Has anyone attended any of the Jim Russel Racing schools?

N

nsxfast

Registered Member
Joined
30 March 2005
Messages
30
I am planning on taking the Techniques of Racing class this May and was wondering if anyone had attended this, or a similar class? Was it worth it? I have had a good ammount of track days, and a few sessions with an instructor so I was figuring this was the next step...any thoughts? Thanks guys

Jack
 
Re: tell us more

Worth it compared to what? Other schools like Skippy or Daly or ...etc?? Everyone will have a different opinion of the best school. Of course 99% of the time it will be the one school they went to, which might have been last week or 15 years ago. YMMV is the one thing to remember about that, but you already knew that, right? :wink:

What are your concerns? Are you wondering if 3 full days is worth the price or if you'll be burned out 1/2 way thru? If you think it might be too much mentally or physically, then the one day course would be the safer way to go obviously. Some guys don't handle the physical demands and some just get motion sickness. I bought my car for a song from just such a high roller wuss. :tongue:

Where are you located? If you're not too far away to come by the track April 19-22, you can interview all the guys (and a girl or 2) racing in the Russell series. They will give you some idea of their experience when they went thru. Most likely they'll tell you it's worth it, but you never know, maybe they'll have come from another school that they didn't like at all. And you can talk to the :cool: coaches there who are the same instructors that you'll see in your class. Regardless, you should be able to get some hard facts out of them that you can use to answer your questions.

Anyway, I'm speculating; elaborate on your concerns.
 
If your question is, "Is it worth it to take a driving class?", the answer is yes. As stated above, they're all different and YMMV.

My "first mod" recommendation is always to improve your driving skills at a school: "Spend your money on the nut that holds the wheel". I took Skip's class at Laguna Seca.
 
All great schools, can't really go wrong with any. Skippy or Panoz would be my choice.

Look at the alumni of each school - that tells you something.
 
Re: Potential Liability differences?

In cruising around Trackpedia, I stumbled across someone posting a concern that Skippy's liability policy on car damage might be different from others. Don't know anything about it myself, and hopefully you know these details by now.

http://www.trackpedia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=994

If you come by the Russell series at Infineon on 4/21, look for the black & green car #13.
 
Thanks for the reply's guys. I have gone ahead and signed up for the Techniques of Racing 3 day program at the end of May. I have a friend who lives near the track, so housing will be cheap for me!! I agree that the best modification you can do to a car, is to improve the driver and that is what i am hoping to do. 92 white...thanks for the heads up, and yes I am aware of the new policies. Thanks again guys, and see ya out there

Jack
 
Re: A data point

Racing this weekend along side the normal Russell race groups, I chatted with a kid who had a Skip Barber Racing patch on his suit and found out that he had been in their racing series before joining Russell this year. He said Skippy had coaches at every corner (presumably every session) whereas Russell does not. Russell has 2 or 3 coaches roaming around at different corners every session. So, his point was more Skippy coaches came up and talked to him than here. His obvious conclusion was quantity was better because the quality at Skippy was also just as good as Russell.

On rare occassions, the Russell coaches have come up to us in our own cars (as a freebie since we only pay for track time). While the feedback is less, they have a good sense of our overall driving style having watched us thru several turns. I like it that one guy makes the connection between improvements needed in turn A to improvements needed in turns B & C.

Food for thought down the road, shouldn't make any difference in a 3 day school. You'll love it and have more information than you can possibly handle, I'm sure.
 
Thanks for the info. One of my buddies is doing the mechanics school at Jim Russell and has just finished the tehniques of racing course and said it was a blast. Thanks again and i will be sure to give a full report afterwards.

Jack
 
Re: How'd it go?

Did your school go as planned?

Did you get an inside tour from your mechanic buddy of the new facilities and new cars? Fabulous new equipment should set Russell apart from the other schools, at least for awhile.
 
