Probably a long post, so feel free to skip to the bottom for the impatient.
I wanted to improve my BRZ so I spent money on... a driving course.
After thinking about taking a class with Skip Barber at Road Atlanta for a while, I finally made the effort this past weekend for a two-day driving course and it was well worth my money. With that, here's a rundown:
Auto-X with 6MT MX-5 Miatas, Skid Pad with AT RX-8s and Emergency Lane Change, Braking, Slalom, and Auto-X with Mazda 3s (2014MY). While my years of driving in Georgia already had me familiar with Emergency Lane Changes and Braking, I picked up a few important things:
1- Looking where you want the car to go, not where it actually is going.
2- Recovering from a skid
3 - Understanding the balance between steering/throttle/braking
I'll be the first to admit I have plenty to work on and I am very far away from being a racing driver (was between 3-5 seconds behind on the Auto-X from the instructors). Thankfully for me (and everyone else on the road), I have a better idea of my own limits and Subaru/Toyota designed a car that won't try to kill me at its limits.
Do have to mention two the instructors Todd and Grayson. Todd was spot on with the criticism and explaining the corrections I needed to make. Grayson was awesome in pushing me past the limits so I could understand what happens when I go over it and reeled me in from there. Oddly, he kinda led me to an Initial-D moment: I'll never beat the old guys.
Eventually I'll start Autocrossing the BRZ, but at least I won't be a complete cone destroying novice when I do....hopefully. As for pictures...unfortunately I was engrossed in looking into the track toys going around that it kinda slipped my mind. Besides, it wouldn't be my BRZ anyway, just some random Mazdas.
Sadly, as a another sign of the MT's demise, heel/toe downshift and rev matching aren't taught, particularly with the lack of MTs now in several racing formats. I understood the reasons, but it still feels a bit regrettable.
On a different note, it was a track weekend at Road Atlanta and I did notice 1 White BRZ and a pair of FR-Ss (1 Lava, 1 Ultramarine). Couldn't tell how your laps were, but it was cool to see a few of the twins racing.
TL;DR: Took a Skip Barber driving course at Road Atlanta, improved some driving skills, learned others.