hi, guys i am wanting to take my car to road atlanta and just drive it on a race track. can anyone please tell me if this is possible and details about how? i would really appreciate it! thanks
Well, there's the panoz track days, which you just missed the one last week. They're kinda expensive though. Goto www.panozracingschool.com for them. There's also NASA's HPDE days that are a bit cheaper. Go to http://www.nasa-southeast.com/ for them. There are some others too. I think Porsche club has some as well...
PDX's are offered a few times a year. You need to be a SCCA member though. You get 40 min to an hour depending on the event for $100. You also get an instructor for the first couple of times out.
Have you ever driven on a track before? If not, I would suggest starting out at Little Tally. For your first time, it is best to go somewhere with a lot of run off area, in case you go off track. At RA, if you go off track, there is a good possibility you are going into a wall. At Tally, if you lose it, there is lots of open field to recover without damages to the car, or with Minor damages at worst. SS FTW Check here: http://www.siegelracing.com/ Also, if you need more info, you can call Scott Siegel (SS) at Batlground. Links for them are at the top of each page under the WRXatlanta banner. Instructor is a close personal friend of all of ours, and he is a great instructor. I did his Driver Education Clinic about year and a half ago. Got about 5 hours of seat time throughout the day, killed a set of tires, and entire tank of gas in under 100 miles. Its not the fastest course, probably hit a top speed down the back straight of about ~ 105 mph, but again it is very safe.
Another vote for Siegel, if you do one of his schools chances are you will have me as an instructor at some point. Little tally is the place to start. Road Atlanta is a track for more experinced drivers, get a couple of track days under youre belt first. Matt
I do not agree. You'll probably need to go through Scott's school MORE than once. If for no other reason you'll learn the CORRECT way to drive. If you get too much time in the seat doing things wrong, it'll take that much time again to undo the damage just to get back to the start. I'm not saying you don't know how to drive! I've been doing various things (track days, karts, autoX) for years and I still learn more than I can remember at driving schools. I haven't yet gone through Scott's school. I need to get on that... Click the link at the top that says "Siegel Racing SRDEC." Cross RA off your list for a while. It's terrifying to drive. Turn 12...:eek3: Turn 5...:eek3: :wtc:
I thought he had a SRDEC scheduled for tomorrow. Siegel Racing Driver Education Clinic Yup but not sure if they filled up. http://www.wrxatlanta.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14171&highlight=SRDEC
I had my FIRST ever track experience at RA. I don't know how I'm still alive... I was 18 and in my 3000GT VR4 with a manual boost controller. I would tune it by turning it up until fuel cut, then back it off.
Road Atlanta isn't as bad as you guys think it is. You just have to be a little careful in the Esses, 5,10a, and 12. Road Atlanta is nothing a good instructor can't walk you around. Matt
I like to push it..... I don't think I could safely push my STi there... but I would bring out my CRX.
I agree, matt. I've had two track days there, and while it's a little intimidating, it's also a lot of fun. Just make sure you prepare your car, or you will probably have problems and have to forfeit precious track time. One thing I learned the hard way is to make sure you have heavy duty track brake pads and fluid. If you have a WRX, you might want to consider slotted rotors, too.
Don't be a pus, RA is fine for the novice driver. My first 5 track days were there and I never wrecked. Just drive in moderation and respect the track. If you drive like a fool, you will pay the price. I loved every minute of it!!!
no touching my crx... it is hard enough to keep them running without something breaking... last thing it needs is to getting intimate with walls at RA... -- Brian
guys i really appreciate all the info but i am not a novice driver. i have been racing karts and bandelaros for 12 years. also, my uncle is project manager at greenville,sc bmw plant and i am on that track 2-3 times a month HARD driving the bimmers. i just wanted some info about RA. thanks for all the responses guys. i'll get to RA sometime in a couple months.
Cool, in that case, the SCCA PDX events are a good way to get some cheap RA track time. Best of luck! -- Brian
I have yet to drive on RA. I did Lil Tally and loved it, but want something a little more high speed. I let someone drive my car on RA, while I rode shotgun, and it was absolutely fantastic. We hit about 135 down the back straight, which was the fastest my car has ever travelled. If I were driving, I probably would have pushed a little tiny bit further into the S, and probably would have gone to hot and ended up in the kitty liter.
yeah i will probably do a couple of scca events but i was wondering if they have any plain ole track days, whether it be schools or just practices sessions for racers? thank you!
BMWCCA, next one is in the fall....(not listed) http://www.peachtreebmwcca.org/ptDE_default.asp Panoz DE: http://www.panozracingschool.com/TrackDays/TrackDaysSchedule.lasso
Road Atlanta is FUN! I second the comment about the brakes! Better Brakes and a little less body roll would help alot.
RA rocks - ofcourse I have nothing else to compare it to - it's the only track I've been on. I have been to 5 track days there in the past year and they were all awesome. If you do Panoz track days (AKA Skip Barber - now), take the van tour, listen to the instructors, get feedback after sessions and you'll be fine.
The next BMWCCA event is in Sept. Registration just opened for members yesterday, non member should open up very soon.
Do you, or does anyone else, know who the instructors will be this time around? I was thinking about signing up for it.
Yup it is Kelly. I will be there during the club race co-driving an E36 M3. You may also consider www.nasa-southeast.com They have beginer's (HPDE1) or novice run group. I am one of the instructors and you are more than welcome to ride along with me. Lutfy
Scott and I will be there this weekend, in Doctor Mikes Car....he has offered to let us drive it since mine is still down. I'm still a little worried about it so we may just go qualify at VIR. Matt
Pardon my Ignorance but who is this Doctor Mike and what does he drive? Look for me in the paddock. Bollrath's old car. Plan on running TTB while instructing at the same time. Lutfy