Allen Berg 3 day Racing School
08-09-2017, 01:36 AM
#18
I know Allen (and his talented boy) and I think his program is terrific.
He was one of the first to invest in top-level data acquisition (MoTeC) and also has GoPro video in the cars. What's better is that his staff USES these tools to accelerate the progression of their drivers in an objective way. This is more valuable (IMO) than, but also in addition to, the normal "school" subjective evaluation and speeds improvement.
Allen is a serious guy and hands-on. It's a good approach and you'd enjoy it.
He was one of the first to invest in top-level data acquisition (MoTeC) and also has GoPro video in the cars. What's better is that his staff USES these tools to accelerate the progression of their drivers in an objective way. This is more valuable (IMO) than, but also in addition to, the normal "school" subjective evaluation and speeds improvement.
Allen is a serious guy and hands-on. It's a good approach and you'd enjoy it.
Is part of his program to teach drivers how to use and interpret the data vs. him looking at data and telling you xyz? Sort of like give a man a fish he eats for a day... teach a man to fish...
08-09-2017, 06:56 AM
#19
Originally Posted by fatbillybob
Is part of his program to teach drivers how to use and interpret the data vs. him looking at data and telling you xyz? Sort of like give a man a fish he eats for a day... teach a man to fish...
08-09-2017, 08:26 AM
#20
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It's just a tool they use to help people forward, quicker.
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-Peter Krause
www.peterkrause.net
www.gofasternow.com
"Combining the Art and Science of Driving Fast!"
Specializing in Professional, Private Driver Performance Evaluation and Optimization
Consultation Available Remotely and at VIRginia International Raceway
-Peter Krause
www.peterkrause.net
www.gofasternow.com
"Combining the Art and Science of Driving Fast!"
Specializing in Professional, Private Driver Performance Evaluation and Optimization
Consultation Available Remotely and at VIRginia International Raceway
08-23-2017, 06:22 PM
#21
08-24-2017, 11:09 PM
#22
Nada? Does anyone know if you need a US driving license to do the Formula course? I emailed them and got no reply which is a little disappointing for a 6 and a half grand course.
08-27-2017, 11:13 AM
#23
Just got back yesterday from California...
This was my second trip to Laguna although the previous time was in 2001 so I had forgotten most of the details. Overall the experience was quite good and I enjoyed myself. I don't harbor any ideas about being a real driver so my entire goal was to head out to have a good time driving the track for a few days and learn a few things.
The School:
Allen was there to start us off but unfortunately had to leave Monday morning to take care of some family things. He was welcoming while he was there and ensured all participants were set. Generally each day starts with a classroom session, moves to a lead / follow behind an instructor, then open lapping. During the open lapping the school mixes Go-Pro and AIM data collection session. Open lapping sessions seemed to be generally 15-20 min long although timing could change if there were incidents. I left after three days and felt I got a fair share of track time. I think it was 4-5 sessions a day, some of that depended on if we were running a 2 or a 3 group format. Forgive me for not know exactly how many, I was having too good of a time to remember every session.
At the end of each session the instructors would give you a debrief of what you did right and wrong for the corners they were sitting on. During day 1 they had what seemed to be 5 of the 11 corners covered. As we moved into day 2 and 3 they had less coverage due to most people getting more comfortable with the overall track. The Go-Pro sessions were quite valuable as they would pick a lap toward the end of the session and review it in detail with you; focusing on braking, turn in points, etc.
The drivers group was a mix of some folks who had racing experience (e.g. vintage & karts) to individuals who had never done a lap. Everyone was able to progress through the three days in a variety of ways and I got the sense that at the end everyone had a good time.
The Instructors:
A big part of the school is the instructors as they influence how the days go, the organization, and general enjoyment. There were quite a few (7-8?) helping throughout the days and I was impressed with them. Each had seemingly thousands of laps around Laguna and were able to provide generous feedback. With minimal exception their focus was for students to get a lot of lap time and to gain comfort and experience on the track. I appreciated the organization of the days and dedication to getting drivers in and out of cars.
The Cars:
We drove Formula Renaults, they had wings, slicks, and sequential gearboxes. Being a racing school these cars had been used but generally were in good condition. This was my first time in a car with aero and slicks and I was impressed with how progressive and predictable the car was. I ended up finding the limit a few times at somewhat higher speed (turn 3 and 9) and the car would communicate the slide easy enough to catch it. They did mention the new tires they were using meant the cars were not as snappy at the limit.
