UPDATE #2: Derek Daly 4-Day Racing School - New Photos UP! - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

greg · 26th May 2002, 00:30

UPDATE: Review Web Site is now on line...!

UPDATE 2: Review Web Site has been updated with new photos 6-1-02

We are back!

Hi, Guys -

Home today. A little sore, and very happy. I think I can speak for all of us when I tell you that this course exceeded our expectations in every way. It was simply fantastic. We all learned a great deal - certainly for me, more than I've ever learned in any other form of performance driving education. I truly learned how to drive a race prepped car where momentum is everything. The ham fisted, demon-braking, torque-reliant style the M5 and Porsche have allowed me to get away with cost me many seconds a lap in these cars. I learned to overcome it. The facilities were excellent, the weather cooperated (10 degrees below average in Las Vegas for this time of year meant days in the high 70's - perfect), the cars were a BLAST, and the instructors were outstanding. Bart chauferred Andy and I to and from the track each day in his gorgeous bluewater over carmel luxury M5. There is a LOT more to tell - and I decided I will publish a complete review on the web with plenty of pictures. I have to wait to get some from Andy, because it was easier to get his little camera over to the track than my big stuff. Still, here are a few "teasers" - and I promise much more to come:

1. Here's Bart, roaring up the straight on a little "rounded rectangle" course that was painted and coned on a huge parking lot. We used this on Day 1 to practice with the skid car, as well as to do trail braking, skid correction and heel-and-toe exercises in the Z3's. These are not stock Z3's - they have Dinan suspensions, jet-hot exhausts, roll cages, 4-point simpson harnesses, and all the driver aids (ASC, ABS) are turned off. They are set up very neutral, so that modest trail braking can induce both wanted rotation if done properly, and abrupt and major spins if not.

2. Here's Andy, standing proudly at his steed for Days 1 and 2. This was Day 2, at the "Inside Road Course" which is literally inside the big high speed oval at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which includes the oval, the inside road course, an outside road course, a huge paved parking lot, a dirt track, a drag strip and more.

3. Here's a pic of ME - going fast. when your *** is 2" off the ground at 100mph, and the wind is buffeting your helmet, trust me - it feels FAST.

4. And here's the prize at the end. This course (plus an application fee and a physical) fully qualified us to get our SCCA regional competition licenses - although I for one don't intend to use it.

That's all - I'm going to keep you all in suspense about more of the details - but suffice it to say it was grins all around, and we represented you all quite well.

/Greg

AndyMenard · 26th May 2002, 01:08

Gang,

Let me reiterate what Bart and Greg have already said about this class - IT WAS A BLAST!!!!!!!!!!

Just got home early this morning from the red eye flight from Vegas to Houston. Many special thanks to Bart Carter for being such a great host and picking us up and dropping us off each day. What a guy!!

Even though I was a touch slower around the course than Bart and Greg, I really feel that I got better during the class as my lap times decreased considerably during the last two days, which were entirely done in the formula cars. Man, those cars are a blast!! It is amazing what a light weight, low center of gravity car can do?? I can't even begin to imagine what kind of rush the real Formula One guys are feeling???? Whew!!

As soon as time permits this weekend, I will be posting the pics we took from my new Sony digital camera.

Man, the rest of you guys don't know what you missed?!!! We even got a chance to take a tour of the Shelby manufacturing facility. One of the guys in our class just bought a new Series 1 and it is being supercharged!! over 500 HP and only 2800 pounds. You do the math!!!!

Pics coming soon.....

By the way, Bart and myself are planning on doing a Bob Bondurant class some time next year?... any takers??.....

greg · 26th May 2002, 01:47

Here is a little bonus. We put something like 50 miles on the cars on this little "rounded rectangle" course - we got a LOT of practice! Corner entry speed was over 60mph, and the goal was to brake, downshift to 2nd, and trail off the brakes as you turned in, so that you could then squeeze the throttle on, getting to full throttle before the 2nd apex. The trail braking really helps rotate the cars. Earlier in the day we had practiced the entire thing in 3rd, without the downshift - and I managed to do a 450 spin off the course by over-rotating under trail brake and failing to catch it. Doing the trail braking smoothly while downshifting in the middle of it requires even more finesse. The first part of this video is Andy's instructor driving, showing him the technique. The second part is me driving. If you watch the background you can get an idea for the speed; if you watch the key fob you can see the sudden and hard deceleration on initial brake. But the best thing is the sound!!!

Please right-click and save as usual:

Heel and Toe - Trail Braking Exercise Video (8Mb, quicktime)

The bad news is that this is all the video you're going to get.

I wanted to shoot more video, but because we couldn't raise the side windows and there was no back window on the Z3, the only place I could mount my camera was to the little side glass near the windshield, and I didn't have clearance to do it facing forward. The instructors would ride with you when they thought you needed help as well, so I needed to leave the passenger area clear except for this time. In this case, of course we had to stay on the instructors' schedule - I had to satisfy them that my heel and toe and trail braking skills were up to par, then pull off while the rest of the guys were running, get the camera set up in the car and get back out there. So - it just turned out to be too much hassle trying to video tape. sorry.

James A · 26th May 2002, 02:18

Andy, Bart, Greg, excellent! Thanks for the pictures and the write up! Andy, more stories on the 6th, right!

Bart Carter · 26th May 2002, 19:52

We all had a blast!

And just to let other board members know, Andy and Greg are two of the nicest guys you could ever meet. We spent 4 plus days together and got to know each other very well. The only problem was we all had so much to say about our favorite subject, we were almost interupting each other!

The instructors, Rich and Jeff, were great! They were constantly throwing in some humor that, to car guys, was really funny. And they even took all our pokes and jokes as part of the experience. Not stuffy at all and at the same time, very good, pointed instruction. There was not a question they couldn't take care of.

One of the best features of the school was that they took us from simple basics to really advanced. A step at a time.

We all took to the spirit of the school, which was to improve your driving skills and give you an understanding of why. The why part was very important. We could have just gone for the best lap times right away, but instead, we worked on the smoothness, the line and controling the car with gas and brake. In the end, we were going quite a bit faster and doing it right! (most of the time

)

One of the things I worked on most was the heel/toe. At the end, we were upshifting the formula cars (no syncromesh) faster than a paddle shifter and breaking at the end of the longest straight with over a G force and going back down through the gears (4th to 3rd to 2nd) with heel/toe to rev match at the same time. At the end, I was doing all this faster than I had been with just breaking and turning.

Anyone that wants 4 days of intense learning (and fun) should take this course.

GNALUZU · 28th May 2002, 01:43

Andy,

It was pretty cool to see that the Red #12 car is still running. I was in that exact car for the 2 Day GT class in April of '01. What a blast.

All of the other cars in our group of 5 people were black, except for that one. The other guys in my car club (AZ BMW Z3 Club) who went up there with me wanted me in the red car so they would always know where I was on the track.

Magoo · 28th May 2002, 03:26

Guys,

Great posts. I've been wanting to do a course for some time. Is this the one?

Mike....

jmunguia · 28th May 2002, 04:19

Sounds like you guys had an absolute blast! Sorry I could not make it as I originally planned but work beckons and when its in Rio de Janeiro its hard to day no

. Oh well, now I have all the more reason to take this school in the future.

Cheers, -Juan

greg · 28th May 2002, 07:48

The 3 Coconspirators

atomic80 · 28th May 2002, 08:08

Quite nice.....nice to be able to put a face with your nicknames at last!