On July 3rd, Teresa and I traveled to Lexington, Ohio (north of Columbus) to take an Acura high performance driving class
which consisted of basically 5 parts. 1st - We had some in-class instruction on basic principles and physics of a car when applied to a "race" car.
2nd - Skid car exercise, 3rd - Short salom course, and then practicing late braking points & hitting the apex of a turn to minimize your time through the turn, 4th - a larger and much more twisty course using both the Acura TSX (6 speed,race tires & exhaust, special brakes and a 5PT harness) and the Honda S2000, a contest to see how could go the faster through the course and receive a free certificate to the Advanced High Performance Class,
and then 5th(FINALLY) an opportunity to actually go out on the Mid-Ohio race track and really run the car and put into practice all that we had learned throughout the day.
The day started out raining steady and then got worse and worse throughout the day. We didn't mind too much as this gave us additional "training" in handling a car at higher speeds / sharper maneuvers and was great except for when we actually got on the racetrack at the end of the day (more later about this).
I was THE first person to go in the skid car with Teresa being the second (she was in the back seat when I was driving and vice versa). Well, I have to be honest ... she was definitely smoother and better in the skid car than I was. I did two 360 turns (one where I actually meant to; wanted to see what it was like and yes, it was fun!!). Wasn't planning the second however and that aggravated me. The car was fitted with "outriggers" which were controlled from inside the car by the instructer and raised the car on different corners of the car which unbalances it and makes life interesting to say the least.
After lunch, catered in as part of the class, we got to the 2nd exercise which was MUCH more fun. I enjoyed running the tight salom in the rain and getting progressively faster but what I really liked was when they straightened out the course and then we practiced quick, high speed runs in 2nd gear, hitting our brake points correctly along with trying to maximize our speed through the turn by hitting the turn in point precisely along with the curve apex. This is an exercise to brake as late as possible, and go through a turn/corner in a "straight line" to shorten the time / distance. Instructors provided us individual feedback after each run and I was surprised at how much the exercise helped both Teresa and I.
Next we went on the bigger course that you saw above, first in the Acura's and then the S2000's. What a difference! Front wheel drive and lower HP versus rear wheel drive and more HP. I had the S2000 doing a nice "dance" through the course as did several of the guys. With a very slick course, RWD, very tight turns, and decent HP it was difficult to keep the car completely in control. Especially when you're pushing it. The contest was fun as well and I finished about 5th out of 30 people plus I beat Teresa by a full 3 seconds (which was all that mattered to me)!! :-) It was fun to hear her SIGH LOUDLY when they gave her my time (I think the instructors were rooting for her).
It stopped raining (for the most part) when we finally got the Mid-Ohio race track to ourselves (obviously they didn't want rookies putting the more advanced students / drivers at risk). LOL Teresa and I were in the same group (they broke us into 3 separate groups) and I followed her except for when it was my turn to follow directly behind the instructor. MAN OH MAN, was that ever fun!! Even with the treacherous track (their words) I was able to stay right on his rear bumper (see the website for what the track looks like). It has a lots of turns and a couple of decent straight aways and it had been dry, we would really have had a wonderful time and really pushed the cars even harder (you are liable for up to $3,000 in damage if you wreck). Teresa's car had a lot of issues and was extremely difficult to drive she said (personally I believe her because I usually don't drive up on her that much). The instructors showed us the correct "lines" to run on the course but on each lap, it was simply amazing how much the ride would change (i.e., cars would be fine one lap and the next, you would be fighting it pretty hard to keep it on the track).
Anyway, it was a really great time and we're glad we went. Not sure if we take the next level or not (I'd rather upgrade my suspension on my "race" car). HA HA.
They offer courses for teenagers to help them with their defensive driving skills and I'm sure it helps a lot. Here are a couple of pictures from the hotel we stayed at on Wed evening and where we had dinner.
Hotel Pool Area:
And IF you love M&M's, you definitely have to go to this place!!
