good racing schools

[jkramb19]

can you guys recommend some good racing schools for someone who is a new comer to racing?

[kfoote]

Bondurant
Skip Barber
Panoz
Jim Russell

There are others, but that's a good start.

[500]

What kind of racing?

For roadracing I would recommend just starting out doing Autocross { Solo 2 }. Many regions have an autox school at the start of the season. Once you have some Solo 2 under your belt then you might try a Solo 1 or a car club trackday if you have a suitable car and the proper safety gear.

Solo teaches you proper line selection, braking, heel and toe, etc in a more controlled environment. With a lot of Solo 1 experience if you decide to get your SCCA Racing license you might can get signed off with only one SCCA drivers school, I did that in the early 90's.

There are oval track schools out there if that is your interest. It is harder to get track time on a circle track without actually racing.

500

[2of9]

can u guys give some websites so we can go take a look at those good racing schools? thanks!

[kfoote]

ok....

www.bondurant.com
www.skipbarber.com
www.panozracingschool.com
www.jimrussell.com

[Stack240z]

Originally Posted by Silver_GTR34

can u guys give some websites so we can go take a look at those good racing schools? thanks!

www.trackschedule.com for HPDE/Club events east of the Mississippi

www.timetrials.net (Triangle Z Club/Tarheel Sports Car Club)
www.nasaracing.net (Virginia region - should have links to national site)
www.scca.org (national site)

[BullShifter]

www.racingschools.com

[derek2005]

How about the Dale Jarrett Racing School? I drove there and I think it's awsome. I got more laps for my money than in other schools. I think the site is http://www.racingadventure.com but google it just in case.

Thanks
Derek

[PorscheTurboS]

i liked bertil roos's school up in pocono

[Crazer]

Jeff Gordon just started up a new racing school too.

www.jeffgordonracingschool.com/

[derekrace]

How about Dale Jarrett's racing school? Has anyone tried it. I heard that it is pretty good.

www.racingadventure.com/

[igor@af]

Bondurant provides A LOT of track time with very good instruction.
Skip Barber is more focused on getting you do everything precisely and at the limit in an open wheel formula car.

This is what I did in the following order:
Jim Hall Kart Racing school - get the basics with go-karts - hardest to be fast in.
Bondurant - lots of track time in a production car (Mustang Cobra) - gets you to feel at home in a car on the track with good instruction to ensure you don't make any bad habits.
Skip Barber - fine hone your skills in a formula car where any slight error you make is obvious, thus making you work at a very high level of concentration to be fast.


As you are starting out, the BIGGEST key is to make sure you don't get stuck with any bad habits in the cockpit. This is extremely easy to do if you take a car out with no experienced instructor by your side. I have been to many club track events - all of the instructors at these venues are weekend warriors, which means their skill and knowledge is a pretty wide range.

I cannot say about other schools as I have not attended them, but Bondurant and Skip Barber both have top notch PROFESSIONAL instructors with long histories in racing, and many in the professional arena.

This is my strategy for on-track driving:

On track, focus on hearing, then feeling, then seeing, independently, each per lap
Look as far as possible, beyond corner
Smooth hands and feet
Slowly squeeze on throttle out of the corner
Solid shifting
Relaxed and constant breathing
Trail braking
Left foot brake
Always “do” NOT "try"
Feel yourself being stuck to the car, the car running on 4 springs and being attached to the track with tires, and the track a smooth railroad.

To me, I do my best not to get excited before and during racing, I consciously try to make sure my heatbeat rate does not go up too much, and I keep myself calm and smooth with slow and steady breathing.

NEVER jerk on steering wheel unless you're catching a slide. You should never have to correct your initial steering input once you've made the turn in - smoothly turn in, smoothly turn out.

[beef_bourito]

how much do these schools cost? if you wanted to just get someone to ride in your car and give you tips on how to improve your driving and stuff, how hard would it be to do? what kind of programs do these schools offer. i'd check it out myself but i've got too much homework and studying to do.