Ontario/Quebec - 86Series Lapping Days - Gauging Interest!

[djdnz]

Cayuga
1) @DjDATZ - yes
2) @djdnz - yes

Mosport
1) @DjDATZ - yes
2) @djdnz - yes

Shannonville
1) @DjDATZ - yes

Calabogie
1) @DjDATZ - yes

[ParangWala]

I can do Shannonville, Cayuga and Mosport DDT. Since I'm a complete n00b I am going to take @driver01 advice and stay away from none beginner friendly tracks for now. Also I'd be in for a group HPDE training like @Slartibartfast said.

[DjDATZ]

Originally Posted by Slartibartfast

Thanks to the OP for starting the ball rolling.

Np! It's been on my mind for a long time now!

Originally Posted by Slartibartfast

Also, not to go too far off topic, what about a FR-S/BRZ group HPDE session? I want to do training, but don't really know the ins and outs of it. If there were enough of us, it could be focused training of the Toyubaru handling dynamics (or am I putting too much thought into that?)

ABSO-F***ING-LUTELY!!!

I'll get everyone edited into the first post!

[Trac Toy]

Yes to all tracks, I've raced at Calabogie and it's by far the BEST race track in Ontario, but may be cost prohibitive to a lot of folks, and it is a bit of a drive.

BUT if your willing to make the drive, and cough up the dough, it's worth EVERY penny.

We will be back at bogie twice this year once for an event and the other for the chumpionship.

gonna be awesome.

On a side note Touge runs fairly low cost lapping events at shannonville, TMP, and I believe Mosport.

[DjDATZ]

Originally Posted by CHUMPC4R

On a side note Touge runs fairly low cost lapping events at shannonville, TMP, and I believe Mosport.

That's where the idea stems from, but I've had some close calls at their track days, likely due to a lack of respect for anyone else on track. If we have a tight knit community of friends, and similar cars, then I'd expect it to be safer.

[7thgear]

Word of caution, not sure if you've organized events before but a few things to keep in mind.

1. all the good dates/times are probably already taken. Our own series books in November going forward, and it was tough as it is already. The tracks typically have preferred customers for specific dates.

Tracks like the DDT you're also sharing with go-kart people, the bridgestone racing academy, time-attack, auto-slalom, and sigma, and these are just the ones I can think of, I'm sure there are plenty of lapping groups I've never even heard of.

Tracks take deposits up front, so you'll need to have a very committed group or else you'll be footing a hefty bill.

You would WANT to look into insurance, anything can happen and it will be the organizer on the line, regardless of what's right or wrong a grieving mother or wife or husband is gonna drag you and everyone you know into a pit of hell.

Remember that there is track insurance to cover damages to the track, and then there is liability insurance that would cover something like the above.

Guys like battle-endless run without any concern for anything, this is both good and bad, and quite honestly they are just rolling the dice every time they host an event.



So in light of this i would much rather recommend that people simply attend already existing lapping/competition groups, because they need the money to keep going and more competition at this point is not a good thing.

[wparsons]

For anyone wanting HPDE, check this out next year (nothing on their calendar yet, but should be soonish):

http://www.casc.on.ca/time-attack/ev...ack-ddt-school

I'll be going for sure. It won't be '86 specific, but it is a really good school from what I've heard.

[ParangWala]

@7thgear makes a good point also it seems like it'll be a hell of a lot easier to combine the people going with already existing events but again you still face the risk of people that will have close calls.

The only thing I can think of is to "test the waters" sort to speak where we could just join already existing parties this year and see which groups gave us the best experiences then stick with those from there on in?

I know I am missing the point of having a unique FR-S/BRZ community of our own to run with but again this is all for the sake of driving lower costs in bigger groups also being able to go at dates that are available.

[DjDATZ]

Originally Posted by 7thgear

Word of caution, not sure if you've organized events before but a few things to keep in mind.

So in light of this i would much rather recommend that people simply attend already existing lapping/competition groups, because they need the money to keep going and more competition at this point is not a good thing.

