Just got done with Ron Fellows.....wow
03-17-2018, 02:22 PM
#1
Burning Brakes
Thread Starter
Just got done with Ron Fellows.....wow
So I just wanted to post some of my thoughts about the Corvette Owner’s school at Spring Mountain while things were still fresh.
Forst and foremost, if you are even remotely thinking about doing it, DO IT! If you aren’t thinking about doing it, START! It really is a great experience. The caveat to that is if you already have track experience, it’s probably not the class for you.
For me personally, it was the first time I had ever been on track and it was an amazing experience. Things I took away:
1) What I thought I knew about performance driving was not the answer. They do a great job teaching you basic ideas and concepts and working you up to them with exercises to help you enforce the good things we already do everyday as well as change the mindset of the way we do certain things (ie braking) as pertains to performance driving.
2) The limits of this car FAR exceed what you think. That is definitely reinforced when you do the ride alongs. To actually start to experience the car rotating in a turn, to see the application of steering/brake/throttle to maximize speed and grip is eye opening and definitely made my subsequent laps smoother and by default faster. To that end, I’m glad I own at stingray and not a Z06. You will NEVER reach the limits of this car on the street. EVER. PERIOD. At least not in a safe (or legal) manner. The course has actually made me want to not mess around on the street as you start to realize that a big problem with street driving is unpredictability. Sure, I can take that curve at 80+, but I don’t know if an obstacle has not found its way there.
3) Rick Malone and all the instructors are great. They are really friendly and make the whole class enjoyable. They will not push you beyond your comfort level (although they may encourage you heavily) and they are really interested in teaching, giving feedback and making sure that you’re actually enjoying yourself. If you do well, they will continue to let you push and push and push until they see you exceeding your abilities and then they will reel you back in and help you fix things. The instant feedback over the radios is very useful, even when you’re not the first car in line.
4) If you want to just learn more about your new C7 and how some of the functions work, they go through that with class time. And don’t be afraid to ask questions, they are more than happy to answer them.
5) The facility is very nice and the condos are great. I stayed the night before the class as well and I’m glad I did as it’s a bit of a drive from Vegas if you were thinking about staying there the night before. The breakfast and lunch both days is good and there’s lent to drink throughout the day (very important in summer I would imagine)
6) They run the class rain or shine (or in our case, a little bit of hale/sleet). But the temperatures were actually great. Cool on the morning, Warming to 60’s by mid day. Great conditions for the track and comfortable inside the cars.
Im sure I’ll think of other things as they come up but feel free to ask any questions and I’ll answer as best I can. In the meantime, I have to go catch a flight back to reality 😞.
Forst and foremost, if you are even remotely thinking about doing it, DO IT! If you aren’t thinking about doing it, START! It really is a great experience. The caveat to that is if you already have track experience, it’s probably not the class for you.
For me personally, it was the first time I had ever been on track and it was an amazing experience. Things I took away:
1) What I thought I knew about performance driving was not the answer. They do a great job teaching you basic ideas and concepts and working you up to them with exercises to help you enforce the good things we already do everyday as well as change the mindset of the way we do certain things (ie braking) as pertains to performance driving.
2) The limits of this car FAR exceed what you think. That is definitely reinforced when you do the ride alongs. To actually start to experience the car rotating in a turn, to see the application of steering/brake/throttle to maximize speed and grip is eye opening and definitely made my subsequent laps smoother and by default faster. To that end, I’m glad I own at stingray and not a Z06. You will NEVER reach the limits of this car on the street. EVER. PERIOD. At least not in a safe (or legal) manner. The course has actually made me want to not mess around on the street as you start to realize that a big problem with street driving is unpredictability. Sure, I can take that curve at 80+, but I don’t know if an obstacle has not found its way there.
3) Rick Malone and all the instructors are great. They are really friendly and make the whole class enjoyable. They will not push you beyond your comfort level (although they may encourage you heavily) and they are really interested in teaching, giving feedback and making sure that you’re actually enjoying yourself. If you do well, they will continue to let you push and push and push until they see you exceeding your abilities and then they will reel you back in and help you fix things. The instant feedback over the radios is very useful, even when you’re not the first car in line.
4) If you want to just learn more about your new C7 and how some of the functions work, they go through that with class time. And don’t be afraid to ask questions, they are more than happy to answer them.
