Racing School at Road Atlanta Tomorrow Options

[tonycook]

I'm leaving today to go to Road Atlanta for the Panoz 3 Day Racing School. I should arrive about 10-12 hours before Hurricane Jeanne. That should make Monday interesting. They won't need to wet down the skid pad for us. I'll be driving one of their cars and I presume they have them setup for the rain. Any advice about what I can do to prep for the rain and wind?

[CMC #37]

That's pretty cool Tony! Are you thinking about competing in one of the Panoz series? As for rain you will have to use your butt-o-meter to get a sense of what the car's limits are. There is a good saying about driving in the rain, "go a gear up," that is, use a gear higher (i.e. 3rd instead of 2nd) than you would in normal conditions. This keeps you from upsetting the car. You will have to really work on not upsetting the car. Pretty hard when you don't know what the car normally does in the dry! I'm sure they will cover all this and more when you get there.

One thing you can definitely do ahead of time is make sure you bring the proper clothing for rain. The less comfortable you are the more it takes away from your performance. Not sure what the requirements for you are under your driving suit, however, there are "breathable" type undergarments available like for skiing. Also bring a good waterproof jacket and outerwearing pants if necessary to keep you dry between sessions. Bring extra clothes, shoes and socks if you get wet!

Have fun!

[tonycook]

They supply a driving suit. I do not have one yet, but I guess I may put one on my Christmas list. I brought extra clothes and have some quick dry shirt and shorts. Hopefully Tuesday and Wednesday will be dry. I presume they can adjust the schedule for the rain.

I have considered driving in at least one of the Panoz races at some point. I have to attend one lapping day after the school to be eligible.

I'm at the hotel now and the drive over from Birmingham was uneventful. I had planned on driving the M3 over but decided on the Yukon since the hurricane will be here tomorrow.

[tonycook]

Weather ended up perfect for the last 2 days. I learned alot and really improved my braking and downshifting. I picked up alot of speed and feel it was money well spent. I was able to take turns 1 and 12 with speeds that were much greater than I had at previous track days there.

Several of the students were with Krohn-Barbour Racing and they took us over to their shop next to Road Atlanta. They had already started taking the cars apart after the weekend race. After seeing the brakes on those cars, ours appear miniscule. They are racing Lamborghinis. http://krohn-barbourracing.com/home/
All in all, it was a good experience and hopefully has helped me improve. :drive: