J/TSR

Yours truly is Chief Instructor for Driving Ambitions High Performance Schools at Watkins Glen again this year, and those are the dates of our second school. I think we had this same conflict in '99....?!?!?! My sked gets filled up early, especially this year (bigger endurance racing commitment).

JW

Jon

BSR guys teaching the beginner/novice classes, and I'll get them to take the instructors out for a lap or two during the first morning meetings.

Thanks anyway!

Jon

Alex Milenkovic

Let me reccomend two instructors I really like:

Jim Thill. SRX7 Racer, very consistent, excellent instructor.

Don Barrack. ITB CHAMP this year, very animated, loves doing demos (ie bootleg J turns) for people if the people doing the event want him to, excellent instructor.

Alex.

Alex Milenkovic

I haven't seen anyone answer your question about the FATT experience itself, so let me throw in my 0.02.

If there's any doubt in your mind, GO TO FRIDAY AT THE TRACK. If you've never been to a track before, GO TO FRIDAY AT THE TRACK. If you've never done high performance driving, GO TO FRIDAY AT THE TRACK. Hell, even if you're mario andretti, GO TO FRIDAY AT THE TRACK.

It's only $100, and you will learn more about your car, and driving it at the limit, than you ever will on the street. You will know exactly when your car slides, what it feels like when it's getting loose (preparing to slide), what to do if you get into a bad situation on the street (over cook a turn, swerve to avoid some ***, etc.) and your confidence will improve substantially.

The crew at BSR (Bill Scott Racing.. Bill Scott is the guy who owns SP) are very professional, and their #1 concern is to make sure that everyone has a safe experience. I've gone to SP with other schools that had a "yeah.. we sort of care about safety" attitude, and it's unnerving. With BSR, you get none of that crap. Also, about 60% of them are racers, so you WILL get someone that knows the track and who can teach you to go around it.

One last thing. And boy will this sound sexist. But try to avoid the female instructors if you can. Of the 5-6 times I've been to SP, and the couple of friends that have gone with me, none of us have gotten one that really impressed us. Just my impression, YMMV. If there WAS a good chick instructor, I'd reccomend her. But there doesn't seem to be.

Do it. It will be the most fun, and most learning, you do for a while.

Alex.

Warren Wang

Ellen is a good instructor, and an SCCA racer. Cautious at first, and then she gets you to consistently decrease lap times. Err, yeah, I know who you're talking about though, and I'd avoid her too.

Warren