Skip Barber or other racing schools?

I did the 3-Day racing school at Laguna Seca with their open-wheel cars. It was a blast, going back for the advanced class is still on my to-do list.

ps. Laguna Seca is very close to Pebble Beach. The race school + golf makes for a fun trip.

 

Did one years ago. Dorsey Shrader was my coach. Loads of fun and learned an awful lot. Terry Earwood was their head instructor back then.

Bondurant is also a very good school. We used to have all our Ferrari Challenge drivers refresh themselves yearly at Bondurant.

Take your pick, if it is your first school either one will help immensely.

 

Wow, I cannot believe that with all the guys on here with racing experience and those who have attended numerous driving schools there are no more responses than this.

 

It'd probably get more attention if posted (or moved) in the racing / tracking subforum.

 

Probably would but you know how most peruse the title lines to see if there is anything of interest........Besides, I did not start it, just trying to help get some info to the originator......

 

I attended the 2 day Porsche Driving Experience in Alabama(Barber). I had a great time and the instructors were patient and accomplished.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lasdealwis/album?.dir=7137

 

I'd done the Jim Russell program back in the 80s. Ran the series at both Snetterton and Donnington (that place was heaven on earth). Good instruction back then and the price was reasonable.

But, I'd wished I'd done the Elf Winfield program in France. I don't know if it even exists any more. The winner of that program got a fully sponsored ride in Formula Renault the next season. That's where people like Prost got their start. Those types of opportunities are long gone though. No driving school will get you anything more these days than a step closer to a competition license. And that you can usually get from running a season or two of Karts.

The important part is to take a good look at how much track time you get for what you pay. Instruction will be (from what I've talked to other drivers) about the same from school to school. And I'm a firm believer that, racing like acting, you can either do it or you can't. I.E. you're either fast or your not. Instruction will indeed help but the fast guys will always be faster.

 

I also drove a 2-day Porsche driving school (in a 911) on an 8-turn, 2 mi road track. There were several other makes of high-end sports cars participating too. My instructor was the school director & had me drifting every turn, every lap. It was a very intense weekend.

 

listen to me JP as this may be the most sound advice you will ever recieve regarding racing schools - do not waste your time nor money on others, the only "racing" school worth attending is spring mountain motorsports (formerly bragg smith), i attended their level 1 and level 2 programs (among many other inferrior ones) and it was incomparable with the rest, here is the URL, i hope you consider it despite any reservations you may have against american muscle cars (corvettes)

http://www.springmountainmotorsports.com/Nav.aspx/Page=%2fPageManager%2fDefault.aspx%2fPageID%3d499633

 

I guess one question you need to answer is, "What do you want out of it?" You can go to school to race formula cars, GTs, sedans, karts, etc. I did Skip Barber at Road America and Derek Daly in Vegas. Most people who do Skippie love it, but I found it to be a little "clique-ish". I think the tendency also is to really love your first experience. Whatever you decide on, do a multi-day school that will provide a lot of seat time and small instructor-student ratio. You'll love it no matter where you go.

 

I worked SCCA corners for many years & have experienced tons of driving schools calling cars, dealing w/ drivers & picking up pieces. I agree that your expectations are key in choosing your driving school. Don’t pick one that pushes you to the edge unless you are prepared to wreck your car. There is fun to be had in just learning & driving the "line".