aalencar

Look what mother nature gifts me for my long awaited weekend back on the track...

g-50cab

yep - always a crap shoot once you get past the end of May until the middle of October in Florida. Good news is that the storms end up rolling through quickly.

in a light rain - good to practice car control on a wet track - with a deluge and lots of standing water - better to head in and wait it out.

Scott.

Don't mention anything about getting ready for a race coming up or you'll get the boot from PCA WA! Talk about disappointing, they just left me on the waitlist and didn't even want to discuss details.

NYC993

Maybe they are doing you a favor.

LuigiVampa

That is just so wrongheaded I can't believe they sent that to you!

I know DE is not racing but in PCA it is definitely one of the stepping stones to start club racing. Why else would the forms ask for a sign-off from your region as one way to get your license?

When I decided I wanted to explore club racing CVR gave me instructors who also race so that they could help me along. That is the right way to do it.

You really should push back a little (in a polite way) because they are doing the members of that region a disservice.

brownan

Lots to learn in the rain....have a great time and hope you have a better experience. As others have noted, if you are not connecting with your Instructor go see the Chief Instructor or Eventmaster and ask for a change. Some personalities just don't jive.

rsabeebe

that's a shame.

ExMB

Maybe we need more info. What was the rest of the communication, the other side of it? What was the actual event? Etc?

User 52121

I remember when I was still doing the 2-wheeler thing.... my teammate and I showed up at a pure trackday event (NESBA) at Road America, which was held in close proximity to the next event (racing) we were going to do.

We were in the morning riders meeting and they made a big stink about their "control riders" (which, as you can't have passengers, are designated riders which circulate the track as "on-track" instructors), about how they were "real racers" and "they ride really fast so don't try to keep up, you'll just get hurt."

A lot of the control riders had, what I call, "Big head syndrome"... they walked around all day in their leathers, with the bright yellow vest, so everybody knew they were a control rider ("ooooooh ahhhhh")

They were all, naturally, in the "advanced" group when not doing instructing... yet some of them still loved wearing their vests (even tho there was NO "control riding" in that group, 100% open passing, etc). Just so everyone knew they were control riders.

My teammate and I split one of these control riders in the braking zone for T5, me up the inside, Dan around the outside. We may or may not have done it on purpose. Left PLENTY of room, he didn't need to adjust his line or anything... but still, we split him.



We got off track, and the control rider comes over a few minutes later with their "chief" instructor, and tells us, "This is not a place for racing..." and "You guys are too fast for us, you should consider another group to ride with..."

SO yeah, they did us a favor. We didn't bother going back.

There are back-of-the-pack racers, and "fast" DE'ers who THINK they're racers (or think they're "just as fast" as the top racers) but there is a difference between race pace and fast DE pace.

A clean, "lots of room" race pace pass is very different from what's considered "lots of room" at a DE.

Still... we have LOTS of club racers at our Chicago Region events (some of which who are VERY fast), and it's never a problem. Something odd with the WA region, IMO.

rsabeebe

i made my way to scca racing mainly through bmw-cca DEs and many years of autoxing. DEs are the logical place to learn what's needed to move towards real track days and, potentially, racing. this is just a short-sided decision on their part, but clubs have been moving in this direction for years.

Scott.

Not much to it. I signed up at the last minute due to my cage build and told them I was getting ready for the SCCA time trial event at the Ridge (same track). I've already been signed off from them for solo so no issues with instructors or anything.

I thought it would help with the credibility since my car is safer now with full fire suppression, cage and built to SCCA rules. I didn't add any power so it's not faster or a danger to other street cars with more horsepower and I wasn't looking to go 9/10ths. Feedback from other instructors would have been helpful as well.

Oh well, I'll go a different route now and just thought I would share my feedback with fellow track friends. Cheers!

Edit: Event date this weekend

NYC993

So what if you showed to an event where you drive in a train of cars? You'd hate it, esp if your goal is clean laps for time trial. Plenty of people in advanced groups who can't give proper passing or good pace. It would have been waste of your time and money. If you are the only racer in the advance group it would be very frustrating DE with zero benefit for you. I rarely see racers practicing at DEs unless it's DE before the race where the advance group is made up of mostly racers. But what do I know, I don't race.

aalencar

Correct me if I am wrong. The best comparison I have is from my basketball years, but it may apply for any sport. There is professional/competition basketball and there is H-O-R-S-E or shooting some ***** with your friends on the weekend. For both you can dedicate yourself and try to improve your skills. Both allow you to enjoy the sport. Only those who have played a sport in competitive fashion understand the feeling of being in a real game. But it requires a lot of compromise. I see DE and race driving the same way. We all live very busy stressful lives. All I want on my weekends is to enjoy my car, make some friends, and keep challenging myself to improve my skills. Nothing wrong in racing, but I honestly don't care what place I make. But maybe it is just me. I am sure there is a bunch of very competitive folks here.

aalencar

When I did "Master the manual" at the Porsche Experience Center in Atlanta I was chatting with the instructor about my future GT4 and he told me to be very careful with the Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s in the rain. I drove in Sebring with my C4S and PZeros in the rain. It was ok but the puddles scared me some and I pulled in after a couple laps. I plan on driving on at most light rain this weekend. Any special precaution with the Sport Cups?

porschedog

Some PCA chapters are good, others not so much, subject to an individual's experiences and perceptions.
There are plenty of other ways beyond PCA to experience a DE. Try those and see how it goes. The instructors all are volunteers and while some are great, others may seem to be a douche - this will be the case at all organizations with more than 3 members. Try HOD or HDPE and see how it goes.