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Driving Class

9K views 9 replies 4 participants last post by  DaBluedude 
#1 · (Edited)
I am signed-up for a Driving Class in two weeks at the Brainerd International Raceway (BIR) in Brainerd MN. I have a 2012 V6 with the Performance Package. This class is sponsored by the Audi Club of North America and their Glacier Lakes Quattro Club.

It is not a Racing School.

As stated

"It’s a chance to drive your car in a fun, safe, learning environment, on some of the best tracks in the country. It’s a chance to learn more about yourself, your driving skills, and your car. It’s even a chance to meet and socialize with a diverse group of people who really enjoy their cars."

This is my first ever step into this environment with my car. I am looking forward to it.

Has anyone ever taken their Mustang to one of these schools? If so, any tips?
 

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#2 ·
I took this driving class at BIR last weekend and it was very good. Safety was constantly emphasized. As a novice on Saturday AM I had four driving exercises on handling the car. Slalom to understand how the car handles, braking to understand the distance needed to brake to a complete stop, lane toss that works on your reactions and braking, and wet lane braking that teaches you handling and braking when the conditions are wet. The rest of the weekend was used to drive the long road course at BIR.
When driving these laps I had an instructor who drove with me teaching cornering techniques, braking, and understanding my car. The whole weekend could be summed–up in one topic, understanding how your car can perform and utilizing that ability. I haven’t reached that understanding yet but after doing this a few more times I think I’ll be close. My Mustang is far more capable in terms of handling than I pushed it but I wanted to feel comfortable and understand the fundamentals of driving a road course first. I took a few videos that I can study to learn from my experience.
The weekend was well worth it and I am looking forward to next year.
Attached area a few photo’s
 

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#5 ·
First of all thanks for your reply. Let me answer both 2008Shelby and DDTCM questions. The driving class is from 0800-1700 both Saturday and Sunday. We were broken into 5 groups. Two groups were for novices (those who have 3 or less previous driving classes). These groups drove with instructors when doing the race course. Novices (the group I was in) had 4 driving skill exercises along with driver classroom training on Saturday morning. On Saturday after lunch novices had two 25 minute sessions on the track.
Two of the remaining three groups were based on your driving experience and the last group was for the instructors only. On Saturday and Sunday the non-novice groups had 4 driving sessions of 20-25 minutes each per day. On Sunday the novice group had 4 driving sessions of 20-25 minutes. Let me tell you there is a lot to do in between sessions like checking your tires, brakes, fluids, etc. For a first timer it is a little intimidating.
As I stated before it was all about learning about your car’s capabilities and driving comfortably. Speed is not emphasized. The thought being as you get comfortable all that will fall into place. They teach how to approach, enter, and leave a corner using cones to help you learn. You work off the Apex (the orange cone in the picture from my previous post). They have volunteers with various flags throughout the course to update you on the status of the course.
As I stated in my original post this class was sponsored by the Audi Club of North America (ACNA) and their Glacier Lakes Quattro Club. I had to join the ACNA first in order to be able to sign-up for this class. The cost when I signed up was $295 plus I rented a helmet for an additional $40. The Audi Club has various classes throughout the US and therefore find one you want to attend and sign-up. I am sure the cost may vary.
 
#7 ·
That is correct. In order to join an Audi sponsored event I had to join the Audi Club of North America. The cost was approximately $50. This makes me eligible to sign-up for other Audi driving events as well. I believe there are other car clubs that sponsor these types of events as well as the some of the race courses. I have a friend who has an Audi who has taken several of these classes and that is how I learned about this.
Let me say that of the approximately 86 drivers at this event there were on two American cars, both Fords, and I was the only Mustang. To be honest, what car you bring is the least of any ones concerns. The class is about you and your car. There is no timing, no racing, safety first, and learn about your car’s capabilities.
 
#8 ·
Yeah there are similar events to this up here. The porsche club does these track events. There are more mustangs than porsches by a long way. I got red flagged once for passing some idiot in his 911 (on a long straight where I had a great run on him in a designated passing zone). They said I had no business passing a faster car. I was running more than 4 seconds a lap faster. Guy just couldn't drive. He was short shifting and wasn't downshifting enough. Leaving it in 3rd and 4th for everything. Money doesn't equal driving skill. I miss thos lapping sessions. And they went from 250$ for the ameture stuff down to 99$ for the normal drivers. Not bad for 3 hours of lapping, lunch, and a tech inspection.
 
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