My First DE!

[Hugh R]

Well I guess its a driving exercise, I went to the Short Track Series Clinic yesterday and STS at Willow Springs today. How exciting, driving the car around the skid track until the rear end breaks loose, then taking it again to the limit and feathering the gas to get it to start to slip and grab, over and over, then completely letting off the gas and having the rear end lighten up and you spin out. Never pushed a car like that in my life. Also on the track the first time or two was where the Eff is the track! Figuring out the line, having one or two instructors grabbing onto the bottom of my steering wheel cause I was turning into the apex to soon was unsettling, but I got used to it once I figured out what they were doing. After two days, I got better, but have a ways to go for sure. I've never spun a car out before, but once yesterday and a slid today. I thought I sucked as a driver but I definitely did a lot better by the end of today which happened early because of heavy rain. I'll do it again a few more times this year. My goal isn't to get my POC license, but to get better at understanding my car. Sorry, no pics. Not a bad birthday present, a helmet a clinic and a day on the track. BTW, I"m 54 today.

[slodave]

Happy Birthday, Hugh!

[oregonmon]

Sounds like a great way to spend your birthday. Sounds really exciting and you got me looking forward to my first DE hopefully this spring.

[Hugh R]

Actually, I found a pic or two my wife took that shows how blazingly fast I was going. She can't catch me in the camera. I need to talk to her about how to capture a moving shot. In looking at the time stamps on the camera, I was doing what? Between 2 and 3 minutes for a 1.8 mile track? No transponder so don't know and don't really care. I felt like I was Michael Schumacker, and it was an e-ticket ride for me and I want to do it again. I know my friend Tony G from the board turned a 1:28 in his 350 cubic inch aluminum block 944, he passed a whole bunch of people every time he went through the front straight. I've posted a pic of Tony G as well.

[Hugh R]

Originally Posted by oregonmon

Sounds like a great way to spend your birthday. Sounds really exciting and you got me looking forward to my first DE hopefully this spring.

Do it, its like nothing that I can describe. You do a skid track with your wheel basically locked and keep going around and around until the rear end breaks loose and you slid, about 60 mph for me I think but it could have been 30 for all I know. Then you get to feathering your gas between the ragged edge of slipping and NOT stepping on the brake, but rather the gas, and as you do that, it bites the rear tires down some more and you get control then at the end when your starting to slip the instructor says let completely off the gas and you spin out alot. You learn why you don't want to lift off of the gas pedal in a curve, or brake on a curve. You also get to slip in a curve (drift) and gently push the gas and have the rear wheels bite and you leap forward. Its like NOTHING that you have ever experienced. I got scared, I got confident and I got bit(hed, all in the same run. The instructors are great, but I'd definitely have a conversation with them about their grabbing the bottom of your steering wheel on a turn to show you the line without your knowledge, they're safe, but its a little unnerving.

[DRACO A5OG]

Should have done the DE before my first track day. Will do next time around.

[911Rob]

Yeah Happy Birthday Hugh!
Great present and Good Job!
Thanks,

[jonbot]

This is just the kind of thing I need to do to become familiar with the limits of my car, how do I go about finding one of these locally?

[C4 Pazzo]

Check out the Golden Gate Region of PCA http://www.pca-ggr.org/node/24

Also check out Thunderhill's website for their Driver Schools -- they've teamed up with Hooked on Driving with a program that might fit the bill http://thunderhill.com/html/driving_schools_.html . Thunderhill is a few hours north of you in Willows.

[GaryR]

There is a whole forum dedicated to DE's and Racing here - http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/forumdisplay.php?f=65
Do a search on 1st timers and you will get a TON of info! Welcome to the Slippery Slope..

[jester911]

Gary, you over here stirring up trouble again?

Hugh, stop now. It only gets more expensive from here.

[berettafan]

neat! would an HPDC be equivalent to this?

[jester911]

Originally Posted by berettafan

neat! would an HPDC be equivalent to this?

Depending on the organization you drive with yes. There are many out there with more popping up all the time. It is usually better to run with one that has been around for a little while so that they are more organized and have decent instructors. You also want one that doesn't allow any BS and has a good safety record.

I recommend going to the track as a spectator to watch how things are run and to get acquainted with them especially if you have never done one.

The Alabama PCA has a nice program they are running called A Taste of the Track at their DE. You can go out and ride with an instructor in their car to see if it is something you would like to try.

[bell]

Originally Posted by Hugh R

Figuring out the line, having one or two instructors grabbing onto the bottom of my steering wheel cause I was turning into the apex to soon was unsettling, but I got used to it once I figured out what they were doing.

wtf? i would've pimp slapped the instructor.......i have never heard of the passenger/instructor grabbing the steering wheel to correct your line......seems really unsafe to me.....

happy birthday hugh

[jester911]

I some how missed that Bell. Some instructors do this. The instructor should have discussed this before going on track to see if the student would have a problem with it. In many cases because the student's focus is on the road he doesn't realize the instructor is holding the wheel so the student keeps turning the wheel harder to compensate.

There should be communication before hand so that there is no problem with this.

[Netspeed]

Looks like Willow Springs was the only sunny place in SoCal over the weekend! Hopefully I can do one of these events later this year.

BTW...Happy Birthday!

[JeremyD]

welcome to the club Hugh -
The only thing that was going through my mind after my first DE was why the he!! I didn't do this earlier.

[Netspeed]

Originally Posted by JeremyD

welcome to the club Hugh -
The only thing that was going through my mind after my first DE was why the he!! I didn't do this earlier.

Hahahah....I love that poster!

[DaddyGlenn]

Happy birthday Hugh. Sounds like the perfect present.

[Don Plumley]

Happy B Day Hugh. Sounds like a perfect present and welcome to the slippery slope. I've also done the STS Clinic and the instruction was among the best I've received.