Hello, I want to drive on a track and learn how to race my car.
Should I join BMW CCA or SCCA ? Are there other groups that I can learn and gain access to a track?
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Check out this recent thread for a few options on finding great HPDE value. https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...399-Track-days
BMWCCA, PCA, MVP, etc are all outstanding organizations where I run. Search Motorsportreg.com for a listing in your area. Make sure to filter by "Driving School" so you are not looking at local race events!
I have had good experiences with several Audi Club chapters on the east coast over the years. Great events and fun instructors.
1999 BMW M3
S52, 3.5 HFM, 24lbs injectors, Epic 93-octane tune, BimmerWorld y-pipe, race exhaust, and brake cooling, 3.46 gear, Ground Control 525/650, Koni SA, Ground Control front sway bar, Wilwood calipers, ACT HDG6 clutch, gutted, reinforced, caged, and other things
I done a few events with HOD on the east coast and been impressed with the amount of run time for the cost, I've always had a great time with them.
11 128i Space Gray slicktop
13 WK2 Deep Cherry
You are welcome to join MVP Track Time (www.MVPTrackTime.com) at any of our track events.
Feff
I've been looking into groups around here in CT and was shocked by the pricing. Some events go up near $800
I'm going to have to do a lot more research on those as the time gets closer. Goal is to have my car finished by spring 2020 so that gives my time to research all my options. Thanks for the advice on those groups!
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Unless you are doing some kind of very limited size group, open track all day type of rental,,, never ever pay anywhere near $800 for a track day.
The list in VRT's post is a good one to reference.
All those clubs have lots of dates in the Northeast.
Its easier, more plentiful and more saturated than ever to get on track. No need to pay a huge premium for track time.
jimmy p.
88 E30 M3 Zinnoberot - street
88 E30 M3 Lachsilber - SCCA SPU
87 E30 M3 Prodrive British Touring Car 2.0 Litre
04 Ford F350 - V10
06 Audi A3 Brilliant Red / 2.0 / DSG
Dang..400-800’s is veryyyy expensive.
Ours here in Cali are 100-200 a day. Simple track days, nothing competitive, but more than good enough to learn your car and move forward.
Its a crazy experience when you first go. addiction at its finest!
Simple is certainly what I'm looking for to start since itll be a new car to learn and a fresh motor build to gradually break in. Since it's going to be track dedicated only I wont have the option of breaking in the motor ahead of time.
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Well. From your question, I assume you are pretty new to this. No problem. Everyone has to start somewhere. Just keep the word "race" out of your vocabulary for a few years. You're not there yet. Because you are mostly new to a track environment, I suggest you spend several weekends learning the basics and the dynamics of driving a car at high speed on a race track. This will most likely happen with an instructor all the time on the right seat (BMWCCA and the NER Audi Club have great venues with experienced and dedicated instructors), feeding you live with good guiding, tricks and improvements. Once you're gonna be safe for yourself and the others, it is possible you may start going solo. Once you have mastered all the technics and feel at the track as if you were watching television in your lounge, then start taking race instruction. At that point you'll learn how to race your car. There might be a full year though between your first session on a track and your race training.
1969 2002 racecar + 1989 e30 M3 racecar
I run my own private track days (www.apexobsessed.com), as well as lead instruct for the SCCA TNIA days around me. TNIA is a fantastic -get your feet wet - low buck opportunity to get on track and begin to explore you and your vehicles limits. It's a great place to start, even before jumping into instructed track days (flame suit on). When you have the rules/basics of HPDE down, you can start looking for full day events and instruction to get the most out of your days.
If you have any questions I'm happy to help.
Have you done a TNIA? The way the novice class is structured, it is a great way to get started.
Look, for 99% of people, those first few sessions on track you are so overwhelmed with everything going on, an instructor giving you more inputs is just more to juggle. Once you calm down and your senses aren't so peaked, time for instruction. TNIA does a lead-follow session to start, then track side instruction. The way I do it, I split information up so it is digestible. It has been very effective and I have seen numerous guys continue on to move up the class ranks and seek proper instruction.
I run my personal track days in the same manner.
Oh well. I have been instructing for 10 years for BMWCCA and NER Audi, and was often assigned hard headed or "problematic" students. Even trained instructors. And racers. I won'T mention that I wrote the instructor manual. So what do I know? For somebody who has never been on a track and has his head full of "Fast and Furious" moments and has his technique cluttered by very bad habits, it takes a whole day to make sure the driver starts from a clean sheet. From where the new technique starts building. Making the driver safe for himself and others is the first stage before allowing him to drive solo. And to get there, it may take time. Can't ask a toddler to run when he doesn't even know how to walk.
And if your instructors add stress to your novice drivers, I suggest you find more competent ones.
So yes, I would be wary of somebody claiming that instruction is not needed for beginners.
1969 2002 racecar + 1989 e30 M3 racecar
Like Lee said, the point of a real instructor is to find that solution for you (and that could include changing instructors). Finding it on your own is just about the worst idea when first starting out. I'm sure there are people who successfully learned how to drive, play tennis and solve differential equations on their own. But a big part of what makes the human race successful is our ability to impart accumulated knowledge. Books can go a long way towards that end but even with sciences, a good instructor will help you progress much faster. There are techniques that click better with some people and a good instructor can expose you to them to see how they work - and that goes for everything from arithmetic to complex athletics. And not only will the instructor offer you techniques to try but they will tell you if you're doing them right, which is something that's extremely difficult to do objectively on your own (even if you use video and other data, you just don't know what to look for, even if you think you do).
Solo lapping has its place and if you're a novice and that's the only way you'll get on the track, either due to money or ego or whatever else, fine, just be safe. But suggesting that it's a superior way to get started is irresponsible. In-car coaching is a relatively new thing so it's impossible to say that it's the best possible way to go but so far it's the best one we've tried (and to say that your anecdotal experience and feedback trumps all of it is quite a leap). To steal a quote from a local fellow instructor: I'm lending you my nerve endings.
Not sure what tracks are closest to you, but they probably have their calendar of events for track days on the website (their calendar would show which group/club is renting out the track). Then find the websites of those clubs online and see if you can sign up with them. In my area there are a ton of different clubs - I live about an hour from VIR. Some of the clubs require a 25-50$ membership fee per year, some don't. Most track days are anywhere from 300-450/weekend, and that's at a world class motorsports resort.
If simple is what you are looking for, then Track Night in America is the way to go.
www.TrackNightInAmerica.com
2010 BMW Club Racing E30 M3 Touring Car Champion, 2011 and 2013 SCCA National Championship Runoffs 3rd Place, STU, 2011 SCCA Jim Fitzgerald Rookie of the Year, 2012 SCCA Northeast Division STU Champion, 2015 SCCA Runoffs Pole Position Daytona/STU
I'm really impressed with TNIA. Seriously, they make it EASY to have fun on track.
So, where do you suggest someone having motorcycle road racing and dirt track experience begin?
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