Re: Passing at driver schools

[David Cullen <dcullen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Having had some experience with this, I just had to comment.

>Date: Wed, 28 Oct 1998 08:12:31 -0600
>From: Bob Stommel <rstommel@domain.elided>
>Subject: Re: Passing at driver schools

- ---snip---

>I personally believe that allowing passing on different sides at different
>parts of the track is asking for trouble in the novice run groups.  Doesn't
>matter what track you're on.  Even the simple addition of one extra passing
>zone for just the advanced groups usually confuses a few students and
>instructors each school, let alone changing the passing side for different
>sections of the track.  But then, we're probably not as smart here in the
>Midwest as you folks on the left coast.  ;-)

>Rule one:  Keep it simple.  

>Bob Stommel 

This was my first driving school in my first BMW at Road Atlanta. A 1997 M3
with 5k miles that I only had for 2 months. I'm telling you this so you
understand how nervous I was taking a 40k car out on the track.

We started out as Bob suggested with all passing on the right. There were
two passing zones. The straight between turn 12 and 1 and the shorter
straight between turn 9 and 10. We were running the track in the "Club
Course" configuration. That is, turn 5 is a right hander and turns 6, 7,
and 8 are out of the picture. Here's a url for the track map in case anyone
is interested. Turn 5 is at the bottom of a hill after "the esses" and from
5 to 9 is an uphill grade of (a guess) somewhere between 5 and 10 degrees
with 9 being at the top and not much of a turn at all. Then, downhill to
turn 10, a nearly 90 degree left for 100-200 ft or so then a 90 degree
right for turn 11. Hope you got the picture. I'm running pretty slowly in
the D group and have tennis elbow from giving everybody the pass by. I have
no problem at all stacking them up behind me from turns 3 and 4 down
through the esses to 5. Passing starts at turn 9 so I have to get off line
and pass em by. Still with me? Okay, even I have no trouble hitting 100 at
or soon after turn 9 and I'm not really trying so almost everbody is still
behind me waiting for the golden arm to set them free. Now remember, turn
10 is a hard left at the bottom of the hill, there are brake markers
starting at 200 feet (the only turn with brake markers, mind you). Now, I'm
offline and have waved 2 or 3 by me but there are more there that would
like to go by but, ya know, I REALLY need to be back on line for this turn.
Even though I haven't pointed more on by, one or two do and the rest are
intent on turn 10 and don't realize (or don't care) I need some space to
get back in line or we're going try turn 10 in pairs because it is
approaching mighty fast. This being a relatively short straight and all.
Yeah, I know I could just stop but I'm not thinking this is a good thing
because it will confuse the hell out of all the other "novices" that come
over the hill at turn 9 and see a stopped car there even if it is off line.
To make a long story short, (hehe, thought I was going to drag this on
forever didn't ya) the driver meeting after lunch the rules have changed,
the back straight is now pass on the left. This way, the guys who really
need to be on line for 10 are, and the passers aren't as likey to try
sneaking an unauthorized pass when they have to get off line to do it.

Now, I'm not saying they changed the rules just for little ole me. Maybe I
was the only one who had trouble with this and maybe not. (I did manage to
pass a few myself.) But it was more natural to pass on the left here.

IMHO, the only generalization you can make is that passing rules should be
the safest that make sense for the track.

David

P.S. I'm going back for more in November and I've been practicing :)
P.P.S. At Petite Lemans, the coolest thing was to watch the brake rotors
light up coming into turn 10 after it got dark. You could tell what kind of
bias they were running by how brightly they glowed. They were running the
full course so they must have been hitting near 200 approaching that turn.

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