Perspective: Scott ParkerAfter having been to several open track days, two years' worth of autocrossing, and only a few days of actual instruction, I found the Bondurant 3-day Grand Prix Road Racing course to be just what I needed. Finally, some real hands on teaching, where the instructor rides along in the car to see what you are doing wrong and shows you how to do it right! I found our instructor, Tim, in particular, to be very encouraging and helpful-though I could easily say the same about all of Bondurant's crew. For me, I had been through most of the basic car control drills before-like the emergency lane-change and braking exercises-but that is not to say I couldn't use the practice. Heel-toe downshifting was something I had no problem with initially, given the C5's perfect pedal position, but actually struggled with on the third day on the road course. Skid control was a skill in need of practice, but not at all begrudgingly, and oversteer is hard and dangerous to practice without the high-tech gadgets Bondurant employs in its skid cars-and a large chunk of open asphalt. I could have spent all day drifting around those circles. It's clear why Bondurant keeps the C5's Active Handling on permanently, but we sure would have had fun drifting on the road course (and hopefully not parking them in the kitty litter!).
Coming into this course, I had a good grasp of increasing the front contact patch leading into turns, finding the best line, hitting the apex, exiting smoothly, using all of the track, and applying smooth inputs all around. Between my prior knowledge and the instruction on the previous days, I felt I had all the tools I needed by the time we hit the track. The funny part about road racing, though, is that you can have all the mechanics, and it doesn't mean a thing if you don't practice to develop a feel for the car and the track. The key was being patient and getting into a rhythm. Since one turn leads to another and so on, coming in too hot to one turn could easily screw up the whole lap. For example, Turn 11 was easy to get off the mark, following the fast back section of the full course, and would quickly throw you off for the low-speed Turn 12. It was extremely easy to come in too hot on Turn 11 and miss the apex, which is also the turn-in point for Turn 12, because it is so close. Another tricky turn was number 4, despite having practiced it separately as part of the Maricopa Oval. When running the full course, you can get up to Third gear before hitting this turn, and since it is such a long, sweeping turn, you need only apply enough brakes to get back down into Second; however, your natural instinct is to overbrake and early apex, which ultimately means you exit the corner with much less speed before that fast back stretch. If you are carrying the right amount of speed, though, you shouldn't be able to cut in early, and should be forced to the middle initially before hitting the apex. Trail braking is important in this turn, and this was one point Tim stressed during my ride-along.
After each ride-along with the instructor, it is easy to take away two things: One, the areas of the track or your driving that need improvement, and two, exactly how far away from the limits of the car you really are. Despite my experience, by the third day I was still nowhere near the limit of the car on about 75 percent of the track, which was painfully clear each time Tim got behind the wheel. The majority of the 25 percent I was actually pushing the car came through Turns 7 to 10 on the third day, which consisted of me mashing the pedal in Third gear with my butt cheeks pinched, the tires starting to bark in disapproval, and the C5 chassis right on the edge of being out of control ... and that was the most indescribable feeling of exhilaration you can ever imagine. This alone was worth the price of admission, and something I was not capable of before attending Bondurant's School of High Performance Driving.
Perspective: Rick JensenI was a road-course virgin before taking this course, only spending a small amount of time on-track with someone else driving. I'd done some autocross, somewhat understood how to enter a corner correctly to "straighten out" a track, and could perform a basic heel-and-toe-but that was about it.
One of the first things I noticed at Bondurant was the integration of classroom technique and hands-on driving. The time spent in the classroom seemed pretty balanced; it isn't an afterthought for sure, with a good amount of time taken so that students understand what is going on before twisting the keys on the C5s-but it's not overbearing, either. After all, you go there to race! Here, terms like oversteer, understeer, threshold and trail braking, apex, contact patch, exit point, heel-and-toe downshifting, line, and turn-in were defined for us, and we learned the proper seating position (hands at 9 and 3, keep a loose grip, wrists should rest on the steering wheel with elbows slightly bent, and shoulders touching the back of the seat).
Since Bondurant keeps a 3:1 ratio of students to instructors in all courses, save for big corporate events, no member of our class had a question left unanswered. Another neat aspect of the classroom time was that it continued out on the pad-instructors would first brief us in the classroom inside, and then we assembled under tents at the course for a final meeting. This allowed us to see where we'd be driving, whether it was just the accident-avoidance area with cones or the full 1.6-mile road-racing course, and was helpful in giving us vision, so we could better apply what we learned.
Once we were finally into the race-prepped Corvettes, the repetitive training began. As Tim Maddux said, "there's no substitute for experience." Wanna learn how to do a solid heel-and-toe, or perfect early and late apexes? Do them for 30 minutes straight.
