FAST TIMES CLASSES PUT YOU IN RACE CAR'S COCKPIT.Byline: Bill Becher Correspondent SONOMA - At 100 mph with the accelerator floored, the concrete wall is approaching fast. I need to get off the gas, press the brake pedal to move the car's weight onto the front tires, then brake harder, push in the clutch, give the accelerator pedal a blip by rolling my brake-pedal foot onto it - the wall is really coming fast, brain says to foot - then downshift down·shift v. down·shift·ed, down·shift·ing, down·shifts v.intr. 1. To shift a motor vehicle into a lower gear. 2. To reduce the speed, rate, or intensity of something. 3. and ease the car into a turn. All in less than two seconds. Here at the three-day Techniques of Racing Course at the Jim Russell Racing Drivers School, you unlearn everything they taught you in driver's ed. It's OK - required, even - to floor the accelerator. And tailgating Tailgating The action of a broker or advisor purchasing or selling a security for his or her client(s) and then immediately making the same transaction in his or her own account. is a teaching tool. At the school's Infineon Raceway Infineon Raceway, formerly Sears Point Raceway, is a road course and drag strip located on the landform known as Sears Point in the southern Sonoma Mountains near Sonoma, California, USA. The course is a complex series of twists and turns that go up and down the hills. , we started out practicing the heel- and-toe downshift tap dance that allows us to work three pedals with two feet. Threshold braking Threshold braking or limit braking is a driving technique wherein the driver adjusts control of the brake system in an attempt to maximize the braking force of the vehicle. was next - learning to apply maximum stopping power stopping power Radiation oncology The ability of a material to stop ionizing radiation; alpha paticles are stopped by a piece of paper, gamma radiation by thick lead shielding Radiology The density of a tissue reflected in an image's whiteness; white without locking up the wheels. Then we tailgated the instructors' pace cars to learn the racing line In motorsport, the racing line is the fastest path a vehicle can take through a specific corner, series of corners, or track. It is an accepted fact that the shortest difference between two points is a straight line. - the quickest way through the course. We even walked part of the track to see the turns up close. After that, we were on our own, zooming around a 2.5-mile track that is sculpted sculpt v. sculpt·ed, sculpt·ing, sculpts v.tr. 1. To sculpture (an object). 2. To shape, mold, or fashion especially with artistry or precision: into hills that might otherwise be planted in chardonnay grapes. The roller-coaster course twists and turns, rises and falls Rise and Fall redirects here. For the Belgian hardcore band, click here. Rises and falls is a category of the ballroom dance technique that refers to rises and falls of the body of a dancer achieved through actions of knees and feet (ankles). - no boring ovals here. We spent a few hours in lectures about racing technique and rules, but most of our time was spent behind the wheel. ``The cars are the classroom,'' said instructor Ken Garza. Spinning out is the penalty for trying too hard in class. ``In a spin, two feet in,'' was the mantra Garza drilled into us. This means that if you spin out, floor the brake and the clutch, and hopefully you'll come to a stop with the engine running before you hit something. Skid marks skid marks skid npl → Reifenspuren pl; (from braking) → Bremsspuren pl ending in black splotches on the white concrete retaining walls were reminders that there are limits to tire adhesion. While most of the 16 students enrolled in the class were fulfilling a Walter Mitty Wal·ter Mit·ty n. An ordinary, often ineffectual person who indulges in fantastic daydreams of personal triumphs. [After the main character in "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" by James Thurber. fantasy, there is nothing frivolous about the school. The instructors are passionate about racing and wanted us to understand the fine points. They watched our driving and gave us feedback in the pits - sometimes sketching the correct line on a diagram of the course. ``But the map doesn't show the intensity of emotion to be found here,'' said Garza. And he's right: Just getting into a race car is thrilling. We were driving open-wheel Formula Mitsubishi cars - strictly street-illegal. Sliding into the form-fitting cockpits, we buckled the four-point harnesses and donned full-face helmets. The cars are low-slung, magnifying the sense of speed. There's no glove compartment, vanity mirror or trunk. If you went out for groceries in one of these, you wouldn't have room for a quart of milk. But it will get you around the track very quickly, once you learn how. To keep us from splattering into the concrete barriers that line parts of the course, the instructors started us with the engines limited to about two-thirds of their maximum revolutions per minute. As we learned, they give us more rpm's. By the third day, the engines were screaming and we were allowed to pass slower cars. With no glass and metal around you to block the rush of air or the sound of the engine (pocketa-pocketa-pocketa!), the sensory experience is intense as you reach the rev limiter. The smell of exhaust and scorched scorch v. scorched, scorch·ing, scorch·es v.tr. 1. To burn superficially so as to discolor or damage the texture of. See Synonyms at burn1. 