High Performance Driving Schools

[Teddy Dal]

Wanted to begin a discussion about experiences with HPDE's. I plan to attend a school in order to feel more confident and safe with my GT 350R. I have wanted to track a vehicle for a very long time...the vehicle, and therefore the time is approaching. Considering Skip Barber or Bondurant, but would appreciate experiences and suggestions. :cheers:

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[Bossing]

Definitely worth it. From what I hear, you can't go wrong with Barber or Bondurant. Pick your school... I actually plan to do the Barber school with Porsches so it's somehting to look foeward to next year for me. Even if you have dozens of track sessions under your belt like I do... it's still a humbling experience to learn from the masters.

On that note, I'ved done the Ron Fellows Corvette school and the AMG Academy... and the real benefit is listening, learning, implementing and practicing what they teach you. Also it's better to drive within your means and with your head on.... leave the macho'ism and the showoff attitude aside. Most of all, enjoy and have a great time. HPDE is fun, very fun as long as you stay grounded.

 

[Hack]

You can probably also find a local HPDE that is great too. I went to an HPDE at Brainerd International here in Minnesota and learned a ton. If I were you I'd go to a local, less expensive school the first 3 or 4 times at a minimum. My first time out there was way too much to learn. If you can get the basics down for less money, then go to one of the higher buck places, I think you will be better off rather than spending a bunch of money for the best of the best when you are a rank amateur and not absorbing as much as you'd like to. Just a thought.

Oh one other thing. The first time I went it was cold and rainy, and I'm going to say that was a really good thing. You will be driving more slowly in poor conditions, and it's easier to learn if you aren't going a million miles an hour. Things happen fast enough even in poor track conditions. It will also teach you to watch for water and so on. The track was dry on one end and raining at the other end for some of the day when I was there. That helps a lot driving under that kind of conditions.

 

[mustang_guy]

Ive taken quite a few (7, repeated a couple) racing classes at skip barber at their laguna seca classes. Some of the best money ive ever spent.

 

[mattlqx]

If you want to spend the money, "experience" type schools that do 1-3 day programs are good, but are by far the most expensive. Ford Racing at Miller driving their GTs or Bosses would be a great thing if you want to stick with something Mustang oriented. http://www.fordracingschool.com/schools.html I've done the Boss Track Attack and ST Octane Academy there. They contract out some excellent professional instructors there! When you do a school-type program, you don't have to worry about using your car, so that is a big upside to the cost. Otherwise, you have to consider transporting your car to the track (or taking a risk and driving it there), fuel and tire consumption, other wear and tear, track insurance, etc.

If you don't want to dump the coin, check out a local Hooked On Driving event https://www.hookedondriving.com. They're a pretty well sorted HPDE organization that takes a franchise approach so your local chapter may vary, but they focus on giving some guided instruction in the morning sessions. Many HPDEs (NASA, SCCA) will do right-seat instruction but your experience there varies greatly on who you happen to get paired up with. That said, there are some very experienced people that do coaching with the more race-oriented organizations and it's usually included with the day for beginners.

I've done some coaching with HOD and Bay Area org SpeedSF. Usually the deal is you do coaching and get the day for free. That's why your experience as a beginner can vary as some people are just doing it for the free track time as opposed to trying to give you the best instruction possible. HOD (at least the west region) is on an employment-type schedule now where coaches mostly just get paid instead of focusing on a free day. That may have some impact on the quality of the coaching.

If and when you do take your car out on track, highly consider track insurance through a provider that specifically covers HPDEs (http://locktonmotorsports.com or the like). Even experienced drivers can have their car get away from them, let alone beginners that occasionally can push too hard, too fast. I'm sure you'll have a great time out there with the R though!

 

[bpracer]

I did Skip Barber, in the mid 90s. Three day course at Sears Point. A great experience, but this was before I had done much track stuff. I knew how to heel and toe already but not good racing lines. In retrospect, a cheaper class locally would have been better to get more of the Barber course. Also, don't go to some mediocre track, pick a great one.

Barber motorsports park, no relation to Skip, is a great track. I've done it on a bike (school) and raced a car there. Awesome place.

 

[fuhrius]

good advice here so far.
The one point I'd reinforce is that, while HPDE's do offer some instruction, it's amazing who some of these groups will pass off as instructors. Many times, they're just guys who've been to a few events with that group (and may have no formal training whatsoever) and are willing to right-seat. There's a big difference between having someone (experienced or not) ride along with you on a track day and doing a full-blown school with the various exercises and class room sessions that allow you to break things down, practice specific parts, and build confidence / skill gradually.
I think Skip Barber has a great curriculum (I've done 3-day race, 2-day advanced race, and adv car control) but I've found that you can get instructors there with a little attitude...my boundurant experience was similar but it's been a long time since I've been there. Others that I'd recommend, having done them, are anything at Miller (good curriculum and great people), Spring Mountain's classes (I did the 2-day advanced Radical school), and Chuckwalla's pretty good too (a little more low-key). My favorite, to date, though has got to be Dirtfish rally school. I've done their whole curriculum and then some more advanced private stuff up there and not only was it a great facility / great people, I learned the most about car control. It's also super fun to to drive rally cars.

 

[Teddy Dal]

Thanks for the suggestions so far....I will research all of your suggestions. I actually think it would be cool to have a group session with members from this forum....curious if Ford Racing would entertain somethings at Miller Motorsports? It would be awesome to learn on Mustangs!

 

[evanescent03]

if you are going to do skip barber, you will probably want to do multiple levels of their classes. their first "high performance driving" school day was mostly parking lot based and teaches you some basics, but to get bonafide track experience, you must at least do the second level of their school. they had some lead/follow stuff but no instructor int he car with you.

i had done several HPDE track weekends with both BMWCCA and PCA (porsche) before the skippy stuff. in my opinion i MUCH preferred the HPDE style stuff where the instructor is actually in the car with you. over the years/groups i've had better and worse instructors, but they've all been at least VERY good. some were just exceptionally good. there are lots of other private groups (NASA, Chin, etc) who do HPDE in-car-instruction. this environment has been awesome for me. i haven't done the other schools, but you will most likely want to look for HPDE type stuff versus full-on racing schools, but i'm not positive. racing schools probably go more into actual racing/competitive style stuff.

i wasn't 100% sure if you were planning on waiting for your car before doing the event or if you have a different car to use now, OR if you wanted a "just bring your credit card and a good attitude" style event. if you're waiting for your car, search around on motorsportreg-dot-com and google-dot-com to see what events will be in your area. and just so you know, most other organizations (BMWCCA, PCA..) are very open to ANY car showing up, not just their brand. i took a subaru to a BMW event the first time i went. you will want to check with the registrar/organizer for the event though to double check and let them know you're new to HPDEs for some extra support.

just be warned... it's addicting stuff just make sure you listen to your instructor, they'll know what they're talking about and will help keep both of you safe, and having fun.

good luck to you and congrats on the gt350r!

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