Lately it seems there has been a lot of talk on the board about near misses and such. Since a lot of people are recommending taking racing classes so as to better drive the s2k, I was wondering, how much do the classes cost? Do you have to use your own car? Do you think they're worth it for everyday driving?

 

There are two different events you can participate - an actual racing school, like Skip Barber, or a Driver's Education ("DE"). The full race school typically uses supplied cars (sometimes open wheel formula cars,) costs $1000 or more for two days, and you can apply for a rookie race license afterwards.

A DE, done through a sports car club, typically costs $175 to $250 for two days. You use your own car, and if you're a beginner an instructor rides with you.

Go for a DE, IMO. They're fun, you get plenty of track time, and they're not very expensive.

 

Another option is just to get some track time in your car. It's generally cheaper and they usually have instructors who will go out with you and help you improve. I know NASA is active up in No. Cal. They have a website at http://www.nasaproracing.com/regions/norcal/index.htm that you may find interesting.

 

I'm taking the Skip Barber 3 Day Racing School at Laguna Seca in the spring. The current cost is $2,995, but the price was less last April and they were offering a special at the Long Beach Grand Prix. I think it ended up being just over $2,000.

The class consists of three days of intensive classroom sessions as well as lots of track time in open wheel Formula Dodge race cars.

This school is considered one of the top three, if not the top driving school in the country. It will qualify you for an SCCA Competition License, which means if your IPO works out, you can quit your job and become a real race driver.

There are other driving schools, some offered by SCCA where you can use your own car.

 

I'd also recommend a driver ed day with your own S2000 rather than a Skip Barber type school.

But if you're going to spend in the $3,000 range for a formula car school, don't go to Skip Barber. You can attend a school with much better cars and a much better driver/instructor ratio for the same money.

Right now I'd suggest the Elf Winfield school in France. Many have called it the best driving school in the world. Since the exchange rate is now 7.7 franc's to the dollar, the school (including room and board) is only $2990.

See their ad in autoweek or autoweek.com.

 

Hey Tom,

Just remember what I said here- the second day braking excerise at turn two is a *****!

Have fun there. It was a total blast!

-Nick

 

If you don't want to spend a lot of money call someone with the local SCCA. Most regions put on one or two drivers schools each year and while these are not racing schools you can learn a great deal about car control. It's a blast and it's cheap.

 

The Car Guys let (made) me run my own car around the skid pad, but I guess they don't own any banged up Cavaliers.

The car guys charge about the same thing ($150-$200 a day) for their classes at Summit Point, VIR and 1/2 a dozen other east coast tracks. Although they're track sessions are longer, usually 3 30-45 min sessions a day. The skidpad is in addition to those sessions. The wet skidpad is amazing, I spun my S2000 a dozen times.