SPS

The Event

The event responsible for such a fortunate opportunity was the First Annual Hikari Works Racing Driver’s School co-sponsored by The Wheel Source (www.wheel1.com) and Passen Motorsports (www.passenmotorsports.com.) As the name implies, this year marked the first of what is planned to be an ongoing annual event.

So what exactly is a "driver’s school?" Technically, a "driver’s school" can mean several things depending upon the context. For example, experienced drivers that are applying for a competition license must attend a "driver’s school" in order to get their license. But these events are normally focused upon the rules of competition and safety rather than how to pilot a vehicle at speed around a road-course.

However, in most cases – including ours – a "driver’s school" is an event in which a paying participant learns how to drive a road course at speed with the help of an instructor. They are usually semi-structured events with limited passing. Some schools offer rental cars to the participants, while others are "run what ya brung." Some may involve stationary classroom instruction, while others are pure on-track action. Most events will cost between $150 and $500.

The Hikari Racing school was a "run-what-ya-brung" event, so at any given time, my little SL2 was on the track with a wide variety of cars ranging from an annoyingly slow Honda CRX to an intoxicatingly fast Supra Turbo World Challenge racecar. Other than a brief 15-minute drivers’ meeting before the event, we had no structured "classroom" instruction. Instead, our group of 30 students split into two groups and shared 15 awesome instructors. The result was over 2 hours of 100mph personalized, one-on-one, on-track, behind-the-wheel instruction. But more about that later…

The Track

The venue for our school was the Putnam Park Road Course (http://www.putnampark.com), located just west of Indianapolis between Greencastle and Cloverdale, Indiana.

Our course configuration was called the 10 Turn Long Course, which meant that we skipped both The Loop and Times Square options. We were left with 10 turns, one long front straightaway, 2 intermediate straightaways, and a few short connections. The total course length was 1.766 miles. Corner workers and emergency crews were on duty during the entire day.

The rules of the day called for passing only along the front straight and between turns 4 and 5. And in all cases, the overtaking driver had to wait until being "pointed by" from the slower driver. Except for a few very fast cars (such as the World Challenge Supra), most cars were too evenly matched to make a move in the short distance between turns 4 and 5, so most of us waited until the front straight to attempt a pass.

Every turn was marked with cones that indicated turn-in points (the point at which the turn should begin,) apex points (the point at which you come the closest to the inside of the turn,) and track-out points (the point at the end of a turn in which you come closest to the outside edge of the track.) This made learning the course ALOT easier - just point and shoot. As a beginner, I greatly appreciated the "targets."

Most of the course was relatively flat – another good thing for a beginner like me. However, shortly before the end of the front straight-away, there was a subtle rise that peaked just beyond the 300 ft braking marker and then fell again to the turn-in point. Another short but steep rise presented itself after turn 3 and peaked right at the start of the left hander that positions the car to hit the apex properly at turn 4. And all of turn 8, nicknamed "Dead Bear Turn," was a valley that hit its deepest point in the center of the turn and rose again almost completely before the straight leading to turn 9.

Turn 9 normally would have been a fast wide sweeper to the right. However, repairs had been done to turn 9 the week prior, so in our case, most of the turn had been halved by a lane of cones. The experienced drivers were probably annoyed by this. But again, as a beginner, it was a blessing of sorts as it gave everyone a chance to slow down and "rest" before setting up for turn 10 and blasting down the front straight-away. And it made the exit to the pit lane – at the end of turn 9 – easier to find at a safe speed.

My  Saturn SL2 - Racecar for the Day

My SL2 enters the pits after a session.

The secret to my success: The famed scR logo.

The Passen/Wheel Source/TRD World Challenge Toyota Supra.

Even Dave Schardt's awesome brand new Porsche saw some track time.

