CarolinaViper
12-06-2015, 05:33 PM
High Speed Driver's Education (HSDE) (Cost $310.00)
Carolina Motorsports Park - Kershaw, SC . It is 2.27 miles in length with 14 turns.
http://www.carolinamotorsportspark.com For their homepage
http://www.carolinamotorsportspark.com/de---drivers-education.html For their HSDE
I had the chance to attend the track yesterday (December 5th) where I met another Viper couple David & Sandy Gilliland, from Greensboro (?) and there friend David. David and Sandy brought their red/white Gen II, orange TA, and their very quick Neon. David G., is dedicated track guy and was very helpful with his insight f the track and the Viper handling and performance and Sandy was right out there mixing it up on the track with the rest of us. They would be a great asset for the club.
Now to the track. The facility is greatly managed, registration was a breeze, going through tech inspection was very organized and having a covered garage (extra cost - I think $50-$60) was a great option. Here was a timeline of events.
0720 - Arrive at main entrance for initial sign insurance waivers, obtain car and driver identification sticker.
0730 - Go to vehicle inspection and meet you instructor - Have you pre-inspection checklist all ready completed and everything not secured out of car.
4:30 - 6:50 Left the house - arrived at track.
8:00 - 8:15 Drivers' meeting of all "class" drivers to go over general tack rules
8:20 - 9:20 Classroom for HSDE drivers
9:35 - 9:55 Track time with instructor (1)
10:20 - 10:40 Classroom for HSDE drivers
11:10 - 11:30 Track time with Instructor (2)
12:00 - 1:00 Lunch - They have a small fix/cook to order lunch with a limited menu
1:45 - 2:05 Track time with Instructor (3)
2:25 - 2:45 Classroom for HSDE drivers
3:10 - 3:30 Track time with Instructor (4)
4:40 - 5:00 Track time with Instructor (5)
My driving instructor was very experience with the track and great on explaining terms so that I could understand and apply the recommendations on the track.
The track has a lot of turns and several long straights, where 4th gear can be used as I hit the rev limiter in 3d gear on two of the straights.
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk194/jeffanddonna8/Kershawtrack1_zpsl8pbbb1g.jpg (http://s280.photobucket.com/user/jeffanddonna8/media/Kershawtrack1_zpsl8pbbb1g.jpg.html)
The track is a very , very safe track with plenty of run-off if needed. Each driver will have a one-piece mic and earphone inserted under the helmet so to able to communicate with the instructor. The HSDE drivers are only on the track with other HSDE drivers, making the track a very manageable for driving and passing. My first two track lessons were getting use to the track. Learning the racing line/apex and where to apply the brakes (more on this latter) for each turn.
After each track lesson, the instructor will have a one-on-one session explaining the good and the bad of your driving and what you will need to work on during the next lesson. I had a great instructor...took me out in his car (corvette) to show me where the lines where when coming in and out of a curve. During the first three sessions, the instructor would tell me when to brake and when to turn or where to steer the vehicle when exiting the curve. During the 4th session he wanted me to explain to him what I was going t do before I did it at full-speed...or rather speed that I was comfortable with. During the last sessions he pretty much did nothing but let me drive...4th & 5th sessions were the best and the most fun. But without the first three sessions to learn the basics and to instill confidence sessions 4 & 5 would not have been as successful.
After the last session, the driving instructor and you will grade you on more than 10 items with points from 1-10, 10 being the highest. This allows your next instructor to have an idea of what you are good at and what you need help on.
Most of my scores were 7 or 8, but the lowest was a 6 on braking (my biggest problem). What they want you to do is brake in the shortest amount of time/space before entering a curve. This allows you to enter the curve slower, but allows you to leave the curve faster. It also will keep your brake fluid cooler by using the brakes less. My braking was like I was on the highway...I was nervous about locking the brakes up. It was not until the last two sessions that I would really apply the brakes HARD. Once I gained confidence that I was not going to lock up the brakes, I hit the apex every time and exited out of the curve a lot faster than my first three lessons.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Everyone needs to go through this at least one time, to really understand how safe the Viper is and to understand their limitations. I plan on doing this 3 or 4 times a year. It was so beneficial and fun, I would like to see if the club would be interest in either renting the track - or get several of us to sign up for the tracks HSDE event.
We have several members (hopefully soon some new members) that have vast experience at this track and other tracks that could share their knowledge to further our experience. I'm going to try to embed a video of me driving on the track. The video is of my 4th session on my last session, I hit the wrong button on the GoPro and by-pass the video and went to the photo option (sorry Tim).
