HPDE Tech Questions

[Norton 828]

I have several tech questions. Who can I call or email to get some official answers? I have a race ready Porsche 914, but Im not sure if it would pass tech for HPDE. I have gutted the car and built a roll cage. The cage does not have nascar bars. Is this going to get me in trouble? The car is prepaired to pass tech for Historic Sportscar Racing. I have already signed up for the Kersaw HPDE in July. Does anyone from the SE region have any advice or know who I should talk to? Thanks

Jake

[Norton 828]

I signed up for HPDE 1. I have have done maybe 8-10 track days with Turn One Motorsports at kershaw. Also I have race tires on the car. Is that a tech violation?

 

Jake

[beerkat]

Here is a link to the NASA-SE website. It is the page for contacting different people.

 

http://www.nasa-southeast.com/contactus.jsp

 

Peter Urbanski Chief of Technical Inspection is the person who you need to contact.

[Renntag]

Pete Urbanski is a great guy and will answer questions for you for sure.

 

Before you call pete....please review this web page on the national site:

http://www.nasaproracing.com/hpde/index.html

 

also, be sure to read the CCRs here:

http://www.nasaproracing.com/rules/ccr.pdf

 

Go ahead and print a copy to bring with you to the track, if you ever have a question, read the rules first, and then consult an official for further clarification if needed.

 

I hope this helps. Best of luck and enjoy the 914, great car.

[Frank Corkran]

I signed up for HPDE 1. I have have done maybe 8-10 track days with Turn One Motorsports at kershaw. Also I have race tires on the car.

 

Since you have a fair bit of experience on that track and have race tires, you need to keep in mind that in HPDE1, most of the other drivers will have little or no experience driving on any track. You may well be one of the fastest cars out there in your group (at least to start), no matter what everyone else is driving. Some will likely have a difficult time coming up to speed (or even finding the line) as well, so expect some packs of slow moving traffic - especially early on the first day. Give the other drivers plenty of room, be patient and keep your aggression in check. Until you can recognize the better, more experienced drivers, make no assumptions about what the other drivers will do and don't expect sharp, prompt points from anyone. Also, be ready for them to do things like hitting the brakes when they do give a point or driving erratically from looking in the mirror when you get close or when they point you by.

 

Try to remain calm and give them the space they need to learn. For example, the guy in HPDE1 driving a new Z06 or Viper who creeps around the track and then floors it on the straight (only to brake very early) instead of pointing you by probably isn't really the jackass he appears, he just doesn't know any better yet. You might want to bring up a similar situation (in general) during your next classroom session as well, if the classroom instructor doesn't beat you to it. Also, if you see an in-car instructor's head turned a lot and close to the student's helmet in the car ahead, he's probably dealing with a student suffering from information overload or struggling to get a particular point across. Back off a bit, be cautious and be patient. If you don't get a point-by after a lap or two, just roll through the pits very slowly so you come back out a half lap or so behind the train.

 

I mention these points because I recently had a student in HPDE1 with qualifications similar to yours (and a very fast car) who had never run with NASA and he nearly got himself into big trouble. He'd only run events with light traffic, lots of passing zones and apparently few total novices. He expected everyone else to be at his level and know what he knew, got frustrated and became overly aggressive. The fact that his car was too loud for any verbal communication on track (even with a comm unit) was also a factor.

 

Have fun, you're going to enjoy being a part of NASA.

[ExRacer]

Frank thank you for giving a VERY kind and seasoned viewpoint from an instructors' seat. If everyone behaved as you observed, the process would be soo much smoother ontrack.

 

Congratulations to all who view this thread. It's this kind of honest, non-ego guidance that makes NASA forums invaluable.

 

PS I'm gonna use this in our HPDE3 sessions this weekend.

 

Hey Norton, welcome to NASA.

 

Thanks!!!!