I had my first FATT event at Shenandoah today. I had a chance to check out BSR and the track. It's the same track Skip booked for the FC '07.

Here are my impressions in order...







Overall, the FATT event was pretty well organized. Each group got two classroom sessions where they covered rules and then lines around corners. I was in group 1B and got four 20-minute sessions. There weren't that many cars in each group. I think my group had may be 18 cars at most. I saw all kinds of cars there (EVOs, STis, all types of Porsches, etc., etc.).

For the first two laps of the first session, the instructors took you around the course. I thought that was a good idea, especially for folks who haven't been there for a while or a first-timer like me. They also required the instructors to ride with the same student twice before they switched students. I had the same instructor for three out of the four sessions. I thought he was a good instructor (patient and didn't yell ).

The track itself looked intimidating at first because of the concrete walls closeby, but once I started driving, I don't even recall seeing the walls. This course is much more technical than the Main track. There were so many turns that I got lost my first two sessions around the "corkscrew" corner. I liked this course as much as I did the Main track, may be even more. It was critical to get the right line and the right entry speed to get good drives out of the corners. I thought it was very challenging. I also actually started heel-toeing during my sessions. I never heel-toed during my first track event at the Main track. I had plenty of opportunity to heel-toe during each lap today though. I feel much more confident with it now. I'll keep practicing in the streets.

My instructor also offered me a ride in his car during the instructors session. I said sure and asked him what he drove. When he said the silver Porsche GT3, I knew exactly which one it was. I was drooling over it in the morning. It was stripeed and caged with R-compound tires. After about 30 minutes in his car (about two minutes shy of me throwing up), I was speechless. What a ride! We passed a lot of other cars and actually felt like we got air on the bump right before the "Karussel." I gotta play the lotto or something.

Oh yeah... it was hot and humid as hell too. I was relaxing and talking to other folks in the classroom when all of a sudden there was a downpour. My windows were down (I had the key), but luckily, my top was up to block the sun. I didn't notice the downpour until after several minutes. Luckily two fellow s2ki owners that I met this morning (Rob and Brenda) put a towel over the driver's window. So, the damage wasn't too bad. I also got a chance to drive on a wet track, so that was a good experience (one that I hope don't have to go through again). There were about three cars that spun out when it started raining. No damage to the cars, as far as I could tell.

Overall, I would give BSR and the track a . I can't wait until the GWMB event in August. I have to register by Monday. I also have to find another event for July. I wonder if I'll have a roll bar by then. I'm so tired right now... came home, washed the car, wiped the interior with leather conditioner, and changed the brake pads.

I'll post pics tomorrow (Edit: they're up!). Gotta get some sleep for the AutoX with the CDC tomorrow morning.

 

One more thing about FATT... they give you some sort of a rating and keep the records. I think after you get signed off?, you move up a group. I'm not sure what that means. May be then you can drive on your own. My instructor told me I'll most likely get signed off next time. We'll see.

 

Hobbs,
I am glad you had a good time. I went to a FATT last year and it was great.

The rating thing is four levels. I don't remember what each one means, but I got to level 2 in the one day. Maybe GFACTOR or someone can expalin it.

 

Thanks Budman. I had a blast!

Their rating system might have changed this year, but I'm not sure. If I remembered correctly, there were three rating categories - mental, physical and safety - and an overall rating. You get a rating after each session.

The ratings are from 1 to 5 for the three categories and the overall was from 1 - 10. The first session, I got 4 for mental, 3 for physical, and 4 for safety. The last two sessions, I got 4, 4 and a 5. The overall went from 5 to about a 7. What was important for me was that I was improving.

I just posted the pics. As I was leaving for the day, I noticed that the best place to take pics of the cars on track is from the bridge. You can practically see the entire course from there. Gotta remember that one for next time.

 

Calvin - Any chance your instructor was a bigger guy(about 240lbs) by the name of Paul Bacon? If so, I had him last year for my 1st NASA event.

 

Glad you had an awesome experience.

 

 

FATT =

I am sad that I won't be able to attend one this year.

 

Skip - my instructor was Rick. I don't remember his last name, but he was a skinny older guy.

 

If you're really interested in attending a FATT event, I think you may be able to get on the wait list and just show up at the event. There were three people who just showed up and got in.