FATT
 

Anyone doinf FATT this week??
Dirk

I'll be there, but at this point the 911 will be at home in the garage. Something I can fix easily if I had the time, but tomorrow is the last day to correct the problem.

I am signed up for this next week, but I think I'm going to skip it. 3 different people have told me that it can be dangerous because of the mix of serious and not so serious (or mature) drivers out there.

But I don't know, it's probably better in the higher run groups. But I think I'll try and observe one before I run one. I only have 7 track days (my first event was 4th of July at WGI)

What do you guys think?

Firoze

I don't think they are any more dangerous than any other driver ed type event. There is a tendency for trains to form because of the speed differentials between cars but this can happen in other DE events as well. The same remedies work - if you get frustrated, pull into the pits to get some space. I found the biggest difference is that it is harder to find someone in a similar car to run with and measure yourself against. Other than that, they are a cost effective way to get track time.

Karl

Agree with Karl, the BSR team controls agressiveness pretty much like PCA do.I would not let that stop you.Skid pad training available for all students is a plus.
Dirk

Last weekend I had a wonderful student in a Mustang who asked if I would mind meeting his parents. He was serious, courteous, young. Had lot's of others just like him. Well, OK, he was a notch above. Have also had such excellent students in PCA.

In PCA and Mercedes have had students who were overly agressive, over driving, over powered (more money for horsepower than good sense), and over 40. Also had same at FATT.

The cars change, the average income level may change, but people are essentially the same.

It occurs to me that the use of the term 'serious' is interesting and perhaps revealing. Exactly what is meant by the statement?

I would imagine "serious" about learning, accepting feedback and criticism. Or if not serious about their own learning, realizing that others are there to learn and not adversly affecting them.

I meant "serious" about learning, as opposed to guys taking a street race out on to the track. Or just joyriding instead of trying to actually get better. I had heard that some drivers were reluctant to give passes when certain "rival" cars were out there, that sort of thing. Or people overdriving, over aggressive.

But again, these are all things I *heard*. I've never been to one of these events. And I did sign up and pay for one, but then I had more than one person warn me off.

On the other hand, you guys here who apparently instruct with them and have first hand experience make me feel much better about it.

The three events I've done have been PCA. I've felt extremely comfortable. I didn't feel like anybody in the green or yellow (blue) groups was trying to prove anything. I got pass signals pretty quickly when appropriate and I tried to give them out just as quickly. I did make one mistake where I hesitated (not sure if the guys behind me was really faster than me in the turns, he had 130hp on me on the straights) and so I gave the signal very late. It turned out I had to pass him on the next straight because I was in fact faster in the turns. But I still regretted that I took so long to decide and made him take an awkward pass. So I looked for him after the run and apologized for my indecision and he was very cool about it. The whole atmosphere was really great.

But then on some other boards for the other cars I have or had, you see people saying "oh, I wasted a Porsche at the track the other day. Those cars aren't that fast, I can't believe those things are $20k more than our cars, what an idiot", etc. That's the kind of thing I don't want to get caught up in, because just that sounds juvenile, stupid, and dangerous to me. And I don't mean to say this is a Porsche vs non-Porsche thing. If I was driving a Celica and some guy in a E55 was trying to show off to an Civic, I'd still be unhappy because that could potentially affect me out there.

But I'm glad to hear first hand experience that the FATTs are not like that. So I will give it a try.

Firoze

Now that's true sportsmanship :wink: .
I'm glad to see that I'm not the only greenie out there who wishes to share his/her track experiences. See you at the track sometime 8) !

Remember this: Its better to drive a slow car fast than to drive a fast car slow.

Running with other makes can be a lot of fun. You will find good drivers in all kinds of cars. You probably have a better chance of seeing more agressive driving in a non-PCA event, but that's part of the learning process as well. Just keep your distance and drive predictably.

Like John says, I have had some great students in some great cars [Corvettes, 350Z, Acura NSX, lots of Beemers, and a really fun Lotus Caterham Super Seven] at Trackquest, THSCC/Triangle Z Club etc. I've also had the [rare] 'attitudinally challenged' student at PCA events.

There is no such thing as bad track time.