Many thanks! I mostly created this thread to see how many people would be interested in going to these so I have a rough number if I were to organize event(s) in 2013. I guess based on your advice, we may not be able to get them underway until 2014.

I'm glad someone with experience chimed in. Thanks again, I'll definitely keep it all in mind.

[Slick]

I'll second 7thgear's thoughts.

As a MCO member, we organize some great events at Calabogie. Dates are not announced yet, but it is a great opportunity to learn not just a new track, but how to drive well on a track (performance and etiquette). I know it is far from Toronto, but worth the trip. Probably the best club track in Canada.

Some of the Toronto Clubs and Time Attack groups will also offer lapping days at the local tracks in your area. These are run by professional people and the focus is on learning properly and driving safely (especially if you visit the Mosport GP track). These are the only events I would ever attend.

I have organized my own lapping days in the past and only invited people I could vouch for and it is still a risky proposition, plus you need to front the money ahead. For that reason, I now only attend club-sponsored days with reputable organisations.

[l8apexr]

Originally Posted by driver01

Yes to all tracks, including winter time.
@l8apexr congrats on the win at the Rallye Vert de Montreal. I saw it on the winter tech pro.

Driver01, are you a toyota tech?! have we met? (curious how you were able to tie my FIA Alternative Energies Cup Rallye Vert win with my l8apexr screen name on this forum!?!)

[Demandred7]

Originally Posted by Slartibartfast

Also, not to go too far off topic, what about a FR-S/BRZ group HPDE session? I want to do training, but don't really know the ins and outs of it. If there were enough of us, it could be focused training of the Toyubaru handling dynamics (or am I putting too much thought into that?)

Looking forward to 2013!

I desperately want / need to do some sort of HPDE. Not that I expect to be the Stig after one lesson, but, I think it would be practical beyond the track just to better understand handling dynamics.

[thorlius]

Definitely interested in HPDE, but not comfortable committing to embarrassing myself on the track until I've done that first.

[engsr]

Originally Posted by Demandred7

I desperately want / need to do some sort of HPDE. Not that I expect to be the Stig after one lesson, but, I think it would be practical beyond the track just to better understand handling dynamics.

One of the best ways to learn the dynamics and understanding car control is via an autoslalom style school of advanced driver training. Due to the nature of our cars, I would suggest that if you have never participated in any lapping or autoslalom to do this type of school first.

This is personal opinion of course but having participated and instructed/coached in both autoslalom and lapping schools, I've found that people that are completely green to any type of advanced driver training have an easier time absorbing and understanding the fundamentals of control in the autoslalom style school. This is due to the fact that the curriculum is progressively designed, meaning the exercises more or less lead into each other, and the fundamentals are understood better throughout the day (skid pad, figure 8, threshold braking, slaloms, increasing/decreasing radius turns, etc.). Usually all the exercises are all tied together by the end with an autoslalom course.

At an HPDE/lapping school, aside from learning the dynamics and control, you have to worry about learning the line, watching for other cars, braking zones, gear changes, etc. There are some people that are simply not comfortable in going faster than they're normally used to, so it's a lot harder for them to focus their attention when there are several things being thrown at them at the same time. Plus, there's the fact that because the speeds are much greater, the consequences are just as proportional.

Now I'm not saying DON'T do a lapping school because I know many drivers that went straight into solo1 and became really fast drivers. But the fundamentals of car control are more or less the same between the two - the autoslalom school just provides a bit more of a relaxed and focused environment. I guess it really depends on what your comfort level is and what you really want to achieve out of the type of training. The key is seat time - your skills and development will only improve with lots of seat time.

Oh yeah, Calabogie is an absolutely beautiful track and is well worth the drive. Even though it looks daunting (5km, 20 turns) the track really isn't too overwhelming (unlike Mosport) and there are a lot of technical parts that are really rewarding once you figure them out - my favourite section is Beak through Quarry. I'm really hoping to make it there in May for a racing school but my schedule might not accommodate it. We'll see.