Driving Schools (long)

Brady Dohrmann prelude_2@hotmail.com
Wed, 19 Dec 2001 16:06:52 -0900


On the other hand, I'd suggest going to a good driver's school FIRST, then
making up your mind about racing.  I don't know all the specifics of this
situation, but here's what I think...

Go to a good driver's school like Skip Barber, Bondurant or one of the other
"more famous" schools out there.  Getting into racing almost always costs a
lot and there's no point in starting out by buying a whole Karting setup for
3,000-7,000 bucks because for all you know, you might not even like it!  I
know several people who have bought/built road race cars with no prior
experience, run one or two events and decided that they just plain didn't
like it.  There's a lot more to road racing/lapping days than just showing
up and driving.

Most of the people I've talked to who road race/lap/rally say they'd rather
spend $3,000 on another driver's school than on their car.  I did the
Bondurant school twice (3 times if you include the Oval driver's school) and
I feel the same way.  I went into Bondurant theee days after I got my
driver's license and it was the best thing I ever did.  Not only did I learn
a TON about driving and racing, I managed to retain most of it and improve
on everything i learned.  I know people who have been running track events
for 5 years and they still agreed that the school was worth it.  Jumping
into a race car after having only read a few books or done a few autocrosses
doesn't cut it.. even if you're just driving your street car at a track
event, same thing.