What a fun day, will definitely be there for the next event! Will have to change my brakes and fluid though, the brake pedal got real soft after the event.

Give it a quick bleeding and it'll probably be fine for street driving. Definitely get better pads and fluid for the future though!

Some points of my experience on Saturday:

- It's obvious, but tires make all of the difference. My super on sale RE-11A's, in 225/45/17 felt way better than stock, and didn't cry for mercy after lap 1! I loved hearing those Primacy's cry for mercy in the beginner session!

- Again obvious, but Stoptech pads are NOT meant for tracking, especially with good street tires. Got decent bite for all of the warmup and the next lap, and my braking zones got massive after. My sportier pads didn't come in the mail in time...

- My friend rode with me and put up his GoPro, I will have some in-car footage next week. There was an "ooh shit" moment when a Whiteout FR-S with black RPF1's took a little swerve near the back

- I hope that STi is OK

- I literally almost ran out of fuel on the way to the highway...

- The A/T held up perfectly fine, and WOT shifts sounds pretty nice with the windows down :)

- Definitely will attend the next day :)

That was me - sorry to startle you! I thought I was going to completely spin...VSC somehow kept me straight after all that...and on track miraculously.

@1Cor10:23 Well I'm glad you didn't go 4 wheels off, there is some decent elevation that way

Last year I had to cut my last session short because the gas light came on after the first lap, good sign you're having a fun day! There is sometimes gas for sale at the big track (definitely if there's an event on), it's not cheap, but it's cheaper than a tow truck deliverying a few liters :D

I was out in the red FRS that was auto, I was shocked how aggressive it was with downshifts!

It was a fun day and I learned a lot (about how slow I am). Still 7-8 seconds off where I want to be so plenty to work on.

Thanks for organizing @wparsons

Glad you had fun! I'm only one of about 30 people that made this happen!

If you make it out again and want more tips, there are always people happy to ride along. I can try if you have video, but it's not always easy to gauge some things.

Yup, big thanks to everyone that helped organize :) I haven't been to a lot of events but SPDA events seem quite well run and it's affordable. I managed to get my last 3 sessions recorded so I just stuck them together and put it on youtube. I think I'm getting better from one session to the next but I still have some bad habits like going into each corner a bit too hot. Any tips would be appreciated.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGZHKCfixz8"]May 23, 2015 Canadian Tire Motorsport Park DDT - YouTube[/ame]

Lol... I know that helmet in the passenger seat.

There's a better line into 11/12/13 (the kink on the back straight), but it's hard to describe. Basically you clip the curbing on the right side but aim straight up the hill and hug the grass/curbing on the left side. You're taking 6/7 MUCH better by the later sessions, huge improvement over the first few laps.

I like taking a different line into the southern most turn, but it's riskier if you miss your braking point. You can see what I mean here, no kink to show though.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwuPPXm8Bsk"]2015 OTA School - Instructor lapping - YouTube[/ame]

If you're finding you're overcooking it into turns, you need to move your braking points back a bit. If it's only sometimes, chances are you don't have a consistent braking point. Do you know what your braking points are for each corner, or just kinda guessing at them?

Braking points are the hardest reference points to find/learn, since they're very dependent on approach speed. Turn in and apex generally don't move much, that's why we teach them first, then add braking after students have turn in and apex nailed.

That video is very helpful. Thanks! You're definitely doing some of the things I thought of doing after reviewing my video like braking earlier and using the entire width of the track (e.g. 4/5, 6/7, 11, etc.). Hopefully I get to drive there again this year so I can make those adjustments and see if I improve. I think I know the line you are talking about for 11/12/13. It was mentioned by one of the coaches in my earlier sessions and I tried it a few times but I couldn't slow down enough consistently so I switched back to what I was doing in the video.

I wasn't even thinking about the braking points consciously so that's something to focus on. The inconsistent braking point definitely contributed to overheating brake pads since it forced me to trail brake into many corners. I'd love to practice trail braking more (got some compliments on it) but the Hawk HPS pads don't last that long on hard braking. I think I will join the big guys in the intermediate group next time since I think I'll improve more that way. :thanks:

You're definitely ready for the intermediate group, but we're always happy to ride along if you want more tips regardless of what group you're in.

I would say your number 1 focus should be finding and hitting braking points lap after lap. You're pretty good on the turn in and apex, so you can focus on figuring out braking now!

The alternate line on the kink requires HARD braking up the hill before the left hander, but if you nail it you can catch up by 3-4 car lengths easily.