[Phoenix]

Work and our newborn son have kept me extremely busy and it's been quite a while since I've been on the board. From my quick surf today, it's as lively as ever.

I am hoping to bounce an idea around the group.

Spring is coming and Phoenix will soon emerge from hibernation. At the same time I know that my work schedule will keep me from several autocrosses and driver's ed events (e.g.: April events are pretty much out for me).

All that said, I do want to personally keep practicing the basics in a safe environment. By basics I mean, judging braking distances, heal and toe shifting into a turn, threshold braking, double clutching, and other basics. I have had a few classes, been reading books (currently Vic Elford's latest) and want to practice between those Autocrosses and Driver's Ed sessions I can attend.

My thought is to take advantage of one of the many empty parking lots in my area. Essentially to get 20-30 cones and set up my own little practice areas to help me work on these. I'm not talking about any kind of "event" here as there are too many liability, insurance and organizational issues with that. This would be for me personally and I do plan on getting permission from the lot owners before moving forward.

My questions to the group:
1) has anyone done this anything like this before

2) is there anything beyond liability of the lot owner / lot owner permission I need to think about? (If it's really this simple, why aren't more people doing it?)

3) what else could I safely practice in this environment?

4) what type if cone layouts should I consider to help me practice the above safely?


Any thoughts, input, guidance?

All the best... Oliver