924sowner Posted October 14, 2005 Share Posted October 14, 2005 i just attended the HPDE event at buttonwillow and man did i have a blast! i had the car in either the top of 3rd or middle of 4th through the bus stop and nearly touched redline in 4th going into magic mountain. i was registered for HPDE 1 but on my second session, i went out on the track solo. something about a lack of instructers. and the last 3 sessions that day i didnt have anyone either. sunday i had a similar experience, only one out of 4 sessions did i get an instructor, and for the very last session, i just pulled into the HPDE 2 line. im extremely comfortable with this, and i didnt have a single spin or off in my porsche 924S. im wondering now that no one signed off on me to drive solo or anything and i didnt even get one of them fancy NASA log books... is this alright? i am going to create my own log book for personal refrence anyway, so i was wondering if i show up to the next event if i should sign up for HPDE 2 or 3 or what?!?! im very comfortable with my speed at this point and im making good lap times and improvements. mid to low 2:20s on 13 CW. i have heel and toe basically down, im not jerking the car, or squealing the tires or grinding gears. should i just skip #2 and go straight for 3? im sorry for all the questions, but i really dont like the confusion and im in a rush to join my friends in 944 spec thanks for replys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Jones Posted October 14, 2005 Share Posted October 14, 2005 From what's been said before in the HPDE 1/2 classes, I'm sure no one will mind you signing up for HPDE2 for next month. However, it normally takes awhile to get signed off for HPDE3, so you'd probably raise a few eyebrows if you tried to sign up for that group, to say the least. Do see John Matthew about getting your passport issued and annotated, especially if you think you might want to run NASA events outside of SoCal, where they won't recognize your face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff D Posted October 14, 2005 Share Posted October 14, 2005 One thing you didn't mention is whether or not this was your first NASA event or whether or not you have any previous on-track or racing experience. I won't comment further since I'm not familar with Buttonwillow or how the run groups are setup CA, but I will say that sneaking out in a different run group was not a good idea. Odds are if you were doing that well at the normal things expected from a group1 driver (learning the line, flag/corner worker recognition, getting & giving point-bys, etc.) your instructor might have been ok with letting you move up on Sunday anyways. If you talk to your regions director and let him/her know you are interested in getting out there racing asap they will more than likely help you get there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
924sowner Posted October 14, 2005 Author Share Posted October 14, 2005 cant say i snuck into a different run group as the two groups were combined, there were jsut two different pre-grid lines, thoes that wanted an instructor, and those that did, as it was explained to me.... and this was my first NASA event, ut not my first track time on a race track. ive had quite a few hours of seat time in 125 karts. i do knwo what im looking for when i go out on track, and what to expect, and where to be careful of unexpected things... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tapaule Posted October 14, 2005 Share Posted October 14, 2005 Hey Mike, I was one of the instructors both days (just missed one session on Saturday) but I noticed your car (open exhaust 924, right?) both days. You might recall me as asking you on a scale of 1 to 10 how badly you wanted/needed an instructor when you were on pregrid. I ended up in a different car that had indicated with a much higher answer than yours for an instructor. I did notice that session that I was the only instructor Anyway, from what I could tell while instructing from other cars, you seemed to have a good line and were carrying speed very well. It is easy to remember your car going by in each session - it so loud Not sure what the set-up of your car is (street tires versus race tires, if it's lightened, etc), but you seemed to be carrying enough speed to not get noticed for not having an instructor, which generally means you probably don't need one. You may have an underlying habit or two you may need to have an instructor point out to you that isn't apparant to you, but may be good to "nip in the bud" before it becomes ingrained in your driving technique. I am more that willing to ride with you for the first session next month and sign you off. I'll find you on grid if you want as I know who you are and you don't know me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
944-Spec#94 Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 Mike, Make sure you get an official HPDE 1 to HPDE 2. Sign off. Sounds like you are pretty good on track. It is nice however to have sign off just to elmimate and hassles later on. Tom's point on having an instructor is to work on details is really good point. I am NASA instructor in Az and having a signed off book is nice thing. Especially went you are ready for HPDE3. I know you want to go an race pretty soon, but don't try to push at it too hard. A racer needs to be completely comfortable doing simple stuff like driving fast. In race the actual driving needs to be second nature as driving is not first thing on your mind. Probably the best way to race into the race group is to actually HAVE an instructor. Get your self signed off for HPDE 2 then look for and requst racer instuctors. Tell them your goals and they can help you spot your weaknesses much sooner and you will be faster in far fewer events than just doing it all solo. Plus getting to know the instructor core and Race instructor core will make it much eaiser to progress into each HPDE group. Once in HPDE 3 or 4, be sure to ask a 944 spec guy to ride with you and assess your skills. As you get faster and faster you will like to have an instructor with knowledge of your car. For right now an instructor that is a racer is great start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMC#64 Posted October 17, 2005 Share Posted October 17, 2005 I was there also in HPDE 1/2 (The Red Focus) for the whole weekend and after the second run on Saturday my Instructor said he was comfortable with my dirving and I was on my own, was that a move to HPDE 2??, thats the way I took it.... the passport was mentioned in one of our downloads by a student asking to get it signed and the our director said something to the effect "They still use those?" I'm using the HPDE's to get my Comp license for CMC, I also am not sure on the progression of HPDE 2/3/4..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
924sowner Posted October 17, 2005 Author Share Posted October 17, 2005 Tom, i dont think you will recognise me by the sound of my car anymore as i have had the exaust fixed after about a week of street driving the thing. my ears are still ringing, lol. but ide be very glad to have someone ride with me and point out anything that i need to fix as im shure theres things im doing that i could definatly improve on. coming out of corners with a higher speed is one ive noticed... i think with the power my car has i need to get up the huevos to carry more speed into the corner in the first place... a racer instructor would definatly be a big help as i can tell you right now i need to get more agressive in order to set up for passing under race conditions. as far as car set up, ve got street dry/rain tires koni shocks, an agressive alignment, and about 150 lbs weight reduction at that time. but my front sway bar is missing a bushing on it and the car rolls badly. and it dosent have much in the way of power, well, not like most of the other cars out there anyway... maybe has 120-130 at the wheels or so. i will definatly be at next months event, well, if i dont have a mechanical between all the street miles and a POC STS event the weekend before... hope to see everyone there! that last run group on sunday was an absoulute blast to drive with, everyone was going at a pretty good clip. cant wait till november! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
National Staff Greg G. Posted October 18, 2005 National Staff Share Posted October 18, 2005 Both of you should get NASA Passports at the next event, and ask John Matthews to sign them off for you for this past event. It sounds like both of you should sign up for HPDE 2 in November. The Passport will be helpful to have as you progress through the HPDE levels, and you won't be allowed into HPDE4/TT without having one signed off by the HPDE 3 group leader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
924sowner Posted October 18, 2005 Author Share Posted October 18, 2005 cool, where might be the usuall places we could find this John Matthews during an event? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
National Staff Greg G. Posted October 18, 2005 National Staff Share Posted October 18, 2005 He was the guy running your download sessions (you did go to them, right?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMC#64 Posted October 18, 2005 Share Posted October 18, 2005 Looks like I'll make the trip down to B-Willow to get the passport and get it signed! Thanks.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
924sowner Posted October 19, 2005 Author Share Posted October 19, 2005 ohhh, haha, man, i forget names so quickly its not even funny... ok, then i shal have to bug him next time i see him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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