One of the interesting elements of the event was the eclectic array of roughly 45 vehicles that were put to the test as racecars for the day. Several of the instructors had trailered real racecars to the track. These included the Wheel-Source/ Passen/TRD World Challenge Toyota Supra, a T2 Z28, a Porsche 944 Turbo, an ITA Acura Integra, a GT3 VW Rabbit, the Passen Toyota Corolla, and even an open-cockpit Spec Racer. And, of course, the students drove some cool cars too, including two Supra Turbos, one MR2 Turbo, three 944s, one 911, two Integra GSRs,

The Lincoln LSC suffered some mechanical ailments late in the day.

So how did the Saturn do in the midst of such a capable group of peers? Surprisingly well! Sure, we were no match against the racecars – especially with instructors behind the wheel. And the Supras and MR2 repeatedly flogged us down the front straight-away. But very few cars could handle the corners or braking zones as well as my SL2, not even the Supras. (Never underestimate the value of sticky tires!) The one exception that caught me off-guard was the BMW 318ti. He was screaming fast – both in the turns and down the straights!

Nonetheless, after one of the sessions, the driver of the MR2 asked us if we had modified the Saturn drivetrain and commented, "I thought it seemed unusually powerful." So I think that we may have caught a few other drivers by surprise too.

Preparing for Class

A group of Porsche drivers change tires in front of their own support/supplies truck. Cool...

The Passen/Wheel Source/TRD race trailer looked much cooler than our lawn chairs and spare tire jack.

The drivers meeting in front of the timing and scoring tower.

1. No passing unless you are pointed by.
2. Passing in designated passing zones only.
3. 20 mph in the pit area.
4. All non-attached items must be removed from the vehicle. This includes floor mats, stereo boxes, amps, items in trunk, glove boxes, and consoles.
5. Each vehicle must be technically sound including clean brake fluid, no loose suspension pieces, good tires with at least 4/32 inch of tread, etc. We have the right to reject any vehicle that is deemed unsafe for the track.
6. Any car that should spin or put 4 wheels off from the track surface will report immediately to an official in the pits to discuss the offense. The second offense will result in a loss of session. If you have a third incident, it will be your last!! You will be asked to leave. This includes instructors!
7. Anybody that damages track property (ie: guard rails) will be financially responsible for that damage. Anyone that damages either track property or another participant’s car will be asked to leave.
8. All students must ride with instructors until checked off. You will be checked off as soon as you can demonstrate consistency in laps – meaning that you can drive the same reasonably good lines every lap in a safe manner. Lap times do not matter.

As the rules indicate, driving a street car on the edge at 100 mph invites the possibility of a damaging mishap. And I think the message is clear – particularly from rule #7: don’t play unless you can afford to pay.

The schedule for the day called for four 30-minute sessions for each of the 3 groups – instructors, group A, and group B. Instructors would go out first. This allowed them to enjoy some track time without needing to avoid slower student "obstacles." I was assigned to group A.

We next introduced and assigned instructors. There were about 15 instructors and 30 students. So each instructor was assigned to one student in group A and another in group B. My instructor was Dave Davison. Dave is the retail sales manager at The Wheel Source. He is also a veteran road-racer who owns, prepares, maintains, and rents-out 2 IT Toyota MR2s. Ironically, Dave was also the largest – and heaviest – guy at the event. But, even though Dave didn’t help our power-to-weight ratio, his instruction and teaching skills were nearly perfect.

On the Track

Amid's open-cockpit spec racer accelerates down the front straight.

Three passengers - Eric from Passen Motorsports, Jen, and I - rode in the SL2 which was driven by an instructor named Amid Shayestah. Suffice it to say that riding as a passenger while a stranger hustles my only car around a racecourse was a bit nerve-racking at first. But after a few laps, I began to become comfortable with the super-legal speeds and the unusually high traction threshold of the Hoosier tires.

The basics of road course navigation go like this:

Sounds easy, right? It looked easy too…as long as Amid was behind the wheel.

