tkerrmd

Well, again I come to the wealth of instructing knowledge to ask for some help.
I will be instructing at Sebring tomorrow for a PCA DE.
My student has never driven at a track and has just bought a brand new GT3!!!

Any advice??? I plan on saftey, fun, safety, safety, and probably just work on the line. Maybe stay in third all day??
Car comes with Cup tires!! Want this guy to learn and have fun and not spin his car!!

Need some suggestions on how you guys would approach this!!

thanks

tom

LVDell

Keep him in one gear (3rd works well) for an entire session while he learns the line, understands where turn-in is, apex, etc., etc., etc., and explain what "squeeze" the throttle means and how that differs from "drop the hammer Cole!". Then graduate to gear shifting. As you know, HP is addictive and when the rush of a GT3 motor starts singing it is very easy to keep mashing the throttle. When I moved from a 996C2 to a GT3 my lap times actualy were about 10 seconds slower while I learned SLOWLY the limtis of the car one section of the track at a time.

bobt993

Call in sick?

Actually had the pleasure two weeks ago to help out a new GT3 owner. The car is unbelievably forgiving compared to the 996 generation. Help him set the tire pressures and what Dell said makes sense. If he is really good and cooperative, reward him with some straight line accelerations up to speed. Larry did this last year with a highly modified Supra and the guy really paid attention with the added incentive on the straights.

Chris L.

As always Dell I stand in awe of this thing called patience that you possess.

Oh well, when is the next track date?

BobbyC

Tom, from a student's perspective this is what I would suggest...

Spend sometime talking to the guy and getting to know him and his pysche. If he has a "learners" mind-set and safety is a priority then treat him to all u can teach. If he has a "racing" mentality then you may need to temper and curb the enthusisam before progressing.

All the best.

LVDell

I count 7 days till CMP and 14 till VIR

mdrums

Tom, WOW that should be fun running around in that car. I was hoping you would be my instructor, even contacted Amy and requested you 2 months ago.... but I too would rather be in a GT3 than my c2s cab.

see ya there, Mike

ltc

Tom,
If patience and reasoning fails, I suggest putting an electric dog collar on the student.....with you holding the remote.

Not that it was ever done to me of course .....

doc2s

staying in a higher gear is a good idea as dell mentioned. but if you decide to let him use a lower gear later in the event make sure to warn him from the increased torque. gt3 has very long gears 2nd goes to 85mph 3rd to 116mph.

LuisGT3

Tom,
You might get passed by a lawn mower if you keep it in 3rd trought the straights.
Good luck and have a great time.

Bob Rouleau

Tom - there are no special precautions needed with a new GT3, the car is benign. Leave traction control on. Treat the driver like any other student. As usual sizing up the students personality (normal, aggressive or nervous).. but you know all that.

Best,

RonCT

First step is all first timers must have their instructor drive the car first. Usually it's 2 laps, but in this case, I'd use up the whole session. Keep talking as you are driving, pointing out things like the line, curbs, irregularities in the track (patches, concrete vs. bituminous), the flagging stations, remind him what each flag means, talk about transition, smooth inputs, etc.

By eating up 20-30 minutes of his track time not only will you be totally entertained in his new car, but he will have good experience of watching and feeling what his car should be doing with him behind the wheel.

When he finally demands that you pull into the pit (I figure maybe you'll get in 10 good laps), then just keep reminding him it's not a race, the slower you try to go, the quicker you actually are, etc. Depending on the speed of the particular track and run group, 3rd or 4th and stay there should be fine. I know a guy who is in White (Intermediate) and he never shifts - gets it in 4th and stays there.

I think nature is going to encourage him to hammer the throttle and brakes instead of ease into them. That may be the toughest thing to get by just because the car has huge power and brakes.

lawjdc

Tom: Perhaps you should just set an RPM limit for him, say 4500 to start, and work up gradually during the course of the event. That always worked well for me back in the old days when I was an instructor.

MLIN

..and your student might ask for money back

I agree with instructor driving first to show the line, but the whole session!? The more aggressive student might feel that he/she just lost one entire session, and be more impatient.

sjanes

No need to panic. A couple of years ago, I had a student that when I asked him where his car was parked, he said "Customs (Canada/US border), it's being dropped off here today". Then he told me about this high HP 930 that he just bought and hasn't driven yet. I talked to him for a while and he was a very level headed person that understood that I was going to place restrictions on his speed. The student's attitude is far more important than their car. Talk to the guy and then do what you feel is best.