Who's done racing school?

[Jim Rockford]

I didn't put this in the racing section as I'm skeptical as to what percentage of attendees actually go to racing school and convert that into real racing activity.

Curious more from the perspective of an attendee who goes to get instruction with no intention of getting into actual racing.

Just curious as to experiences, what schools were attended, the car types used, perceived value, and any relevant commentary.

[NewArt]

Personally, I can't see the point of going to a racing school if you don't have the intention to race. An excellent alternative, if you want a high performance driving experience with expert instruction, is to attend some PCA DE days. (HPDE)

[eddy]

I've done two Skip Barber schools and raced in the SCCA from 06-14.

The first school was their 3-day beginner school in formula cars with non-synchro transmissions. The instructors were top notch, there was no damage waiver (ball up a car and you didn't have to pay anything), and there was a lot of knowledge imparted. The cars were in great shape and a ton of fun. I derived a lot of value from this.

The second was in MX5 Cup cars at Lime Rock. This was a two day advanced school that focused more on different lines and passing dynamics. The transmissions of the first two cars they gave me were shot, and I got the distinct impression that the suspension was not full cup spec. The instruction was excellent, but I gained more from having a faster driver in my own car and overlaying our data acquisition. This school wasn't as valuable.

My thoughts are that the beginner school will give you tools you will always use, and you will learn them from an excellent team. I can't speak to PCA, which I've heard provides excellent instruction, but regular HPDE track days won't guarantee you the comprehensive education you'd get in a school like Skip Barber. Also, I wasn't in a position to afford a wreck of my street car when I had no experience, so the ability to use a school car with no damage waiver was a big plus. Even as someone who may never race, it does provide a thorough appreciation of what goes on on track. It's definitely a rewarding experience.

[Smallblock454]

Don't think, if you can afford it, just do it.

Regards, Markus

[PR61]

Years ago I took a Skip Barber Intro to Racing Class. Not a real school, but some classroom instruction and Formula Fords on the short course at Road America. Huge fun. Some of the best money I ever spent. Then raced FF for 9 years.
For serious fun do an intro class. If you can afford it, and are really going to race, a full school. You'll never be sorry you did it!

Perry

[jakeru]

Back when I was serious into autocross racing, I took Evolution performance driving school. It was good for the very serious and competitive autocrosser - you'll get lots of seat time. A bit hard on the equipment, though. Usually with autocross, you get time to wait between runs, but with evo, there's virtually no waiting, and the school is all-day.

The only time I've ever experienced a "money shift" (from 2nd to 1st instead of 3rd) was during an evo school. This took out an engine. (From the engine over speeding, the valves floated, resulting in solid lifters having their adjustment shims spat out of the lifter buckets, and the overhead camshaft crashed down, causing lots of broken metal pieces in the process and suddenly stopped engine.) Had to get my race car that I drove to the event flatbedded home. But, such is racing.

I did eventually take home a trophy from SCCA Nationals, which is no small feat, and took me three tries before I got it. I was not in a Boxster but always since they were first introduced, admired how they looked going through the autocross courses... (and fast forwarding to today, I've got one as a daily driver. )

[alm001]

I've done the Skip Barber high performance driving school. It was a great time.
This was a full day car control instruction with some good seat time around Lime Rock (In a 991).
The class included skidpad, braking drills, avoidance manuvers and autocross - then of course the main track laps. Great for understanding fundamental car control, but it wasn't focused on racing.
I have no intention of doing anything more than an occasional track day, or autocross. I can dream of racing SPB or similar, but carts will be as close as I get to wheel to wheel racing for now.

[The Radium King]

depends what kind of racing school you are talking about. if you are talking about the yuppie, wife bought me for christmas, sit in a racecar for a weekend behind a nissan juke pacecar course, i've no idea. if you are talking a bring your own car, run by the local race organisation, get an fia amateur race licence at the end, then then i can comment.

i've done pca, hdpe w instructor, and race school. all teach the same things. race school will give you more info on proper passing, and more time door to door (ie, practice start laps). the best analysis would be seat time w instuctor vs $ - look for events that maximise track time. otherwise you are paying big $ to be taught stuff that you could learn at home for free on the internet.

[Topless]

I've done racing school but it was racing yachts, not cars.