Standing on the flag stand as Dave S. in the Supra blasted down the front straight beneath us was exhilarating - even though we were standing still!

By the time the first call came for group A, I was very ready – and I ended up being the 2^nd car in line to enter the track at the start of our session! As I received the signal to pull onto the track, Dave was already shouting instructions. And I do mean "shouting." Not only does my SL2 use the performance-oriented straight-through Sport muffler (which gets quite loud at 100 mph), but we kept the windows down at all times so that we 1.) could hear the tires scrub to gauge slip rates and 2.) wouldn’t end up with a helmet full of glass in the event of an accident. Add the fact that we were both wearing full-face helmets, and you begin to understand why making "conversation" was not easy.

I intentionally took the first lap pretty slowly. I hoped to give the tires a chance to warm up. And I wanted to practice the "motions" before I had to perform them at speed.

As we accelerated down the front straightaway, my anticipation turned to pure glee. And somewhere just before the start of the braking zone, I realized that I was in the process of fulfilling a lifelong dream – I was driving on a real racetrack at speed. This was gonna be fun!

Even though we were not going very fast (80-85 mph at the most,) I hit the brakes pretty hard to simulate what I was expecting to do later at higher speeds. As I let off the brakes, I began the turn-in for the right-hander at turn one. The turn-in point for turn 1 was not marked with a cone, but I nonetheless hit it with surprising accuracy and smoothly turned the wheel with one direct and deliberate motion. As though it already knew what to do, the SL2 tracked straight toward the apex and grazed the edge of the pavement with the right two tires directly in front of the apex cone. I knew that I had hit it correctly…

Which is probably the reason that I totally blew turn 2. As I exited from turn one, I failed to track-out to the edge of the track, which caused me to miss the marked turn-in point, which caused me to miss the apex, which caused me to miss the track-out point, etc.

By turn 3, I had more-or-less recovered and managed to hit the "targets" with accuracy, but without grace. However, as I crested the rise at the end of turn 3, I learned what happens when you attempt to change directions when all four tires are NOT firmly planted on the road – which, of course, is nothing. You don’t change direction. Needless to say, I blew turn 4 too.

By this point, I was glad that I had decided to take it slowly. Had I gone any faster, I probably would not have kept control of the car!

As I accelerated toward turn 5, I had a chance to collect my thoughts. And as I approached the turn, I could hear myself saying, "brake straight, release the brake as you start the turn-in, target the apex, accelerate, track-out, stand on it!" Fortunately, I executed these instructions well on turn 5 and accelerated toward 6.

Since it had worked so well in turn 5, I repeated this process in turn 6. Then I quickly realized that turn 6 is not so much of a "turn." It is really more of a crooked straightaway.

I had sort of forgotten about Dave up to this point. But I definitely heard Dave in turn 6 as I hit the brakes in futility. And he was saying, "Don’t slow down here. Just straighten out the turn and stand on it." Now he tells me…

Turn 7 is a very tight turn. And it is much harder in real life than it looks on the map. No, really…stop laughing, it really is hard.

I braked hard as we approached turn 7. And although I thought that I had started the turn-in at the cone, I missed the apex by a mile. And my steering wheel motion was scattered and inconsistent. We never came anywhere near the track-out point. Fortunately, it didn’t matter too much since turn 8 is a left turn.

While turn 2 is supposed to be one of the easiest turns on the course, turn 8 is supposed to be one of the toughest. Since I screwed up turn 2, it should come as no surprise that I aced turn 8. The straightaway leading to turn 8 is on level ground. But the track dips sharply immediately after the turn-in point. I stayed in the center of the track until I neared the apex, which is just past the center of the turn and barely past the lowest point of the valley. At the bottom of the dip, I turned-in farther and hit the gas. We then hit the apex perfectly and tracked-out predictably to the outside of the track. As we reached the top of the hill, our two right tires just barely grazed the painted curb as we accelerated toward turn 9. I don’t remember Dave’s exact words, but it was something like, "How’d you manage that?!"

