The Fat Kid

I did the "Arrive 'N Drive" this past Friday at Palmer Motorsports Park. It was my first time on a race track, and this write up is geared toward other newbies who might be on the fence.

I thought about taking my 911, but a full-day session would have been $499 combined with wear and tear, track insurance, gas, etc. would have been close to the full-day Miata rental for $999. The other main deciding factor for me was my lack of track experience; I wanted to just have fun, learn how to actually drive on a race track, and not worry about sending the 911 **** first into a wall.

I arrived just before 8AM and everything was pretty well organized. The first classroom session went over flags, safety, basic lines, etc. There were more students than normal, so students were mixed in with the open-lapping sessions.

All the instructors were nice. I got lucky because it turned out that my instructor, Troy, races a Miata, so he was awesome with getting me around the track. I met Stan, from the PCA - Northeast, so it was fun to pick his brain about PCA events.

The Miatas were beaten up, but seemed well maintained and the mechanics were checking them out between sessions.

I drove a manual for 11 years and could heel and toe pretty well, but have not really rowed for a couple years. I was a bit worried that not being able to heel and toe would be a problem, but it was not an issue at my level.

It took me a couple laps just to get used to the noise. My 991.1 C2S has PSE, so I am used to a loud street car, but the gutted Miata was on an entirely different level; I think I was shifting at 4k RPM on the first lap.

I have read about horror students, so I set out to not be "that" guy. I told the instructor that my priorities were to: 1. Be safe. 2. Have fun. 3. Improve my driving.

My instructor was great and I was getting more comfortable with each session. During the third session he told me he wanted to take me out in his car during the break to show me a couple lines, and then I would go out solo during the last session and follow him. I am probably one of the guys to respond with, "Are you sure that is a good idea? This is my first time on a track..." He seemed sure of it, so I was not going to argue!

I picked up my car for the fourth session and drove down to meet him. Bad news: He broke a wheel stud, so I am going completely solo! I was still comfortable with it, but figured I would just take it easy; that lasted about three turns! Going with him in his car helped tremendously with a couple lines I was not doing well.

The best part of the solo session: I stuck to a tuned BMW 1-Series (350HP & an instructor) for a full lap!

Feel free to ask any questions, even if it is via PM.

P.S. Now I am thinking about selling my 911 and earmarking the funds for a tow vehicle and track car