Just wanted to post a brief report on the three day PDA event at Watkins Glen held this past weekend. Friday and Saturday were cloudy, but the track remained dry all weekend. Sunday was perfect. I was very impressed by how smoothly the event was run. The staff at the facility is always first rate, and the PDA folks followed suit by keeping the event on time, and doing everything they could to make the drivers’ experience enjoyable.

There was LOTS of track time for everyone. Novices and intermediates had four thirty-minute sessions per day, while the advanced group had three forty-five minute sessions and a thirty-minute session each day.

While the event was well attended, it was by no means crowded. There was lots of open track during all the run groups, especially Sunday after a lot of folks left early. Combined with all the track time, you could really focus on working out your technique for each turn. Saturday evening there was a track walk hosted by John Walsh that was very informative and enjoyable.

Not too many Hondas at the event, and even fewer HT’ers. I did meet Chris Connelly who was up instructing for the day on Friday w/ his ITR (where was everybody else?). Most prevalent cars were Porsches, Corvettes, BMW’s, and prepped Mustangs. There were also some Cobras, a few former Busch series stock cars, and a couple of “trucks” from the Craftsman series, I think. Most exotic cars: a replica Ford GT 40, a very fast Pantera, and a Diasio (I want one).

This was my second PDA event and I have to say that they truly strive to maximize your track time. This is the first event I’ve left not feeling like I wanted another run. My tires are corded, my brake pads are wafer-thin, my gas bill is astronomical, and I’m exhausted … but in a good way.


[Modified by gjdavis, 10:16 PM 10/7/2002]