5) The facility is very nice and the condos are great. I stayed the night before the class as well and I’m glad I did as it’s a bit of a drive from Vegas if you were thinking about staying there the night before. The breakfast and lunch both days is good and there’s lent to drink throughout the day (very important in summer I would imagine)
6) They run the class rain or shine (or in our case, a little bit of hale/sleet). But the temperatures were actually great. Cool on the morning, Warming to 60’s by mid day. Great conditions for the track and comfortable inside the cars.
Im sure I’ll think of other things as they come up but feel free to ask any questions and I’ll answer as best I can. In the meantime, I have to go catch a flight back to reality 😞.
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blue max (03-19-2018)
03-17-2018, 02:29 PM
#3
Burning Brakes
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03-17-2018, 03:02 PM
#6
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St. Jude Donor '15-'16,'18
03-17-2018, 04:46 PM
#9
Burning Brakes
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03-17-2018, 04:56 PM
#10
Melting Slicks
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These posts keep getting me more and more amped up for my trip out there in early May! 
03-17-2018, 05:01 PM
#11
Premium Supporting Vendor
So I just wanted to post some of my thoughts about the Corvette Owner’s school at Spring Mountain while things were still fresh.
Forst and foremost, if you are even remotely thinking about doing it, DO IT! If you aren’t thinking about doing it, START! It really is a great experience. The caveat to that is if you already have track experience, it’s probably not the class for you.
For me personally, it was the first time I had ever been on track and it was an amazing experience. Things I took away:
1) What I thought I knew about performance driving was not the answer. They do a great job teaching you basic ideas and concepts and working you up to them with exercises to help you enforce the good things we already do everyday as well as change the mindset of the way we do certain things (ie braking) as pertains to performance driving.
2) The limits of this car FAR exceed what you think. That is definitely reinforced when you do the ride alongs. To actually start to experience the car rotating in a turn, to see the application of steering/brake/throttle to maximize speed and grip is eye opening and definitely made my subsequent laps smoother and by default faster. To that end, I’m glad I own at stingray and not a Z06. You will NEVER reach the limits of this car on the street. EVER. PERIOD. At least not in a safe (or legal) manner. The course has actually made me want to not mess around on the street as you start to realize that a big problem with street driving is unpredictability. Sure, I can take that curve at 80+, but I don’t know if an obstacle has not found its way there.
3) Rick Malone and all the instructors are great. They are really friendly and make the whole class enjoyable. They will not push you beyond your comfort level (although they may encourage you heavily) and they are really interested in teaching, giving feedback and making sure that you’re actually enjoying yourself. If you do well, they will continue to let you push and push and push until they see you exceeding your abilities and then they will reel you back in and help you fix things. The instant feedback over the radios is very useful, even when you’re not the first car in line.
4) If you want to just learn more about your new C7 and how some of the functions work, they go through that with class time. And don’t be afraid to ask questions, they are more than happy to answer them.
5) The facility is very nice and the condos are great. I stayed the night before the class as well and I’m glad I did as it’s a bit of a drive from Vegas if you were thinking about staying there the night before. The breakfast and lunch both days is good and there’s lent to drink throughout the day (very important in summer I would imagine)
6) They run the class rain or shine (or in our case, a little bit of hale/sleet). But the temperatures were actually great. Cool on the morning, Warming to 60’s by mid day. Great conditions for the track and comfortable inside the cars.
Im sure I’ll think of other things as they come up but feel free to ask any questions and I’ll answer as best I can. In the meantime, I have to go catch a flight back to reality 😞.
Forst and foremost, if you are even remotely thinking about doing it, DO IT! If you aren’t thinking about doing it, START! It really is a great experience. The caveat to that is if you already have track experience, it’s probably not the class for you.
For me personally, it was the first time I had ever been on track and it was an amazing experience. Things I took away:
1) What I thought I knew about performance driving was not the answer. They do a great job teaching you basic ideas and concepts and working you up to them with exercises to help you enforce the good things we already do everyday as well as change the mindset of the way we do certain things (ie braking) as pertains to performance driving.
