CONTINUING YOUR DRIVER’S EDUCATION

DRIVE FAST, DRIVE RIGHT

Photo: © 2005 Hart Photography

BY THE NUMBERS: 15 STUDENTS WITH THEIR OWN (15) CARS, THREE INSTRUCTORS, ONE CLASSROOM, ONE SKID PAD AND A 1.7-MILE ROAD COURSE WITH 11 TURNS FAST TIMES AND IMPROVED DRIVING SKILLS!

I STARTED THE DAY riding shotgun with a veteran motorcycle and auto racer as he learned the 11-turn, road-course racetrack at Motorsport Ranch, southwest of Dallas. We swept through the track’s off-camber corners, accelerated down hills, negotiated blind turns and weaved through a series of S-turns. Several laps around the racetrack confirmed a number of things about high-performance driving:

• FIRST AND FOREMOST: I’ll always have something more to learn
• SECOND: Even seasoned racing veterans have to practice to “get it right” – that’s how their speeds improve
• THIRD: My respect for professional racers is well-founded

In a silver WRX STi loaned to us for the day by Subaru of Dallas, Andre Vandenburg later demonstrated the correct lines around the track for the group of students following him in five other cars. Orange cones marked turn-in and apex points, as well as the areas in which to brake from speed. The track had one particular technical section that troubled Andre. He talked through it every lap, giving me the benefit of trained analysis.

Andre also gave me advice for approaching Horseshoe, a blind corner going uphill (“Fix your eyes on that electrical tower, and that will put you where you want to be at the crest of the hill.”), and the intricacies of the multiple-S-curve Rattlesnake section (“If you’re not set up right going into the first turn, you won’t come out right for the last one, and you’ll lose speed.”). Andre’s most important advice: “Always look ahead.”

Reflecting on my driving through the day, I had varying degrees of success employing Andre’s input. That had nothing to do with the quality of the input, only the execution.

Later that day in the classroom, instructor John Barrentine compared driving a track well to a ballet, then said that many of us students were making it an opera. Taking into account the number of times I selected the wrong gear, braked too early, dropped one or two wheels off the pavement and lacked control in other ways, I’d say my driving was more on the operatic side.

The training at Motorsport Ranch revealed a great deal about capabilities – both my own and that of the WRX STi. Testing those capabilities at the school has transferred to how I drive on the road.

In the classroom, Apex president John Holmes makes a point about safety.

SCHOOL DAY

The point of attending a driving school was to show how advanced training can help improve driving skills – even in someone with years of driving experience and far more than a million miles on the road.

Apex Driving Academy president John Holmes invited us to attend his driving school, which offers training in the classrooms and on the track at the Motorsport Ranch in Cresson, Texas. We joined a session with a number of Subaru drivers. WRX, WRX STi and Forester owners attended along with students driving other makes as well – including a Pantera and a British-made Noble M12. Everyone drove his own car through the day.

The ages of the drivers spread over a wide range, with students in their 20s as well as those in their 50s. High-performance driving experience ranged from beginners to graduates from other driving schools.

THE BASICS

Like most other advanced driving schools, Apex uses both classroom and in-car instruction. John Holmes and John Barrentine began the day by going over fundamentals and track etiquette in the classroom, with a heavy emphasis on safety:

• Seating position – hands at three and nine o’clock for greatest control, with the seat close enough to the wheel to be able to steer without the shoulders leaving the seatback
• Seat belts – wear at all times, along with helmets when running at speed
• Mirrors – position to view as much as possible of the track behind
• Wheels – make sure the lug nuts are tightened
• Basic track-driving concepts – threshold braking, hitting the apex of a corner, using the width of the track, smooth corner entry and exit to help maintain speed

The facility’s rules and the day’s schedule were also covered.

We all wore helmets for most on-track activities, which began with slalom and threshold braking exercises. They started our day-long exploration of capabilities. How smoothly could we negotiate right-left-right-left turns in rapid succession? How do we handle our car’s ABS to slow it and negotiate a turn? Where do we apply power for the best lap times?

Track time provides the opportunity to improve driving skills.

LEAD/FOLLOW

Then we followed the instructors around the track, with each one leading a pack of five. The purpose was to learn the correct (i.e., most efficient and speed-conserving) line through the corners. (“Smooth motions. Look ahead.”) We tuned into instructors’ comments about the course and safety instructions on the car radios. Sometimes those comments were directed at individual drivers.

We downloaded in the classroom after two lead-follow sessions, receiving more input from the instructors.

APPLICATIONS

The second lead/follow session followed lunch, after which we were given track time in 25-minute sessions. With each session, my respect for professional drivers moved up another notch. Practice, practice, practice – the need for practice to achieve the consistency I’ve always expected of a driving pro was never more evident.

When I tell people that I went to driving school at a racetrack, the usual question is, “How fast did you go?” Who knows! The focus was not on miles per hour, but on smoothness, engine rpm and looking ahead.

An experience like this assaults the senses: Flashes of color and the heightened focus on the road. The sounds of your engine at the right speed for the torque you need and of tires fighting for grip. The smells of brakes, tires, exhaust and fuel. The feeling of your body being thrust from side to side as well as fore and aft, of brake-pedal vibrations against your right foot and of the steering wheel torquing against your hands in a corner.

FOCUS

The day revolved around focus, but not because of the “school” setting. We focused on the road, on the turn we were in and the one ahead, on being smooth and avoiding maneuvers that scrubbed off speed.

When I would miss a shift or drop a wheel off the side of the road, I sometimes pulled into the paddock for a couple of minutes to clear my head, to refocus my attention. When I did, I was better prepared when returning to the track.

Think about executing at speed for 25 minutes straight without making a mistake. That’s what this school’s tuition of $150 buys – the time to focus and the time to improve. The beauty of the day is not as much about speed as the intensity of the experience. Speed can be fun, but focus breathes life into the drive.

CHECKERED FLAG

The last checkered flag brought us back to the classroom, where we were asked about what we had learned. We students had two primary responses: This type of driving can be very tiring, and the day helps demonstrate the capabilities of both the driver and the car.

And for me, I’ve gained added respect for drivers I’ve cheered in a wide range of racing series over the years.

For more information on the Apex Driving Academy and for reservations, go to www.apexdrivingacademy.com.

For more information on Motorsport Ranch, visit www.motorsportranch.com.

A special thanks to Subaru of Dallas for loaning Drive Performance a Subaru Impreza WRX STi for the school.

MOTORSPORT RANCH TRACK LAYOUT