SPDA Advanced Driving Clinic
Website:
www.spda-online.ca
Cost: $140 for two days (Saturday + Sunday) [CORRECTED - 06-June-2016]
Discounts: None for the class.
Chief Instructor: Joe Trinidad
Date Attended: April, 2016
Classroom training - 9/10
Track training - 9/10*
Skidpad training - 9/10*
Track time - 9/10*
* denotes that you are NOT actually on a race track but on a parking lot at Powerade Center in Brampton. Seat time is still seat time however.
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kf-owZPzmCg"]SPDA Advanced Driving Clinic - 2nd Day - April 24, 2016 - YouTube[/ame]
Review:
As per the asterisk above, the SPDA doesn't actually host a track day school but does a driving clinic once a year around April at the Powerade center in Brampton. So you're probably asking: "How the heck does this compare to two schools who actually DO run it on a proper track?". Answer: It's THE ULTIMATE GATEWAY for you to START to push your car without worrying about a high speed collision which always exists at a track. It is also VERY VERY cheap but CHOCK full of value. I heavily regret not taking this course before ILR.
WARNING: This course sells out fast and is usually opened up during the SPDA open house event at JRP each year in early April. Keep your eyes peeled on their website for this open house event and SHOW UP EARLY!
The SPDA is a volunteer run organization compared to ILR and Hanson which are trying to make a living out of this. This means the fares you pay are strictly covering costs to run the damn event and at $140 [CORRECTED - 06-June-2016] for TWO days, it is insanely good value. If you look around at the instructors, you are getting autocross veterans (lots of PITL folks), at least ONE ILR track school instructor (I'm waving at you Guillermo!) and a plethora of Ontario Time Attack and a Rally Driving school instructor (some deranged Russian in an Evo!). All of them: VOLUNTEERS. You have some very high caliber folks here on their own dime.
That being said, the course is split between a few classroom sessions where Joe Trinidad will introduce common things like vision, seating position, etc. to the group. Joe does this with humour and at the cost of some of the egos of a few instructors (all in good fun). They don't give our handbooks like ILR does but you get the gist and can take notes on your own.
Most of your time in the first day (Saturday) will be spent on the parking lot learning to do things like the standard circle romp to learn under and oversteer, slalom runs, accident avoidance (done properly - they force you to look at the flag bearer at the end of the slalom who will tell you to either continue snaking through the course or to hold or stay on one side - far safer than Hanson and trickier too!), the Scandinavian flick (surprised this one is here given how hard it is to execute!) and it all culminates with an autocross run at the end of the day.
2nd day also entails some classroom sessions but will reinforce what you learnt (and failed to learn) on the 1st day and most of it is spent doing autocross runs. There is ALWAYS an instructor with you in the car on either day and it will vary to give you as much feedback and styles as you can get.
I honestly cannot recommend this course enough. It's the BEST way to get anyone who is too timid to jump into performance driving without the fear of being "on a track". It's all fairly low speed and plenty of great instructors who know wtf they are doing.
RATING: 10/10 (Seriously doesn't get better short of them paying you to attend).