MaxLTV

I am going to try to make it to a track day for the second time since I moved to the Bay Area (the first attempt ended up with my car being rear-ended on the way to the track ). So the day I'm considering has the following available options, and I need help choosing:

Hooked on Driving @ Sonoma
Shelby Club @ Laguna Seca
NASA @ Thunderhill
CitiTech @ Buttonwillow

I am not a novice (advanced/instructor), but I'm slow at learning new tracks, and it will be my first time at any of the tracks here.

Any pros/cons of the events above I should take into account?

Thanks

JackOlsen

Consider Thunderhill with NCRC. NASA events are great, but they tend to be crowded. NCRC is a bargain and it's run by some smart guys.

Sonoma is a difficult track to learn. Laguna is a little earlier, but -- like Sonoma -- there are a lot of concrete walls to hit if your learning curve hits a bump. Thunderhill has a lot of great run off. And it's a great mix of high speed dog legs and slower, more technical sections.

NCRC also goes to all of the tracks on your list. I instructed for them, years and years ago, and I never saw them miss a step.

http://www.ncracing.org/events.php

autosea

NASA

race911

Uh huh. Not unless you're in one of the race groups...............................

Concur with Jack on NCRC. 10 years now they've been doing it?

HOD, where I do instruct, also has a quality event.

I think any of the tracks around here are safe if you have half a brain. (Now if you want to talk conditions, say '80s and earlier, different story.)

winders

I much prefer Sears Point, Thunderhill, and Laguna Seca to Buttonwillow.

Of the four, Laguna Seca is the simplest to learn. I think Sears Point (my favorite track) is the most fun, most technical, and least forgiving to mistakes/running off the track. Thunderhill is a lot of fun, is still technical, and is the most forgiving to mistakes.

NASA is going to be crowded so I would suggest TrackMasters, NCRC, Hooked on Driving, then NASA in that order. I have don't know anything about Shelby Club or CitiTech...

JackOlsen

^^^ Agreed.

Laguna is the simplest. Turns 2 and 11 have a kind of technical fuzziness to them. But Laguna can bite you in turns 4 and 6 pretty badly.

I totaled my car in 9, years and years ago -- they've since moved the wall back farther from the track.

Sonoma is kind of frustrating when you're learning it (at least it was for me).

Mahler9th

I started out here in the 90's and have instructed with three of the four groups you mentioned. One I have never heard of. I have also driven with those same three groups.

I race a Porsche with the Porsche Racing Club.

If you have a Porsche, best group to start with is the PCA Golden Gate Region. Best by far.

Amongst those you have mentioned, I would pick HOD as a starting point, especially if I could arrange with them to have an instructor familiar with your platform. I know the owner of HOD and I believe sometimes that can be arranged if you are proactive.

NASA can be great... I have run with them since the 90's. But depending on the situation, there may be limited opportunity or no opportunity for in-car instruction. And the DE group sizes can be quite large-- I have seen as many as 80 in a NASA DE group. My wife often works in NASA timing and scoring, and has extensive experience running our race car in large, mixed-marque NASA DE groups. I know she'd agree it can be fun, but larger groups make learning the fast ways around the tracks a bit more challenging.

MaxLTV

Thanks. I looked at PCA, but they seem to be done for the year and no next year events are listed yet. I'll check them next year.

So far I am leaning towards HOD @ Sonoma. I'll watch a lot of videos and maybe do few laps in iRacing to avoid initial frustration.

mooty

r u fkg out of your mind?
nasa is not where you go to learn a new track

autosea

Hey, MaxLTV wanted an opinion. Thats my opinion and Im sticking with it. You are entitled to all 23,073 of yours. Ok?

JackOlsen

As a jealous guy from the southern half of the state, I'll make the point that you've moved to about the best place in North America when it comes to local (and accessible) tracks.

MaxLTV

Thanks! I'm looking forward to it. I feel so bad for missing over two month of tracking because my track car first got lost in shipping (in customs lot) and then got rear-ended on the way to my first track event. Now need to compensate. But I had it pretty nice before - Mosport, Calabogie, Watkins Glen, bunch of smaller tracks, and of course one of the best looking tracks in the world - Mont Tremblant.

rodjac

I think HOD is the best group to start with and Thunderhill is the best track. You might consider their track day on December 14. Laguna Seca is the second best. The Shelby club day is 105 db so there will be no worries about sound. There are only a few high sound days and they fill up fast,

quickxotica

Since you're an experienced driver looking to get to know our local tracks, I would have to recommend against running NASA DE simply because those run-groups are too crowded. You will be frustrated. Don't get me wrong, NASA is run by great people, and the TimeTrial & race groups are well-sorted, but you won't have access to those right out of the gate... and the HPDE rungroups are a crowded, mixed bag of slow people in fast/slow cars. You won't get enough clean laps to learn the rhythm of the track quickly.

PCA GGR is the way to go. Their instructors will know your car and quickly recognize where you need to be as you progress to a higher familiarity with these tracks. They are at Laguna right now. Their 2014 season schedule will be announced shortly. http://www.pca-ggr.org/track/all

HOD, NCRC, Trackmasters, are also fine. I have less experience with those so I won't comment.

EDIT: Oh, and WELCOME to the best place on Earth.

Mahler9th

I think you have gotten some great advice and perspective, including these latest comments from one of the best chief driving instructors PCA Golden Gate Region (GGR) has ever had (see above).

What kind of car do you have? Again, if it is a Porsche, I recommend biasing your early Bay Area experience toward the GGR. The GGR has a long history of having a high percentage of participants at each event who are focused on learning how to go as fast as possible as safely as possible and having fun along the way. Other groups have a good number of like-minded folks, but the percentages aren't as high.

NASA has an excellent DE program, so I would encourage you to try to do some NASA events too, but pick your venues and dates carefully. NASA events are great, but often best if your goals are not compromised by a high car-count DE group.

I first drove at Sears Point back in 1996 or so and a lot has changed since then. In 1998, five different drivers were killed there. It is a lot safer now. PCA GGR and the Shelby Club have both had great pdf track guides for several local tracks, including Sears Point, so you might want to look for them on their web sites and if possible review them.

I caution you on video-- if you do this try to find examples from like cars. Quickxotica, for example, has posted some excellent video links from Sears Point from his 996 days.

Video sim and games can be good tools, but one has to be careful to not drive the computer when actually at the track. At the track, there is no reset button.

Sears Point is one of the most technical tracks in the US and is a fun and rewarding place to drive. Patience is your friend whilst learning to go fast at Sears Point.

If you have decided on HOD, I encourage you to contact the owner, David, and/or the chief instructor, Dev, ahead of time. Great guys. They may be able to hook you up with an instructor familiar with your car.

Have fun and happy holidays.