Boston BMW Chapter Forum / Boston BMW CCA Forums / How to improve our Track Driving events? / Keep advanced students and instructors learning / Latest Posts

RE: Keep advanced students and instructors learning

jbj — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 11:07:30 GMT

[quote][b]jonathank (2/5/2008)[/b][hr]The Northeast Region of PCA is offering a "coaching" day for instructors and advanced students this year in May at NHIS. Cost to instructors is $160. They've hired Dennis Machio and his staff from the Bertil Roos Racing School to run the program. It sounds like they are planning to cover a lot of material. If they succeed in getting through half of it I would find it very worthwhile. I instruct for them as well as other clubs and I am planning to attend. More information on the event can be found here: http://www.porschenet.com/JCMS/content/view/169/1/[/quote]

Thanks for posting this Jonathan. Do you know whether this event would be open to non-PCA members (or should I say non-Porsche owners)? I would be interested as an aspiring instructor.
Thanks
jason

RE: Keep advanced students and instructors learning

oldredracer — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 11:06:14 GMT

I'm not familiar with the WMC passing program, but before spinning your insurance agent into the ceiling, consider practicing off-line corner entry with advanced students. This can happen anyway in most groups if the pass is attempted too late, but once you're convinced that the student knows where the racing line is, have him (that's the correct grammar, not the only available gender) approach the corner a car width to the left or right of the usual turn in point. He'll get a really good understanding of trail-braking and the beginnings of what to do when he knows the proper line but there's somebody else in it. Heck, it's good for us to practice in order to keep from falling into a rut by habitually taking the same line on a track you use often.

RE: Keep advanced students and instructors learning

jonathank — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 13:03:17 GMT

The Northeast Region of PCA is offering a "coaching" day for instructors and advanced students this year in May at NHIS. Cost to instructors is $160. They've hired Dennis Machio and his staff from the Bertil Roos Racing School to run the program. It sounds like they are planning to cover a lot of material. If they succeed in getting through half of it I would find it very worthwhile. I instruct for them as well as other clubs and I am planning to attend. More information on the event can be found here: http://www.porschenet.com/JCMS/content/view/169/1/

RE: Keep advanced students and instructors learning

Tim330i — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 11:36:05 GMT

I didn't realize that the Boston chapter didn't have this policy. I must have read about it on the WM website then. I knew what the program was, just not what the controverse was about.

I am in favor of the program even if there aren't that many places to make the pass.

Tim

RE: Keep advanced students and instructors learning

DanChadwick — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 11:29:20 GMT

[quote][b]Tim330i (2/5/2008)[/b][hr]What is controversial about the stripe passing program? I haven't gotten to that yet, but it seems like a great idea.[/quote]

The White Mountain Chapter has a program where, as an instructor or Group 1 (advanced) student, you can attend a classroom on passing in the corners. It teaches the rules and reinforces that this isn't racing. Both you and the other car must have orange stripes on your windshield / rear window. Details: http://www.wmc-bmwcca.org/documents/PassingPolicy_v2.pdf

A point-by is still necessary, and I believe this requirement comes from national (so not much point in debating that).

The "pro" side thinks that this is a nice extension to the skills learned and provides a fresh experience for the advanced driver.

The "con" side thinks that this is a school and passing in corners is not an appropriate part of the program and that other venues provide for this (e.g. club racing school, club racing, open track days).

My experience with the program is that relatively few opportunities for a pass arise during a session. Often the other car doesn't have a stripe or doesn't elect to give you a point-by in the corner. Of course, if the program were more wide-spread, there would be more opportunities for a pass.

EDIT: One problem with the logistics is that my track car is my daily driver, and orange stripes on an evergreen car screws with my feng shui. The orange decals look pretty expensive to be putting 2 of them on for each event.

RE: Keep advanced students and instructors learning

Tim330i — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 11:15:49 GMT

What is controversial about the stripe passing program? I haven't gotten to that yet, but it seems like a great idea.

Tim

Keep advanced students and instructors learning

DanChadwick — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 09:05:09 GMT

At some point, I think many HPDE attendees start to stagnate. The learning process slows and there is not much difference between one event and the next. If we can keep events fresh, they will be more fun, better serve our educational objectives, and attract advanced students to our events. Some ideas:

Create a passing program similar to the WMC Orange Stripe program. Controversial, I know. Let's discuss!
Get a "Big Name" driver or educator to work with advanced students and instructors. Lots of interesting topics and techniques, such as suspension setup, data acq., left foot braking, when to use trail braking, etc.
Instructor education day -- focus on role playing, dealing with difficult students, helping advanced students, communication skills, when to give instruction while on track, etc. Let's tune-up our instructor base and keep learning as "educators".