Formula Car Racing School

[Scin]

I'm thinking about attending a formula car racing school. I am looking for suggestions on which school to attend. Does anyone have experience with Jim Russell, Skip Barber, Bondurant Racing School, etc.? I would eventually like to get an SCCA Competition license, and some of these schools offer this as an incentive at their tier 2 level (after about $8,000 ).

My current experience level is half a dozen track days in the NSX, I asked for and received instruction at almost every one of these track days (I ran with various clubs, bust mostly NASA). I also have have half a season in a 125cc kart at the club level. I plan to continue karting and I am going to be receiving private instruction two days a week in the kart.

Going to one of the mentioned schools for a three day course is a pretty big investment for me. Do you guys think it is worthwhile, or would I be better off getting more seat time in the kart first?

 

[docjohn]

I have done bondurant and daly in vegas.Both have merrit.For your level of ability I liked the Daly program simply because(at the time) the daly cars had data aquisition which was great for fine tuning,ie comparing your style to the instructers.At this point(bases on your experience) I would choose whichever major school has data aquisition,has the track and price you can live with and gives you the most seat time.

 

[Revhard191]

Scin,

I took the Skip Barber School, a bit one the high side, but was well worth the dollars spent. Best bang for the buck if you ask me. I actually spent the money and took the advanced classes after completing the ones prior.

If you don't mind, where or what club do you race your Kart with? I too race Karts and Race with LAKC at California speedway and sometimes head out to Moran and race with Tri-C last year. I usually go out to Moran for testing and I am running the Gatorz Series as well.

Cheers,

Revhard191

 

[Todd McKelvie]

I raced karts for 5 years...100cc and 125cc shifter. There is always a "semi-pro" or "pro level" kart racer around that will work with you for a weekend for a couple hundred bucks a day. Since all racers come from the karting level, I suggest you find a "pro level" driver in your area and see if they will work with you.

I was looking into having Joey Hand workk with me for a weekend prior to him going to BMW and his dad Les Hand said it would be about $500.00 plus expenses for a 2 day training in my kart.

 

[Scin]

I am actually about to hire the local semi-pro for a few hours every week. He is a part owner at the local kart track and has raced a bunch of different formula cars and ICC shifters.

I raced karts for 5 years...100cc and 125cc shifter. There is always a "semi-pro" or "pro level" kart racer around that will work with you for a weekend for a couple hundred bucks a day. Since all racers come from the karting level, I suggest you find a "pro level" driver in your area and see if they will work with you.

I was looking into having Joey Hand workk with me for a weekend prior to him going to BMW and his dad Les Hand said it would be about $500.00 plus expenses for a 2 day training in my kart.

 

[92 white 0650]

I did not go to a formal race school, so I can't give you a first hand comparison. But I've had the opportunity to observe the Russell Race series first hand for a couple of years. The Russell race series has a separate race session for us Formula Mazda car owners (both the standard car and the Pro FM) every month along side their Formula Russell race series.

I see a lot of guys keep coming back to race Russell year after year and some fly in every month from all over the country. They could be going to Skip Barber and others much closer to home, so Russell should definitely be at or near the top of your consideration list.

The opportunity to move on to higher levels is probably much better than the other schools. World Speed supports over 20 Pro FM's at Infineon on those same Russell race weekends. They won the Star Mazda Pro series with Ace Carrio, a name you'll be seeing in Atlantics and probably Champ Car in the near future.

I'm guessing you're not a 16 year old and since you mentioned the money that automatically says to me that you're a regular guy looking for speed and fun. If that's the case, I wouldn't worry about going to a formula school too soon. I bought an FM with just NSX track days experience. And although I'm way too old to be really quick, I have the respect of everyone on track, so the required skill set to have fun is definitely within your immediate reach.

I say go for it. The sooner the better.

 

[Scin]

Scin,

I took the Skip Barber School, a bit one the high side, but was well worth the dollars spent. Best bang for the buck if you ask me. I actually spent the money and took the advanced classes after completing the ones prior.

If you don't mind, where or what club do you race your Kart with? I too race Karts and Race with LAKC at California speedway and sometimes head out to Moran and race with Tri-C last year. I usually go out to Moran for testing and I am running the Gatorz Series as well.

Cheers,

Revhard191

I have a 2005 Birel R32 Chasis with a Rotax FR125 Max. I run it in Rotax Max and Tag races, these are the most competitive classes in my area. It is also a class I can afford to be competitive in. My home track is www.ironrockraceway.com .

 

[Scin]

I did not go to a formal race school, so I can't give you a first hand comparison. But I've had the opportunity to observe the Russell Race series first hand for a couple of years. The Russell race series has a separate race session for us Formula Mazda car owners (both the standard car and the Pro FM) every month along side their Formula Russell race series.

I see a lot of guys keep coming back to race Russell year after year and some fly in every month from all over the country. They could be going to Skip Barber and others much closer to home, so Russell should definitely be at or near the top of your consideration list.

The opportunity to move on to higher levels is probably much better than the other schools. World Speed supports over 20 Pro FM's at Infineon on those same Russell race weekends. They won the Star Mazda Pro series with Ace Carrio, a name you'll be seeing in Atlantics and probably Champ Car in the near future.

I'm guessing you're not a 16 year old and since you mentioned the money that automatically says to me that you're a regular guy looking for speed and fun. If that's the case, I wouldn't worry about going to a formula school too soon. I bought an FM with just NSX track days experience. And although I'm way too old to be really quick, I have the respect of everyone on track, so the required skill set to have fun is definitely within your immediate reach.

I say go for it. The sooner the better.

I appreciate the input. I was actually leaning toward the Russell before I started this post.

 

[RSO 34]

I did Skip Barber's 3 Day Racing School and the 2 Day Advanced School before I ever tracked the NSX and not only thought is was very educational and worthwhile but it was a blast also. The 3 Day School includes waiver of any damages to the car but the 2 Day Advanced has crash liability.

 

[stuntman]

Russel, Bonderaunt, Panoz, etc... all have great schools and programs. Personally I reccomend Skip Barber. I happen to be an instructor there to, but if you look at the professional racecar drivers out there, most of them went through the Skip Barber school including:

Juan Pablo Montoya
AJ Allmendinger
Marco and Michael Andretti
Paul Newman
Kyle Petty
Boris Said
and many more...
http://www.skipbarber.com/alumni.aspx

http://www.skipbarber.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=1693

I'd highly reccomend their 3-day racing school. Their cirriculum, instruction, and cars have put more club and professional racers in the winning circle than any other school.

 

[NSXTC]

Well…the good news is that you don’t need to spend anywhere near $8,000 to get your SCCA Competition license. With as many track days as you have under your belt, you would be a good candidate to go right into the SCCA licensing school. In our region here (CalClub…Southern California) we have a weekend-long “super school” held twice a year. You will need to rent a bonafide race car (any class…must have logbook and have passed tech), and have all the safety gear such as helmet, suit, fireproof socks, etc. If you pass the school, you will have your novice permit signed off, and you will be race legal (as a novice). After 2 regional races, you can send in the novice permit and exchange it for a legitimate regional SCCA Competition license.

FWIW, here is the link to CalClub’s licening page:

http://www.calclub.com/html/headerpages/roadracing/license.htm

Go to scca.com to find your local region…I am sure they have a similar program to directly get your competition license.

Good luck!

Marc