Not saying i'm an expert but some people pick up a lot quicker than others. I'm a 28 year old engineer that has been around performance driving for 10+ years. I did say in my original post i'm planning on doing 3-4 days this next year before trying it.

 

I think its a good point to make about experience. The problem is that you do get drivers that have NO experience that i would run nose to tail with any day of the week. Just because you have gone thru or have not gone thru the HPDE ladder is not really a good indication of what's between your 2 ears. As much as track time/experience helps, it has alot to do with driving a car and mentality. If you are someone who wants to dive bomb a pass in TT you are really mostly an idiot and should go race W2W. If you can't drive side by side with someone on the track i sure as heck don't think you are any better on the public roadways.

If god gave you a brain and you know how to use it. You can drive anywhere.

Getting to be the fastest guy out there is what takes track time.

I"m sure i will get a bunch of **** for those comments. There will be the, oh you can only learn situational awareness by doing it speech i'm
sure.

Now, i have been with people that are just terrible on the track. They are super jerky, can't seem to be smooth shifing and are downright scary. Those people need more time. Bu,t i'm sure they pretty much suck at driving on the street too. Alot of those skill can be learned on the public road ways. And, probably should be taught more in driving schools for teenagers.

To sum it up. Its ALL ABOUT SAFETY! Getting comfortable with passing and traffic will come. Getting faster will come. (a coach can help that). As long as you know the few basic rules of a track you can safely run with anyone.

 

Exactly what i'm thinking. I do realize experience is important, your brain is in overload mode your first couple sessions. I could nail heel toe downshifts on the street in my sleep. Coming into a 40 mph corner at 120 mph while hard on the brakes making 2 downshifts and hitting the apex was pure insanity my first couple laps. After a while i settled in and everything was clicking. I was easily keeping up with a bunch of 350-360 whp corvettes with only 280-290 whp.

At the end of the day i think i have a pretty good head on my shoulders and am pretty mature ( as much as a guy can be, lol) so i think i will be fine. And trust me, the last thing i want to do is pile up my 20k evo.

 

i fully agree with you. im too scared to ride roller coasters, but for whatever reason i can do 120mph on track, but i still have enough fear braking into the corner to keep me from doing something stupid. the main reason i got signed off on my first pass through EMRA TT school according to my instructor was that i was fully aware of what I/my car was doing, and what the other cars were doing and i was driving SAFELY.

sometimes...i almost rush to point by guys behind me, because i dont know those guyes well enough.

 

you sound a lot like me. as long as you go in open minded and not a cocky kid who thinks he's speed racer, i think you will have no reason to not do well and most importantly be respected by the guys you meet and will be driving with. thats what i strive for.