As I slowed down for turn nine, I looked in my mirror and saw a red Supra Turbo not too far back. I proceeded relatively slowly through the "cone zone" and turn 10 and entered the front straight very conservatively. I knew that the Supra would want to pass on the straight, so I immediately moved over once we had made it through turn 10 and waved him by.

This time, I accelerated much harder down the front straight and chased the Supra into turn 1. I noticed that he braked much earlier than me – but then again, he was also carrying a lot more speed down the straightaway.

Just like the first lap, I managed to do well on turn 1. But I again missed turn 2. I did decent on three, but again failed to settle the car at the top of the rise going into 4. Turn 5 was fine, and this time, I straightened-out turn 6, which allowed me to carry much more speed into the entrance of turn 7. But, as before, I totally blew turn 7.

As we exited turn 7, Dave noticed a yellow caution flag and yelled at me to slow down. We looked ahead and saw the red Supra facing the wrong direction at the end of turn 8. It was only the second lap, and already someone had spun!

Me and my SL2 chasing the red Supra down the long front straightaway.

The rest of the first session finished similarly to the second lap. I was chasing a Turbo Supra in my Saturn SL2, and I was consistently missing turns 2, 4, and 7. By the end of the session, I was having a blast, and the car felt great, but I was ready to stop and evaluate my problems at rest.

Round Two 

We had nearly an hour of rest before the start of our second session. (Group B would complete their first session in 30 minutes and the instructors would get a 30-minute session before we were allowed back onto the course.) So I parked in front of our camp on the grid area and opened the hood to let the motor cool. I had learned during my experience as the scR crew chief not to set the emergency brake when the brakes are hot – since the rear brakes can seize, warp, or glaze as a result of bonding two very hot materials together under pressure.

One of the other lessons that I learned from James Walker (scR motorsports owner, driver, and team manager) is to draw the course on paper immediately after a session. This can help you visualize the course and make notes before your memory of the last session fades. I did this, and noted my problems on turn 2 and 7. I had forgotten about my difficulties entering turn 4.

Before we were called back to the grid, I adjusted tire pressures again and inspected the tire condition. The amount of additional wear to the outside of the tire, relative to what I had seen previously in my autocross events, was notable - but hardly surprising.

As we entered the track for the start of the second session, I knew that we were going to attack this round with a lot more intensity. But I used caution on the first lap to let the tires get up to temperature. But by the end of the first lap, we were already going faster than our fastest lap during the first session.

It was during the second session that I learned how to gain speed while exiting turn 10 and entering the front straightaway.

And the effect at the other end of the straightaway was noticeable too. I glanced down as we began the rise near the 300 ft. braking marker and saw a 100 mph speedometer reading! I immediately hit the brakes hard and downshifted to 3^rd, thinking that it would be difficult to slow enough to make the turn-in.

I quickly learned 2 additional lessons: 1. A 2300 lb. Saturn with sticky tires does not need as much braking distance as one might think and 2. Downshifting into 3^rd gear at 90 mph is a bad idea.

Dave and I both shrieked as the motor screamed to 7500 rpm. I quickly pushed the clutch pedal and began the very awkward turn-in. I heard Dave say, "Don’t do that again!" as we missed the apex at turn 1.

Fortunately, nothing seemed damaged, and we accelerated away from the terrible effort at turn 1 and promptly blew turn 2. By now, my errors in 1 and 2 had scrubbed off a lot of speed, so we entered turn 3 relatively slowly. As usual, turn 3 went fine. But I exited turn 3 more slowly than normal and, for a change, smoothly managed the transition at the top of the rise leading to turn 4. This allowed me to ace turn 4 which meant that I was back on the throttle much sooner than any previous lap. By the end of the straightaway leading to turn 5, we managed to hit the rev limiter in 3^rd gear for the first time. This is a good sign, since it indicates that we were carrying a lot more speed into turn 5.

