redbstd

Hey guys I live around seattle and I would like to take my car on a road course. I know Pacific Raceways has one but I dont know what races i can compete in. Do you guys know of some others near by and the classes i can run my GSL-SE in?

Black91n/a

Racing requires a lot of safety equipment, a fire suit, a cage, experience, a racing licence and more. I assume that you have none, so what you'll want to do is go to a driving school. Try the BMWCCA, PCA, the Alpha club or others for reasonably priced schools there. There's also a track in Portland and one in Spokane, but the future of the Spokane track is unknown at the moment.

Kill No Cone

iTrader: (6)

Man, you are in PO... do you ever go the Bremerton Sports Car Club events? They do autocrossing and track days, a great way to get started.

redbstd

^^^More info please. Is that the one around bremerton raceway?

wrankin

Google is your friend:

http://www.bscc.net/

-b

SuperSlow7

I took a race school from IRDC and had an awesome time. It was pretty affordable I think under $300. They will take any street car as long as you pass tech inspection. There was even a stock DA Integra there with me. Lots of fun. This was at Pacific Raceways.

Black91n/a

I'd advise you to go to a regular driving school, not a race school. Learn to drive fast on the track well, then take a race school if that's the direction you want to go. At a driving school the passing will be more controlled and you'll be in a group with other novices, making it a safer, better learning environment.

Kill No Cone

iTrader: (6)

Heck, the Slush Series begin in the next couple of weeks. Just look at the Western Washington Sports car Council.

redbstd

im thinking ahead right know because i have 3 months left of wyotech then ill be home so im just doing a little research. yeah i do wanna race its all ive ever thought about so thats settled, just trying to fugure out what kind.

Kill No Cone

iTrader: (6)

Well, if you are back by March BSCC has a novice drivers school that is a great way to get your feet wet.

Hope to see you there!

redbstd

ill be back the 22nd so is it too late?

Kill No Cone

iTrader: (6)

Sorry Bud, the Novice School is on March 2.
I sure that there will be some other schools and events you can get into to.

Chedstar

Check out www.icscc.com. They do not currently have the 2008 schedule up on their site. They run driving schools, HPDE, as well as full blown racing. They are at Pacific, Portland, Bremerton, Spokane, and Mission; basically all over the NW. In my opinion they have a good novice program; better than the local SCCA regions.

I know there was a thread about this a couple of weeks ago in the NW section.

Chedstar

Check out www.icscc.com. They do not currently have the 2008 schedule up on their site. They run driving schools and HPDE, pretty much all summer. They are at Pacific, Portland, Bremerton, Spokane, and Mission; basically all over the NW. In my opinion they have a good novice program; better than the local SCCA regions.

I know there was a thread about this a couple of weeks ago in the NW section.

SuperSlow7

IRDC uses a safe passing zone, I actually have a picture of it set up. It was very nice being on the track with a mixed crowd of drivers, some with experience, some with none. IRDC racing school is basically there to teach people the skills needed to begin in novice racing, my instructor was very supportive of me getting my novice license and getting into racing but I wasn't so sure about it in my WRX. With an RX-7, count me in!

Here is the picture of the passing zone, it felt very safe when driving.

Black91n/a

I still think that a driving school, not a race school is the way to go at first. At a race school there's apt to be some experienced drivers there too, in full on race cars. At the driving schools you'll be on track with only drivers of comparable skill in a relaxed atmosphere where you can learn at your own pace with no pressure. I think that you should really be an advanced level student before moving on to racing, then you have more attention to focus on traffic management, racecraft, passing and so on, and you won't be worrying about your driving.

You may think you can drive well, but you probably suck just like all the other novices. Here's an article written by jay dub from the Miata.net forum that perfectly describes the new driver experience.

TWS 11-16-04

Impressions from a middle age “first timer” at the driver’s education school

I wasn’t really sure what I was getting into but I wanted to try my car at a higher speed. BMW CCA has always put on great autocrosses so what the heck – let’s go for a high speed driver’s instruction weekend.

