BowlofRice

Okay I think I may have a grasp of my needs for tracking... According to the faqs/threads/websites my car is only allowed at proformance days and Porsche or Alfa club events for the Bremerton and PR tracks? If I do a skills and hpde day with a club then I can do a lapping day with any other club? Can I do a lapping day at proformance event too? I believe the car clubs sorta recognize each other so I could attend each others sponsored event if I did the skills and lapping day?

It feels like I/we have little options to get started with a low costs. My other option is go to Spokane and track on their Friday skills and HPDE weekend.

Please school me.

misterwaterfallin

Most clubs want you to have some kind of experience, whether it's a day with another org or a car control class. The first day I ever did was a Cascade day ar PIR because they didn't require a skills day, only a 2 hour class the night before. I would recomend starting out at PIR or Bremerton, as the tracks are a bit more beginner friendly. I think Alfa club will let you hop on the track with no experience but you have to have an instructor in the car

Usually after you do one day you're good to go with other clubs as long as you're a member of the club or another recognized group (PCA, BMWCC, SCCA ect)

BowlofRice

Which group are you affiliated with?

I was thinking of doing the skills day with the Alfa club next month in Bremerton. I just want access to as much as possible with the least amount of money. It's an expensive endeavor.

rice_classic

Some of the reasons for limitation is due to the S2000 being a convertible. As is, most groups (pro-formance being one of them), require rollover protection and mandate convertibles to have roll bar or roll cage. If you had a closed roof car or put a roll bar in the s2k, more HPDE options would be open to you, especially after you have a bit of experience.

BowlofRice

I guess it's hard dog roll bar time sooner then later.

That just opens a whole another can of worms. If I were to go that route I'd like a harness bar and harness, which requires racing seats... Or can you run a harness on stock seats?

misterwaterfallin

How old are you? you can get a "first gear" SCCA membership pretty cheap in you're under 25. I'm a SCCA member plus have a friend who instructs with PCA/BMWCC so I can slide into those if I want to that way. I don't really do open track days anymore but would assume nothing has changed in the last year or two

BowlofRice

Damn! I'm 26. Will be 27 in august.

If I may ask, why don't do you do open track days anymore?

misterwaterfallin

Long story but it went something like: autox/track days, racing (spec miata), now autox in the s and Im building a bike to track/race this upcoming season if things go to plan.

I also wouldn't recomend using harnesses with the stock seats. I would rather use the stock seat/belts with the rollbar then stock seats/harness

mikegarrison

There is no automatic eligibility. Unless they know you, clubs will want to talk to you about your experience. They may require you to get checked out by an instructor. They may require you to start out in the novice group. They may do almost anything they want to do, since they are the ones running the event.

Until you are pushing your car a lot harder than the typical novice, I wouldn't advise installing a roll bar. Some clubs won't let you drive a convertible even if you do have a roll bar. But all these decisions are up to you.

jerrypeterson

There are instruction days available at all of the big tracks in the region. Usually the best bet is to contact the club directly. Some waffle on their restrictions. Especially if they are close to, or far from, filling an event. The majority won't. Either way, it is a very good to contact them, if only to introduce yourself.

However, the usual first step is to participate in one or more Autox events. Since you are mostly standing around with nothing better to do than talk to other drivers, you can learn a lot without risking your hardware. This will also give you a sense of whether you are willing to sacrifice yourself to the Crack Pipe (Answer is almost always yes). Consider a Lapping Day at PGP after that. The speeds are higher and the course is just as technical as autox. These first two options won't require equipment changes for your S2000, so it is really a matter of showing up. This is a far less expensive path to get started on. Having some experience before moving up to triple digit speeds, even under the guidence of an instructor, will pay big dividends as well.

The big tracks can be a little overwhelming if you haven't participated in Performance Driving before. The risk and cost is comensurate as well. The key adavantage to running with a organized body at a big track is the availability of instruction. You will need 3-10 days of instruction before most clubs will let you run independently. Again, that depends on your progress. While it's really fun to run solo, I strongly recommend that you accept or request instruction whenever possible. Having an experienced body and immediate feedback will grow your skills much more quickly than the lonesome cowboy trail.

Locally, the pool of instructors are effectively the track regulars. Which leads two notable features:
1) Your progress with one organization is relatively transferrable to the next, at least for lapping day purposes. Cirriculum and instructors are often shared. "I did two weekends with the IEBMW Club and Scott Adare was my instructor" will almost always translate when running with another club.
2) On track misbehavior will greatly reduce your opportunities. Word gets around and it doesn't go away. Case in point, it's possible to have the same instructor at a Proformance School, Alfa Day, and an IRDC event. Mistakes are forgiven, but refusing to listen to officials or instructors is a really really really bad idea. Even if you plan to drive at another track. Ever.

Finally, a number of us in the local club have worked as instructors or are huffing the Go-Fast Crack Pipe. Feel free to share your experiences. We all started at square one.