I deal with DE's every day of the week

Understand the basics before you attend a DE. Then you can intrepid what your instructor says much better. Sometimes instructors are great and sometimes they are very questionable. After all most are not professionals. This way if they are telling you something you are not comfortable with you can have some understanding and not just follow blindly.

The key is to concentrate on the line and not speed. Understand how the car will react if you are off line. Speed will develop naturally as your line develops. Most cars are way more capable then its driver.

 

I'll say the thing to do is just not sweat it. Just go do it. Try to run as many events you can. And don't restrict yourself to just one (home) region. Every club has a different flavor to their events and until you experience it you won't know if you like one or another. Once you have several events under your belt, come back and read this thread again, and the nuances of what everybody is saying will make more sense.

A lot, if not most PCA instructors are Nationally certified now and their training program is pretty good, so you're pretty much guaranteed a good experience at any PCA event. And if for some reason, you're not hitting it off with your instructor speak up and ask the event guys for a new one. It's not a big deal, we move folks around all the time.

- Cris
Delaware region registrar

 

MORPCA does a great job @ MO. When you get your track-legs, get an instructor who has taken the advanced instructor training class on MO. Then come east and drive WGI w/Niagara PCA, MNYPCA, or SCDA.

For now, stop worrying about EVERYTHING and get to the track as soon as possible. After a few DE's you will have a whole new set of more meaningful questions.

-- Mindy

 

Was that Hurley Haywood?

 

I still remember my first DE .I was so excited I could not sleep the night before.
My first instructor was Dan Petchel.He was great ! That was in 1988!

 

Hurley is a nice guy. You just have to talk about cats with him and you're in like flint!

 

No, but I did have David Donahue for an instructor once at mid-ohio. He drove his signal green RS back and forth to the track and had a big speaker box in the passenger footwell that you had to put your feet on when rode with him. Even then, you could tell he had that special something.

 

IMHO,
PCA is better for beginners, especially if you drive a Pcar.
PBOC or NASA would also be fine. then Chin once you are soloing. and want the most track time.

attend different region's events. classroom instructors vary too..

Did you get a trailer?

 

PCA is very good, and also give the BMW club a try. As others have suggested, just get out there and do it. No need to map everything out in advance.

 

Now THAT is really cool!

 

That's another thing about the PCA Race schools, and DE's... You just never know who might show up...

Brian Redman has been to at least 2 events in WPB, Derick Bell, (and Justin), once, Vic Elford, Hurley,Gunnar Jeannette, etc... many times their family members are attending, or they are just in the neighborhood.

PCA is more of a family, than NASA or chin, IMO.

 

Randy Pobst was wandering around at the Sebring club race last year looking for an enduro co-drive and one of my friends actually told him "no thanks" but another was more than happy to share a car with him.

 

I can't sleep NOW!! God only knows what I will look like by April
I thought I saw where he is coming to MORPCA - CATS!!!!
Thought I would get a few DE's under my belt first..........
Do BMW club's let P-cars in?

 

Wow, really? What was the reason your friend gave for not wanting Randy to co drive with him? I think that would be an opportunity of a lifetime!

 

+1

there better be a damn good excuse behind this one....