Fear
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From: Seattle
Marc,
good questions, and you have a bunch of good responses so far.
Here's what I wrote in the Track FAQ over in the Pacific Northwest forum:
The fact that you're interested in going yet asking these questions makes me think you'll be a good track student, and really enjoy yourself.
At five weeks old, though, you might want to wait until your S2000 gets a couple of door dings and rock chips before you take her to the track.
Ted
good questions, and you have a bunch of good responses so far.
Here's what I wrote in the Track FAQ over in the Pacific Northwest forum:
Q: Is it safe?
A: While nothing is completely safe, especially when it involves cars, there are several reasons why the track is safer place than you would imagine. Everyone is going the same direction, with no cross traffic, hidden driveways, or kids darting out onto the road. Everyone is paying attention to what they're doing, instead of talking on a cell phone, changing radio stations, and reading a map. There are corner workers keeping an eye on all parts of the track, ready to alert you with a flag if there's something you should know about around the next turn. All in all, it's safer to drive fast at the track than on the street.
A: While nothing is completely safe, especially when it involves cars, there are several reasons why the track is safer place than you would imagine. Everyone is going the same direction, with no cross traffic, hidden driveways, or kids darting out onto the road. Everyone is paying attention to what they're doing, instead of talking on a cell phone, changing radio stations, and reading a map. There are corner workers keeping an eye on all parts of the track, ready to alert you with a flag if there's something you should know about around the next turn. All in all, it's safer to drive fast at the track than on the street.
The fact that you're interested in going yet asking these questions makes me think you'll be a good track student, and really enjoy yourself.
At five weeks old, though, you might want to wait until your S2000 gets a couple of door dings and rock chips before you take her to the track.
Ted
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From: Frederick
Again, THANK YOU ALL! You really helped me out. After much deliberation, I signed up! I'm going to take the two day Acura High Performance and Acura Advanced High Performance courses at the Mid-Ohio School on Sept 30 & Oct 1. I am so hyped. And, I have chosen to drive my S2K! You folks are right. I will be driving within my comfort level. After all, I know that I can be hurt or die and that I can wreck my beautiful car. So, I WILL feel the fear and DO it ANYWAY. 
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From: Frederick
It's great to hear that the track is great. I don't know if I'll ever be good, but what the hey!!! And, of course I'll be able to drive any track in the country -- I'll be SLOW
Can't get into too much trouble going slow, can I
Can't get into too much trouble going slow, can I
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From: Austin
No sweat dlq. Being around some young kids on these boards, and going to an event where a bunch of young bling bling kids rented a track once, it scares me to think of a novice on the track 'testing the limits' w/o an instructor.
That's certainly not the case with you.
Marc,
You'll be fine, just jump in with both feet! You'll never forget your first time. Losing your track virginity is a beautiful thing.
*sniff sniff* brings tears to my eyes. Concentrate on learning the track. From there, things will start to fall into place.
There are several great books out there that you may want to look at. One is the ubiquitous Going Faster by Skip Barber. However, an often overlooked book, but more accessible for the reader, much more condensed, and incredibly insightful is the book by Frere. Cheap and well written.
Read that, study the track layout, and maybe find some Mid Ohio vids to watch. I have some somewhere. If you are interested I can hunt down some links.
Jeff
That's certainly not the case with you.
Marc,
You'll be fine, just jump in with both feet! You'll never forget your first time. Losing your track virginity is a beautiful thing.
*sniff sniff* brings tears to my eyes. Concentrate on learning the track. From there, things will start to fall into place.There are several great books out there that you may want to look at. One is the ubiquitous Going Faster by Skip Barber. However, an often overlooked book, but more accessible for the reader, much more condensed, and incredibly insightful is the book by Frere. Cheap and well written.
Read that, study the track layout, and maybe find some Mid Ohio vids to watch. I have some somewhere. If you are interested I can hunt down some links.
Jeff
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From: Frederick
I looked into VIR. It looks like a nice track; unfortunately, their schedule didn't fit mine, so I looked elsewhere. The Ohio track should be OK also because I grew up in Cleveland and will visit family there before I go down for the course. I think I will pick up the book by Frere. Do you recall the name of the title? Now that I signed up, I can't wait. I just LOVE losing my track virginity already. Just writing the word makes me smile!!! Heh heh!! I just can't begin to tell you how much you folks helped me out!!!
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From: Encinitas (San Diego), CA
I'm commenting a bit late, and my track experience, which started only in May, is based on just 5 track days (3 events). At each event I was fortunate enough to either ride along with an instructor in the instructor's car which was very similar to my car...stock class, or in my car, and this opened my eyes to the capabilities of the car and the limits of the car. In two of the three events, this was done at the very beginning of the event (wish I had done it earlier at the other). This, I beliieve, helps tremendously in getting up the learning curve much more quickly, and gives you knowledge and confidence in what your car can do (which was way more than I ever imagined!). You also get to see the lines and good driving technique that you can strive to emulate. This might not be possible at your upcoming event but anytime you do get this opportunity I highly recommend you take it. It's the ultimate driving lesson... seeing how it's done in your car (or one like it) at 9-10 tenths! This helps relieve much of the fear (not all, just some of the excess in a beginner) and allows you to focus more on technique and lines.
-Richard
-Richard