This is the first article in a set of articles called "Stepping Out." These articles will explore activities that many Solo drivers already participate in and are great alternatives to supplement your motorsports experience. Some of them are casual events you may participate in once every few years and some are hardcore motorsports competitions. Either way, the point is to expose Solo drivers to programs that will help make a more well rounded driver, and ultimately, enjoy having fun with your car.
While participating in the Lincoln Solo Trials event this year the Saturday after the 2014 Tire Rack SCCA Solo Nationals, I was speaking with a multi-time National Champion about ways to prepare for National Solo competition. "Anyone who is serious about National Solo and winning a Championship is doing themselves a dis-service by not doing at least one track day per year." The thought is that learning how your car behaves at speeds even a little above what we normally see at a Solo event can have a huge benefit in learning how your car works and knowing it inside and out. The SCCA already has the PDX program, but for those who may want a little more in-depth instruction, there's a new program being tested early next month at the brand new National Corvette Museum (NCM) Motorsports Park: The Starting Line Track School.
Run in conjunction with an SCCA HPDE "Lapping Day," the Starting Line Track School is meant to be the next level of driver training, putting drivers on track where speeds can far exceed that of the average Solo event. Much like the Starting Line Autocross School, the strength of this program is the fundamentals that are taught before you get on track. The school starts with the skid oval from the Starting Line Solo School - students spend approximately 20 minutes on the oval with an instructor to learn basic car control skills - straight-line braking, corner entry and corner exit. After the skid oval, students will be debriefed and introduced to the track meeting which will lead to a series of lead/follow sessions. Each session will have an instructor in a lead car who is in radio communication with the student cars and is able to guide them through the track. After debriefing these sessions, students will get 2x 20 minute sessions on the track without pacing but with monitoring and feedback from instructors.
If this isn't your first on-track foray, the school has some additional options to facilitate drivers with greater skill level:
Novice Experience: $195 (~35 entries)
The novice experience is for participants who want some support, but are generally ready to take to the track. Novice entrants will receive a comprehensive tech, and both a standard and novice driver's meeting. The first session for the Novice group will be paced by the Novice Leads (2) and debriefed. After that session, Novice participants will get 5x 20 minute sessions without pacing, but with debrief after the first. Additionally, the Novice Leads will monitor the group for the day and provide feedback as needed.
Intermediate / Advanced Group: $195 (~35 entries)
These group will be offered 5x 20 minute sessions are not required to have any instruction. Participants in these groups will have the option of a comprehensive tech or express tech and may opt to attend the novice meeting. The assumption is that this group is capable, but the event management will monitor them and intervene as needed.
Here is a list of some additional event specifics and what will be expected of drivers who participate in the Starting Line School or Lapping Day and how the event will be run, i.e. What to expect when you get to the site:
- Drivers' Meeting: The drivers' meeting will cover the rules of the day including safety, flags, passing zones and expected behavior. The goal is to set clear expectations while also setting a tone of mutual respect and an overall goal of fun.
- Novice Meeting: The novice meeting will cover basic etiquette, a deeper explanation of rules and an overview of some key corners on the track.
- Paced Laps: The novice group will have their session paced- the group will be divided into two groups and each will follow a car driven by a novice lead. This is to allow a level of course familiarization before pace is applied. The true goal of this is to set a frame of reference for the paced laps debrief where the leads will go into greater depth on which areas of the track need more discretion.
- Express Tech: Experienced track participants will be offered a tech sheet at check-in. Those opting to tech their own cars will bring the signed and checked-off sheets with them to grid where they will be collected. The tech inspector collecting the sheets will give a once around visual to confirm. Express tech is an option for Advanced and Expert group drivers.
- Rolling Check-In: The goal is to have check-in with the gate waiver process. Simply, participants will sign the waiver, roll forward, show credentials, be checked-in and receive a wrist band. Drivers will get one color, visitors another.
