This school is NOT a super HPDE School. It is specifically designed to teach you how to race. In addition to special on track exercises, there will practice starts, both rolling and standing, as well as practice races.

This is different than a Skippy school - here you use your own car and also learn how to drive side by side and pass others in traffic.

This is different than an SCCA school. Their emphasis is on watching you and evaluating your current skills to determine if you can race with them. Our school is primarily designed to TEACH not TEST.

I GUARANTEE you will learn more racing skills from this school than ten Advanced HPDE sessions.

The only focus of the school is RACING.

Grumpy

 

By the way, the Competition School is its OWN race group. Only Competition School cars will be on the track during this session.

You will get some serious track time.

Grumpy


[Modified by Grumpy, 10:55 AM 1/18/2002]

 

Grumpy - Just for clarification purposes...

(1) I would need a fully race prepared car to participate.

(2) I need how much experience before I'm eligible?

Thanks!

ps - no, the "I" above isn't me, just general questions I would have if I was wanting to participate.

 

Although evaluation for a Provisional License is a part of this school, learning how to race SAFELY is the primary focus.

This is only open to fully SAFETY prepared race cars.

It is open to those who currently have a license and want to inprove their skills as well as those preparing for a Provisional Competition License.


Grumpy


[Modified by Grumpy, 11:01 AM 1/18/2002]

 

If any of you guys plan to be in the honda-challenge next year, you NEED to do this school... I have my provisional licence, but I am doing this school as well, to gain more knowledge for racing situations, its something that isn't taught in HPDE's.. One of the reasons NASA is doing the Competition School is for us honda-challenges guys that have little, or no racing experience.. NASA is supporting us so much (honda drivers), lets show a little support back..

 

I too encourage everyone running in the Honda Challenge - even the highly experienced among us - to do this school. I really, really want to, but money is extremely tight.

Here here.

 

I agree.. It is a valuable experience.. well worth the money if you can afford it right now.. I already have my NASA License, but would love to attend anyway, However, I'm healing a neck injury and won't be able to drive in this event. I hope everybody else can make it. I'm sure I'll be there doing something.

 

Finishing up the hatchcrap and then coming up with another 3bills is going to be tuff.

 

Also, and this is very important, remember that you don't necessarily get a license just because you do the comp school. And you have even less chance of getting a license if you choose to skip the school and choose to be observed in an HPDE. This is exponentially true for those who have less than a year of track experience.

As Grumpy mentioned above, the comp school is a whole different ballgame than an HPDE. In the comp school you will not only get race instruction, but you will also get wheel to wheel seat time. One competition school will go farther towards a license than multiple HPDEs.

 

Would you recommend this school even if you dont have enough seat/track time to be considered for a provisional license yet?

-Ryan

 

Apply for the school. We'll check your experience and let you know if your are qualified.

 

What Grumpy said.

As I mentioned above. Doing the school does not mean that you will get a license (yet). But it will be invaluable to you once you DO accumulate enough seat time to get your license.

 

Please remember that even in SCCA you MUST complete 2 full school weekends before you get a provisional race license. If you cannot travel distances, then some people have to wait a full season to race.

If you plan on racing, going to the school and then continuing HPDEs in the advanced group is an option until you are eligible for more observation.

 

& proper safety schtuff. *Sigh*

Pete

 

Corey is absolutely correct. Anybody who does not hold a full comp lisense should take this school, no questions. In all honesty, I am very distressed and disappointed to see that some people here are opting for a cheap and easy approach to this series, when they should be taking the safe approach. I think there are many people who think they are ready for something that they most certainly are NOT ready for. Racing is a completely different world from doing DE events, trust me, I only made the jump 2 years ago.

You screw up in a DE, you end up in the gravel, or just drive back onto the track - no big deal. You screw up in a race, and there is a damn good chance you will hit another car. You could ruin your car, you could ruin their car, you could hurt yourself, you could hurt them. Is it really worth it? If you think you are saving money by not doing this school, you are wrong. If would take at least 10 DE weekends to even come close to the amount of experience you could gain from this one weekend, and you STILL will not have run wheel to wheel. Not to menion the fact that this will greatly reduce the odds that you will have an incident in a race since you will be getting experience in starts, and learning how to enter turn 1 off-line under race conditions (among numerous other things).

Don't think that you can do the minimum and just be handed a comp lisense at the end of your 4th DE event. That is the minimum to BE OBSERVED, not the minimum to race. If you think you can waltz in and just be handed a comp lisense and be Michael Schumaker by the next event, you are wrong. It takes time to get that good. It takes experience that you don't have. Doing this school though will move you up the ladder so much faster.

