RLNTL3S

Hey Guys,

In the last few days, a few people I know mentioned the driving experience at the Barber Motorsport Park.

One of the guys who mentioned it, is my sales rep at my local dealer. He said one of his customers just recently did it and said it was the best driving related experience he ever had.

Another guy is a local Porsche / McLaren guy, and he also did it, and said the same exact thing. So now 2 people said the same thing to me in a matter of a few days. I am taking this as a sign, and would like to try it myself.

My question is, who here has done this exact exact experience at the Barber location?

Is it ok to do this by yourself, or should you go with someone you know?

Which package did you go with, and did you move up to a different level since?

What would you recommend, and any other tips you would share?

Thank you!

zedcat

I've done nearly all of the programs through MastersRS (SCCA accredited). The instructors are excellent, the programs well run and Barber is a great track and recently re-surfaced. The courses are pretty expensive when you include travel, lodging, damage waiver, etc.

Do you have any track experience? When I did the 2 day performance course there were segments off road and launch control in a Turbo S, all fun but would rather have more track time. All of the on track sessions were lead-follow which is not my favorite. there is no in car instruction on track. Instructors only ride along in the exercises like skid pad etc. If you have some track experience I'd consider doing the 1 day intro and then move straight to the Masters course. Masters and above you drive solo on track with instructors observing and giving feedback. It's impressive how much they can pick up from watching outside the car. there are also skid pad and auto x exercises in the advanced courses.

If you want to attend with others they will try to accommodate keeping you in the same team but you can go on your own of course.

Suggest search also, there was a recent thread comparing the Porsche program with other driving/race schools.

kfmcmahon

I've done the Masters RS twice. Great experience! Instructors are all ex or current pro racers (Chief instructor is Hurley Haywood), facilities are top notch, track is awesome, hotel accomodations are A+, and you get to flog their cars from 718 Cayman and Boxster GTS manuals/pdk to 911 GTS manual/pdk to GT3RS and Turbo S...they switch out car varieties maybe every 6 months so maybe manual GT3's now also?

half time is open lapping (instructors stationed at most corners around the course over 2 way radios, not in the cars) the other half is "debriefing" the data acquisition USB drives from your laps and car control exercise like wet skidpad, trail braking, team autocross, etc..great to go down south once track season is over for us up north


make sure to check out the motorcycle museum and all the sculptures and "hanging lady sprinkled around the country club like grounds!

ddugas01

Take the two day course. Everyone enjoys the program. I went alone and made some new friends. More track time is always wanted but learning to drift, under and over steer, braking and lane control at speed are necessary skills to develop if you plan on taking your very expensive toy on the track. One warning, you’ll get grouped based on your driving level and moved up or down the ranks throughout the program based on how well you improve. Like one would hope, this is competitive so bring your A game, get plenty of rest, ditch the office etc. Several drivers brought their spouses, male & female, and the instructors let them ride along in the lead car. They get hooked on this sport as well. Well worth the money and pales in comparison to spending > $100k on one of the GT’s.

dave292

Did the two day twice. Once by myself and once with a friend. Great experience. I don't know if it has changed but the 2 day course was mandatory before moving up to the masters. Do it!!!!!!

zedcat

Pre requisite for Masters is either the 1 day Precision or 2 day Performance course. IMO for someone with no or little track experience the 2day Performance course is a great choice.

kfmcmahon

+1

If you have a lot of experience, you can just send you résumé of DE's, club racing, previous race schools,(with Chief Inst, Coach references) etc.. to Cass and they will sign you off to the Masters or RS classes

9eight7

It depends what your experience is. I did the 2 day performance course with no prior driving experience on the track and thought it was fantastic introduction! Now that I've been doing track days I would just prefer getting a private coach instead of doing the performance class. Basically, if you are thinking about Motorsport and haven't done anything, it's a great start to build confidence. If you've been doing track days/autocross for 1+ years, you will learn more about the P lineup in different situations (skid pad, auto-x, heel toe, and off road) than actual track driving per se.

RLNTL3S

Thank you so much for your responses guys! Truly appreciate it!

I have not done a single track day. Therefore, I will be booking the 2 day performance course

RKGT3

After reading this post and speaking to several friends about, I just registered for the performance 2-day on Jan 18th. Everyone that I spoke to has given great feedback and now I can't wait!! Once I complete that I am hoping to go as far to the Masters RS class and even possibly the RSR.
RLN what day did you register for?

RLNTL3S

That's awesome man!

I haven't registered yet. This will be my "bucket list" item for 2020. Doing it for sure, just need to get a date down.

cantdrive55

barber is an awesome place for all the reasons everyone is saying in this thread - you will meet some great people, for sure, both students and instructors... it’s also a great place to start if you think you want to get involved in motorsport - and can be highly addictive!!!

here’s my journey - so far:

2015 - 2 day high performance course (first time ever on a track...)
2016 - 2 day masters
2017 - 4 day masters RSR
2018 - bought new 2018 GT3 cup race car - tested at watkins glen, twice at road america, road atlanta and nola motorsports park
2019 - entered PCA club races at sebring (first race ever...), cota and watkins glen, and then IMSA GT3 cup challenge races at road america and road atlanta

during the RSR course, we were having lunch on the last day and hurley haywood was sitting with us - i told him i was thinking that i wanted to get involved in racing and asked him what he thought about buying a GT3 cup car... in his best deadpan way, he said, “well, tom - i think that’s a good idea - you’ve got some basic skills, and with some coaching you could be pretty good - and besides - i’m pretty sure you’ve done dumber things with money.”

he wasn’t wrong about the last part - at all - but it’s been LOTS of fun, to say the least, and it started with the 2 day high performance course at barber...

dave292

Good choice. You'll love it!

John Mclane

Last RSR I did , out of 24 only one was new to the 4-day course. Some fellas do it 2-4 times a year.

bradStyle

Hey everybody, I'm getting ready to head to Birmingham in a couple weeks to do Performance, Masters, and Masters RS inside of a two week window. I'm a photographer and videographer and I'm starting to wonder what equipment might be useful to bring. Anyone in this thread have any suggestions as far as using GoPros at these courses? I own several so I'm curious about suggested mounting angles, and anything practical that might support doing this (things like external batteries, gaffers tape for cable routing, etc.). Thanks much.