... take lessons. You can watch all the movies and read all the books... but its kinda like Calculus. Practice makes everything better and clears everything up.

Start karting or at least try it. It really helps solidify all the basics. Age doesn't make a difference. 0-60 in less than 3 second is fast as hell.

Go to Bob Bondurant Take the grand prix classes: 2 or 3 day. Then go back for an advanced and just keep going back when you feel your skills need improvement or you just need to hang around with some drivers.
You have to, at least once, go see this mans school and Bob himself. Super chill and has some awesome stories. Sometimes he will chase you around the track...

There. Your ready to kick some ***.

Spring mountain is also good (I hear)

Xx_Black-out

Grand Theft Auto IV - PS3

Solofast

First, go get a couple of books on sports car racing. Read them and get an idea of what to do and not to do any why.

Second, go to a school, not just a track day school, but a real school where there is a multi day planned program.

The reason for reading up first is so that you will understand what you are going to learn and it won't be like trying to drink from a fire hose at the school. You will get twice as much from the school if you do some book learning first.

The reason for a real school is that the amount of information that you will have to absorb is huge, and these folks will get you a lot further down the road of learning a lot faster.

There are lots of good books out there, here are a couple to start with:

Going Faster by Carl Lopez, aka the Skip Barber book

Speed Secrets" by Ross Bentley

Of course "The Technique of Motor Racing" by Piero Taruffi is a classic, somewhat obsolete, but the basic physics are still the same, and you can download it on the web.

171soon

Wow, I came back from a weekend in Vegas to a huge thread here. I am blown away by the support on these forums... Thank you so much!! As I read through all this I might hit some of you up with some follow up questions...

SOLOFAST, I am on the same "page" as you... I want to read first, then do, that's how I learn. Thank you for the book suggestions. I am going to hop on amazon and get to it

171soon

What is a "track club" as opposed to these single event track events, HPDEs, etc that I see? Can I become a member of a particular track and practice there regularly (once a month, e.g.)? That would be awesome

171soon

Is this the one you're talking about?

http://www.ggcbmwcca.org/driving-eve...riving-schools

I am drooling at the thought of driving Laguna Seca.... having driven it so many times in Gran Turismo 5 but it looks like they don't have anything scheduled

AU N EGL

calendar

http://www.mazdaraceway.com/calendar

ysb02

I'd go to multiple tracks for HPDEs and decide if you want to sink further money into it. Running one track gets pretty boring fast.

171soon

Fair enough, but are you are pretty much paying $100, or whatever the cost, every time for the single events? I was wondering if tracks might have a club or "frequent flyer" type of situation for regulars