HPDE signups
 

In the north east how many are going to DE's this year and where and when. Sign ups are opening tonight and next week. I'm going back to VIR in March with Zone 2 PCA and Niagara Regions Advanced DE at Watkins Glen, Corvette Club of central Pa at Pocono. Other I'm interested in won't open until 60 days prior to the events.

I'm also thinking of trying a CHIN or other non PCA DE. Any good advice on that would be welcome.

I am going to sign up for one. Which is the best venue in the NE region?

My seat belt webbing is more than 5 years old. What is a good place to go to for re-webbing?

Thanks/Anker

Closest to you are Limerock and Thompson. Best near you (?) is Watkins Glen. Shop for harnesses online OG Racing Jegs, Summit Racing and Amazon or Ebay.

Chin is great, you typically get a 30 minute warmup under standing yellow, then 4 30 minute session, then a 1 hour open track session at the end. MVP Track time is also great, you typically get 2+ hours of track time with them as well.

Chin's groups are:
Green - equal to all PCA groups up through intermediate solo (point by on the straights) For my PCA group that includes Green novice instructed, blue instructed and solo, and white intermediate solo.
Blue - equal to Advanced PCA groups, passing anywhere with point by
Red - in my opinion, above most PCA groups (based on ride alongs with instructors in PCA groups where I saw plenty of trains including one caused by my driver), full course passing with point by with the expectation of an *immediate* point by the moment a car comes on you, and if you cause a train you are moved back down to blue.

Other non PCA groups I have run with are not as good, either it is choked with cars and you get no clean track or else not run well and you barely get any track time. NASA SE at Road Atlanta fits both of these, choked with so many cars and 4 twenty minute sessions that were cut short and I got only 5-6 hot laps each session and probably only a handful of clean laps the whole weekend. I won't be back with them :) When I ran at Road Atlanta with MVP Track I had some much track I left early on Sunday because I had enough...

My harnesses are all in date, but they have never been checked in any group I have run with, NASA, MVP Track Time, Chin, PCA, Just Track It, JZilla. In fact PCA and NASA were the only ones that ever even looked at my car, the rest I just showed my helmet and turned in a form. I believe that SFI harnesses (2 year expiration) can be rewebbed, but FIA harnesses (5 years) cannot. I have a Schroth clubman as my passenger harness, it is a 6 point FIA camlock harness and was only slightly above $200 that I got from Apex Performance.

Wow, the Northern NJ PCA region opens up their registrations separately for each event about 2 months before the event. I'm only going to do 2 or 3 HPDE events and am glad I don't have to commit already!

You might want to check out an event at Palmer Motorsports Park in West Ware, MA. You may be able to commute each day if it's a multi-day event. I wouldn't call it the greatest facility, the track itself is nice but it is a startup venture with some teething issues. There are a lot of corners and elevation changes.

When you say your seatbelt webbing is more than 5 years old, are you talking about a racing harness or OEM seatbelts. For OEM seatbelts I don't believe there is an expiration date, at least there wasn't for me. And at my 2 events I volunteered for the tech line. One day it was my job to check dates on racing harnesses only, not on OEM seatbelts.

Its an OEM seat belt. I'll reread the PCA requirements again.

And thanks for the track suggestions.

Thanks/Anker

OEM seat belt, no expiration, you are all good there.

Niagara's Advanced DE in June at Watkins Glen opened at midnight and is 3/4 full right now 12:29AM Eastern. Normally I run in Black expanded Passing. In this group I run track Prepped and keep up well. Their format allows Track Prepped at the Top of the hour Street Cars bottom of the hour. After the first hour open track all cars. At the top of the hour Tract prepped rules apply immediate point all areas but the esses and bus-stop. At the bottom of the hour Street rule apply no harassing slower car by running up in turns riding bumpers patients. You can get 7 Hours on track a day.

They do check tire date codes and belt and seat dates.