2) The limits of this car FAR exceed what you think. That is definitely reinforced when you do the ride alongs. To actually start to experience the car rotating in a turn, to see the application of steering/brake/throttle to maximize speed and grip is eye opening and definitely made my subsequent laps smoother and by default faster. To that end, I’m glad I own at stingray and not a Z06. You will NEVER reach the limits of this car on the street. EVER. PERIOD. At least not in a safe (or legal) manner. The course has actually made me want to not mess around on the street as you start to realize that a big problem with street driving is unpredictability. Sure, I can take that curve at 80+, but I don’t know if an obstacle has not found its way there.
3) Rick Malone and all the instructors are great. They are really friendly and make the whole class enjoyable. They will not push you beyond your comfort level (although they may encourage you heavily) and they are really interested in teaching, giving feedback and making sure that you’re actually enjoying yourself. If you do well, they will continue to let you push and push and push until they see you exceeding your abilities and then they will reel you back in and help you fix things. The instant feedback over the radios is very useful, even when you’re not the first car in line.
4) If you want to just learn more about your new C7 and how some of the functions work, they go through that with class time. And don’t be afraid to ask questions, they are more than happy to answer them.
5) The facility is very nice and the condos are great. I stayed the night before the class as well and I’m glad I did as it’s a bit of a drive from Vegas if you were thinking about staying there the night before. The breakfast and lunch both days is good and there’s lent to drink throughout the day (very important in summer I would imagine)
6) They run the class rain or shine (or in our case, a little bit of hale/sleet). But the temperatures were actually great. Cool on the morning, Warming to 60’s by mid day. Great conditions for the track and comfortable inside the cars.
Im sure I’ll think of other things as they come up but feel free to ask any questions and I’ll answer as best I can. In the meantime, I have to go catch a flight back to reality 😞.
yes, we had a bit of crazy weather a couple of the days huh?
please don't hesitate to write/email us your experience, and any feedback for our program, anytime!
hope you can make it back out for the next class.
__________________
Victor Resendiz
Spring Mountain Motor Resort and Country Club
Ron Fellows Performance Driving School
The Official Performance Driving School Of Corvette
www.racespringmountain.com
victor@racespringmountain.com
800-391-6891
Victor Resendiz
Spring Mountain Motor Resort and Country Club
Ron Fellows Performance Driving School
The Official Performance Driving School Of Corvette
www.racespringmountain.com
victor@racespringmountain.com
800-391-6891
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Bruce0293 (03-25-2018)
03-17-2018, 05:53 PM
#13
Based upon my experience, that's amazing X4. Great write-up, BTW. You nailed all the most salient points.
Last edited by Foosh; 03-17-2018 at 05:54 PM.
03-17-2018, 10:45 PM
#16
I was at a ride and drive many years ago in Las Vegas. We had Bobby Rahal and Scott Pruitt as our Drivers. First you get to drive the course for 3 laps and than your ‘designated’ Race Car driver did 3 laps with us in the Passenger front seat.
I was paired with Bobby Rahal and I must say that I thought I was driving “on the limit” on my laps, little did I know that I wasn’t even close! Bobby set me straight that day in a big way, the way Race Car drivers approach driving makes us look laughable...😉
BTW, the Car choice was a Corvette, Porsche and a Ferrari... I did mine in the Corvette...😀
I was paired with Bobby Rahal and I must say that I thought I was driving “on the limit” on my laps, little did I know that I wasn’t even close! Bobby set me straight that day in a big way, the way Race Car drivers approach driving makes us look laughable...😉
BTW, the Car choice was a Corvette, Porsche and a Ferrari... I did mine in the Corvette...😀
03-18-2018, 01:43 AM
#17
Le Mans Master
That's really cool. Thanks for sharing. I really, really want to do this. I've had the pleasure of doing some track days with instructors in one of my old cars, but nothing remotely on this level (the car or the event). Maybe for my 40th birthday...
03-18-2018, 03:01 AM
#18
Instructor
Going to spring mountain tomorrow afternoon
So I just wanted to post some of my thoughts about the Corvette Owner’s school at Spring Mountain while things were still fresh.
Forst and foremost, if you are even remotely thinking about doing it, DO IT! If you aren’t thinking about doing it, START! It really is a great experience. The caveat to that is if you already have track experience, it’s probably not the class for you.
For me personally, it was the first time I had ever been on track and it was an amazing experience. Things I took away:
1) What I thought I knew about performance driving was not the answer. They do a great job teaching you basic ideas and concepts and working you up to them with exercises to help you enforce the good things we already do everyday as well as change the mindset of the way we do certain things (ie braking) as pertains to performance driving.
