Starting up with lapping

Status
Not open for further replies.
T/A man

T/A man

Legacy Member
I would really like to take my cars out to one of the lapping days. Where and when is the next one? Does it require any sort of license or something? I want in but seem to be missing out, anyone wanna steer me in the right direction?
 
T/A man said:
I would really like to take my cars out to one of the lapping days...anyone wanna steer me in the right direction?
Click to expand...
Start with a high-performance driving school or two. That's the right direction ;)

You'll see a much more significant improvement in your driving ability after you've done a formal school or two with a reputable organization, rather than just taking your car out on the track and flying blind without any training. You'll be faster, safer, and have more fun that way.

Lapping days are great when you already have some experience and you want to either set up the car or practice the driving techniques you've learned with your instructor at a real driver's school. But they're not a good place to start learning from scratch.

Emre
 
I agree with Emre that instruction is key. Although it is not as structured as a school, you will be assigned an instructor at your first few TLC events though, so you can progress in that context as well.
 
Emre is right. This is exactly why we structured the TLC to be an ''Instructional'' medium. It is a drivers ed. Compare to our race school. They complement each other.
 
I took the course and i can tell you that it's worth the $$... Not only it gave a lot of pointers on the dos and don'ts but it also was a lot of fun... I think you need it to be comfortable on a track... With everything that is going on on a track (even simple lapping) you do need to know a lot of things that I would've never even thought of...
 
IntegraTypeR411 said:
how much did you paid for the course?
Click to expand...
Most club-level driving schools (like the BMW CCA, BMW CC, PCA, FOC, Audi Club, SOCCI, etc.) have a similar cost structure and format:

You bring your own car. You get 4 sessions per day of 20-30 min each on the track with one-to-one instruction (instructor in passenger seat), plus at least 2 classroom sessions per day. Cost typically runs from $150-250 per day, depending on venue. For multi-day events, you also get a t-shirt and banquet dinner included in that cost.

Not a bad deal when you consider the sometimes astronomical cost of renting a facility (esp. Tremblant!). Then you've got to pay the classroom instructor, hire professional corner workers (we need 12 at Tremblant), and keep a wrecker, ambulance, and EMT crew on standby at the trackside. Then there's event insurance. Total expenses to run a 2-day event at a premium track can easily exceed $30,000 CDN.

Emre
 
IntegraTypeR411 said:
how much did you paid for the course?
Click to expand...

Real race schools like the one taken by FredObd run at +-450 for 2 days....you get about 300km+ of track and 3 hours of theory....the best package around for a sedan racer that needs a pro licence!....;)
 
I am very anxious to take one of these classes... I only took the theory part of the Trac Racing School (car out of order), and learned a few pointers myself. My bro. (OBD2) had nothing but positive comments after taking the course, and was hooked from then on... I think it really helped him get an edge on his car control skills... His car just seems faster then it was, but he didn't modify it... He just got better at exploiting the HP he already had.
 
LanEvo said:
You're not seriously suggesting that someone who just wants to put his streetcar on the track for the first time start with a "real race school," are you? With all respect to T/A man, it doesn't sound like he wants or needs a pro race license at this point. I don't see how a complete novice would benefit from practicing standing starts, passing in corners, running three abreast into a turn and all the other staples of race schools comapred to HPDE-type events.

It seems pretty clear that mastering proper car control technique should come before getting a race license his first weekend on the track!

Emre
Click to expand...


well Emre...it seems quite clear to me that you have no clue what racing and racers are like.. :cry: ...probably not being a licenced racer doesn't help in your case... :dunno:
 
Last edited:
I took the Trac Racing course this year and I learned a lot. Now it's time to practice what i've learned with the TLC
 
rainnman said:
well Emre...it seems quite clear to me that you have no clue what racing and racers are like.. :cry: ...probably not being a licenced racer doesn't help in your case... :dunno:
Click to expand...
What on earth are you talking about?

I guess you didn't notice that I deleted that message within a couple of minutes of posting it. When I initially read your message, it sounded like you were recommending a race school to a complete novice who has never even set foot on a track before. When I re-read it, I noticed that you directed it at Fred...so I deleted it immedately. Seems strange you would have replied to a deleted post.

