Skip Barber
Posted: 25 Jul 2005, 20:36
Hey guys,
I recently got back from a 4 day session at Lime Rock at the Skip Barber Racing School. Man it was a blast, they teach you everything, and the instructors are absolutely amazing. Since everything is sponsored by Dodge, the racecars are equiped with a Neon engine that has been tuned and paired with a racing transmission. They were a blast, I think they went 60mph in first gear, lol. But man, that gearbox was a bitch! I've only been driving a manual transmission on the road for about a month now, and it sure is a lot easier with synchros! In the racecar, the upshifts are really easy, but the downshifts are really difficult at first, as you have to double clutch, which is tough to get used to. Anyway, the first time we went on the track we were all packed into the van (the class size was 10 people) and we suddenly took off, I think we hit 90mph in the van with the tires squealing and the van oversteering off the corners, all while the instructor is driving with one hand on the wheel, and telling a joke to us, lol. Anyway, once they got us in the racecars we did lots of slow laps behind the Neon's with the instructors, and they got progressively faster. Then they let us go, but limited our rpm's and had a stop box at the begining of the straight so we couldnt got too fast. Then on the final day we had open lapping, I think I hit something like 140mph (there arent spedometers in the cars, just a tach, water temp, and oil pressure). And, everytime we were on the track, there were instructors positioned at each corner with clipboards, watching each of us and writing down what we're doing wrong. The amount of feedback is incredible. The funny past was, there was a 15 year old kid there who was like the national karting champion and is going to Spain next week to test for a Formula BMW team, and I was able to beat him. Now I just need to find some more money!! Anyway, if you guys are thinking about doing a racing school, Skip Barber is the one, don't look anywhere else! I'll post some pictures later on.
CART
I recently got back from a 4 day session at Lime Rock at the Skip Barber Racing School. Man it was a blast, they teach you everything, and the instructors are absolutely amazing. Since everything is sponsored by Dodge, the racecars are equiped with a Neon engine that has been tuned and paired with a racing transmission. They were a blast, I think they went 60mph in first gear, lol. But man, that gearbox was a bitch! I've only been driving a manual transmission on the road for about a month now, and it sure is a lot easier with synchros! In the racecar, the upshifts are really easy, but the downshifts are really difficult at first, as you have to double clutch, which is tough to get used to. Anyway, the first time we went on the track we were all packed into the van (the class size was 10 people) and we suddenly took off, I think we hit 90mph in the van with the tires squealing and the van oversteering off the corners, all while the instructor is driving with one hand on the wheel, and telling a joke to us, lol. Anyway, once they got us in the racecars we did lots of slow laps behind the Neon's with the instructors, and they got progressively faster. Then they let us go, but limited our rpm's and had a stop box at the begining of the straight so we couldnt got too fast. Then on the final day we had open lapping, I think I hit something like 140mph (there arent spedometers in the cars, just a tach, water temp, and oil pressure). And, everytime we were on the track, there were instructors positioned at each corner with clipboards, watching each of us and writing down what we're doing wrong. The amount of feedback is incredible. The funny past was, there was a 15 year old kid there who was like the national karting champion and is going to Spain next week to test for a Formula BMW team, and I was able to beat him. Now I just need to find some more money!! Anyway, if you guys are thinking about doing a racing school, Skip Barber is the one, don't look anywhere else! I'll post some pictures later on.
CART
meo