I also teach car control and performance driving at all levels. If you are looking for a way to improve your skill, my suggestion is to find a course that will take you to the next level in your driving. A novice will benefit most from a car control clinic or performance driving school. A more advanced driver will benefit from advanced performance driving courses by PCA, Bondurant, or Barber. An advanced driver looking to enter licensed club racing will benefit from a racing school where they teach starting techniques, working traffic to your advantage, avoiding contact, passing tactics, and defensive moves.

Choosing a racing school without advanced driving skills will be fun but you won't get as much out of the course as someone with more performance driving experience.

[thstone]

A lot has already been covered in this thread so let's talk about the path to wheel to wheel racing. If you've ever thought or dreamed about it (and I know you have), what does that path look like...

A racing school is typically a 2 or 3-day course that is approved by a racing sanctioning body (like SCCA, BMW, POC, PCA, NASA, etc) that qualifies you for a racing license (also known as a amateur or club racing license). But it takes more than attending a race school to get a racing license.

(With that being said, there is nothing wrong with attending a racing school even if you don't have the experience to actually get a racing license. Racing schools are fun and challenging and you'll have a great time getting a taste of what it might be like racing even if you never get to that level.)

From the top level, the typical path to wheel to wheel racing is HPDE's, Advanced DE's/Time Trials, racing school, provisional racing, race license, and then racing. How quickly a person can move down this path varies with skill, dedication, time availability, and funding.

HPDE track days are great to get seat time, instruction, and learn how drive well. Basic car control and high speed driving technique is typically learned at this level. HPDE's are great fun in a Boxster and if you've never done a track event, you should. If nothing else, here is your chance to drive as fast as you like without your wife telling you to slow down.

Advanced DE/Time Trials come next. At this level, the goal is to refine your driving skills to a level where you can be safe in a race situation if you were to decide to go wheel to wheel racing. Qualifying for races is a lot like Time Trialling so if you can time trial well, you should be able to qualify well if you go racing. The main point here is that you should be a fully competent track driver at this level.

Next is getting into wheel to wheel racing and you'll need a racing license to do so. Most racing org's like SCCA, NASA, PCA, POC, BMW, all have a racing schools to teach the basics of race passing, driving side by side, driving off of the racing line, race starts, and other race specific skills. Barber and other schools are typically SCCA compliant.

But if all you've done is a handful of HPDE's and a 3-day Skip Barber/SCCA race school, most race org's probably won't let you out in the race group because you probably don't have enough experience or skills to race safely (drive side by side, drive off line, pass, etc). They will likely ask you to demonstrate your skills in Adv DE and if you do well there, then move you up to the race group to demonstrate your skills at that level and if you do well, then you're all set.

The point is that race org's have both licensing AND skill level requirements in order to race. Someone can't just go to a 3-day school and then go out and race without any other experience or without demonstrating competence at that level.

Once you're licensed, then you have to apply to each race sanctioning body (SCCA, BMW, PCA, POC, NASA) in order to race with them. The good news is that most of the other club or amateur racing org's will accept your license from another org (or accept it on a provisional basis that lets you race with them while you demonstrate that you know what you're doing).

I followed the HPDE/Time Trial/racing school path with POC to get my racing license which required sufficient Time Trial or equivalent advanced DE experience a plus two POC race school weekends and participation in a few races without any incidents. Then I received my racing license.

The PCA path to racing is very similar to POC but has the advantage of a nationwide racing program. When I applied to race with PCA, they accepted my POC racing license on a provisional basis but I still had to do a one weekend race school with required test sessions to demonstrate that I had the requisite skills and complete the races that weekend to get my PCA race license. I now have both POC and PCA racing licenses.

Let's imagine for a moment that you're a club racer and win the lottery and want to move up from club racing to the lower ranks of "pro" racing (like MX-5 Cup or Continental Tires series or TCA/TCB in IMSA), then you'll apply to the SCCA for a Pro license and submit your club license and summary of your experience (your racing resume) to be able to race in that series.

(FYI - the reason that I put "pro" in quotes is that the exact demarcation between amateur and pro racing can be somewhat hard to define or determine. Using the SCCA licensing guidelines, you'll need a Pro level license to race in MX-5 Cup, Conti series, or any IMSA class. With that being said, some people will argue that those series aren't really true professional racing. But that's a debate for another thread).

Keep at this path long enough and hard enough and you could be racing at LeMan's in a prototype. All it takes is time, skill, and money. How hard could it be?

[Porsche9]

Wow Tom, nicely laid out description of the path to racing. Thanks!