It's also part of the process that after people spend some time in the race series they want to test themselves in other venues if their budget is up to it.
You eloquently illustrate why so many of us love the Skip Barber Racing School and Series. There is a compression of learning that takes place with their proven system manned by the smart experienced professionals you mentioned that doesn't exist anywhere else.
The proof in the pudding is how many current and former Skippy racers go on and do extremely well in other forms of racing because of the good basic training they receive at Skip Barber.
With all things being relative, and racing being a very expensive sport, it has been said many times that there is no better deal in racing than the Skip Barber Race Series. Have never heard anyone make a creditable argument against that.
And to paraphrase Jim Pace... It's not the cars (though with the current tires and hansford devices they're probably as good as they've ever been as race cars) and it's not the tracks (Even though there isn't a teaching race series in the world that goes to so many world class racing circuits)... It's the people. Both the instructors who generously share their passion for and knowledge of racing to accelerate the learning process, and the competitors who learn that sharing the process openly with instructors and other competitors is both as blissful and humbling as making love with the lights on.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by robbyracenut
I don't mean to revive a dead thread here, but I have a viewpoint that seems to be different from some of those expressed thus far on this thread. I've just finished my three and two day courses, and have to say that there is no possible way I could be better prepared to go road racing. I come from a rallying/single length course time attack background, so car control was not a particular concern for me, but all of the subtleties unique to track racing certainly were. In the course of somewhere around 10 hours of actual on track time along with a few hours of classroom time, the Skip Barber program has got me feeling like I'm at least prepared to safely and reasonably go racing on a track. That right there says it all for me. If the program and instructors can accomplish so much in so short of a time when you really pay attention and want to take criticism constructively, think about what it can accomplish if you actually run a full season...
All this brings me to the real point I was going to make. When considering cost, you also have to consider what you're getting for the cost. Track time does not equal track time; two hours of track time with the likes of MHP, Phil, Bruce, Jason, Stefan, RB, Murph, et al watching you corner by corner and providing feedback would easily equate to a couple of days worth of trial and error by yourself. A personal coaching day with any of these guys would easily run into the thousands of dollars by itself. Looking at Skip Barber in this light, it would be hard to come up with any other way to learn as much as quickly. In case you can't tell by this point, I'm completely hooked and already thinking about going back to LRP in October for my first event. See you all there... You'll recognize me by the "Darth Vader" helmet. (Although aparrently driving by the force isn't quite as easy as they make it seem in the movies  ) |