Considering a Driving School? First timer experience at TWS
10-04-2000, 12:07 PM
#1
AudiWorld Super User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2000
Posts: 2,632
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Considering a Driving School? First timer experience at TWS
Friday I was so excited to be driving up to Navasota, and yet I was almost paralyzed with fear that I would wreck my car...a good friend of mine and I were going up together.
So we drove up Friday and had the 'novice driver's meeting'. Lots of talk about what NOT to do, lots of talk about wrecking, spinning, etc. Scared us both a bit. I was sure that I wouldn't sleep at all...but I finally did get to sleep that nite...
Early Saturday morning...filled the gas tank, grabbed some McDonald's, and headed to the track. Another meeting...I'm so nervous, I don't even really notice the other drivers. I do notice LOTS of Porsche/Viper/Corvettes. We get a bit of a pep talk and talk about the schedule.
4 runs/day per group. I'm in Green, novice group. We learn the Flags and flag stations. We are drilled on safety, hand signals, pit behavior, passing, being passed, etc. We're told to get our tire pressures/lug nut torque finalized and get ready for a quick outing (not really a run) where the instructor will drive our car and show us the line.
We grid up, I meet my instructor, Joe...an older (50 y.o. maybe) Porsche club guy. He turns out to be a perfectionist...more about this later. He shows me the visual cues to brake and turn. The track is 2.9 miles with 15 turns. I'm overwhelmed, I tell him "i got it," but I don't.
Short break, then our first time out. Fairly slow, not watching speedo, so can't give you speeds. He says he's happy with my driving, but I feel I'm looking down at the track a lot for my cues.
Second session just before lunch. Faster than before, getting the turns a little better. Still looking down, close to the car, for my cues. I don't have the track down AT ALL. I'm really just reacting to each turn. I can't remember what follows what.
We do a quick slalom session. Rick Schwalenberg is the head guy and he drives my car through the slalom at what I thought was a really fast speed..about 55 at the end. I was pinned to my seat. He said, "you'll be doing almost as fast in a minute". Yeah right, I thought. So we switch spots. My first time out I ended up at about 50mph. The second run I did 58mph. Rick says, "Wow, you're picking this up faster than most people...I'm impressed." Kiss of death. Ego kicked in, I got way too hot at the end of the third run and smacked a cone. We saw in the distance a cloud of dust and a red 996 backwards.
Lunch time. Chance to breathe. The red 996 911 smacked a guardrail backwards...he tried to recover after dropping a wheel or two off the track. A quick 'drivers meeting' where they reiterate safety and 'two feet in and off the track'.
Another novice meeting, did some stretching.
First session after lunch. No real improvement...about the same as before. I'm looking down for cues and can't remember the coming turns. An M3 dropped a wheel right in front of me. The M3 driver did the wrong thing and pulled it back on...luckily, he made it. He sprayed rocks up in a rooster tail, I narrowly missed being showered with debris. On the very next lap, I was directly behind the M3, when it dropped a wheel on the same part of the track, but this time on the other side. Again, he pulled it immediately back on. Luckily, he made it again. And luckily, I narrowly missed the debris shower.
I start noticing the other cars and drivers about now...I'm not quite so nervous about wrecking, so I start to settle down a bit. Really sweet cars. Check out Rami's post in the S4 forum for his pics of the event. A Supra turbo had left the track backwards. Also, an RX-7 left the track, cracked a rim, and bent the suspension and possibly the chassis.
Last session of the day. Maybe a little improvement. Still don't have a good feel for the track, and all my cues are down on the ground. I did however think that I got a good feel for the way my car handles. Several places where you're steering with the throttle. During both days, I basically left the car in 4th all the way around the track. I decided that shifting in some areas may have helped me power out of a turn, but I wanted to get the line before worrying about the speed and time.
Several times, Joe would grab the steering wheel from the passenger seat to help me get the line or to recover from an early apex. He asked if he could, and I said fine. It helped some, but it was a big crutch. I wanted to be doing it better, so he wouldn't have to help so much.