Do you honestly think it's a good idea to give someone a race license the very first weekend he's ever been out on the track? Strange perspective from a "real racer."

Emre
 
"Racing school" or Performance Driving Schools?

Before learning in a "racing school" how to pass somebody in a corner or going three abreast, I think it would be more logical to start learning how to corner alone... The "racing" content in any school, and from any club is great, as long as it is based on a strong knowledge of the basics. Those basic notions, wether they are about cornering, braking, car dynamics in general or even proper behaviour on and of the track, require several weekends, or even summers to master. Only a genius or natural born and highly gifted person can pretend that he can totally aquire in a two day "racing" school the basics and the "racing content". Not everyone wants to go into competition. And even though the word "racing" seems appealing to many, and carries a lot of bells and whistles, you don't need a "racing" school to learn Performance Driving. Most clubs will even ban cars from passing in a corner or without receiving proper signal. There are many clubs teaching Performance Driving. And some of them have done it for 30 years. And yes some of those who attended those Performance Driving Schools are now highly ranked racers.

Will a novice really benefit from learning how to pass in a corner when it barely knows how to take that corner alone, or should that content be only left for the few of those who want to go into competition? If this is to be left with the competitive crowd, well maybe a course dedicated to "racing" with 100% racing content and not the basics of car dynamic should be appropriate.

You want to learn Performance Driving? Don't be fooled, thinking you will ALL learn in two days. Play safe, have fun, get several weekends of drivers schools. Then get a "race" school if you have enough knowledge and competence. This is the cherry on the sunday.
 
rainnman said:
well Emre...it seems quite clear to me that you have no clue what racing and racers are like.. :cry: ...probably not being a licenced racer doesn't help in your case... :dunno:
Click to expand...

Here goes THE GURU again. Because he has a racing license, he thinks he has the right to patronize and judge those who do not hold a license. As if he was from a better breed. Wow! Right beside God, there's a line-up of folks with racing licenses. Is that what I should understand? Please, step down from your cloud. What would you be without your license? What argument would you have? How dare you put ALL the licensed racers in the same bag. As if we ALL wanted to be like you. What an ego. You have a business and try to promote it. That is fine but act like a business person. You are not a guru. Your arguments are often pretty cloudy and devoid of real sense but mostly based on a false hype. By doing so, kids will keep on trashing cars and people on the alley to your shop. Performance driving and competitive racing are discipline. Not cool hypes to impress the younger crowd.

Amen.
 
Lee said:
Here goes THE GURU again. Because he has a racing license, he thinks he has the right to patronize and judge those who do not hold a license. As if he was from a better breed. Wow! Right beside God, there's a line-up of folks with racing licenses. Is that what I should understand? Please, step down from your cloud. What would you be without your license? What argument would you have? How dare you put ALL the licensed racers in the same bag. As if we ALL wanted to be like you. What an ego. You have a business and try to promote it. That is fine but act like a business person. You are not a guru. Your arguments are often pretty cloudy and devoid of real sense but mostly based on a false hype. By doing so, kids will keep on trashing cars and people on the alley to your shop. Performance driving and competitive racing are discipline. Not cool hypes to impress the younger crowd.

Amen.
Click to expand...


You are such a clown. I never believed I was a Guru or implied it....I do however have over 19 years of Road Racing behing my belt and won more Championships then you had fast laps at real race track... You where a bad student at our race school, you are not a fast driver, accept it, move on, Next time I see you, please repeat all those words for me....will you? Be really carefull about mentionning kids trashing cars on the alley to my shop... very carefull
 
Last edited:
Here's a list of "kids" that got there licence on their first time on a track:

Olivier Lambert
Carl Wener
Sylvain Champoux
Patrick Lacasse
Stephane Grise
JF Dumoulin
..... actually I will stop....it serves no purposes.... Theres hundreds of good example just from the people that raced with me or where in my schools...or took schools with me in the old days...

The argument in itself brought by Emre makes a lot of sense, but where said in pure lack of knowledge of what we see and seek in a race school as instructors or even what raw talent (real talent) can do when properly focused and directed by competant people..... to bad...too much argument for nothing...Life would be a lot easier if Lee and Emre would relax and listen instead of trying to impress people with their "virtual" prowess.... *fag*
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top