Racing Schools
 

I'm about to pull the trigger on a private full day session out at Spring Mountain raceway in Pahrump. Before I commit, I'd like to hear any reccomendations from those of you that have attended a school in the Southwest. What was involved, cost, track length, etc.

Todd --

I've done Bondurant and Spring Mountain... I learned about 400% more at Bondurant - but it also cost more... Spring Mountain was more "seat time" but a whole lot less about teaching you total car handling.

I'd return to Bondurant in a heartbeat -- and frankly -- wouldn't bother with SM unless I just wanted to run laps...

Just my .02 worth. SM was still lots of fun!

Spring Mountain vs Firebird
 

Todd,

I agree with the previous post. I moved to Pahrump and did the engineering and supervised the construction of the orignal 2.2 mile circuit of Spring Mountain for Rupert Bragg-Smith, the original owner/designer. It is a very technical track and a blast to drive. In the past few years the new owners have added more track and a lot of features. It is a great facility with several driving schools (Corvette, ZR-1, Lotus, Radical) with quality folks running the place. The schools are generally more geared toward car control and high performance driving than actual road racing, but they do have advanced courses. I now spend a lot of time at Firebird (Phoenix) and the track isn't as "upscale", but it is hard to beat Bondurant's school for instruction. However, if you are looking for a challenging course and would like to get a jump on future track days, I think a session at Spring Mountain will not disappoint you.

Pappy (56 Corvette Road Racer)

I'm looking at a one on one deal where I can pick the instructor. I'd rather have a full day of attention than 3 with other people. I'll look into Bondurant. If I'm going to spend the bread, it better be well spent.:cheers:

Thanks Pappy......I'm brand new to the road course scene so more of a beginner class is just fine. That is where I'll be spending a majority of my seat time so I thought I'd check there first. I'll check on Bondurant and see if they do one on one courses as well.

Wow, awesome. Not to hijack Todd's thread, but since you played a major role in SM, what features of the track do you like best and what do you like least? Is there a certain corner or progression of corners that really stand out? I'll be going there in a few months and I'm curious about it from your side of the fence. :thumbsup:

Todd ---

When I did BB - I did the "ZO6 EXPERIENCE"... they did class time - about apex - turn in - tire contact - braking - under and over steer etc - then we jumped in the CTS's they had set up with outriggers... the instructor can raise or lower either end or both -- and you go out and turn some figure 8's - while this butthead tries to mess you up bigtime! It's so much fun it's ridiculous! Then you get in the ZO6's and do some wet stops etc - then we did slalom - and they taught you about that - which is all about "balance"... Their school is all about building blocks - and they have that all figured out. There was only 4 of us in this class -- and we had all the instruction you could use - or needed.

The Spring Mountain romp - was more - some classroom time -- very basic instructions - lots of "if you crash it you pay the bill" - and then follow the leader... LOTS AND LOTS of laps -- which I was more than happy to do... but the LEARNING / TEACHING was not even close to what they're offering at Bondurant.

I also agree that the track was more fun at SM! But I needed the instruction from BB to be able to enjoy the seat time I got at SM -- if that makes any sense to you.

By the way -- you want to have a blast and really poo your little panties?? Do a 6 speed shifter cart class while you're at Bondurants!! 0 - 100 - 0 in about 6 seconds or less -- can't remember the actual number - but it's scary fast!

In the cars you brake BEFORE the corner -- in the carts - you drop gear and accelerate through the corner.... man, I'm tellin' ya - this is a blast not to be missed.

Scott --- 8 and 9 then 10 (I think those are the numbers) 10 being the last turn onto the straight -- are the turns I liked best... if you hit them right - you could haul some mail -- and if you came in too fast - you're bungholio was puckering as you tried to gather it up! Coming out of 10 - if you carried your speed through 8 and 9 -- you could drift to the wall as you grabbed another gear going up the hill... WAY FUN!

The top of the straight - is a fast right hander --- but it's blind going in (almost) and I was hauling up there and some dufus had spun and was sittin' sideways in the middle of the turn.... THAT is where your koolness comes in -- and you could slam the binders and t-bone him - or you could just drive around him and hammer the loud pedal.... EEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAA

I drove around him -- then cleaned up afterwards. LOL

Shoulda seen the look on his face!!

Damn you make it sound fun Greg! So you did the one day Z06 experience at Bondurant only? That looks like it could be a good first course for me and I have a buddy in Scottsdale anyway. Which class did you take at Spring Mountain?

Here's the SM track -- the school I took only used the lower part... you can see the sweeping 8 into 9 and out on 10 I was talking about in my earlier post...
http://www.springmountainmotorsports...acklayout2.jpg