Student-Instructor Introduction

First of all, welcome to high-performance driving. And welcome to T.E.A.M. Racing. Bonnie does a great job running these events and making sure everyone gets lots of track time and has lots of fun.

Everything is out of the car, its numbers are on, and the final
inspection is done. We're ready to go!

About Me and My Car
As you can tell I drive a 1998 Prelude. It is mostly stock. It has basic suspension and interior mods, an LSD, and a stock motor except for the fancy intake. It's not a high-horsepower car, but its handling characteristics are excellent and the car is reliable.  I've driven it at nearly 50 track events and have been instructing with TEAM since the end of 2004. I've taken some formal driving courses, but I don't race, not that I wouldn't like to, but that is a whole other level of commitment, mostly of money.

About Your Car
For your first track day I wouldn't worry about doing anything to make your car faster. Just show up in a safe, reliable car that you already know how to drive. There is already so much to learn your first time out that finding and pushing the car's limits won't be a big part of the day.  Street tires will do fine, and street brake pads, too. Of course that will change after a few track days when you are driving well enough to put some serious demands on them, but my own experience has been that it was the driver (me) who needed most of the work, not the car.

You will want to spend a little time earlier in the week preparing your car. Run through the tech sheet to make sure everything that the track is concerned about is good. You might want to get regular service done on the car, fresh oil, etc.  Make sure your tires and brakes are good, and make sure you take care of any little nagging problems, such as a little leak, or squeak, slight overheating problem, because trying to fix it after you are at the track will really cut into your track time.

Finally, it is not a bad idea to go ahead and take everything that you don't absolutely need out of the car and leave it at home.  This would include floor mats, maps, loose change, and whatever it is that has been hanging from your mirror for so long that you forgot it was even there.

Lead-follow, with the student in the lead during her approach to turn 10.

Patience = Speed!
Just a few notes about the approach to take when learning to drive. During the day you'll hear a lot about "the line", "slow in, fast out", "slow down to go faster", and such, and it really is true. But patience is what is really important. If driving well is your goal then the speed will follow. Speed only comes after the skills are developed.  Anyone could go out an thrash their car in the turns, smoke their brakes and tear up their tires, and they might even think they were fast because it was all so noisy, and violent, and difficult, and some students actually do take that approach despite what we tell them. But that approach simply doesn't work.  What you'll want to do is hold off on trying to find you and your car's limits and instead take time to learn your way around the track in the morning, then during the afternoon to be able to find your way around the track on your own.  Of course, you will be picking up speed as the day progresses, and as you do you'll be glad you upped your speed gradually because by mid-afternoon you'll probably already be going faster than you dared to that morning. Perhaps by the last session of the day you'll feel good about the track, about passing, about how your car feels at speed, and how your brakes and tires change throughout a session.  At that point hopefully you'll start to be able to "feel" the grip and how the tires are working for you and you might even be able to start experimenting with different braking and turn-in points, weight transfer during braking and cornering, etc.  But, and this is very important, work up to this gradually or else you will struggle, not have fun, maybe even hurt your car, and you'll miss out a chance to learn the basics that will serve you well for a long time afterwards.

Your First Track Day
Bonnie's program really makes a big effort to look after the new drivers, and she's got a good program for introducing new drivers to track driving. The typical experience for someone's first time at the track with TEAM is:

• The day starts at about 8:00 AM with an hour long introduction and review of track policies and safety issues. The novice group will be kept a bit longer to cover additional points for people who have never been on a track.
  
  
• You should try to ride with your instructor for at least a few laps before your first session starts. The instructor will drive more slowly than he/she normally does, and with his/her emergency flashers on to indicate he/she is driving in instructor-mode. You'll basically get a tour of the track and some good advice during the only session of the day where your mind won't consumed with the job of driving. I usually do the last lap or two of this session a bit faster to show the student how different the track looks when going faster, to show them how doable the track is at speed, to illustrate the points made about being smooth, using all of the track, and to encourage/inspire/(frighten?) them by giving the student a peek at how they may be driving later in the day.
  
  
• The first session on the track in your car is usually a lead-follow session. You'll follow your instructor, trying to stay close, and directly behind his/her car. This is done to help you learn the line. The instructor will be careful to illustrate the line, will turn in at the textbook correct places, will tap the brakes at the braking points, and in general will be very deliberate about how he/she goes around the track, even if it is at a speed the instructor doesn't need brakes, etc. The speed will depend on how well you seem to be doing. I work out hand signals, or other signals, with the student in advance so he/she can let me know if I am going too fast or too slow. I do go full throttle down the straights to give the student the chance to do the same, and have some fun.
  
  
• Mandatory download sessions follow each novice group track session. This is a good time to get pointers and corrections from the lead instructor who has either been out on the track with your group or watching everyone from the start/finish tower or from inside the main building. It is also a good time to ask questions about the track, the "line", taking care of your car, and even to complain about other drivers. Passing rules and slow cars are usually a major issue during the first morning download session.
  
  
• Your second session out is another lead-follow session. This time, with experience already gained and after talking about it in the download session, the concept of line, braking points, tracking out, and all that become much clearer.  You may even want to lead and let your instructor follow and observe your driving.
  
  
• The next time out can be a lead-follow, the instructor could follow, or the instructor can ride along, or whatever the student needs/wants. Occasionally a student will ask for a ride-along where the instructor drives the student's car. (Instructor - "Drive your car? GT-40! OK, if you insist.") Some students keep their instructor with them all day, either in their car or in lead-follows. Even in sessions where the instructor does not go out with the student, they'll check in with the student at the beginning and end of the session. If we do a lead-follow session in the afternoon, I can mount my camera on the back of my car to get footage of your driving. Later I can send you the video on DVD.
  
  
• Just before your last session of the day, I'll invite you to ride with me in the advanced group again, but this time I'll drive at my speed, after a lap or so to make sure you are comfortable. This time the idea is to show you how the skills you have just started developing will start to look like after a few more track days, to make you feel good about the progress you have already made, and to help you set goals for their next session. If the concept of "the line" still hasn't become clear to you, you'll see that at speed you'll need all of the track and "the line" starts to look like to only way one could drive the course that fast. So far only one person has taken me up on this offer. I don't blame them. Their heads are usually reeling from what they already learned that day.  And most new drivers are pretty tired and even sore by the end of the day.

Checking In and Getting Up Early
I usually arrive in town the night before and get to the track the next morning as early as I can.  For Thunderhill events I usually leave Davis between 4 and 5PM the day before the event and stay at the Best Western.  Then I head right over to the restaurant (Casa Ramos) to meet up with the Bonnie, other drivers, and the students. After dinner I top up on fuel, check tire pressures, and may even wash the car at a nearby car wash if it needs it. The next morning I leave for the track before 7AM and I park right in front of the main building. Feel free to join me there. If it is hot or raining you might prefer to park under the shelter, but get there early before it fills up.

Lead-follow instruction involving two Prelude drivers.

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