Dub Deliverance and Friday at the Track

This was originally just going to be a status update, then I realized it was getting REALLY long and had some good information to share with a wider audience.

Exhausting weekend.  Friday I had students in two of the three run groups and during Dub Deliverance I was instructing in nine of the on-track sessions.  I will start with Dub Deliverance and then double back to Friday at the Track.

Dub Deliverance is a great event run by TrackDaze and sponsored by VW, APR and NGP Racing.  This is a great event for anyone who wants a cheap track day because thanks to the sponsorship it is only $55 for participants.  Such a good deal that I was originally going to enjoy my time as a participant, but they needed more instructors and I have this flaw that makes me volunteer to help.  Somewhat sorry I did because I was run ragged on Saturday.

First I was in-car instructing a VW Employee around track in a MkVII Golf TSI (1.8T engine) that had some R bits and pieces on it (most notably, brakes).  I really like the styling of the new golf, although if that car had been a manual it would have made it more suitable for the track (The auto won't let you stay in the power band as easily).  Adding the APR 1.8T software probably would have made that even better, although it is not officially released for the MkVII yet, but I don't think the MkVII Golf (as opposed to the GTI) is in dealership lots yet.  The traction control REALLY didn't like the carousel constantly clamping the brakes as we went around it.

After that session I got a break (Because I wasn't back in time to hop in a Blue group car anyway) but then come green, I was in a MkV R32.  First ever time on track for that guy (and it turns out he was three spots down from us in the paddock).  Even though there weren't assigned instructors, I worked with him in ever run he did that day because I prefer the consistency.  (He skipped one session to let his friend use the car since his friend couldn't get his car ready for the track)  In the second and third blue group sessions I went out with Nate from NGP and helped him with the line on a couple parts of the course. I also instructed one of the cars in the second VW Employee session (Same driver, this time a MkVII GTI).

The MkVII GTI had nice power and was a manual.  The only problem with that car was it had completely stock GTI brakes and the driver who took it out the first session REALLY worked them so they started to fade about half way through the session and we had to pull it in.  The same problem happened with my green students R32, his brakes were still stock and his last run of the day he had to pull off early due to fade.  The very last session of the day for green/blue combined I ended up riding with a different student (despite REALLY wanting a break and wanting to start packing up) but he was a more passive driver (who still needed constant direction around the track, but at least he wasn't trying to drive into the hairpins 20 mph too fast or anything.  After that I was so wiped out I skipped my last track session and just loaded up the car.

Chrissy was also driving the car through the day in blue group but I will let her summarize her experience if she so chooses.  I also took the car out in two yellow sessions to get myself some extra track time, unfortunately, one had a bad start.  My brakes are sometimes a little inconsistent when cold, but they seemed to have enough heat in them from the other turns I went into leading up to the carousel.  Unfortunately, they weren't quite warm enough and I ended up hitting the carousel a little fast.  The car bounced a bit, slid up the hill, my skid plate scraped along the rim and I was shot out into the grass headed straight towards the tire wall. (see video below)  Fortunately I was still slow enough, especially with the added friction from scraping against the concrete, to avoid the wall.  And that was the second time that weekend I was four off (I was only driving one of the two times though, more on that later).

Now for Friday at the Track.  In Group 1A I picked a student in a MkV GTI who I had met at a previous Friday at the Track.  He was a great student who took instruction well and improved through the day.  He still needs to work on his threshold braking and cleaning up his line a bit in the back section.  For Group 1B I ended up working with three different students.  An E46 325i, a supercharged BRZ and for a very brief period, an Evo MR.  The Evo was a check-ride.  Another instructor had given him straight fives for two sessions straight and I was checking him to move him up to group 2i for the next event.  I told him I was just going to observe and only intervene if needed.  He didn't break hard enough for turn 10 on main.  At that point there isn't anything you can do because if you brake going into the turn you end up on the inside wall.  As we were starting to head out in to the graven, I just started yelling "Straight straight straight" so we didn't catch the front wheels and either roll the car or dart towards the inner wall.  The car started to slow in the gravel but one of the ruts in the sand jerked the wheel a bit so we started wiggling across track.  Once we were in the inner grass he gained just enough traction to gradually steer it away from the wall and we missed the tires at pit exit by about 2 feet.

So, we pulled into the pits, talked about it and talked to the pit control and headed back out planning on taking it slower.  He went a couple more laps, but had to pull it in after feeling a vibration and just parked it for the rest of the event.  He was actually much more shaken by it than I was (I was eerily calm during the whole thing).  His line also was sloppy when I was in the car with him so I think maybe nerves got to him knowing it was a check-ride.  So, I didn't put him forward.  So...that was my Friday and Saturday, how was yours?

