An autocross buddy turned me on to an HPDE/time trial event being held by the EMRA on Oct 27. I am interested in attending the track school portion of it on Oct. 24. Info, here: link
I'd be my first time on track. Does anyone have info on the club, whether it's a good one to start off with, etc.?
I'm looking for good instruction and good environment to learn in and that's about it.
Thanks,
-John
On edit, the first day is 10/27, not 10/24.
Full Version: EMRA at Limerock, Oct. 24
I've run with EMRA quite a bit, and used to instruct with them. It's fairly laid back, and not quite as structured as the BMWCCA drivers ed schools done by the Genessee Valley chapter at Watkins Glen (IMHO). The instructors ride with the novice drivers, and both try to teach proper driving, as well as act as another set of eyes/ears so the student isn't as overwhelmed the first time out. One of my pet peeves is folks not looking at their mirrors, as EMRA requires point-bys for the overtaking car. This keeps it safer, so students don't get into a nasty situation with a car they didn't know was there, but can cause "trains" when one guy holds everyone else up (Just pit-in for 10 seconds, and go back out with clear traffic at that point...). EMRA is probably a bit more "let 'em loose" than what I remember from BMWCCA.
If you've been autoxing, the same concepts apply (racing line, slow in-fast out, etc...) but you have more time to setup, think, and react. As a result, the straights will be much longer, so the penalty of a bad corner leading to a main straight will be higher. Also, the consequence of being too aggressive, and going off at 100+ mph can be much worse than hitting a cone. I think starting out on street tires is a good way to go, since the speeds will be slightly slower, and much more warning is given before the tires slide, so the "edge of traction" is much wider. Take it easy, and work up your speed slowly - no different than autox. It's much better to start slow, and improve, than go all out ragged, and try to slow down. Memorize the track; your braking, turn-in, apex, and track out points; and get consistency from lap to lap. It's all about seat time at this point. Have fun!
I think a good head start on learning the track is to play videogames that use it. I should be at the event - look for the blue thirdgen Camaro. A great book about learning road racing is "Going Faster" by Carl Lopez, and if you go through that, you'll have a much better understanding of how and why to do things.
If you've been autoxing, the same concepts apply (racing line, slow in-fast out, etc...) but you have more time to setup, think, and react. As a result, the straights will be much longer, so the penalty of a bad corner leading to a main straight will be higher. Also, the consequence of being too aggressive, and going off at 100+ mph can be much worse than hitting a cone. I think starting out on street tires is a good way to go, since the speeds will be slightly slower, and much more warning is given before the tires slide, so the "edge of traction" is much wider. Take it easy, and work up your speed slowly - no different than autox. It's much better to start slow, and improve, than go all out ragged, and try to slow down. Memorize the track; your braking, turn-in, apex, and track out points; and get consistency from lap to lap. It's all about seat time at this point. Have fun!
I think a good head start on learning the track is to play videogames that use it. I should be at the event - look for the blue thirdgen Camaro. A great book about learning road racing is "Going Faster" by Carl Lopez, and if you go through that, you'll have a much better understanding of how and why to do things.
Thanks a lot for the info. I've heard similar (positive) things from others as well...
-John
-John
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.