Apparently, the video was to long...I will try to shorten it and try later. Here the new link to the video video.
https://www.facebook.com/100001869734249/videos/1021934844545497/
Jeff
Carolina Motorsports Park - Kershaw, SC . It is 2.27 miles in length with 14 turns.
http://www.carolinamotorsportspark.com For their homepage
http://www.carolinamotorsportspark.com/de---drivers-education.html For their HSDE
I had the chance to attend the track yesterday (December 5th) where I met another Viper couple David & Sandy Gilliland, from Greensboro (?) and there friend David. David and Sandy brought their red/white Gen II, orange TA, and their very quick Neon. David G., is dedicated track guy and was very helpful with his insight f the track and the Viper handling and performance and Sandy was right out there mixing it up on the track with the rest of us. They would be a great asset for the club.
Now to the track. The facility is greatly managed, registration was a breeze, going through tech inspection was very organized and having a covered garage (extra cost - I think $50-$60) was a great option. Here was a timeline of events.
0720 - Arrive at main entrance for initial sign insurance waivers, obtain car and driver identification sticker.
0730 - Go to vehicle inspection and meet you instructor - Have you pre-inspection checklist all ready completed and everything not secured out of car.
4:30 - 6:50 Left the house - arrived at track.
8:00 - 8:15 Drivers' meeting of all "class" drivers to go over general tack rules
8:20 - 9:20 Classroom for HSDE drivers
9:35 - 9:55 Track time with instructor (1)
10:20 - 10:40 Classroom for HSDE drivers
11:10 - 11:30 Track time with Instructor (2)
12:00 - 1:00 Lunch - They have a small fix/cook to order lunch with a limited menu
1:45 - 2:05 Track time with Instructor (3)
2:25 - 2:45 Classroom for HSDE drivers
3:10 - 3:30 Track time with Instructor (4)
4:40 - 5:00 Track time with Instructor (5)
My driving instructor was very experience with the track and great on explaining terms so that I could understand and apply the recommendations on the track.
The track has a lot of turns and several long straights, where 4th gear can be used as I hit the rev limiter in 3d gear on two of the straights.
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk194/jeffanddonna8/Kershawtrack1_zpsl8pbbb1g.jpg (http://s280.photobucket.com/user/jeffanddonna8/media/Kershawtrack1_zpsl8pbbb1g.jpg.html)
The track is a very , very safe track with plenty of run-off if needed. Each driver will have a one-piece mic and earphone inserted under the helmet so to able to communicate with the instructor. The HSDE drivers are only on the track with other HSDE drivers, making the track a very manageable for driving and passing. My first two track lessons were getting use to the track. Learning the racing line/apex and where to apply the brakes (more on this latter) for each turn.
After each track lesson, the instructor will have a one-on-one session explaining the good and the bad of your driving and what you will need to work on during the next lesson. I had a great instructor...took me out in his car (corvette) to show me where the lines where when coming in and out of a curve. During the first three sessions, the instructor would tell me when to brake and when to turn or where to steer the vehicle when exiting the curve. During the 4th session he wanted me to explain to him what I was going t do before I did it at full-speed...or rather speed that I was comfortable with. During the last sessions he pretty much did nothing but let me drive...4th & 5th sessions were the best and the most fun. But without the first three sessions to learn the basics and to instill confidence sessions 4 & 5 would not have been as successful.
After the last session, the driving instructor and you will grade you on more than 10 items with points from 1-10, 10 being the highest. This allows your next instructor to have an idea of what you are good at and what you need help on.
Most of my scores were 7 or 8, but the lowest was a 6 on braking (my biggest problem). What they want you to do is brake in the shortest amount of time/space before entering a curve. This allows you to enter the curve slower, but allows you to leave the curve faster. It also will keep your brake fluid cooler by using the brakes less. My braking was like I was on the highway...I was nervous about locking the brakes up. It was not until the last two sessions that I would really apply the brakes HARD. Once I gained confidence that I was not going to lock up the brakes, I hit the apex every time and exited out of the curve a lot faster than my first three lessons.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Everyone needs to go through this at least one time, to really understand how safe the Viper is and to understand their limitations. I plan on doing this 3 or 4 times a year. It was so beneficial and fun, I would like to see if the club would be interest in either renting the track - or get several of us to sign up for the tracks HSDE event.
We have several members (hopefully soon some new members) that have vast experience at this track and other tracks that could share their knowledge to further our experience. I'm going to try to embed a video of me driving on the track. The video is of my 4th session on my last session, I hit the wrong button on the GoPro and by-pass the video and went to the photo option (sorry Tim).
Apparently, the video was to long...I will try to shorten it and try later. Here the new link to the video video.
https://www.facebook.com/100001869734249/videos/1021934844545497/
Jeff