Driving Schools (long)

[George Roffe]

Brady Dohrmann wrote:

>On the other hand, I'd suggest going to a good driver's school FIRST, then
>making up your mind about racing.

As I originally said, opinions vary.

>Go to a good driver's school like Skip Barber, Bondurant or one of the
>other "more famous" schools out there.

You seem to be caught up in name recognition.  I would simply suggest
getting plenty of information on any school.  Like I said, my instructor
became a 2x, almost 3x Toyota Atlantic champion as well as Indy Lights
champion.  A previous protege of Richard Spenard was Stephan Proulx, who
raced for 3 years in F3000.  He stopped racing due to contracting AIDS, so
who knows if he would have made it to F1.  IIRC, the late Greg Moore was a
product of Spenard-David.  I know Bondurant and Barber have had many big
names go through their program as well.  My point is that name isn't always
everything.  There are other aspects to take into account.  Like I said,
the Derek Daly school has a leg up on other schools IMHO due to the fact
they utilize data acquisiton.

>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...

For $3,000 I can put someone into a used kart that is competitive and
better than their abilities.  As I also said, if someone finds they don't
like racing, they can sell the equipment for little to no loss.

>There's a lot more to road racing/lapping days than just showing up and
>driving.

Agreed.  Yet another reason to try karting first.

>Not only did I learn a TON about driving and racing

I seriously doubt you really learned a thing about actual racing.  You
possibly did when you did an advanced course.  Still, it pales in
comparison with real racing.  I'm not trying to be elitist here, but it's
true.  Nothing like driving wheel-to-wheel with the wheels less than an
inch apart.  You will *not* get that at a racing school until you get up to
private instruction, or at least some seriously advanced level.

>I know people who have been running track events for 5 years and they
>still agreed that the school was worth it.

I've raced karts, done a commercial school, done SCCA school, DE events,
and have at least officially entered a SCCA race (never had the car under
me to drive at speed - Grover and Greg already used it up :-P).  I too
think it was worth it - every penny as I said.

>Jumping into a race car after having only read a few books or done a few
>autocrosses doesn't cut it.

Never even came close to suggesting that.  That would be foolhardy.  I
think people who attend racing schools without having a firm grasp on the
concepts of racing, and taken at least some time to work on putting them
into practice will not get the full advantage of attending.  Those who have
never practiced heel/toe will spend a lot of time learning and practicing
that before they can learn more advanced techniques.

I agree with most of what you are saying about racing schools.  I just
think you are over selling it.  It doesn't need to be over sold.  It is
worthwhile for anyone.  I personally would love to attend one again.  It is
not a one size fits all solution however.

However, in my case, with my experience (definitely *not* considerable, but
more than most), I would personally try to attend a DE event where I know
an outstanding instructor was going to be at and arrange to become his or
her student at this point.  If I lived on the east coast I would jump at
the chance to have Barry Brown be my instructor, or Greg Amy.

For most people a racing school is the best bet.  For some, finding someone
talented who can give personal instruction can be a better bet.  But as I
said, for most, the structure of a commercial racing school is better and
will lead to developing the discipline required on the track.

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/>