With the boot camp of Day One behind us, Day Two really made us think with our feet in the CTS skid cars. Understanding and countering oversteer and understeer is critical, and after several frustrating minutes behind the wheel, you finally start to put the pieces together. Oversteer: turn in direction of slide, ease off gas. Understeer: gently apply brake until traction returns. The skid CTS was one of the most difficult and most rewarding tests for me.
When the time finally came for Scott and I to get onto the course, I was completely comfortable in the C5. Perhaps it was my experience with the cars at GMHTP, or the fact that we were coming from the automotive industry, but things started to click behind the wheel. Tim explained that the Active Handling would stay on, but if driven right, we could see scorching corner and straightaway speeds. The Active Handling got a real workout during the first hour on-track, as my line was nowhere near optimal. But soon it interfered less and less, and toward the end of the third day, it only shut the fun down if I missed a downshift or blew the optimum corner entry speed.
When it came time to negotiate the entire track, I had the most trouble with Turns 13 and 14. This long, sweeping portion of the carousel requires you to carve a perfect line, drifting the C5 to the outside edge of the track after 13 to get the angle right for 14. This was crucial because 14 and 15 led to the front straightaway and enabled huge speeds before going hard on the brakes, downshifting, and whipping through a sweet chicane-my favorite part of the whole track. For some reason, my angle for 14 was always too severe.
Also, what could be considered the back stretch (between 5 and 8) was seriously hairy. In so many words, we were informed "you should be able to go balls-out from 5 to just past 8." But this was easier said than done.
Tim noticed these weaknesses on his ride-along with me, and we still didn't fix the problem after he drove to demonstrate. He pulled me out of the car and spent 10 minutes at the trackside marker board explaining what I was doing wrong. This helped immensely, and I created a better angle into 14. At one point, when the entire field was on-track, I was WOT in tight traffic from 5 through 8 in some of the most intensely terrifying and rewarding seconds of my life-before wailing on the brakes, ABS going crazy, to avoid a Vette underbraking in front of me by mere inches. What a rush!
As stated in the intro, three days at a road racing school will in no way make you a race driver. But by teaching the fundamentals and giving me the confidence to continue racing, it is a huge and necessary first step.
Hour Instructor: Tim MadduxTim Maddux is one of the younger instructors at Bondurant, but that doesn't mean he's a newbie to racing. Tim started racing carts at 10, spent 10 years doing SCCA and drifting in the U.S., and competed at the international level in Italy for two years in the Stars of Karting Championship. This kind of knowledge is invaluable to a racing student, so we picked his brain on a few subjects.
GMHTP: What is the goal of the 3-day Grand PrixRacing class?Tim Maddux: The goal is to give people a better understanding of what is going on with the cars. People come to the school for different reasons; mainly we try to give them a different life experience. A lot of people dream of driving cars faster than is possible on the street. We give them that chance and show them what is possible in these cars, and we show the physics involved in pushing them to the limit.
GMHTP: What do you try to instill in the students, and what do you hope they take away from their experience here?T.M.: We try to give new respect for what it takes to drive a car really fast. People sometimes think that just because they have some awesome car they have the skills to go along with it. We show them what it takes, and try not to give a false sense of security; a lot of schools will try to fluff your pillow and tell you you're good when you're not. It's a dangerous sport; we want you to know what's going on and teach you to anticipate.
GMHTP: What advice would you give someone who wants to get into road racing but doesn't know how to go about it?T.M.: Take a course and see if it's really something you want to do. Spend a lot of time at the track, go to schools, talk to people; practice could make perfect if you have the basic drive to get into it.
GMHTP: What do you work on with beginning students versus the experienced or advanced students? Is there a different approach?T.M.: Different approach, same techniques. Mostly, we try to get students to look farther ahead. Most wait until they are right on top of the braking zone or turn to do it.
GMHTP: I am sure the question most people want to know is: How do I get as good as you?T.M.: Lots and lots of time. It's like learning to play an instrument-you can't just pick up a guitar and be Jimi Hendrix in a day. You need to fine-tune your skills and confidence.
GMHTP: What fundamental approach or philosophy should aspiring racers employ, on and off the track?T.M.: Never stop learning, always be racing. Have the same mindset whether you are walking to your car in the parking lot or getting in line at the store.
GMHTP: What are common mistakes rookies make? T.M.: What I mentioned earlier about looking farther ahead-most drive right off the front of the car.
GMHTP: What mistakes do experienced drivers make?T.M.: Experienced drivers make more varied mistakes. It depends on the person.
GMHTP: Is there anything else you want the readers who might come to Bondurant to know?T.M.: It is for anyone to try. A lot of people think they are not good enough, but you should put that in the back seat.