May (Shenandoah) School

[SharkD]

My issue was with the skid pad. My first run on the skip pad on Saturday morning resulted in a spin (not unusual) and a bent right rear control arm (not good). There was one area on the inside of the skid pad that had an asphalt curb and a small hole in the dirt on the other side. The slide up the curb combined with the drop on the other side was enough to bend my right rear control arm. I now had positive camber on the rear, instead of negative. The consensous was that it was still driveable on the street, but a no go on the track.

Shenandoah's skidpad is practically useless -- between the hill, the power poles and the immediately adjacent paddock/access road, it's a very severe accident waiting to happen. BSR could have better spent the money to upgrade the sprinklers on the "Active Systems Loop" and provide a dedicated access road that obviates the need to drive on the Jefferson or Main Circuit to get to the skidpad.

That said, I'm glad that RRT was able to get you back on the track. (I'm sure you still had more fun than I did this weekend, wedging all my belongings into a U-haul and then slowly making my way down I-95.)

[Torquewrench]

This was my first NCC event since moving up from Orlando, FL as well as my first track experience of any kind (autox only last season).

On the drive home I was floating on air (at the speed limit, which felt very slow) and everyone I talked to later that night got just how excited I was.
The difference to me was that I was pushing the limits of the car much more than I had in autox and for a much longer time. It almost felt like I was skiing with the car. Now I'm sure more experienced folks do this in autox too, but I hadn't gotten there.

Having the instructor there (JoElla) was just great, every time we went out we worked on something new and I improved. I just wish there was more time on the skidpad. I got through understeer and just started on oversteer and then had to quit, but I really want more of that. You hooked me, I want to do this again soon, but September will have to do.

[1996 328ti]

Having the instructor there (JoEllen) was just great, every time we went out we worked on something new and I improved. I just wish there was more time on the skidpad. I got through understeer and just started on oversteer and then had to quit, but I really want more of that. You hooked me, I want to do this again soon, but September will have to do.

That's JoElla. The feedback we get all the time is for more skid pad time. Summit is the only track that I regularly attend that has a skid pad. Even a few minutes is more than most other schools get. Granted, we all need more skid pad time.