by Evan Weaver, Contact February 2002

Contents

Before you Leave for the Track
When you Arrive
In the Classroom
On the Skidpad
On the Track

Your Checklist

It helps to prepare a checklist in advance of the things you cannot forget to bring to the track when you attend a school. Here is a starter list:

• Snell-approved helmet (you can rent one at the track for $25/day if you don't have one)
• some glass cleaner
• a roll of paper towels
• a roll of duct tape
• some basic tools (the standard BMW issue suffices)
• a torque wrench, if you have one
• an extra litre of oil
• a pen (to take notes)
• your license and registration
• a credit card (for fuel and emergencies)
• some cash (for food and drink)
• a bag or container in which to stow all of this
• warm clothing in the Spring and Fall

Before You Leave For The Track

Before you show up, you need to download and have printed a Tech Inspection form and a waiver. The Tech Inspection form needs to be completed and signed by a licensed mechanic. The waiver you will sign once you arrive to register at the event.

The Tech Inspection Form

You should be absolutely sure to have the tech inspection performed (as well as any needed work that the inspection uncovers) and have the tech form signed. Your car will not be allowed on the track without a completed inspection form, and there is no point attending the event if you won't be allowed on the track. To this end, you should probably have your car inspected at least a week prior to the event, just in case you end up needing some obscure part that takes a few days to obtain, or, in the worst case scenario, to give someone on the waiting list enough time to get his or her car prepared if it turns out that your car is so unsafe that it just cannot be repaired in time. (The latter is not common with BMWs, by the way).

Booking Accommodations (If Needed)

Depending on where you live, you'll need to decide whether to book a hotel room near the track or drive to and from the track each day. Many people in Toronto, for example, will decide to "commute" to Mosport and Cayuga (both about an hour and a half each way, depending on what part of town you live in), even though it makes for long, tiring days. Others will relish the extra sleep made possible by staying near the track.

Check Tire Pressure

Regardless of where you stay, before you leave for the track, make sure that you check your tire pressures. For your first time out, you should have cold tire pressures somewhere between 35 and 40 psi. (Tire pressures are one of those things veterans like to play with and argue about - beginners, however, want to set them to safe levels and concentrate on driving). Also, it is a good idea to remove any hubcaps or wheel covers, and check your wheel torque before leaving, although these can also be done upon arriving at the track. (If you don't have a torque wrench, you should definitely have the mechanic use a torque wrench when the tech inspection is done).

Fill Up your Tank

On your way to the track, you will want fill up your fuel tank at the last gas station you find before the track. (Going to Mosport, this is just off the 401, and going to Cayuga, it is in the town of Cayuga). At some tracks, fuel may be available on-site, but it is always pretty expensive and the supply is never assured.

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Once You Arrive

Registration

When you arrive at the track, the first thing you'll need to do is check in.  You will need to submit your completed tech inspection form and signed waiver, sign at least one other waiver, and pick up a participant's package. This package will contain, at least, a schedule for the school, the instructor/student list, some numbers to place on your car (so that it can easily be identified by your instructor and by the track marshalls), and a wristband, or similar wearable identifier, that shows that you have signed all the necessary waivers and are therefore allowed on and around the track.

At this point, you will put the wristband on, and then bring your car to the parking area used by the school, if you haven't already done so. Here you will join a host of people milling around, and all of them will seem to know what they are doing. In fact, many of them will be looking at you, assuming that you know what you are doing!

Empty your Car

While you are waiting for the school to get started, there are a number of things you'll need to do in order to get your car ready for the track. The most basic element of this preparation is to empty your car of all moveable items: floor mats, loose change, things in the glove compartment and side pockets, garage door openers, cell phones, trunk contents, etc. If your spare tire is securely bolted in position, you may leave it in, but many prefer to take it out to reduce the weight of the car. (Some of those that leave it in claim that the spare tire was designed in as part of the impact protection in the event of a crash, or that they'd prefer to keep the front/rear weight balance the same as on the street. Neither of these arguments has as much merit, however, as the fact that it is just easier to leave it in).

Apply Your Student Number to the Windshield

After emptying the car, you should clean the windows, and place the numbers you've been given on the car. At some of our schools in recent years, we've had numbers that are placed on the inside surface of the rear side windows, while other times we've had numbers that get placed at the top of the windshield on the outside. Look at others around you to see what the general consensus is; there might even be some instructions for applying the numbers in your participant's package. Make sure that you put the numbers on to match the number on the outside of your participant's package: the order of the digits, and the placement for numbers such as 6 and 9, is important.

At this point, you should also remove any hub caps or wheel covers, if you haven't already done so, and, if possible, recheck your wheel torque.

If you are lucky, your instructor might spot you, once your numbers are showing, and come by to meet you. Otherwise, you might want to wander around to see if you can find your instructor (based on the number shown on the instructor/student list) and introduce yourself. If the two of you don't happen to meet before the school starts, don't fret - you will meet soon enough.