In this photo, something is chasing the Supra, which is chasing the BMW, which is chasing the CRX through turn 10.

Turn 8 was again smooth – and was gradually improving even more with each pass. We cruised through the cone zone and duplicated the exit out of turn 10: wide through the cone zone, hit the curb with the left tires, start the turn-in, stand on the throttle, graze the apex, track-out to the guardrail, and shoot down the straightaway.

We again hit 100 mph at the end of the straightaway. But this time, I stood on the brakes for a second or so before downshifting into 3^rd. We still had plenty of time, and I made a mental note of the fact that I could still hit the brakes later without trouble.

We aced turn 1, and accelerated toward turn 2. We hit the track-out point at the end of 1, but again missed the turn-in point and apex for turn 2. Turn 3 went well. And this time, I was careful not to accelerate too fast out of 3. This kept the car settled for the transition to 4, so we managed another smooth effort at 4 and again enjoyed a lot of speed leading into 5. Since we had hit the rev limiter on the last lap, I remembered to shift into 4^th gear on this lap.

A 944 looks anxious to get around us at the start of the front straightaway.

The second session more or less ended in this manner. I had made great progress on turns 4 and 9, but I was still completely missing turns 2 and 7. And I was having the time of my life!

We had an extra long break after the second session so that the instructors would have time to eat lunch. The concession stand had begun grilling burgers, and the smell had wafted into the grid area. So even though my stomach was a bit upset from the track experience, my stimulated appetite dominated my decision-making process. We had a great lunch.

I Finally Get it Right

After eating, I was starting to feel sleepy. I briefly wondered if anyone had ever fallen asleep during a session. Fortunately, the instructors started the third session, and watching them revived my interest.

Before we lined up to enter the track at the start of the third session, I was able to speak with Dave for a few minutes without needing to yell over the noise of the car at speed. Dave told me that I was turning-in too early at 2 and 7 and suggested that I target the turn-in point about a yard past what the cones indicated. "Be more patient" he said.

I blow the doors off the CRX while the Supra prepares to blow my doors off!

We aced turn 1 and tracked-out wide before hitting the turn-in at 2. Again, I tested my patience and let the cone pass by my window before starting the turn-in for 2. It worked! Finally, I hit the apex at turn 2 and felt comfortable setting-up for turn 3. However, my success in turns 2 and 3 also resulted in more exit speed out of turn 3. As we crested the rise, the car became unsettled, causing me to miss the turn-in and apex in 4.

Turn 5 was real easy this time, since we had lost speed from the error in 4. But as we completed turn 5 and flat-footed turn 6, I was anticipating my actions in turn 7. As we approached the turn-in marker for turn 7, I delayed my braking as long as possible, and finally braked hard at the last minute. And I "patiently" waited for the marker cone to pass beneath me before starting the turn-in. Finally, I released the brake and quickly and deliberately turned the wheel further than I had turned it up to this point. The SL2 gripped the track and quickly changed directions. As I hit the gas, we perfectly clipped the apex marker and tracked-out to the edge of the track for the first time all day. Dave yelled in excitement. Finally, I had gotten it right!

On our next lap, I focused on duplicating what I had done right. As I braked hard late at the end of the front straightaway, I noticed that the brakes were starting to feel different. Going faster certainly takes a greater toll against the brakes. But as the brakes degraded throughout the rest of the session, I continually went faster and faster around the course. Which tells me that I had been braking too hard to begin with!

I finished the session with consistent accuracy. I was braking later and later before turn 1. I had finally mastered turn 2. I was limiting my speed out of turn 3 and turning-in properly at 4. I was shifting into 4^th gear and attaining good speed before turn 5. I had straightened-out turn 6. I had perfected my sling-shot move out of 10 onto the front straightaway. And, most importantly, I had conquered turn 7! Dave signed-off on me at the end of the session and cleared me to drive the last session without an instructor in the car.

