Juha G

So I finally tried Chin Motorports yesterday and attended their trackday at Sebring.

First of all, I had heard not so good things about Chin from some folks (mostly related to safety) and was hesitant to join the club even though I knew you'd get a LOT of track time with them.

There was a discussion about Chin a couple of weeks ago here on RL and a few rennlisters recommended I'd try Chin and make my own conclusions.
Well I did yesterday and found out it's a great club with good organizer's and plenty of effort towards safety of everybody out there.

The only thing I didn't like was that there were only two run groups and novice driver's were driving together with the solo drivers. The other group was instructors and advanced solo, which required having attended multiple solo events at said venue and getting a checkup ride before one could drive in that group. Kind of like super solo with PBOC. point by's were still required though but there were no restrictions on where to pass.

I was kind of bummed after the first 25 min session in the morning because I couldn't really even drive fast other than when passing on the straights; every time I approached a corner, there was a novice driver ahead.
I asked the organizer's if I could get a checkup ride for the group 2 but they thought it was too early as this was my first CHIN event and I had only been to Sebring 7 times earlier. I'd say I will give credit to them for keeping everybody safe by really controlling who get's to drive where. (unlike I had heard earlier).

Well, the day progresses and because the rest of the sessions were one hour(!) long, it got a lot better with regards to the traffic in group 1.
I still could only get one clean lap by gridding my self 20mins before the session start and being the first to run on the session. But still it was a lot better. Especially towards the end of the day when people started getting tired (and I guess some cars got tired too unlike our Porsches...hahha)
I run the last two sessions in row, that's two hours of driving all out. I was completely beat after it. There was absolutely nothing left! No matter which car would've been offered to me to take out on the track, I wouldn't nor could have done it. Talk about getting one's track cravings filled, something that does not happen with the other clubs.

I was running constant 2:40 laps in traffic with a 260lbs passenger, which I believe is as fast as I ever got in my GT3. So I think I have progressed at least a little bit. Still years of practise away from keeping up with my friend Flying Finn.

Oh yeah, at $350 for almost four hours of hot time, I think you can call that bang for buck!

Here's some in-car footage from a warm-up lap:

TRAKCAR

Juha,

My ears are still ringing from your friggen' loud exhaust, as it was even louder and amplified through my chatterbox!

I love the 2 groups only, more run time!
I got 180 track miles yesterday!

Chin is #1 for me.

Juha G

Hahah!! And I want to make it even louder as I still have problems hearing the engine well enough while heel&toeing...
It was nice meeting you yesterday allthough I think we've seen each other at the PBOC events earlier! Which car(s) did you instruct out there on Saturday?

LVDell

To hear that somebody told you that Chin wasn't good wrt safety sounds to me like an anomaly. I have run with them several times and they are a class organization that has handled safety issues better than ANY organization I have ever run with.....including PCA. They are able to run a well-oiled machine since they keep the numbers low and handle issues VERY proactively. Remember, they are a "private" driving club that is a for-profit organization. They will LISTEN to you (a member) to help continually make the experience better.

I agree though, the dual group format is a bummer if you are "stuck" in the slow run group and you are fast or are slower and stuck in the fast run group. When they run the "TraqcQuest" format you will have a BLAST! It is a 3-run group format and TONS of track time. They is a great mix of speed/skill.

I can't wait for their next event here at VIR.

TRAKCAR

It is not possible to make it louder!!
If you can not hear yourself heel-n-toeing you need to see the ear doctor

Yoor car looks beatiful out on the track though..

My brother and me were running Mustangs, my brother the black one, me the white one and we were instructing in Maserati's..

Gator_86_951

I have heard the safety stuff myself and it normally comes from Florida groups that run Sebring. Chin uses track time effectively and gets cars on and off the track really fast, GASP!

LVDell

Maybe a function of the 2-group format? Personally, the only 2-group formats I think work are the SOLO only events with intermediate and advanced solo only. No student or beginning solo.

Has anybody talked to Mark about the safety concerns? He has always been very proactive and good at correcting/or finding a solution every time I have had a issue that needed immediate attention (student issues).

Juha G

I didn't see any safety concerns there so what's there to talk about?

Allthough I do agree that the 2-group format is not ideal.

As far as safety goes, I was black flagged twice on Saturday, which gave me even more reason to trust that it is safe out there on the track with these guys.
(first one was for passing in a no-passing zone and the second one because I had a short off-track excursion after coming in a little too hot into the hairpin...)

LVDell

Juha, maybe they black flagged you for getting rid of your GT3?

Abby Normal

Another for Chin! Did my first Chin event at Barber a few weeks ago and found it to be much better than PCA events.

mkk62

juha

saw you at the gas station on the way home on sat ( the good looking asian guy inthe black carrera 997s..) glad you liked Chin...I am asian so i am partial to Wei....

keep coming back...

mk

Juha G

Hey man! Nice meeting you! Although I cannot agree that I find Asian men attractive I do like Asian women. I travel a lot to Singapore, Hong Kong and mainland China due to work so nowadays asians feel more like my neighbours than people from far far away...heh!

My friend who you met at the gas station as well (the 260lbs ballast I mentioned earlier) was kind enough to drive my 993 back to Palm Beach so I had the luxury of cruising back home in my BMW wagon.

See you again at the next event!

Hahhah! Very much possible, the chief Instructor (Chip V.) remembers me from my GT3 days as he has/had one him self as well. Maybe he told the marshalls to put in a black flag for me once in a while....

...just kidding of course! I deserved both flags!

mkk62

juha

LOL don't worry. i love my wife

mk

Juha G

Hahha!! I wasn't implying that. LOL!

Gator_86_951

While I agree the 2-group format isn't ideal, it is so much more efficient for track time than anything PCA in Florida runs at Sebring. The transaction costs of the PCA format of getting run groups off track and then back on track is overwhelmingly ridiculous. THAT was the culture shock for me.