Second day. Filled up, McDonalds, track. Quick meeting, reiterate flags and safety.
First session of the day. Sucked. Bigtime. It was as if I had forgotten everything. I was all over the place. Not really loose, just slow as ****. Really pissed me off. Lost some of my visual cues. Told Joe that I really wanted visual cues up higher, so I wasn't looking down so much. He agreed.
We did another slalom run. I consistently ran 60-61 at the end of the slalom. Lots of fun, but hell on the front tires.
Second run. Didn't feel 100%. Lost a visual cue and turned in way too early, turn 6, I think. Got wide, dropped a wheel. Joe was shouting, "GO OFF, GO OFF!". I hit the brakes and went straight, easing off the track. Forgot to hit the clutch until it was dying....I was a little frazzled. We pulled back on and got black flagged. The rule is: You go off, you get black flag. You must pit and tell the grid marshall what happened. We did. I was really bent.
Lunch. Feeling really dissappointed with my performance.
Third run. Joe agreed that we should try a little slower, a little smoother, and work on keeping my head up. I did OK, but I was still nervous from the previous off-track excursion. I wasn't going to the edge of the track, so I wasn't able to take the corners properly. I tried, but failed to get my confidence back up. Ben went off track twice in this run.
Came in and literally wanted to leave. All the other novices seemed to be having such a blast...I knew their instructors weren't nearly as technical as Joe, because I was watching some of them from behind as they drove 'the line'. They were all over the place...some were driving in the middle of the track THE WHOLE TIME. I was really pissed. An NSX went off track and had rocks embedded in the bead of the tire (on sweet 18" Volk AV3 rims). Scratched the rim and the tire had to be dismounted and remounted.
Don Pavlik actually ended up having Joe ride along for some of his runs in the Yellow group. Don said to me that I was definitely having a harder time than I needed to because Joe was so demanding. Probably true, but I also felt (after seeing the other guys drive), that I had a really good instructor, and I should try to learn as much from him as possible.
I decided to hit the slalom one last time before our last run. My third run, I smacked the second cone, got pissed, hammered the car through the rest of the course. Ended up at 65mph at the end of the slalom. I was really pumped.
My confidence was back up.
Last run. Joe says, "head up, smooth, smooth, smooth". Okey dokey, Joe. Joe gave me verbal cues to go along with the visual cues (he'd been doing this off and on over the two days). I was nailing every turn. I gained on an S4 and a Camaro SS in the corners...although they would leave me on the straights. I was using Joe as a major crutch with his verbal cues, "Brake, Throttle, TURN!". He stopped for the last two laps, and I still carried on fairly well. I was really on cloud nine after that run. I felt like I finally had a clue as to what turns followed what and where to be looking...I had a lingering feeling that I was somehow just stupid b/c it took two full days to get it, tho.
We saddled up, said our goodbyes, and headed out. All things considered, I'd say it was a great experience. I came to learn...not to thrash my car or drive like a bat outta hell...and I guess I put myself up to a pretty high standard. This left me a little disappointed during the course, but in the end, I felt pretty good.
I will definitely recommend a school like this to anyone who wants to learn how to drive on a track...you'll find the limits of your car (or your tires, at least). I was really impressed with the way my A4 would bear down under hard throttle while exiting corners...it inspires a lot of confidence. The overall balance of the car is fairly neutral, and I could control it with throttle input in hard corners.
I'll definitely go back as soon as I can...I want another crack at it. I think I'll try for a different instructor, but I'll try to apply everything that Joe taught me.
steve
So we drove up Friday and had the 'novice driver's meeting'. Lots of talk about what NOT to do, lots of talk about wrecking, spinning, etc. Scared us both a bit. I was sure that I wouldn't sleep at all...but I finally did get to sleep that nite...
Early Saturday morning...filled the gas tank, grabbed some McDonald's, and headed to the track. Another meeting...I'm so nervous, I don't even really notice the other drivers. I do notice LOTS of Porsche/Viper/Corvettes. We get a bit of a pep talk and talk about the schedule.
