LuigiVampa

You're getting a hug next time we are at the track.

One more point, because we all love to hear ourselves talk, is that even the same region or group can take on a different "feel" on different days depending on who is in charge and who shows up.

There can also be good an bad experiences in one day.

I met a bunch of guys with the cleanest 280ZXs at LRP a few years back with a different PCA region. Really cool guys and everyone was pretty OK on track. The only downside was that I was pressured to instruct a green student even though I had zero instructor training at that point. I declined. Now that I am 95% through PCA national training I realize how ridiculous of a request that was!

I had another experience at another PCA region where I spun in the pouring rain doing about 35 mph. The CDI reamed me out in a ridiculous fashion - its the only time I ever wanted to hit someone at the track. I wrote an email to another RLster here who is one of the officers and he assured me that this guy was being replaced because he had made a habit out of this bad behavior. Accordingly, if I am ever that way again I would drive with them because the offending person is no longer in charge.

Accordingly, the day is made up of the people you meet and who is in charge to some extent.

Qwickrick

CVR is at the Glen August 19, 20 and 21 with August 19 being a Advanced Driver day. August 20 and 21 is open to all run groups and we usually combine run groups to give everyone more track time. There is a track walk on Saturday when the track goes cold, and Peter Argetsinger will be available for private coaching. This is a PORSCHE only event.

177mph

Thx Qwick!

paradocs98

I also noticed this comment. And I agree that you learn a lot while being in traffic on the track. But there are certainly other times that you want clear track to work on specific things. You may want to get in a couple of really fast, clean laps with no traffic. Or you may simply want to try a different line in a few corners, or different braking/downshifting techniques and approaches without someone on your butt.

Lime Rock specifically makes this difficult because of its limited length. You can only stuff so many cars on that short track at once. And the more cars you get together, the higher the chance of frustrations caused by oblivious or selfish drivers and trains, or impatient and overly aggressive drivers.

The increased popularity of DE events and trackdays is such a double-edged sword. The greater number of customers allows for the success of more and more organizers, giving us more choice in the market and ensuring the success of the tracks we love. But it also means more anonymity among us on track as we split our time across various groups. I think this encourages the bad behavior of the yahoos because they figure they won't necessarily come across that day's fellow drivers anytime soon...

gbuff

Precisely the reason for my post (#20)--different track but same idea.

I'm at the point now that, though there are events that I like to do every year for all the good reasons, I'm not really a slave to that notion; there are enough events offered now by various organizations that I'll simply find another if need be.

And, again, I think sometimes it simply comes down to the particular day...if you do enough days you'll find that some are simply "better" than others, for any of the reasons we've talked about. That said, I attended a private lapping day @ Mosport yesterday that was heavily populated by race teams tuning up for various events, which can often be a recipe for disaster as discussed in another recent thread. Well, the weather was perfect, everybody behaved, and it turned out to be just a great day, made even better by the fact that I finally completely trashed 3 of last year's hard tires!!



Gary

C-Squared

OP, I would recommend you go to a bunch of different days for yourself and decide what you like best. Every event has a different atmosphere and purpose.

Personaly, I go with a group called Apex Driving Events. It's a local company that puts on days which are a hybrid between a track day and a driving school. They hire pro-coaches who are available to ride right seat, do data review, and they great host classroom sessions. Attendance is capped at around 40 people in 3 run groups so there is virtually no traffic. Other details: 2.5hrs of seat time, fully catered, and pro-photography is included.

Its a little more expensive but personally if I'm going to take a day off from work, wake up at 6am, prep the car, and get my rig to the track, I want all my laps to be clean, have lots of seat time, and my food to be taken care of. Apex isn't for everyone, a lot of people just want cheap seat time, but if you are looking for that "clean lap after lap" and quality coaching I recommend you check them out.

Side note: anyone going to HOD at Palmer tomorrow?

177mph

Palmer? I like tracks with some runoff. At least 20 feet!!

C-Squared

I hear that from a lot of people. Personally I'm a big fan, I really enjoy the fact that it feels like a hillclimb and the line is still heavily disputed.


If you want 20ft of runoff in the northeast then you are at a loss for track my friend. The uphill at LR has no runoff, downhill eats cars too. NHMS and Thompson are no diffrent, each have areas with no runoff. At Palmer I just take it easy and enjoy myself.

white924s

I think CVR is actually at Lime Rock for DE that weekend - I signed up for the Saturday

gbuff

T9 @ WGI (coming out of the Boot) has about, oh, 2 feet at trackout Won't even talk about the Esses......

Qwickrick

You are correct. CVR is at LRP August 5 and 6 and at WGI August 19, 20, and 21.

177mph

Ah....the blue bushes.....

Gary R.

Wow, 3 days at the Glen, that's a long event!

Qwickrick

Yes, long event! First day is a Advanced Day Only, next two days are all run group DE days.

Gary R.

Very nice Rick, and a Friday-Sunday to boot. Have fun!