10-30-2004, 11:03 AM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Vista, CA
Posts: 835
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 Quote:
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Originally Posted by AR4me
Ok, my plan is to attend first the intro group and then the driving school soon there after - figure it would make sense with the intro group first?
Jes
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They are pretty different experiences. Intro Gp at our next event will on the big Willow Springs track. It's 2.5 miles around with some fairly long straights and high speed turns. On Saturday Intro Gp drivers get a 45 minute class room introduction to track driving, then about 45 minutes on the track following an instructor around on the "racing line". This starts out relatively slow but the speeds pickup through the session as you gain experience. Sunday consists of another class room session where you learn more about track driving, then it's back on the track for another follow the leader session at somewhat higher speeds.
In Performance Driving School, you learn much more about car control, braking, cornering, etc., than you can in Intro Group. The facility is different at the school and there is much more time. The schools are held at the Streets of Willow which has a much shorter, much tighter track than Big Willow but it also has a skidpad. In the Street Performance Driving course, you start with an hour of classroom instruction, some of which would be a repeat of what you learned in Intro Gp. Then the class spends an hour at the skid pad learning/practicing car control. From there you move to the track for an hour. There is some follow the leader time in the first track session but mostly you’ll be on your own. However, there are plenty of instructors available if you’d like one to ride with you and offer advice. They can also drive your car with you in the passenger seat if you’d like to see how something is done. This schedule is repeated in the afternoon but with additional skills and concepts covered as you progress. Sunday is a repeat but you learn even more. Oh, and just to keep it interesting, the skidpad gets wet down on Sunday.
Intro Group is probably the most fun you can legally have for $20. Street Performance Driving is even more fun because you spend more time in the driver’s seat and you learn a lot more in the process. But beware, this can be addictive.
__________________
Bruce Colby
Competition Director, AROSC
'65 Sprint GT (TS race)
'69 1750 GTV (TS street)
'71 Jr. Z (special occasions)
'89 E30 (the dark side)
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'69 1750 Spider (sold  )
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