Hey MJ, I really had no idea what I was missing. As far as details of my first experience...It was wet on a big challenging track, so I felt a bit tentative...I learned just how important the line is...That track has alot of cambered turns that kind of give you a slingshot feel. The down side...if your too fast and off line you will be slingshotted right off the road and in the case of Watkin's Glen, hit walls, guard rails or tire barriers. No expansive grassy knowels...

I had a great instructor. I basically focused on braking firm closer to the turn in point so that I am done with it and or downshifting right at turn in (i was braking too early - bad road habits i guess), so that once I'm in I can start to smoothly accelerate to the apex and smoothly unwind the wheeel to finish at the corner exit. I was amazed how little steering input is required as long as you make the correct turn-in and nicely brush the apex. Not knowing the track on the bigger corners, it wasn't always easy to hit the apex even when I turned in at the right point. It's a matter of knowing how much to turn in order to hit the apex that seems to be a challenge for me. It was raining pretty hard for my second out on the track and it was a clear downpour with standing water by the time the afteroon sessions rolled around. I took some advice and called it a day. It just seems to dangerous to be out there with minimal skill and experience, no traction control and an expensive car that I want to preserve well into the future.

I am doing my final event 11/5 at Lime Rock. Hopefully it will be dry that day. Take care,

Chris

 

Very cool. Congrats for finally "popping your cherry".

I just did a DE (my 2nd ever) at WG a couple of months ago. It is definitely a fun track, but totally overwhelming, it be so long. What club did you go with?

 

PDA
http://pdadrivingschool.com

I was impressed with the operation from both an instructional and safety standpoint. Excellent, aware corner workers...

 

Rockit will be racing in the future. He's hooked and he doesn't even know it yet. I've been where his is now. It never ends. Take how much fun you've had in DE and multiply by 50 for the racing fun factor.

 

Again, glad you had fun!

A couple of things:
You want to have the majority of you braking as well as down shifting done in a straight line before you turn in.
Accelerating towards the apex is not the thing to do as you will unload the front end and promote understeer, trail braking, even just light enough to keep the brakelamps illuminated is preferred, that keeps a little weidht on the front end to aid in turn-in.
Thin of a string attached to the bottom of the steering wheel and the pedals, the more you turn the less the application of brake or accelerator can be made.
Did you have any classroom time that covered vehicle dynamics, driving line, friction circle?
You were driving in wet/rain conditions, was the rain line discussed?

Your 10 & 2 hand position should have been corrected right off the bat by your instructor

These may sound like incidental things, but good habits must be established from the get go.

I took a look at the pda driving school site and that was quite a gaggle of cars that were in attendance.

I may sound like a broken record, but DO sign up for PDE and in two days you will obtain a great understanding of the right things to do and a solid base to build upon from some of the best drivers (that get paid to drive at the pro level).
On the roster are current GrandAm Rolex and Cup Drivers:
Hurley Haywood
David Murry (#4 Rolex GT Points)
Andrew Davis (#7 Rolex GT Points)
Joe Fox
Owen Trinkler

Not to mention driving one of the most technical as well as beautiful racing facilities in North America.

Happy Motoring!

 

Hey MJ. Yes, there was classroom time giving by an SCCA instructor. Line and vehicle dynamics was touched upon. Each class, which there are 4 for 4 track sessions per day(green group turtle people like me), gradully introduced us to those various topics you mention. I do plan to get more education. For now though, for $3,000 I can get alot of experience on the track with various capable instructors (12 track days i figure). Seems to me to be a better deal than a two day PDE.

 

You can't compare PDA and PDE, totally different. PDA is just a DE hosting org, with some classroom stuff, just like a PCA DE, no better, no worse. I go with some non porsche friends and always have a good time. It's not a PCA DE, but it's fun and well organized. The 'gaggle' you refer to is mainly in the low run groups. The black and red are almost exclusively p cars, m3, fcars and the like, PDA is known as being fast and loose but it's fun. I still prefer PCA DE's, but change is good, the PDE is fun, but basically an expensive DE in their cars, you def get what you pay for, but at the same time nothing rivals going out to a track in your own car. You could do a lot of DEs, pvt intr and mods for 3k, or 30k as you know, but I'm looking forward to the masters none the less, see ya there!
BTW, I always trail brake, never threshold anymore. Daniel Eastman tought me that one.

 

Chris-
Download the video at this link and you will get an idea of what the classroom session is like at PDE (last 50%), and how different and in depth than PDA classrom session that you had...
PDE PT1

 

cool. I'm downloading it. I will check it out. Thanks

 

Apples and oranges, a fair comparison is a pca de classroom session to pda.
Rockit, you owe it to yourself to do the pde, at least once, it will make de's that much better in the future as you can't get (or expect) the same kind of classroom stuff from a 200$/day de. I think me and mj are trying to say the same thing in a round about way.

 

Yeah!

Do the PDE worth everry penny.

 

Rockit, first Congratulations!

Now, I'm a novice to DE as well and by sheer luck, or whatever, I happened to do a PDE (and was fortunate to spend a lot of instructional time with Hurley Haywood) before my first DE. I have gone on record as having said this and will repeat again...They should make PDE mandatory prior to newbie's going on their first DE. Not only from the perspective of getting comprehensive, structured instruction but also from a safety and car control point of view. All the best...

 

More rookie observations:

1) Roaring doen the back straight at the glen, close to the wall with the windows down. The roar of the exhaust reverberating off the walls is the sweetest symphony I have ever heard.

2) The "Bus Stop" chicane to slow you down on the back straight before the "Outer Loop" into the boot. I love how the car feels and it flowed so nice. I guess that since I had a good long field of view, I felt more confident going faster than on some of the blinder, shorter field of view turns. My instructor yelled at the end to stay off the chicane coping. Apparently they can spin you out in the wet when your not careful ? Anyways, I heeded his advice...

3) The esses - can't wait for the day I can do them flat

 

The Esses you are referring to, is the part of the track where the quick switchback happens? I always thought the same as you, but I think that's the part leading to the back straight (right before the switchbacks), at least that's how I understood it. I think the switchbacks is considered the "Bus Stop".

OR...i could probably be totally confused (which is very very possible).

I've always wanted to confirm it, just so I know exactly which part they are referring to when they say "Esses" and "Bus Stop".

 

looking at the map, the back straight leads to the "inner loop" aka bus stop or chicane, then into the outerloop down into the boot. The esses are after the front straight (start/finish) and the 90 which then leads you back onto the back straight to bus stop...ect...