Driving Experiences
A lot of local race tracks have a performance driving school where you can take your daily driver and hurtle it around the track with professional instruction.
However, more recently, several of the high-end sports car manufacturers have set up driving experience schools at specific tracks. For example, Audi announced their new R8 one and two day driving experience programs at Infineon Raceway in California. This particular program gives you the chance to drive a $100k+ car on a race track with professional drivers.
Now, Audi are not by any means the only ones that do this - Porsche and Ferrari offer something similar - but I wonder if these experiences just increase the longing for these high performance machines or at least sate the desire for a short while. I would love to get some comments from anyone that has participated at one of these experiences.
-- Darren
Audi Driving Experience
Ferrari Driving Experience
Porsche Driving School
Mochi Mochi on May 12, 2008 at 01:20 PM
Driving School ! This brings back all kinds of great memories. Some things have changed a lot since I did my racing schools, mostly cost and length of course. This article actually makes me think it might be time to go back and do it again. Too may hours behind a computer keyboard. Not enough track time.
I went to two racing schools. One was a week long - yes a full 5 day - formula ford racing school at Limerock CT, run by Skip Barber. The other was a superbike racing school at Laudon NH - a two day affair. The superbike school was good. But it would have been worthless without my experience in the Formula Fords. The thing about the Formula Ford course was it was long, with a lot of driving every day. I was pretty exhausted at the end of each day. There was a lot of time to make mistakes and to improve. It took time just to get your senses working at high speed - you have to do this learning in a graded way. There is no way you can just go out and start driving effectively at high speed right out of the gate. Things started to change on the 3rd and 4th days. At the end, I wanted more time. But when I left I was a completely different driver.
I notice that most of the current schools - including the Audi, Porsche, and Ferrari schools - are doing short course, only 1 or 2 days. I'm not sure what the deal is, but I really find it hard to imagine that you can do a great school in less than 4 or 5 days. There needs to be ramp up time, each driver needs a lot of track time to get where you need to be by the end. I can see going back and doing a 3-day track course followed by an advanced driving techniques course. That could really work. It actually sounds like a lot of fun right now.
I'm skeptical of these manufacturer run schools. Not because they don't have good instruction. Honestly if you want to drive one of these things (and exotic car of some sort), pony up some cash and rent one. If you want a real experience that will leave you a transformed driver, go to a school that puts emphasis on driving technique and not on the cars you're driving. In these manufacturer schools you are in large part paying a premium for the experience of a car that's just a road car. If you've got the cash to plunk down to go to Porsche or Ferrari's school, I suggest you take it and go to a great driving school and invest it in more courses and more track time.
We've recently had a lot of great discussion about driving slow cars fast. If you want to get good at driving it's more about the skill than the car. And to get that kind of skill you need time on the track. I'm really happy I got into Formula Fords, they are great cars. They are true racing machines. Even an old clunker would be a great ride. The thing that was really great about them was they were perfect instrument for learning, because you could see everything. The wheels, the road, the apex, the curbs, the cracks in the tarmac - the exact placement of everything. Open wheel driving allows you to get that understanding, and it is better to have that reference point when you go back to road cars with fenders... your line will be so much better.
I encourage everyone who loves to drive to save up a bunch of pennies and invest them in a really good course. No matter how good you are (or think you are) a true racing course will make you better. It's about skill and control - and a lot of practice. You wont drive a car the same way after that, and your perception of what it means to go fast will make you a safer and better driver on the street.
Chris Hafner on May 12, 2008 at 02:12 PM
I've always wanted to go to a driving school - while I'm an enthusiastic driver and understand driving theory (i.e. the correct driving line, the friction circle, etc.) I could definitely use some real practice and instruction.
Someday, perhaps.
albert law on July 01, 2008 at 12:42 PM
I just went to the Audi Driving Experience at Infineon. No I didn't go for the R8 or S class, just did the free A4 introductory class for their car launch but this is free. I think this is a good eye opener as I have been on the track with Mario Andretti in an RS4 but the real experience behind the wheel is different. Although I was only able to do a couple laps I can feel that by the end I kind of have a hint as to where that driving line should be. I really need to save up some pennies for the real deal.