4 runs/day per group. I'm in Green, novice group. We learn the Flags and flag stations. We are drilled on safety, hand signals, pit behavior, passing, being passed, etc. We're told to get our tire pressures/lug nut torque finalized and get ready for a quick outing (not really a run) where the instructor will drive our car and show us the line.
We grid up, I meet my instructor, Joe...an older (50 y.o. maybe) Porsche club guy. He turns out to be a perfectionist...more about this later. He shows me the visual cues to brake and turn. The track is 2.9 miles with 15 turns. I'm overwhelmed, I tell him "i got it," but I don't.
Short break, then our first time out. Fairly slow, not watching speedo, so can't give you speeds. He says he's happy with my driving, but I feel I'm looking down at the track a lot for my cues.
Second session just before lunch. Faster than before, getting the turns a little better. Still looking down, close to the car, for my cues. I don't have the track down AT ALL. I'm really just reacting to each turn. I can't remember what follows what.
We do a quick slalom session. Rick Schwalenberg is the head guy and he drives my car through the slalom at what I thought was a really fast speed..about 55 at the end. I was pinned to my seat. He said, "you'll be doing almost as fast in a minute". Yeah right, I thought. So we switch spots. My first time out I ended up at about 50mph. The second run I did 58mph. Rick says, "Wow, you're picking this up faster than most people...I'm impressed." Kiss of death. Ego kicked in, I got way too hot at the end of the third run and smacked a cone. We saw in the distance a cloud of dust and a red 996 backwards.
Lunch time. Chance to breathe. The red 996 911 smacked a guardrail backwards...he tried to recover after dropping a wheel or two off the track. A quick 'drivers meeting' where they reiterate safety and 'two feet in and off the track'.
Another novice meeting, did some stretching.
First session after lunch. No real improvement...about the same as before. I'm looking down for cues and can't remember the coming turns. An M3 dropped a wheel right in front of me. The M3 driver did the wrong thing and pulled it back on...luckily, he made it. He sprayed rocks up in a rooster tail, I narrowly missed being showered with debris. On the very next lap, I was directly behind the M3, when it dropped a wheel on the same part of the track, but this time on the other side. Again, he pulled it immediately back on. Luckily, he made it again. And luckily, I narrowly missed the debris shower.
I start noticing the other cars and drivers about now...I'm not quite so nervous about wrecking, so I start to settle down a bit. Really sweet cars. Check out Rami's post in the S4 forum for his pics of the event. A Supra turbo had left the track backwards. Also, an RX-7 left the track, cracked a rim, and bent the suspension and possibly the chassis.
Last session of the day. Maybe a little improvement. Still don't have a good feel for the track, and all my cues are down on the ground. I did however think that I got a good feel for the way my car handles. Several places where you're steering with the throttle. During both days, I basically left the car in 4th all the way around the track. I decided that shifting in some areas may have helped me power out of a turn, but I wanted to get the line before worrying about the speed and time.
Several times, Joe would grab the steering wheel from the passenger seat to help me get the line or to recover from an early apex. He asked if he could, and I said fine. It helped some, but it was a big crutch. I wanted to be doing it better, so he wouldn't have to help so much.
Second day. Filled up, McDonalds, track. Quick meeting, reiterate flags and safety.
First session of the day. Sucked. Bigtime. It was as if I had forgotten everything. I was all over the place. Not really loose, just slow as ****. Really pissed me off. Lost some of my visual cues. Told Joe that I really wanted visual cues up higher, so I wasn't looking down so much. He agreed.
We did another slalom run. I consistently ran 60-61 at the end of the slalom. Lots of fun, but hell on the front tires.
Second run. Didn't feel 100%. Lost a visual cue and turned in way too early, turn 6, I think. Got wide, dropped a wheel. Joe was shouting, "GO OFF, GO OFF!". I hit the brakes and went straight, easing off the track. Forgot to hit the clutch until it was dying....I was a little frazzled. We pulled back on and got black flagged. The rule is: You go off, you get black flag. You must pit and tell the grid marshall what happened. We did. I was really bent.