If you still have time before activities start, then find and use the bathroom. Once things get started, you might find yourself swept up in all the activity, with no time to "go", so go whenever you have a chance.

At some point, as shown on the schedule, the festivities will begin, and everyone, students and instructors alike, will make their way to the initial safety meeting. At this meeting, the chief instructor will make introductory comments, go over the safety protocols (such as passing rules and flag usage) and introduce the people with whom you are likely to have contact throughout the event.

After this meeting, everyone will split up into groups. Generally, students are sorted by experience level into beginner, intermediate and advanced groups. The different groups rotate through the three primary activities of the event: classroom instruction, skidpad exercises and track time. Each session is usually between 20 and 30 minutes.

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In The Classroom

During the classroom sessions, the techniques of advanced driving will be discussed, both in theory, and from the practical point of view, in terms of how the theory should be applied to the track at which the event is taking place. The more you have studied the manual prior to the event, the more you will be in a position to ask questions about those
aspects you didn't quite understand.

Classroom attendance is mandatory, if you wish to partake in the driving activities, so be sure not to miss a class - keep an eye on the schedule. Throughout the school, the classroom sessions will get more specific, and therefore more interesting, as you gain hands-on experience in the car.

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On The Skidpad

The skidpad exercises take place in a parking lot, with traffic cones laying out a practice route. The skidpad instructors will discuss what you should be trying to learn before each session, and will be watching you in order to give you some feedback when you come off of the skidpad.

Each time you are scheduled for the skidpad, you will find that the cones have been moved, and a new skill or technique is being practiced.

The skidpad is the place to practice coping with exceeding the limits of traction. Because the turns are tight, you won't have to go very fast to exceed those limits, although you will need to react very quickly to avoid going off course. Because you won't be going very fast, there is little chance of anything really bad happening if you do make a mistake.

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On The Track

Track time is the reason most people come to the schools over and over again. Once you've been through a school's worth of track sessions you will understand why. But you will likely be disappointed after your first session as a beginner.

Your first session will be essentially a familiarization run, done at a relatively slow speed, with no helmets. Before heading out on the track, your instructor will talk to you for a while, asking you questions about your driving background and about your car, and going over some of the vocabulary he or she will be using to give instruction.

The instructor will drive your car the first two or three laps, naming the turns, and showing you where you should be and what you should be doing at each point of the track. This lets the instructor get somewhat familiar with your car, and lets you concentrate on seeing what the track looks like. Of course, it will be far too much information for you to be able to process, so don't worry if you don't remember it all. By the end of the school, you'll feel that you know the track inside out.

After these two or three laps, you will take over the driving duties, still without helmets, and your instructor will start to work on getting you to remember the best place to be everywhere around the track, while at the same time keeping you slow enough so that the lack of helmets doesn't cause a problem. In this first session, then, you want to concentrate on learning which way the track goes, and which way you should go. Don't be disappointed by the lack of speed - speed can only come once you know where you are going.

In subsequent track sessions, you and your instructor will wear helmets, and while you still won't be encouraged to go fast right away, the pace will gradually pick up as you become more knowledgable, smooth and consistent. If you are normal, you will feel uncoordinated and sloppy for the first few sessions, at least. Have confidence that this will improve! After each session, your instructor will probably give you a few things to concentrate on during the next session.

After each track session, you should be careful to avoid setting your parking brake when you park your car. The rotors will be much hotter than normal, and may become warped because of temperature differentials while cooling, if the parking brake is set. Instead, leave the transmission in gear (or Park, if the transmission is automatic). After every few track sessions, once the car has cooled down, it is a good idea to check fluid levels and wheel torque.

Towards the end of the school, you will be scheduled for a ride with your instructor, in the instructor's car. At this point, you will be pretty familiar with the track, and you will find that you learn a tremendous amount just from observing. For many, the ride with the instructor is one of the highlights of the school. One of the things you will likely learn is how slowly you've been going. But you'll have to keep in mind that your instructor is much more experienced than you, and has a car that is probably better prepared for the track than yours. One of the worst mistakes you can make, after the ride with your instructor, is to go out for your next session determined to drive the same way as your instructor. Rather, let your instructor, who has been observing what you do, and don't do, well, coax the performance out of you, making reference to things that were pointed out during the instructor's run.

One of the main reasons that the beginner group doesn't get an earlier ride with the instructor, is that it takes several track sessions to learn the course well enough so that you'll be in a position to learn something from the experience. But another important reason is that it often takes a few sessions to develop the necessary humility to be able to deal properly with seeing the instructor drive at speed.

Each track session, including the ride with your instructor, gives you experiences to ask about in the classroom, and ideas to try out on the skidpad. Take advantage of our schools' multifacetted approach to blend the learning from each of the activities into the others.

Have fun, and I'll see you at the track.