After the first 2 sessions, I realized how poor a driver I was.
Basically, I sucked!
1. I couldn’t remember the course – was the next turn left or right, was it a hard brake or no brake, uphill or downhill. I wasn’t even sure I was on the same course each lap.
2. My field of vision was bullet narrow
3. I never glanced at a gauge or my speedometer
4. I didn’t remember to how to breathe
5. I braked too late
6. I braked too hard
7. I braked too early
8. I didn’t brake enough
9. I didn’t brake in a straight line
10. The only way I knew how to hit the gas was hard
11. I didn’t know the meaning of the word “smooth”
12. All the apexes were playing hide and seek and I was losing
13. I never saw a course worker (unless they were pointed out to me)
14. Cars behind me broke my concentration
15. Cars in front of me broke my concentration
16. No cars around me broke my concentration
17. I wondered if anybody would notice if I didn’t come back for the next session
18. I forgot how to shift
19. I didn’t know how to steer
20. I wondered if I would survive the weekend
21. And finally, I learned a new phrase “pucker factor” through experience

There were a few things that went right in the first two sessions
1. My instructor (Saint Steve McCool) didn’t abandon me no matter how many reasons I gave him.
2. My instructor didn’t swear
3. Thumbs up and 3 & 9 does work!
4. I didn’t hit anything
5. I didn’t kill us
6. I didn’t injure us (unless you include my ego)
7. No off-course sight seeing adventures
8. The car didn’t break
9. I didn’t see anyone pointing at my car in the pits (that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen, I just didn’t see it)
10. I found other “first timers” to lick my wounds with
11. And finally, I didn’t cry – well maybe a little whimpering


The last two sessions on Saturday were pretty much as the first two except
1. I remember taking a breath on the straight away one time
2. Fourth gear became my friend. It forced me to become a little bit smoother. I could do the whole course in one gear.
3. Slower and smoother really can be faster
4. I started to “associate” some of the course with the course map
5. I didn’t worry as much about speed
6. I started to remember “some” of the turns
7. Then I forgot some of the turns I thought I knew
8. Consistency was something I could discuss but I had no clue how to achieve.
9. Absolutely no car that I followed took the same line I was supposed to take. This turn out to be true all weekend.
10. I started to pick up some reference points on the track. Instructor Steve only had to point these out 15 or 20 times before I started to pick up a few.
11. Each lap I went around 1 or 2 turns correctly. These were never the same turns.
12. I stopped thinking about slipping away and concentrated on surviving until the end of the day
13. Instructor Steve and I were still on speaking terms
14. The thought of an “adult beverage” after leaving the track sounded better as the day wore on.
15. When I asked Instructor Steve if he was going to return and be my instructor on Sunday, he said he’d be back thus ruining my planned excuse of blaming him for anything my new instructor didn’t like!

The first 2 sessions Sunday morning
1. First, I’m surprised Instructor Steve really does show up again.
2. Unlike Saturday morning, I had a better idea of what the hell I had gotten myself into – now it was a matter finding out if I was a hopeless case or could I improve.
3. I remembered seeing parts of the course from the day before
4. I got a “thumbs up” from Instructor Steve on a turn or two.
5. I started telling Instructor Steve what I did wrong. I did a lot of talking.
6. When I did something wrong, that usually set me up for screwing up the next turn. I must learn to think of what’s ahead not what I just did.
7. My consistency meter came off flat-line but was still on support systems
8. Instructor Steve had to help with the steering wheel less and less
9. I found I couldn’t pass a high horsepower vehicle in front of us on the back straight away no matter how well we set him up in the turns. Rocking back and forth in the seat didn’t help.
10. It finally dawns on me that there are parts of the course that should be run while maintaining speed. My previous idea was to either be on the gas or on the brake.
11. I started to think I knew what the next turn was going to be and how I had to get set up. Knowing and actually doing were still many times worlds apart.
12. I was able to get the oil light to flicker on when I hit “Larry, Moe and Curly” correctly. Yes, that means I actually did look at my gauges once in a while. My field of vision opened up.
13. I didn’t have thoughts of sneaking away.

