Driving School?

Learnt to drive on dog boxes. Double clutched to match gears from my first driving lesson. My father had me visualising what was taking place in the gearbox as I changed.

Imho all drivers need advanced instruction. Basic "get your license" instruction is a bare minimum, just the start for any driver.
Without further instruction a driver is an accident in waiting. The first loss of traction, on a wet road, ice, brake lockup or what ever will be pure luck as to the outcome. That's the case at normal speeds. Add a performance car and the ante is upped.

 

When I got my first Ferrari I had the same thoughts. I started with Kart Racing School and then did the Skip Barber Racing School. It was scary how much I didn't know. I would highly recommend a high performance driving school.

 

+1, In '95, I took the first 2 Kart classes at the Jim Hall Kart Racing School. Since I live in Phoenix area, I plan to take Bondurant classes, but having had the spare $ yet.

 

Same here. I used to think I was a pretty good driver until I got my Ferrari and quickly realized I wasn't anywhere near good enough to get the most out of the car. I went to Skip Barber, and yes it was scary how much I didn't know.

Today, I am still no professional driver, and I have plenty of FCA friends who can eat my lunch on the track, or on the street, but I am nght and day a better, faster, safer driver than I was before Skip Barber. I plan to go back for more.....

 

I should have gone
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Looks like the airbag worked.

I went to Skip Barber High Performance Driving School and liked it so much I went to Skip Barber Racing School.

Do it.

And may the horse be with you.

 

Yes, it's a really good way to become better acquainted with the car and yourself. Double clutching is a skill worth learning and heel-and-toe downshifting is a great skill that becomes second nature when learned properly.

There are many "amateur" marque-club schools. Do take a professional school. Skip Barber is one of the best programs available and I think people can learn more in the High Performance School than in the Racing School, especially starting out.

It's worth learning the right way...

 

Ouch, not a pretty site.

 

If you haven't learned by the time you buy a Ferrari, you'll probably want professional instruction.
(You can get away with some really bad driving habits without even realizing it in today's traffic.)

Trial and error might work when you're young and heal quicker -- and you're on gravel or mud or snow in expendable machines that come loose at 40 mph.

But when you push past the limits in a Ferrari on pavement, the school of hard knocks involves some *very* hard knocks.

 

+1

Learn from the pros. Anything but a car club.