Lunch. Feeling really dissappointed with my performance.
Third run. Joe agreed that we should try a little slower, a little smoother, and work on keeping my head up. I did OK, but I was still nervous from the previous off-track excursion. I wasn't going to the edge of the track, so I wasn't able to take the corners properly. I tried, but failed to get my confidence back up. Ben went off track twice in this run.
Came in and literally wanted to leave. All the other novices seemed to be having such a blast...I knew their instructors weren't nearly as technical as Joe, because I was watching some of them from behind as they drove 'the line'. They were all over the place...some were driving in the middle of the track THE WHOLE TIME. I was really pissed. An NSX went off track and had rocks embedded in the bead of the tire (on sweet 18" Volk AV3 rims). Scratched the rim and the tire had to be dismounted and remounted.
Don Pavlik actually ended up having Joe ride along for some of his runs in the Yellow group. Don said to me that I was definitely having a harder time than I needed to because Joe was so demanding. Probably true, but I also felt (after seeing the other guys drive), that I had a really good instructor, and I should try to learn as much from him as possible.
I decided to hit the slalom one last time before our last run. My third run, I smacked the second cone, got pissed, hammered the car through the rest of the course. Ended up at 65mph at the end of the slalom. I was really pumped.
My confidence was back up.
Last run. Joe says, "head up, smooth, smooth, smooth". Okey dokey, Joe. Joe gave me verbal cues to go along with the visual cues (he'd been doing this off and on over the two days). I was nailing every turn. I gained on an S4 and a Camaro SS in the corners...although they would leave me on the straights. I was using Joe as a major crutch with his verbal cues, "Brake, Throttle, TURN!". He stopped for the last two laps, and I still carried on fairly well. I was really on cloud nine after that run. I felt like I finally had a clue as to what turns followed what and where to be looking...I had a lingering feeling that I was somehow just stupid b/c it took two full days to get it, tho.
We saddled up, said our goodbyes, and headed out. All things considered, I'd say it was a great experience. I came to learn...not to thrash my car or drive like a bat outta hell...and I guess I put myself up to a pretty high standard. This left me a little disappointed during the course, but in the end, I felt pretty good.
I will definitely recommend a school like this to anyone who wants to learn how to drive on a track...you'll find the limits of your car (or your tires, at least). I was really impressed with the way my A4 would bear down under hard throttle while exiting corners...it inspires a lot of confidence. The overall balance of the car is fairly neutral, and I could control it with throttle input in hard corners.
I'll definitely go back as soon as I can...I want another crack at it. I think I'll try for a different instructor, but I'll try to apply everything that Joe taught me.
steve
10-04-2000, 12:35 PM
#3
AudiWorld Super User
Join Date: Mar 2000
Posts: 3,304
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Sounds great overall
One pointer, always try to memorize the track/course and pick your own cues. This is tough at first because there are so many things you're trying to pick up on, but you've got the basics now. If you're not provided with a map of the track, try to draw one...maybe do a lap as a passenger. Then study the map during off times (lunch, etc.).
Glad to hear you had a good time and you and your car were safe.
Glad to hear you had a good time and you and your car were safe.
10-04-2000, 02:14 PM
#7
New Member
Join Date: May 2000
Posts: 224
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hey Steve, don't be so hard on yourself, its a damn hard thing to get.
As long as you leave better than you came its a win. That is what I took away, I am no race car driver now, but I know how to drive my car much better, that is all you can ask.
Hope to see you at the next one,
Jon (dosturbos)
Car 5
Hope to see you at the next one,
Jon (dosturbos)
Car 5
Trending Topics
10-04-2000, 04:41 PM
#10
AudiWorld Senior Member
Join Date: May 2000
Posts: 857
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
wow! well-written, with absence of ego. thanks for telling it so well.
we all go crazy for chips and intakes and wheels and tires, but i bet more races would be won with this "mod" to the driver than all the parts combined. my experience was at sears point, norcal.