The final 2 sessions on Sunday
1. There were sections of eerie quiet when Instructor Steve didn’t have to say or was it yell anything. It was kind of spooky. I wasn’t sure if it was because he was exhausted, lost his voice, had a heart attack or I wasn’t screwing up so there wasn’t anything to say.
2. I got some more thumbs up from Instructor Steve and a few “Yeahs!” thus leading to my helmet starting to get tight.
3. I think I hit every corner correct at least once. Don’t think I improved that much. This was never done all in the same lap and usually not more than 2 or 3 in a row.
4. I had a few laps that were fun. Things clicked together. I saw more, I took breaths, I sometimes saw the corner workers, and I knew where I had to be next turn.
5. I started to use 3rd gear again.
6. I started to screw up using 3rd gear again.
7. I looked forward to the next lap to see if I could get through it cleaner than the lap I was on. More laps than not this didn’t happen.
8. I enjoyed myself.
9. My overall speed increased significantly
10. I realized I was having a good time
11. I also realized Instructor Steve was a good teacher and definitely more patient that I am.
12. I started to think about doing this again!
13. I realize laps are like golf. What? There’s never a “perfect” lap just like there’s never a perfect round of golf. You can look back and always find something you could have done different. My quest will now be for “good” lines.
14. And finally, I still have a long, long way to go but I can proudly say now “I suck less!”

Black91n/a

I did a 2 day combined BMWCCA and PCA school at Pacific Raceways and it was well run. I've also been to a number of BMWCCA schools at Spokane and they are also excellent.

jimeby

iTrader: (1)

I also recommend the IRDC school. My son and I took this two day course a couple years ago. The first day is classroom, the second day is on-track. This is a driving school... not a race. The best part is they assign an experienced driver to you as a one on one instructor for the full day at the track. They ride with you when you're on track and they are available for discussion when you're waiting for your next session. You can do this in any street car. My son did it in his bone stock SA and I did it in my Mercedes 230... there was also a mini pickup and a Honda Element on track. There is no "side by side" driving except for a simulated race start that is optional at the end of the day. If you're interested, when you complete the course, you are approved for an ICSCC race license and can begin racing in the novice class at the next ICSCC race event. Or you can just come away with some very good high performance driving training... ready for your next HPDE or autocross... or you'll be ready for the next Cadillac that pulls out in front of you at a stoplight.

CJarrett

I was looking into the IDRC driver training in March, which would qualify me for an ICSCC license, but should I be looking into something like an SCCA novice license, or are they interchangable?

Chedstar

Conference puts on "driving schools", you will be in a very controlled environment with an experienced racing driver in the car with you. You will be grouped with similar cars and similar skill level drivers. They will not let you get out of control, there will be no side by side "racing". If you do not follow the instructors commands, they will throw you, not off the track, but out of the facility.
This club loves to have fun, but they are very serious about on track safety.

Oregon Region SCCA recognizes comparable level Conference licenses. I believe The NW Region of SCCA does as well, they run races at Pacific.
I would race Conference starting out, I think they have a better novice program than SCCA. You will be in a dedicated novice race group for at least three races, which is a good thing.

redbstd

anyone have any ideas how much the IDRC class costs?

SuperSlow7

Under $300 if I remember correctly. Or right around there.

Black91n/a

Last year a 2 day weekend school at Spokane with the BMWCCA was $400, a great deal as it's a Sat/Sun school, giving you the most benefit for the effort of going there. You'll learn more in a 2 day school than you will in two 1 day schools I think, as there's an immediate follow up with some time to digest the lessons of the previous day.

Anyway, it sounds like my assumptions about the IDRC schools were wrong, I just saw it being described as a racing school and I thought it'd be a lot more like other racing schools that I've read about and less like a club run driving school. Anyway, the BMWCCA and PCA still put on excellent schools at Pacific, so that's a great option too if the IDRC dates don't work for you.

jimeby

iTrader: (1)

You can race in ICSCC (IRDC) with a SCCA license but you can't race in SCCA with a ICSCC license. The novice program is very weak in SCCA compared to ICSCC. Usually there aren't enough new novices in SCCA to run a program in the Seattle area so the novice school is in Portland.

Chedstar

This is an email sent out by Team Continental, an ICSCC member club, it lists school dates in Portland. You can follow their link on the www.ICSCC.com page or search for Team Continental.

Jimby, that is the reason I quick dealing with SCCA. In the past SCCA made racers cover up/tape over over clubs stickers to get through tech. No wonder they are hurting for new members.