Finally pursuing my race license after 20 years of HPDE and a few years of karting.

Finished building and prepping my 90 Miata to Spec Miata rules and ready to go.

The San Francisco region driver school is this weekend at Thunder Hill.

Anyone got any tips?

Anyone going to be there?

 

Don't hit anyone while you still have your provisional license.

Have fun!!

 

Get out there and have fun!

 

So don't hit anyone, keep the shiny side up and have fun. I can hopefully do that.

 

lmao, yes just don't hit anyone or crash.

oh and have fun!

 

Congrats! I hope to do mine next year. Saving up to buy the required safety stuff this year. Suit, Hans, etc.

 

Make sure to take a friend, you won't have any time to work on the car. Usually if you're not on the track, you're in a class. So your buddy will have to help you there.
You already know this, keep hydrated. If you're not in the car, have a bottle of water in you hand.
In the years I've run in SCCA the instructors run the whole range in talent, (good and bad) regardless, this person will be your "boss" for the weekend. Give the person the respect and listen to what ever they have to say.

Good luck and have a great time

Steve Coe

 

Don't forget to shift when you do your practice starts.


Don't laugh, I've talked to a lot of people that will admit to it and I've heard cars bouncing off rev limiters for a 100 yds before the driver realizes why he isn't accelerating any more.

 

Funny, I did that on my first start in class...thankfully it was a rental!

Like everyone else said, keep your nose clean, always leave an "out" and have a good time!

The first regional is in "gulp" four weeks...oh crap I'd better get my car ready...

See you soon,

Guy

 

Pick your nose before you put on your helmet.

 

Too Funny!!!

 

That's only taught in the Advanced class....

 

Yeah, it is surprisingly difficult to not over rev the engine. I keep bouncing off the rev limiter too at various parts on track including the main strait in 4th. Too bad its not a rotary...

Day 1 complete. Dialed it back a bit after first session. Can't risk a wreck or anything like that.

Lots of interesting people here. Ran into an old friend/competitor of Howard Coleman named Dennis (forgot his last name) who also raced RX3s back in the day.

I'll wait for the nose picking until a later date.

 

So, I passed the driver school and now have my provisional license.

I was fighting my own inexperience with setup, the car, the tires and race craft throughout the weekend until the very last race. Was starting with pressures that wee too low and wasn't getting the Toyos up to correct pressures (around 39-40). Was struggling for grip until I finally got the pressures up. Once I did that, I finally had grip comparable to my fellow competitors and was finally able to do a better job keeping up with the pack and actually racing others for position.

Met a lot of very cool people and made some new friends.

I highly recommend any of you guys local to the Bay Area (or within driving distance) to keep tabs on The Art of Road Racing classes:
http://www.artofroadracing.com

These guys do an EXCELLENT job of teaching race craft and doing more personalized road racing oriented excercises - such as passing, going 2 wide, going 3 wide, racing room etc.

See ya on track

 

congrats! now with the provisional, spin all you want, just be careful not to hit stuff, it happens....

and i lol'd at the going 3 wide, racing room. one time @thunderhill the spec miatas went 4 wide on the start, and there was a fellow who pulled out on the DIRT on the inside to pass a couple of people, so that made 5 wide into turn 1.

 

Yeah, the SM races are pretty wild to watch. Should be cool. I'm sure I'll be a back marker for a while until I get my skills under me but so long as I'm having fun, it's all good.

 

Glad to read that all went well for you! The racing environment gets more comfortable after a few race sessions.

See you soon,

Guy

 

Thanks Guy.

Hoping to make the April 8-10 race.