Drive Better!

 

Let’s face it, the driver’s education we all received back in High School was minimalist, focusing primarily on the rules of the road outlined in the State’s Driver Handbook. We learned little about the physics of driving, car control & self-preservation. Lack of skill is one of the primary causes behind teen auto accidents & the white knuckle driving that occurs during snowstorms here in the North East. When we exceed the performance envelope of our vehicle due to factors such as slippery conditions or too much speed, how do we regain control and avoid an accident? Drivers can’t be expected to react properly when things go wrong if they never been taught, or haven’t ever practiced, the skills of car control and accident avoidance.

 

                                            

 

So where does one obtain these skills? Fortunately, organizations such as the BMW Car Club of America (BMW CCA) and SCDA, among others, offer Driver

 

 

 

Education Programs that focus on the physics of driving, car control and accident avoidance. Moreover, drivers can practice these skills.

 

 

 

 

Drivers under the age of 18 and those interested in developing car control skills can attend either a driver skill or Street Survival School. There, drivers will learn & practice threshold braking, object avoidance & skid pad maneuvers. These exercises develop car control skills by allowing the driver to experience a vehicle that is near and sometimes beyond the edge of its performance limit (usually tire grip). Skid pad exercises are particularly good at developing skills necessary to bring a sliding vehicle back under control, a very useful skill to posses on our slippery winter roads.

 

 

 

 

If you’d like to improve your driving skills even more & have a lot of fun in the process, check out a High Performance Driving School sponsored by either the BMW CCA or SCDA. Limited to driver’s age 18 and older, students begin the day with a classroom discussion involving such topics as vehicle dynamics & the physics behind driving, as well as how to properly approach, enter & exit a turn, among other topics. Then it’s out to a closed circuit road course with you and your own personal instructor to practice what you’ve learned.

 

 

 

 

Over time, the BMW CCA program advances drivers through a number of experience levels, ranging from novice driver to advanced. Students can eventually become High Performance Driving Instructors themselves, or even a licensed Race Car Driver if desired. Check it out & be prepared to have a great time!

 

 

The Down Hill (or Diving Turn), Lime Rock Park, CT

 

 

 

Personal Driving Instruction & Track Car Rental

 

If you don’t want to use your personal vehicle for a BMW or SCDA sponsored Driving School,

Mike Morris and Jen Wright are available for personal instruction at these driver schools with a Schneller prepared BMW race car included. Personal Driving Packages include:

 

Ÿ          Event registration.

Ÿ          Personal Instruction covering vehicle dynamics, etc within one week prior to

 the event.

Ÿ          Helmet & Vehicle Safety Gear.

Ÿ          Schneller prepared KP BMW Race Car Fitted w/ safety cage, harnesses &     fire system.

Ÿ          Fuel, Tires, Brakes & other wear & tear consumables.

Ÿ          Trackside Mechanical Support.

 

All you need to do is arrive, drive & have fun! Call us for details.

 

 

 

 

 

 

New England Closed Circuit Road Courses

 

Where do we drive & race? Compared to other areas of the country, New England has 4 great road courses within a day’s drive. Courses range in length from 1.6 miles (1 lap) at Lime Rock Park in Ct, to 3.4 Miles (1 lap) At Watkins Glen in upstate NY. Unlike circle tracks, road courses combine a variety of turns with fast straights and elevation changes. Cars (and drivers) need to be able to brake, turn (right & left!) and accelerate. Check out some of the track configurations below.

 

 

 

New Hampshire International Speedway (NHIS), Louden, NH

 

Located in central NH, and home to NASCAR, NHIS offers a challenging road course and use of the South NASCAR Oval (weather permitting). The track features many tight turns & elevation changes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

NHIS South Oval

 

 

Turn 3, Steep Up Hill, NHIS

 

 

 

Steeply Banked Turn 6-7 NHIS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Downhill & off camber Turn 10 NHIS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Turn 11 & 12  chicane before the front straight NHIS

 

 

 

 

  

Lime Rock Park, Connecticut

 

 

Lime Rock Park, Located in western Connecticut, is very green & quite beautiful. Though small, it is quite fast with a very intimidating downhill.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lime Rock Track Map

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A gaggle of Miatas in Big Bend, Lime Rock

 

 

Left Hander, Lime Rock

 

 

 

No Name Straight, Lime Rock

 

 

 

Scary Rainy Down Hill, Lime Rock Park

 

 

Front Straight, Lime Rock (skid marks from cars that didn’t make the downhill)

 

 

Mt Tremblant, Quebec Canada

 

Located in the mountains one hour north of Montreal, Mt. Tremblant is a recently renovated former Formula One track offering high speeds, sharp turns and large elevation changes (many are blind & very fast!)

 

 

 

 

Aerial View, Mt Tremblant,  Turn 14  Namerow on left

 

 

 

 

The fast entrance to turn 14, Namerow

 

 

 

Fast Down Hill Turn 4, Mt Tremblant

 

 

 

Sharp left hand turn 5 with the fast sweeper turn 6 in the background

 

 

Entrance to turn 7 leading to distant turn 8 “The Carrousel” This track “flows” very well.

                                

 

Blind Uphill approach to turn 12, Mt Tremblant

 

 

 

Mid turn excitement at a BMW CCA club race (turn 14, Namerow) No car-to-car contact was made!

 

 

Watkins Glen, NY

 

Located in upstate NY at the southern tip of lake Seneca, Watkins Glen truly is the Home of US road racing. Watkins Glen is by far the fastest track in the North East. The slowest turn is 65mph and many are taken at 80-90 mph (at least for street based race cars) ALMS and open wheel cars will post much higher speeds. Even fast street based race cars will attain speeds of 140-150mph on the back straight. With these speeds & huge elevation changes, brakes take a beating at this track!

 

 

                 3 D Track Map Showing Huge Elevation Changes!

 

 

 

Watkins Glen “Bus Stop” or “Inner Loop”…This track is huge! Check out the size of the red car in the lower left corner of the picture below, and then locate the inner loop in the above track map.

 

 

Entrance to the Uphill Esses at Watkins Glen (the lead car is traveling at 100+ mph)

 

 

Left Hander into ”The Boot” Watkins Glen  (NASCAR is too wimpy to run this section of the track)

 

 

Fast Left Hander, Watkins Glen (the car below is actually traveling at 80 mph!)