Signed up for Sebring…..help!

All great questions. I presume you’re in the novice instructed class. Hope this helps:

1) equipment: it is always preferable to have your own.

You should not order a traditional HANS because it is not compatible with a 3-point belt and instead requires a harness. As a result, the ONLY authorized head and neck restraint available on the market that is compatible with a 3-point seatbelt is the Simpson Hybrid S. For the “post anchor” option I recommend sliding.

https://www.simpsonraceproducts.com/products/simpson-hybrid-s

You will also need to buy separately the helmet hardware which includes the sliding post anchors, ensure you choose the “SA” option in the drop down box:

https://www.simpsonraceproducts.com/products/simpson-post-anchors-pair

For your helmet, I recommend either the Stilo ST5 full carbon in full carbon. You want full face. The full carbon version is $2k and the composite version is $1k. No difference other than weight. I have the carbon version. You’re driving a STO so I presume money isn’t a major factor here, and it’s your head, so buy the best you can and get the full carbon ST5. The best helmet on the market, IMO.

https://www.stilohelmets.com/products/stilo-sa2020-st5-fn-carbon-racing-helmet

https://www.stilohelmets.com/products/stilo-sa2020-st5-gt-composite-racing-helmet

I also strongly recommend good high quality racing gloves. Your hands will get sweaty and it’s important for safety to have a solid grip on the wheel. I recommend OMP or SABELT, but any racing gloves from a top tier company like Simpson, Sparco, etc will be fine.

Lastly on equipment, try finding a local racing shop that stocks everything to try on gear for size and buy. Always better than the Internet when something may not fit.

2) communication: for all HPDE organizations, it is the responsibility of the instructor to provide a comms microphone for the student. Don’t worry your instructor will hand you an earpiece and microphone you can slide into your helmet. The Stilo ST5 helmet has a communications port, but there are so many different types and adaptors it’s not necessary to buy a comms device right now.

3) for car protection, I recommend Track Armour. It is about 40 bucks on Amazon. It is twice as thick as PPF and will protect your car. Just stick it on the morning of the event when you’re at the track. It’s not pretty but it works. It is easily removable unlike PPF, but be careful when removing it and go slowly so you don’t also peel up your PPF.

https://www.amazon.com/TrackArmour-TA6X100-6-100-Temporary-Protection/dp/B07F3DW4TQ

4) track time: you will probably have between 4 and 6 sessions on track with each session being between 20 and 30 minutes. Make sure you give your car a break between sessions and open the engine bay to cool when the car is resting. Chin is notorious for running really great events, so you should have maximum track time with minimum possible traffic.

5) if you don’t like your instructor after 2 sessions and your personalities don’t mesh, ask the Chin chief instructor for a new instructor. The only thing worse than an accident on track is having a bad instructor. Don’t wait until the end of the day to ask for a new instructor.

Have fun and let us know what other Qs you have.


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Ahh my home track since 2005…thousands of miles there.

Chin is awesome…hours of track time. Sessions are 30 min each. Chin runs a tight ship no waste of time. You’ll have around 25-30 cars in your group. Instructor will ride with you. Instructor will provide communication too. My Stilo helmet has built in communication and I run a removable headset/mic to my students helmet.

since you had instruction already at the Ferrari school things will even be better when you hit Sebring. I suggest you study and watch a lot of track videos on YouTube. Chin has a few on there website. If you want to talk through the track call me up I’d be happy to help.

You will need a helmet obviously but Chin has them for rent too. Wine Country Motorsports is right at the Sebring track with a huge selection of helmets if you want to get there Friday afternoon and try some on and buy. Just email Chin to let them know if you want to rent one of there helmets.

Go flush your brakes and get some Motul rbf660 in there. Sebring is extremely hard on brakes. How do your brake pads look? I’d have those looked at. If your in the new Lambo STO I know it’s new so you’re good to go with brakes.

 

If you insist on keeping Race mode on and not going up to CT OFF, then I would focus very hard on driving the car as smoothly as possible with gentle application of the throttle out of the corners while monitoring the dash board and trying as best as possible to drive smooth enough to wear the TC is never activated while in rade mode.

If you have an instructor with you, then on session two after you’re warmed up, goto CT OFF at least for a few laps and just take it easy as you learn the car.

The 458 is a completely different car with CT OFF than it is in race mode. The car sticks VERY well in CT OFF and it is a lot harder to break traction in CT OFF than you think.

Driving CT OFF will make you a much better driver.

If you’re driving in race mode and the traction control is engaging coming out of every turn, then you’re making a lot of mistakes and not applying the throttle correctly or smoothly at the same ratios as your steering input. These are things you can only really learn, feel, and experience in CT OFF. Your improvement in driving will plateau very quickly in race mode and you’re likely already developing bad habits on track that you won’t ever notice until you drive in CT OFF.

If you’ve been through Corsa Pilota and you have some track time under your belt, and you hired a full time instructor, then I think you’re at a point where you can safely bump it up to CT OFF and let your instructor guide you.


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