92 White:

The class went great! The weather was perfect, although I hear driving in the rain is an experience all in itself. I stayed at my friends house which was 10 mins from the track, so i was always there earlier than other drivers talking to mechanics and instructors trying to pick up any hints. I ended up having the second fastest lap time in my group (a lot of novices) with a 2:05.8, besting my mechanic buddy by about 2 seconds! The fastest lap was posted by a guy who had a lot of karting background and he posted a 2:05.2...so all in all I was happy, and I didn't wreck!!!!

Yes, I was allowed to take a peak at the news cars and all I can say is that they are in another league! Personally, I think it is too much car for an entry level racing class, and although they have the ability to "detune" the cars, all of the suspension geometry is anchored at the frame which is C/F and I could see that being very expensive repairs if someone crashes...buy hey! They are going to be fast!

I am planning on attending the advanced class that skip barber offers at Road America the August. It is closer to home and i will be able to drive a new track with different instructors, which can't be a bad thing.

In the meantime, I did a test day with Havoc Motorsports at Autobahn Country Club in one of their formula mazdas. The car I tested was very similar to the formula mazdas at the Russell school so it was a smooth transition and I had a great day. Has anyone dealt with havoc before? They do a full race prep and seemed very track savy and confident.

Sorry for the long reply, but I have caught the bug!

Jack
 
Re: Say goodbye to Russell Racing, say hello to WorldSpeed

Yes, I was allowed to take a peak at the news cars and all I can say is that they are in another league! Personally, I think it is too much car for an entry level racing class, and although they have the ability to "detune" the cars, all of the suspension geometry is anchored at the frame which is C/F and I could see that being very expensive repairs if someone crashes...buy hey! They are going to be fast!
Click to expand...
Yes, they are in another league and the new Russell owners (from Europe) announced that they intend to train "money-is-no-object" kids headed for the top ranks of professional racing. They flat said last Saturday that they do not consider their market to be the "gentlemen racers" who only spend $30-50k/year just to have fun. Goodbye Russell as we know it.

The good news is that WorldSpeed will step up and provide the opportunity for those gentlemen racers to continue to "arrive and drive". However, they will have to buy a car, I believe, not just "rent one for the weekend." They will have a choice of a standard FM (very much like the Russell cars they have been using) or a newly developed Renesis powered standard Formula Mazda, similar to the one that Arnis just got but updated to include a sequential no-lift shift. But this is a small additional cost when compared to their current budget of $2k-4k/weekend. And on the plus side, it will be their car exclusively, no more sharing cars.

I have a couple of pdf's announcing WorldSpeed's programs and will send them to anyone that PM's me. (They're too big to post here). Unfortunately, the formal one day or weekend schools are not in the cards, at least not yet.

Anyway, WorldSpeed, a solid racing organization with a history of smart business decisions just benefitted from Russell's new direction. And it will be interesting to see if the "new Russell" ultimately flies or flops.
 
Do you know where I can find a "new" Formula mazda? THX
Click to expand...
By new, you mean an FMR; the standard car set up with a new detuned Renesis and a beefed up gear box? I'm on the road now and will send you the pdf flyer when I get to a more convenient location. Or you could cut right to the chase and call WorldSpeed (see link in my previous post). Ask for Mark or Telo and tell em I sent you.

Or, if you're looking for a used Pro FM, check classifieds page on the Formula Mazda forum.
http://p211.ezboard.com/bformulamazdaforum
 
Thanks for the link...never seen that site before. Would you mind PM'ing me your phone number? I would like to give you a call and speak to you about some questions I have....when you get a chance of course. THX

Jack
 

Similar threads

TANTO
ALUMINUM POLISHING DIY
Replies
5
Views
184
Honcho
Honcho
simonasaur
Another kwv3 review
Replies
2
Views
287
simonasaur
simonasaur
M
No Sleep Til Brooklands - Slow Evolution of a Forever Car
2
Replies
47
Views
5K
puravida
P
dansplan
Mileage Milestones & a warning regarding Social Media
2
Replies
33
Views
3K
m3brendan
m3brendan
MITA Motorsports
NSX Door Liners and the troubles of injection molding
Replies
8
Views
2K
SWFL_NSX
SWFL_NSX
Back
Top