day at the track

hi there, i was hoping someone would be able to give me any info on where i can go (preferablly on the west coast) to drive on a track in a FERRARI. how much, wherw, and for how long. also any other details would be appreciated. thanx-JSIXX

 

First, welcome to f-chat, but IMO this is a crazy question.

I'm sure maybe there's somewhere in the WORLD where you can pay to drive a Ferrari on a racetrack, but I'm 99% sure you will not find that anywhere in SoCal. There are SO many issues- a few of which come to mind:

- verifing your skills / credentials to be allowed on track with exotic car
- insurance
- cost of initial rent (but I'm sure you've got that covered if you're asking...)
- cost to fix car from just rock chips, tire wear, clutch wear etc depending on how you drive would be huge variable.

This place rents Ferraris (site in Beverly Hills and near LAX) but no way can you track it and they will bill the hell out of you for any scratch on spoiler / underbody caused by speedbump, etc.

http://www.bhrentacar.com/vehicle_info.php?vid=2&h=0

MAYBE you could find an individual with a Ferrari that would let you drive their car at a track-type event, but that's going to take some work.

Best of luck...

Eric

 

http://www.krcracingschools.com/

 

Tenney- looks like cool school/cars- and Willow Springs is great track for learning, but I see no indication that you can "rent" an exotic car for the class. There's tons of these types of schools in SoCal.

Closest I saw on the website was:

"We have the experience to service and modify your exotic race car such as our in house development with Ferrari and Porsche products"

If the guy wants to go to racing school, plenty of options as to what track and what equipment, but never heard of Ferraris being used...

Probably cheapest thing would be to buy a 308 or somesuch yourself and track it.

Again, I may be wrong- and I'd love to see what the price would be to just jump in an f-car at a track and drive it, just like you do at the kart tracks or something.

 

Tenney,

Have you, or do you know anyone that has used these guys? It looks like there are lots of racing options.

TIA

Jon

 

Jon,

I've done their 125 cc shifter kart class and it was a lot of fun. We did a corporate event there and managed to get a lower rate with a catered lunch (nothing special) and all. The instructors were patient and helpful. I'd highly recommend it. The guy we dealt with was named Matt and was very down to earth. Give them a try.

 

Thanks for the info. I'll give them a call.

 

hmmmmm, Jon, can i guess your next purchase

 

Maybe, but what I'm really thinking about is either the open wheel classes or going up to Skip Barbers school or both.

 

better replan that garage of yours....

 

I'm guessing you're guessing a shifter kart? That might be in the cards as well, we'll see how the driving progresses.

 

Would contact Ryan or Rudy at KRC re: Ferrari. Not sure they're set up to do it, today, but have in the past. They crew/manage the Challenge team for FBH, currently.

Re: Karts. Their school's good fun, Jon. They store/maintain karts at the track for owners, too, which is handy.

Good guys.

 

ill tell you what, Jon's driving improved exponentially right before our eyes.....he has a knack for turns.....all the years on the road bike im guessing

 

If you need to contact KRC racing schools, Call Matt. Here is his contact info. He is a really good friend, let him Vivek(Or Vic) Tandon referred you.

Matt Treglia
661-317-4747

 

Yup, that's the guy.

 

Thanks again for the info. Sounds like I need to get out there. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

Thanks, I'll give him a call today.

 

Your welcome.

 

Second Vivek's take on Matt, re: karts. Good fellow and a good shoe. Maybe mix in a Van Dieman day (open wheel Radical, of sorts), too, if you're thinking open wheel stuff.

 

I spoke with Matt, seemed like a great guy. I'm definitely leaning towards the open wheel stuff. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Thanks again.

 

After tracking my 348 several times, mostly at Willow,
I was introduced to karting through KRC.
It was a good place for introductory karting.
The kart rental was reasonable ($400, 2 yrs ago) and the the track layout is good for learning. The kart rental was for 4 hour session.
They were quite loose on the instruction. I learned more by
talking to experienced drivers than from KRC directly.

We've talked to them several times regarding renting the VanDiemans (sp?)
These are open wheel Indy car type race cars powered by Honda 2 liter engines. The discussions were $1200 for rental and instructions, but
it never happened. (I ended up doing a rental and instruction of Formula
Renault in China for less.)

Everytime we'd go for karting, KRC would have several racecars they
were working on. The shop was also neat and organized.

For questions... I'd refer Ryan.

 

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Sounds good. Did you tell him I reffered you? I will make sure he really takes care of you. Do the Van Diemen thing if you can, its pretty cool and Matt's the only one who really knows how to drive. As for the karting, if you want to do that, Matt is pretty good also and I sometimes come up and help him teach.

 

Ryan and Rudy own the shop and cars, but for questions on the Van Deiman and Karts, Matt knows the best. If you want to go racing, then Ryan is the guy to talk to. But just to learn how to drive, Matt is the guy who teaches the classes.

 

I let him know that you and Tenney referred me. I'm currently taking Kart racing lessons at Jim Hall Kart Racing in Oxnard. It's only 15 minutes from my house and the instruction has been great. I will probably continue with Jim Hall and move up to the shifter karts soon. I will continue to talk to Matt about the Van Diemen thing. I just want to get very comfortable on the track first. I am totally addicted to these things. The faster you go the faster you want to go.

Thanks to all for the help.

 

Jon, I totally think you're going about it the right way. A lot of people jump into the fire and really don't learn as much as they could by starting off with karts. The reason I say this is because karts amplify your mistakes in terms of smooth driving. You've probably experienced this by now. I think this helps you focus on those problem areas first and once you've become a smoother and more coordinated driver, you can generally drive other cars faster and better. That's my take on this anyway. If you do the Van Diemen thing, let us know your experience.