I'll be totally honest here. I don't want to race with anybody who chooses not to do this school. This isn't GT3, these are real people in real cars. If you can't respect the other racers, we don't want you in the series.

I'm sorry if I sound like a dick here, but everybody in this series is laying a lot on the line, in that the rookies will do the most that they can to prepare themselves, and make for a safe racing experience. Anybody not doing this school is not preparing themselves properly, and I don't want to endanger my car or my life because of somebody else's ego.

Matt

 

I am all for the Comp. School if you guys will let me run in it!

 

I'd love to, but I don't believe I'd meet the experience requirements

 

Are you registered for this event?

 

Apply and we'll let you know if you qualify.

 

just sent you an im...

 

That's twice he's said this. Shouldn't be any questions at this point.

Matt is dead on in his above statements. This isn't a game, it is deathly serious. The nature of this series means that there will be a whole bunch of rookies out there, and I'm OK with that. BUT, those rookies need to have demonstrated that they are ready to hit turn 1 at VIR 3 wide and handle themselves properly. Honestly, there are too many folks who don't seem to be willing to take the steps necessary to get to that point. That greatly disappoints me.
I speak from experience in that I remember how confident I was after my 3rd or 4th track event. I had figured out alot and had improved greatly. I was whippin' up on Corvettes and stuff in the Intermediate group. I thought I was ready for a full time pro ride. Then I did my first competition... Just a Solo I. I got my *** unmercifully handed to me (6th of 7). The guy that won my class was running faster than me on his warm-up laps. That was my dose of reality. That was also 5 years ago and I'm a much different driver now, both on a skill and maturity level.

As mentioned previously, NASA has stepped wayyyy out to give this series a shot, and Karl and I have worked our asses off to get to this point. No way am I going to let things fall apart by letting in drivers who aren't ready. After all, mass carnage at turn one is what this series is supposed to NOT be about.

Some of us are putting our weary heads together on some of these issues now. There may (or may not) be some changes coming regarding what's been published regarding requirements for a license and this school.
More to come.

Thanks,
Scott

 

Do I think I'm ready for this school? To be honest, absolutely NOT.

The sole reason I even inquired about it was due to Corey's remark about the Honda Challenge in 2003. Though I know I'm not ready to partake in the event this year, next year is a definite aspiration for me.

No matter how comfortable I feel out on track, I know there is NO replacement for experience...

 

This is one of the most sensible and RESPONSIBLE attitudes I've heard in a long time.

You will have the opportunity to meet some ex- motorcylce road racers at this event. They are signed up in the HPDE in the novice and intermediate group. WHY? Becuase they don't know VIR (their home motorcyle track) in a 4 wheel CAR.

They're humble enough to know that what they already know about road racing (not HPDE stuff) on 2 wheels isn't going to equate to 4 wheel vehicles.

Will they advance quickly - most likely. 5 years of w-t-w motorcyle experience will count for something. Will they do that safely? - Yup because NASA won't allow it any other way. . And they know that up front.

But the point is they are starting at the bottom. And willing to work their way up.

 

Heh! Interesting choice of examples. If you race 3 wide into turn 1 at VIR, somebody is going off. The track narrows slightly as you complete that turn, so the outside car will be forced off the track. That isn't something that you can learn in a DE, because you completed your pass on the straight, or you are sitting behind the other car waiting for a passing signal. You can't even learn that during your provisional liscense test because you would only be two wide. The only way you know that is from wheel to wheel experience. Hmmmm......

And every experienced racer interested in the series can rest assured that we will not put them, or their cars, in danger by letting unprepared drivers on the track. The rookies in the ECHC will have had wheel to wheel experience. *hint*

Matt

 

I too am not sure I am ready for the comp school. Yes I hope to run the ECHC this year (end of the season) but at the point I am planning to go for my license I will have at least 6 more events under my belt. Add that to the 4 I already have and I think I will be in a decent position to get my license in July.

As some of you know I am on the verge of living a dream I have had since I was 2. I WILL be racing. I constantly have urges to rush things. As I have stated before I now consider most of you in the ECHC my friends and I DO NOT want to be out on track risking the safety of friends simply because I want to live my dream a few events too early. I am concerned that my considering the comp school at this point is another one of my IDs attempts at getting me on track quicker than I should be. I have spoken with one of my past instructors and best I can tell they feel I should run the comp school. Karl - any thoughts from you on this matter?

In any event this may all be a moot point - Grumpy may say "No way" when he gets my app.