2. rubber helps you get in touch with your inner Mario Andretti. Kjell Kallman, the school's general manager, says about 30 percent of the students go on to take an advanced class - and half of them go on to race regularly. For the rest of us (abuse) for The Rest Of Us - (From the Macintosh slogan "The computer for the rest of us") 1. Used to describe a spiffy product whose affordability shames other comparable products, or (more often) used sarcastically to describe spiffy but very overpriced products. 2. , this was simply a chance to experience the high-octane thrills of racing. Speaking of high octane, you can fill up with 118 Super Duper dupe n. 1. An easily deceived person. 2. A person who functions as the tool of another person or power. tr.v. duped, dup·ing, dupes To deceive (an unwary person). See Synonyms at deceive. here, but it's only legal on the newly paved track. Infineon has invested more than $50 million on improvements in the last few years, and it is evident. At the raceway store, meanwhile, you can even buy racing memorabilia and flameproof flame·proof adj. Resistant to catching fire; flame-retardant. tr.v. flame·proofed, flame·proof·ing, flame·proofs To make resistant to catching fire. Adj. 1. Nomex underwear. The school has teamed up with local hotels to offer wine country and racing spa packages. It doesn't hurt that the school is in a region where great food and wine are easy to come by. But at dinner, go light on the Kunde Magnolia Lane Sauvignon Blanc, as you'll need all your coordination on day three. In what Garza confesses is a deliberate but cruelly effective marketing ploy, class participants take some laps in the Formula Russell cars on the final day. These shiny beauties have racing slicks, wings to apply downward force and more powerful rotary engines. If you come back for the Advanced Racing Course, this is what you'll be driving. On the drive home, my wife reminded me to slow down. Sixty-five seemed so slow. IF YOU GO INFORMATION: Jim Russell Racing Drivers School offers half-day and three-day classes in Formula race-car driving, priced from $495 to $2,695. (A one-day class is planned for next year.) Classes in karting karting Driving and racing miniature, skeleton-frame, rear-engine automobiles called karts or GoKarts. The sport originated in the U.S. in the 1950s after the first kart had been assembled from unwanted lawn-mower parts. and highway survival skills are also available, along with a course that allows patrons to test their own high-performance cars on the track. There is no age limit, but participants must be able to operate a vehicle with a manual transmission. (800) 733-0345; www.jimrussellusa.com. LODGING: There are plenty of accommodations available in nearby Sonoma, including the El Dorado Hotel, conveniently located on the town square above the Piatti Restaurant. The latter features rotisserie-roasted meats, house-made pastas and an award-winning wine list. (707) 996-3030. CAPTION(S): 4 photos, box Photo: (1 -- 3) Clockwise from above, instructor Jeff Oppenheim advises a student on the fine points of driving at the Jim Russell Racing Drivers School's Infineon Raceway, where another student behind the wheel of a Formula Mitsubishi has an open track ahead, and a line of drivers wait their turn on the course. (4) A video camera mounted on the roll bar of the Formula race cars at the Jim Russell school in Sonoma lets students have a souvenir of their time behind the wheel. Bill Becher/Special to the Daily News Box: IF YOU GO (see text) 
omg yeaaaah Ken cracked me up all the time, like when he told me to use a roadkill dead bunny as a turn-in marker... lmfao!!! Or when I looked @ his clipboard and saw my car number with the words "cool down lap - 31" but barely legible... when I asked why, he laughed and said he was trying to catch the number of the car flying through the chicane before #10 and had to write while speeding. roflll <br><br>I think the only time he didn't laugh was when I got black flagged for multiple passing, there was 2 cars battling, and a 3rd car in the standby slot 3 cars back, so I set up the 3rd car coming off 8B going into 9, and kept it floored on the outside line... luckily I also beat the 2 cars battling to the braking point for the chicane without the 2nd car pulling out to attempt a pass, but once I came around 11, I got flagged, and when I passed 7 on that lap, there's Ken jumping up and down pulling his hair out and glaring... rofl oh well, it was totally worth sitting out the rest of that session, and the looks on those 3 drivers faces when they finished, all asking each other "did you see that move? whoever that was came outta nowhere, and was gone just as fast"... "I tried to take it in 3rd gear also, but couldn't keep up without binding the wheel." "anyone see which car it was?"... as I walked up to the group from the lounge while grubbing on some snacks, I apologized for endangering others, then asked how it looked...<br><br>The only reply was from the guy who was leading all 4 cars going into 9... "dude you're a savage. =D"<br><br> |
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