the good thing about testing your limits on the track is that it is more controlled than everyday traffic. cars are attempting to take the same line through corners and are generally looking for other cars. one of the bad things is that you are trying to get to the limits of the car and track. most road racing track are relatively safe( no walls close by), but some can be very dangerous. during the drivers school they should give you some insight into the dangers of the particular track you are at. the BMW rollover is not normal or a regular occurance. I have seen two HPDE(street cars no roll cage/bars) cars roll. one was in the advanced group and one was in the drivers school( this is in over 50-60 events I have recently attended). both were from the driver attempting to correct a slide while he was off track. this is a difficult task for even a pro driver and once the car is going sideways the tires can dig in a flip the car. I have seen open wheel cars do the same thing as the tall BMW. I teach student the two feet in technique when they are off the track. if you find yourself off track put your foot on the clutch(so the engine doesn't stall) and your other foot on the brake pedal(so the car stops before you hit anything). this seems to prevent most of the contact problemslike: coming onto the track in front of someone else because they couldn't see through the dust, coming onto the track at a bad angle and shooting across the track into a wall or fence, or sliding sideways and catching a wheel in the dirt on rolling. the roof of any street car is not designed to take a high speed rollover. all the street cars I have seen roll had the roofs collapse. no one got hurt but looking at the car you could not be sure of that. best thing is be safe listen to the instructors and work up the speed slowly. almost everybody makes it through the HPDE events without any problems but things can and do happen, so be prepared. most of all just have fun.

 

"if you spin, both feet in"

 

that was the catch phrase I was looking for.

 

gingerman is a great place to start racing. i dont think a prof driving school is required to go to a test and tune day. the people that go there and work there are very courtious passing is techincally restricted to the 10-11 straight unless you waive them by somewhere. and NO passing in corners is allowed. my first few times out there i was nervous and i realized i did the wrong thing (letting him pass on the outside) but nobody ever got upset or mad and said anything ot me. if there are ever alot of cars there bob gilroy (track manager) will split the cars into 2 groups faster cars and slower cars or expierenced and novices. the BMW accident is the worst thing to ever happen there. the only other thing i ever saw was a viper that went of turn 3 so fast cuz his brakes gave out and flew in to the embankment, pretty much skipping the sand. as for technique check out www.turnfast.com and then www.na-motorsports.com and look up gingerman. once you get there take a few laps or even ask somebody to ride your car with you (even us if you see a yellow and black 1st gen) or what their line is through a turn or how to take one. the only things you really HAVE to know your first time is what to do when somebody comes up behind you and to go slow and be smooth. shoot me a PM if you or anybody else is interested in going up there with us we can do a few laps in our car and then ride with you and point out the little things that will help you gain confidence and keep your cool when that nasty tubbed out porsche is looming in your rearview.