4 replies to this topic

[GS872]

I recommend the Phoenix CMR two-day High Performance Driving Experience at Watkins Glen for anyone who wants a high quality, high speed experience on a great road course. The outfit that runs the program is small, but first rate, the instructors were very good, and the flaggers / track crew are all Watkins Glen employees. They even put a jet blower on the track before the first run session each day to clean the dust off of the track surface.

I just got back from the program and I had a blast. In 7 run sessions (I skipped the final session on Tuesday to head home) nobody except a very fast kit Cobra got close enough to pass GS872! In fairness, except for a few supercharged Mustangs, a couple of Beemers, and the kit Cobra, most of those running in the rookie group weren't in competitive equipment and weren't driving that hard.

The second and third groups had some race-prepared cars, including a few C-5s, one C-6, a few kit Cobras, a couple of Porsches, a very fast Ford GT, late model SVT Mustangs and vintage (1960's) Rustang racers.

Here's the link for the HPDE: http://www.phoenixcmr.com/index.html
I think they only run two schools per year. If you're looking for a racing school, this isn't the place for you. If you want to learn to drive fast safely, you may want to consider this.

[GS163]

Sounds very cool Bill, wish we had something like that down here in south Florida. Got any pics?

[GS919]

Cool -- sounds like a lot of fun.

[GS872]

There are any number of outfits that run HPDEs at tracks all around the country. If you look at a track's detailed event schedule, you may find weekday and non-race weekend events with names like Car Guys, Track Masters, etc.

The other possibility would be to call tracks in your area to see if anyone runs HDPEs there.

You may have to look at tracks that are some distance from home. Watkins Glen is a 300 mile drive for me each way, but the event and track were both better than anything in my immediate area.

[gs687]

Here's a link to a site that has a schedule for most every major track east of the Mississippi River:
Track Schedule