|
Most have been covered but I'll add a few pieces of data as I started tracking my car about two years ago.
1) Tracking and autox is pretty different. Yes, autox is cheaper and safer, primarily b/c it's lower speeds and there are rarely barriers or cars you could hit, but you also have significantly less time behind the wheel. I did a few and found that working the cones for 5 hours for 10 minutes of time behind the wheel was not the right ratio for me. I barely have time to enjoy the car due to work, so if I'm going to spend a weekend free day I better be having a ball behind the wheel rather than running after cones. Again, personal call, as HPDE is more expensive.
2) Certain tracks are safer than others. Gingerman in MI, for example, is a very safe track. There's barely anything to hit, so even if there's a mechanical failure or you lost the car, it'll mostly likely be ok. I've had my share of "offs" on that track and the worst that's happened is a need for a new alignment.
3) I've also sampled my share of various clubs in the Great Lakes region, and they run all over the place. My first time at Gingerman the club told me that they were short on instructors so if I wasn't going to kill myself I was on my own... It wasn't my first time on track, to be fair - it was my second. On the other end of the spectrum, and the one that I run with the most consistently, is NASA Great Lakes. The entire program is structured around how to make someone the best driver possible (fast and aware with understanding of theory and practice). In DE1 you have ~5 hours of in classroom a day along with ~2 hours of track time, with the same instructor for the weekend. In contrast, most clubs do little if any classroom time (for novices), and if you're lucky you might get the same instructor more than once a weekend. I know this may not mean much to someone who's never done this before, but it's a huge deal. My first time at Road America I had three instructors tell me three different lines for the same corner... It's really helpful to have the same person work with you all weekend on a list of things to improve. Lastly, the instructors at NASA are almost all racers (NASA weekends are a combination of HPDE & wheel to wheel & time trial races), so you know it's not some random dude who just wanted a reduced fee HPDE weekend (and I've had some random dudes...).
Hope this is helpful. PM me if you have any specific questions on NASA or any other clubs in the region (I've been to a few, but certainly not all). Good luck!
|