Driving Schools (long) part 2

[George Roffe]

Part 2

>Well my roommate is one of those guys who knows everything about cars
>because he reads message boards on the internet, but when it all comes
>down to it, real life situations don't add up because it's different than
>what he read on the Net.

Again, agreed.  One must have the opportunity to apply what you read *and*
actually apply it.  But, just because someone hasn't actually done
something doesn't mean they can't.  Some people are *really* good at
applying what they have read.  Again, it just isn't "one size fits all."

>I bet I could get more information if I read books for 3 days straight, 10
>hours a day than if I went to a 3-day school.  But, i wouldn't have any
>hands-on experience and with cars, that's what makes all the difference in
>the world.

Again I mostly agree, but it still depends.  The experience alone is worth
it.  But, some people can apply theory very quickly.  I'll take a Rob Cadle
who has read a ton about a subject and set him down to do it for the first
time over the average person who has received cursory instruction.

>I always argue with people who claim to know everything (not directed to
>you personally) because they read it in a  book, but 99% of the time it
>doesn't really add up when they're asked to apply themselves in real life.

Again, I mostly agree.

>I would rather be racing in my $7000 race car, wheel to wheel with a bunch
>of Bondurant graduates then a bunch of bookworms who have never been on a
>track before.

But, there are bookworms who, with the same number of hours of track time,
that I would choose over some Bondurant grads.  See where I'm going with
this?  Now, I'm not saying folks should just skip going to a school - just
read everything you can and you're all set.  Not even close.  But I'm also
say that just going to Bondurant doesn't necessarily prepare someone
properly.  It's just not that black and white.

>Well the thing I noticed was that they didn't have qualified teachers
>running the program.

That is important for sure.

>They were always other club racers who were fast, and they'd ride in the
>car and say "Yep, you look good here.. now we're on the straight so hit
>the gas.. Turn left at this left hander...."

I'll be the first to agree that just because someone is fast is no reason
to think they are a good instructor.  A good instructor needs to be able to
think about their driving while they are driving, know what the car is
doing and their interaction with the car, and be able to
communicate.  Again, give me a Rob Cadle over someone who is faster, but
cannot explain what they are doing and why.

>Then again, they try to teach everything there is to know in one day.

Yep.  We agree.  Cannot be done.

>The difference is though, at a driver's school they will teach you how to
>drive any track well.

No better than reading books.  The instructors can teach you how to drive a
whatever track you are on.  But, how to drive other tracks comes down to
theory that is the same that can come from a book.  Without going to
whatever specific track, it's all just theory.

Case in point.....

At my last SCCA school, my instructor showed me a new line that is *very*
unconventional.  It works and he could explain it.  But, you would *never*
teach that line to someone as a general rule to apply elsewhere.  Those
types of things are either taught directly from someone else, or learned
though experience and experimentation.

>If you're into rally, karting won't do a whole lot for helping you make up
>your mind about rally driving.

No drag racing.  So true.  But, it can do an awful lot for you when it
comes to road racing or circle track racing.

>It's not a setup school though, it's a driving school over 3-4 days.  Any
>new driver shouldn't be worrying about how to setup cars anyways.

You totally missed the point.  Of course you aren't going to let a newbie
dictate set-up on a formula car at a racing school.  But, in karting you
learn about set-up, tuning, and preparation.

We agree on more than we disagree.  My main point is that while I totally
believe in racing schools, IMHO you are over selling them.  Perhaps I'm
over selling karting, but if you ask F1 drivers where to learn to race and
drive, the overwhelming majority will tell you to take up karting.  But,
this isn't about karting vs schools.  There is a broad spectrum to getting
experience and folks need to look at them all, and if they want to get
involved, figure out for themselves what fits for them.

I started this discourse with my response covering a wide spectrum of
experience and trying to relate them.  I did state my opinion of each and
you have responded.  I do *not* think your opinion is at all invalid.  In
fact, while I believe karting is a better place to start, I would still
*totally* support anyone's decision to go to racing school.  Shit, it beats
struggling for years in other arenas trying to figure it all out.  Both
have their merits as does DE events.  So, I'll leave off where I
started....  It all depends on goals and intent. :-)

George Roffe
Houston, TX
91 SE-R (well modded)
91 G20  (well modded)
84 944 SCCA ITS race car under construction
<http://home.earthlink.net/~geo3/>