Saving the Best for Last

A view from the flag tower shows the BMW 318 as it chases the red 944 turbo down the front straightaway.

Amid was one of the last instructors to exit the track at the end of the Instructor Group that started the fourth session. So it took him a few minutes to park his racecar and find me on the grid. While I was waiting, I noticed that my SL2 was very low on fuel. I was not surprised, since the scR racecar averages only 8 mpg, and I had been racing for nearly 1.5 hours! I made a mental note of the fact that I needed enough fuel to get us to a gas station before we made the trip home. And I knew that I was unlikely to finish the session.

As soon as Amid buckled in, we received the signal to enter the track. But as I pulled away from the grid, I could have sworn that I noticed a sick look on the face of the pit exit worker. As I am already neurotic, I slowed and checked my mirror before entering the track. Sure enough, a 944 was about to run over me. So I stabbed the brakes and swerved to the left as the 944 veered to the right. It was a tragedy narrowly averted. I counted my blessings as we safely entered the track behind the 944.

Other than the close call upon entering the track, the first lap went very smoothly. I continued to lap the track with the consistency of the end of my third session. But Amid was displeased with the way that I was exiting turn 3 and entering turn 4. And he told me so during the second and third laps.

Finally, on the fourth lap, Amid made a recommendation. He told me to accelerate harder out of turn 3. But at the top of the rise that transitions into turn 4, he yelled at me to "tap" the brakes just for a split-second. I followed his command and was stunned by the result: the tap of the brakes shifted the weight of the SL2 back onto the front wheels, which settled the car and allowed it to make the transfer into turn 4. Our apex at turn 4 was perfect.

I was anxious to return to that section of the track and try it again. This time, I knew that we could carry more speed up the rise since my brakes would settle the car before the turn-in. So I stood on it out of turn 3, and hit the rev limiter before reaching the top of the rise! On the next lap, I did it again, but I shifted into fourth gear before hitting the rev limiter. Again, I tapped the brakes at the top of the rise and shifted into third gear. And again, the resulting weight transfer allowed the transition into turn 4. We accelerated hard out of turn 4 and shifted again into fourth gear before hitting the brakes for turn 5. It was a perfect lap.

The next several laps were an absolute blast. Since I had finally found the correct line and the correct technique, I was going much faster than I had gone before. And I had an overwhelming sense of accomplishment.

However, I had been watching the fuel gauge, and it was already in the red. I knew that if I did not exit soon, I would be unable to make it to a gas station! As we entered the cone zone in turn 9, I told Amid that I was done due to fuel and signaled my exit onto pit lane. "But you’re doing so well," he said, "You can’t stop now. Go to my trailer and I will give you fuel."

We exited the track and drove behind the grid area to Amid’s trailer. We quickly jumped out of the SL2. I opened the fuel door and cap while Amid found his fuel container. By the time he was done, I had nearly ½ tank! Yep…Amid is totally cool!

Ironically, Jen did not see us exit for fuel. And after noticing that we had not come around for several laps, she had become concerned that we had wrecked somewhere out of the view of the pit area. And she was wondering how she was going to get home…

Amid and I finished the session without incident, thanks to his fuel and his excellent instruction. I thanked him as we pulled into the pits, and parked for the last time in front of our "camp."

I exit down the pit lane to finish the day.

Jen and I were exhausted by the time we switched tires. And we spent several minutes trying to stuff all of our gear back into the SL2. ("Did this stuff asexually multiply or something?") After thanking Dave Schardt for the invitation, we began the three-hour drive home.

During the entire three-hour trip, I don’t think that I ever stopped talking about my experience. Or about how much I want to do it again. Poor Jen…

Thanks to The Wheel Source, Passen Motorsports, Putnam Park, Dave Davison, Amid Shayestah, Jen, and all of the instructors and course workers!!