Friday at the Track

When I first registered for Friday at the Track at Summit Point Raceway I was disappointed that I had to run in Group 1 with an instructor given my past track experience.  That said, it was still well worth it and my prior experience definitely did make a difference.  For starters, the instructor normally takes the first lap or two behind the wheel in the first session but mine let me jump right in behind the wheel and drive from the get-go.  Unfortunately, although I turned the camera on for the first session, I forgot to hit record :(

To see all of the photos, see my flickr album.

On each run, the instructor reviews your performance on your safety, mental alertness, and handling of the car on a 1-5 scale.  The first run, the instructor gave me 3s across the board (which he said was SOP for first timers at FATT).  The second run he upgraded me to 4s.  The Rabbit has fresh pads and brake fluid but there was some green fade on the first run.  My brakes were apparently smoking visibly, but they were strong and held up.  After the first two runs, it was time for the lunch break.

After lunch, with the car still taking a break before the next session, it was time for me to hit the skid pad.  There is a circular stretch of blacktop that is wet down by sprinklers where you steer a Ford Crown Vic while the instructor works the gas and break.  The basic idea is to keep the car as close to following the inside line as possible while the instructor intentionally makes the car under- and over-steer. This was incredibly fun and challenging.  Despite the fact that you are fighting to keep the car going in the correct direction, you can't help but laugh and grin constantly.

Immediately after the skid pad session, it was time for me to hop in my car again and hit the track.  I guess I should say that the track time REALLY shows how much of the performance on the track is the driver and how much is the car.  There were many cars that would easily pull on me on the straight: Corvettes, some fast Minis, an Aston Martin, Audis, BMWs, and more.  I would often end up catching those cars and having them hold me up in the corners though.  Once the video footage has finished uploading, you will see that there were a few laps where I was almost keeping pace with a Corvette and an Audi S5, and was faster than them everywhere except the straights.

So, back to session #3 on the track.  This run I had a new instructor because my instructor from the first two runs was now running one of the skid pad cars.  The session started off with a bang with me putting down good strong laps, and then suddenly the car wigged out.  I lost all power, and the oil pressure light went on as I pulled out of turn 2 and tried to accelerate.  I pulled off the track right where I was, shut down the engine.  We were far enough off the track for me to pop the hood and check the oil.  Everything seemed fine, nothing was leaking so I turned the car over again.  It turned over and ran fine but suddenly died one more time.  I gave it one more chance to turn over and it fired up and ran smooth.  The oil pressure light stayed off and the instructor gave me the option of continuing on, or just trying to limp back to the pits.  I decided to cross my fingers, hope it was a fluke and press on.  The rest of that session, the car ran great.  I watched a car slide off track in a corner right in front of me but that was just because he locked them up in the braking zone.  He was able to get back on track and continue on, and to this point, at least in Group 1A, the day had gone well.

My instructor from Session 3 was actually surprised by how composed I was on the track until I explained to him about my past track experience in Germany.  As the checkered flag flew, he said he had no problem signing me off to advance to Group 2i, so I would just need to find another instructor for session 4 of the day and get them to sign off so I could advance.  He also filled out the last part of the review which is a rating of how much of my car's capability I was using.  The first instructor had forgotten that section.  He rated me as a 7.5-8 out of 10 for how much of my car's performance I was making use of.  I then had to track down my instructor from the first two rounds and have him check off the same value from my first two runs.  I was now one step closer to being able to move onto Group 2i!

After a break, it was time for my final session of the day.  I found an instructor, and we were off.  My run was going amazingly well.  This is the session where I was actually being held up by the Audi S5 and Corvette at times and was turning in similar lap times to them with their advantage coming from their speed and acceleration on the straights.  With just minutes left in the session, the Mustang GT driver that I had spent time talking to through the day lost it between turns 4 and 5 after dropping two tires off the track.  I didn't witness the actual spin, but I came around the corner right after it happened and the red flag came out. He can be seen off in the grass near the end of my session 4 video (which finished uploading as I write this).  Fortunately, he was OK, but I felt really bad for him.  The track was red flagged, and since I had to stop immediately rather than have a cool-down lap, smoke was coming up from my front brakes and over the hood of the car.  Once the red flag was lifted in favor of the black flag, we pulled the rest of the way around the track and into the pits to end the day.   My instructor for the fourth round also gave me 5's across the board and signed me off for group 2i!

I was ready to roll out and call it a day, but none of the scheduled drivers for the skid pad had shown interest in going down, so I jumped at the chance for another trip down to the skid pad.  This time, I was the only student in the car so I got to take advantage of the full 20 minutes, and the instructor let us have some fun.  After that, I turned in my card and called it a day.  I can't wait to go again (although I first need to get my issue from Saturday sorted out first, but a blog post about that will wait till another time.)