rec.autos.simulators

I would like to enroll in a 3 or 4 day racing school this fall.  Has anyone
had any experience with the Skip Barber or Derek Daley schools?   I'm also
considering the Panoz school which is here (home) in Atlanta, but I'd rather
do the open wheel racing thing.

-Andrew

Some schools have personel that have written books on their subject
You could look them over to see about their philosophy, etc.

Going Faster, Mastering the Art of Race Driving, Carl Lopez,
The Skip Barber Racing School, Robert Bentley Publishers,
Cambridge Mass., 1994. ISBN 0-8376-0070-7

Bob Bondurant on High Performance Driving, Motorbooks International,
Osceola, WI, 1993. ISBN 0-879380751-3

The Successful Race Car Driver, A Career Development Handbook,
Robert Metcalf, SAE, Warrendale, PA, 1999. ISBN 0-7680-0497-7,
SAE Order Number R-254     www.sae.org
This one discusses schools briefly (among a lot of other very good stuff),
and points out that many schools also sell videos that describe their programs.

--
Matthew V. Jessick         Motorsims

Vehicle Dynamics Engineer  (972)910-8866 Ext.125, Fax: (972)910-8216

Last December I went to the Skip Barber 3 day racing school at Sebring.
What a blast.  It rained saturday and the first half of sunday, which was
disappointing but loads of fun :)

The instructors were a lot of help, and I start racing in the SCCA in June.

-Adam Zerlin

www.bondurant.com

Rik Anthrax
           -
     -
it's a GPL kinda day  :)

I took Bondurant's 3-day "high performance" course at Sears Point in
1984, but that course used Mustangs, so I can't comment on their
Formula Ford courses.  With the caveat that that was a long time ago,
it was an excellent school.

I later took Skip Barber's 3-day Formula Ford course at Sebring, in
1988.  One of my instructors was Dorsey Schroeder, so that tells you
something about the quality of the instruction.  My sense was that Skip
Barber's course was better suited to someone who wanted to go directly
on to actually racing than Bondurant's.  However, that may not be fair
as I wasn't really comparing equivalent courses.  Both schools give you
a tremendous value for the money, when you consider the car and its
preparation, having a race track at your disposal, and the amount of
personal instruction.  One virtue of Skip Barber's program is that you
can choose from a number of locations to take his courses.  Sebring has
its good and bad points.  The good part is that with acres of concrete,
you can push right to the limit and beyond.  Spinning off course, in
many locations, is harmless.  But that's also the bad point.  At Sears
Point I was ALWAYS aware that screwing up was likely to cost me a lot
of money, or worse.  (I do advise that anyone who's considering one of
these courses get a clear understanding of what they're liable for.)

Those are the only courses I ever did, and I didn't go on to do any
actual racing.  I never had any illusions about whether I had the one
single thing that makes a real racing driver.  That's the single-minded
determination to do it, no matter what.  I can recall arguing with a
coworker who claimed he had what it took to be a racing driver (while
claiming that certain sons of famous drivers didn't, having only the
unfair advantage of their parentage to open the doors).  I told him he
didn't have what it takes.  He indignantly demanded to know where I got
off saying that.  I said that the fact that he was there, at work,
arguing with me, proved it.  If he'd had what it takes, he'd have been
at a track, helmet in hand, to beg, borrow, or steal a ride in anything
with wheels.  Of course, that logic applied equally to me.

Dave Wilson

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.

As a former Barber-Dodge competitor all I can tell you is that if your
serious about becoming a professional open-wheel racer, nothing can beat the
Skip Barber Ladder program.  After completing your three-day competition
course (mine was at Mid-Ohio), and 3-5 "test" sessions (non-restrictive
lapping sessions) you are qualified to compete in the formula-dodge series
(providing you pass you SCCA Medicals exams).  I ran on tracks from Sears
Point to Sebring to NHIS and alot of others in between before I tried
Barber-Dodge.  After getting limited sponsorship to run a few races, it
became clear to me that at 6'1" and 195 lbs that I was too big to be
competitive in open-wheel racing so I moved on and after all was said and
done I've competed in SCCA touring and IMSA sportscar classes and loved
every minute of it.

The Skip Barber school has the best professional progression system than any
other program that's out there.  It's a great 3-day course with alot of seat
time.  Considering the financial part of things, where can you go and use
someone else's racecar to learn with without fear of insurance or repair
costs for a mere (estimate) $2,500 and maybe embark on a career.  As the
people at Skip Barber say The Barber-Dodge Series is...........
"The recognized steppingstone to the CART-PPG Dayton Indy Lights
Championship,
Barber Dodge is the logical place for young professional racers serious
about
making their way to Indy cars to showcase their skills."  To get there start
with them.
http://members.xoom.com/teamgrenon/RaceExp.htm
--
Wayne M. Grenon
Team Grenon Motorsports

http://www.rubbins-racin.com/
Home of WMGRacer's IFREEZN Truck Conversion Project

What mode of racing will you be doing, and how much will that cost(if you don't
mind me being nosy<g>)?

Eldred
--
Tiger Stadium R.I.P. 1912-1999
Own Grand Prix Legends?  Goto  http://gpl.gamestats.com/vroc

Never argue with an idiot.  He brings you down to his level, then beats you
with experience...
Remove SPAM-OFF to reply.

What mode of racing will you be doing, and how much will that cost(if you don't
mind me being nosy<g>)?
Adam-
Yea!! make that two requests....... I'm doing Bondurant in Jan. to get a SCCA
liscence, so I'm interested to know what your getting into!
Rik Anthrax
           -
     -
it's a GPL kinda day  :)