2) The limits of this car FAR exceed what you think. That is definitely reinforced when you do the ride alongs. To actually start to experience the car rotating in a turn, to see the application of steering/brake/throttle to maximize speed and grip is eye opening and definitely made my subsequent laps smoother and by default faster. To that end, I’m glad I own at stingray and not a Z06. You will NEVER reach the limits of this car on the street. EVER. PERIOD. At least not in a safe (or legal) manner. The course has actually made me want to not mess around on the street as you start to realize that a big problem with street driving is unpredictability. Sure, I can take that curve at 80+, but I don’t know if an obstacle has not found its way there.
3) Rick Malone and all the instructors are great. They are really friendly and make the whole class enjoyable. They will not push you beyond your comfort level (although they may encourage you heavily) and they are really interested in teaching, giving feedback and making sure that you’re actually enjoying yourself. If you do well, they will continue to let you push and push and push until they see you exceeding your abilities and then they will reel you back in and help you fix things. The instant feedback over the radios is very useful, even when you’re not the first car in line.
4) If you want to just learn more about your new C7 and how some of the functions work, they go through that with class time. And don’t be afraid to ask questions, they are more than happy to answer them.
5) The facility is very nice and the condos are great. I stayed the night before the class as well and I’m glad I did as it’s a bit of a drive from Vegas if you were thinking about staying there the night before. The breakfast and lunch both days is good and there’s lent to drink throughout the day (very important in summer I would imagine)
6) They run the class rain or shine (or in our case, a little bit of hale/sleet). But the temperatures were actually great. Cool on the morning, Warming to 60’s by mid day. Great conditions for the track and comfortable inside the cars.
Im sure I’ll think of other things as they come up but feel free to ask any questions and I’ll answer as best I can. In the meantime, I have to go catch a flight back to reality 😞.
Forst and foremost, if you are even remotely thinking about doing it, DO IT! If you aren’t thinking about doing it, START! It really is a great experience. The caveat to that is if you already have track experience, it’s probably not the class for you.
For me personally, it was the first time I had ever been on track and it was an amazing experience. Things I took away:
1) What I thought I knew about performance driving was not the answer. They do a great job teaching you basic ideas and concepts and working you up to them with exercises to help you enforce the good things we already do everyday as well as change the mindset of the way we do certain things (ie braking) as pertains to performance driving.
2) The limits of this car FAR exceed what you think. That is definitely reinforced when you do the ride alongs. To actually start to experience the car rotating in a turn, to see the application of steering/brake/throttle to maximize speed and grip is eye opening and definitely made my subsequent laps smoother and by default faster. To that end, I’m glad I own at stingray and not a Z06. You will NEVER reach the limits of this car on the street. EVER. PERIOD. At least not in a safe (or legal) manner. The course has actually made me want to not mess around on the street as you start to realize that a big problem with street driving is unpredictability. Sure, I can take that curve at 80+, but I don’t know if an obstacle has not found its way there.
3) Rick Malone and all the instructors are great. They are really friendly and make the whole class enjoyable. They will not push you beyond your comfort level (although they may encourage you heavily) and they are really interested in teaching, giving feedback and making sure that you’re actually enjoying yourself. If you do well, they will continue to let you push and push and push until they see you exceeding your abilities and then they will reel you back in and help you fix things. The instant feedback over the radios is very useful, even when you’re not the first car in line.
4) If you want to just learn more about your new C7 and how some of the functions work, they go through that with class time. And don’t be afraid to ask questions, they are more than happy to answer them.
5) The facility is very nice and the condos are great. I stayed the night before the class as well and I’m glad I did as it’s a bit of a drive from Vegas if you were thinking about staying there the night before. The breakfast and lunch both days is good and there’s lent to drink throughout the day (very important in summer I would imagine)
6) They run the class rain or shine (or in our case, a little bit of hale/sleet). But the temperatures were actually great. Cool on the morning, Warming to 60’s by mid day. Great conditions for the track and comfortable inside the cars.
Im sure I’ll think of other things as they come up but feel free to ask any questions and I’ll answer as best I can. In the meantime, I have to go catch a flight back to reality 😞.
Looks like the weather is going to be perfect.
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socalspringmountain (03-19-2018)
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obwahn (03-18-2018)
03-18-2018, 04:27 AM
#20
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Thanks for sharing your experience there.