My Performance:
As mentioned above I don't expect to ever be a great driver but this helped develop a lot of confidence I have lost since I quit karting a while back. I took four seconds off my lap times between day 2 and day 3 and feel that I was continuing to make through the last session.
The biggest loss of time as compared to the instructor via AIM for me was turn in 2 and 5 with some amount of tenths falling out in other places. For turn 2 I was over slowing the car into 2 and then on the gas too early making me push through the second apex. I finally started to ease up on the brakes from threshold earlier to limit my total braking and then slowed my roll onto gas. For Turn 5 I needed to brake a bit later and slightly less.
Turn 9 was a riot as you could nearly take it with quite a bit of throttle, pointing into the apex and letting the car slide to the outside. Took me a few times to build the confidence to let the car slide out there but by day 3 I was doing it consistently. A slight lift after apex would start to bring the rear around which made it exciting...
Overall:
Good time, learned a bunch, have been hounding Racing Junk since I got back thinking about getting into racing again...
This was my second trip to Laguna although the previous time was in 2001 so I had forgotten most of the details. Overall the experience was quite good and I enjoyed myself. I don't harbor any ideas about being a real driver so my entire goal was to head out to have a good time driving the track for a few days and learn a few things.
The School:
Allen was there to start us off but unfortunately had to leave Monday morning to take care of some family things. He was welcoming while he was there and ensured all participants were set. Generally each day starts with a classroom session, moves to a lead / follow behind an instructor, then open lapping. During the open lapping the school mixes Go-Pro and AIM data collection session. Open lapping sessions seemed to be generally 15-20 min long although timing could change if there were incidents. I left after three days and felt I got a fair share of track time. I think it was 4-5 sessions a day, some of that depended on if we were running a 2 or a 3 group format. Forgive me for not know exactly how many, I was having too good of a time to remember every session.
At the end of each session the instructors would give you a debrief of what you did right and wrong for the corners they were sitting on. During day 1 they had what seemed to be 5 of the 11 corners covered. As we moved into day 2 and 3 they had less coverage due to most people getting more comfortable with the overall track. The Go-Pro sessions were quite valuable as they would pick a lap toward the end of the session and review it in detail with you; focusing on braking, turn in points, etc.
The drivers group was a mix of some folks who had racing experience (e.g. vintage & karts) to individuals who had never done a lap. Everyone was able to progress through the three days in a variety of ways and I got the sense that at the end everyone had a good time.
The Instructors:
A big part of the school is the instructors as they influence how the days go, the organization, and general enjoyment. There were quite a few (7-8?) helping throughout the days and I was impressed with them. Each had seemingly thousands of laps around Laguna and were able to provide generous feedback. With minimal exception their focus was for students to get a lot of lap time and to gain comfort and experience on the track. I appreciated the organization of the days and dedication to getting drivers in and out of cars.
The Cars:
We drove Formula Renaults, they had wings, slicks, and sequential gearboxes. Being a racing school these cars had been used but generally were in good condition. This was my first time in a car with aero and slicks and I was impressed with how progressive and predictable the car was. I ended up finding the limit a few times at somewhat higher speed (turn 3 and 9) and the car would communicate the slide easy enough to catch it. They did mention the new tires they were using meant the cars were not as snappy at the limit.
My Performance:
As mentioned above I don't expect to ever be a great driver but this helped develop a lot of confidence I have lost since I quit karting a while back. I took four seconds off my lap times between day 2 and day 3 and feel that I was continuing to make through the last session.
The biggest loss of time as compared to the instructor via AIM for me was turn in 2 and 5 with some amount of tenths falling out in other places. For turn 2 I was over slowing the car into 2 and then on the gas too early making me push through the second apex. I finally started to ease up on the brakes from threshold earlier to limit my total braking and then slowed my roll onto gas. For Turn 5 I needed to brake a bit later and slightly less.
Turn 9 was a riot as you could nearly take it with quite a bit of throttle, pointing into the apex and letting the car slide to the outside. Took me a few times to build the confidence to let the car slide out there but by day 3 I was doing it consistently. A slight lift after apex would start to bring the rear around which made it exciting...
Overall:
Good time, learned a bunch, have been hounding Racing Junk since I got back thinking about getting into racing again...
08-27-2017, 11:14 AM
#24
They were good folks
08-27-2017, 11:22 AM
#25
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Great report!
08-27-2017, 06:13 PM
#26
I would give them a little time. Allen was dealing with a family thing and I think they run a lean shop. There was a student from Mexico that I don't think had a drivers license but had karting experience so I am not sure the license thing is an issue for you.
They were good folks
They were good folks
08-31-2017, 11:00 PM
#27
