Finally had two minutes to catch up with you. Great meeting you as well. I had a blast at the Autobahn. Screaming down the track at 90, stomping on the breaks and throwing my Mini into a turn at 30 was totally awesome.

I think I have the bug….

BTW.. mine was the 2003 Black on black, lowered, 18″ OZ’s.

Sure, they’re pictures of you, but your head’s kinda obscured by the helmet. :-)

Okay okay… here you go

The course included; Threshold Braking, Skid Control, Accident Avoidance (techniques for steering around emergencies.),High-Speed Handling and Control Exercises (Autocross)

The course I took we used a car they provided (Ford Focus) but you could use your own car via prior arrangement.

I personally would not use my new Mini (new at that time). I have no desire to quickly wear out my tires, brakes, etc. While it would be nice to see what the Mini could do, I rather use someone else’s, i.e. a driving schools Mini. :)

I learned a lot from the course and I would recommend such a driving course for everyone, especially to those that have teenagers.

CLICK!!!>

Here’s a video I took of a lap of the North Track: http://homepage.mac.com/raudi77/iMovieTheater10.html

Unfortunately it was so hot on Sunday that I got brainfade and forgot to shoot any sessions on the South track. I will try to grab a lap in October at our Audi club event.

Happy Motoring all!

Jim

02 DS/W MCS, Dinan S1, Schroth harness, ATE Super Blue, Carbotech Panther Plus front pads

The schroth harness is the best money you will ever spend for the track. It holds you in like a vise so you can feel the car move around and also not get thrown around in the car.

My MCS is stock except for the Rspeed rear swaybar, race fluid, and race pads for the track only. Spend your $ on brakes and suspension and not HP, going fast down the straight is too easy. Taking a long sweeper at 80-90mph is fun!

Anyone that does a track day has already greatly improved their car control and safety on the street. You’ll have more tools to use to get out of the way of idiots.

Aaron

Brian, i’m pretty sure that pic of Phil is at Nürburgring, although i’m too lazy to go check.

The car that went off was a MCS (instructor) and I’m not exactly sure what caused that mini to go off. My brakes got soft on turn 6 but I was able to keep it on the track without the corner workers even noticing.

As far as becoming an instructor, talk to Phil. I had done a number of his classes before I was able to instruct and still only instruct novices.

I’m on my way after I type this to go over to MINI of St. Louis to look at the new colors. I’ll be ordering a MCS JCW towards the end of this year (hopefully sooner).

Here’s a hint gleaned from SPORTS CAR that may help your OEM belts perform better in the meantime:

To lock your three point seatbelt in racing position:

1. Fasten your seatbelt.
2. Release the seat slider lever and slide your seat back all the way.
3. Slip your thumb behind the belt chest high and zip it forward quickly, engaging the lock.
4. Lean forward into the belt maintaining tension and grab the steering wheel.
5. Release the seat slide lever and using your legs and arm, slide the seat forward until the belt is VERY TIGHT across your chest and lap in your preferred driving position.

This worked well for us MINIacs at Thunderhill Raceway last week.

“On my last cross US drive I went through some place called Joliet, Il. Same place? Kinda nasty as far as the hiway. Looked for Jake & Elwood and the cruiser.”

Yeah, Joliet isn’t exactly a tourist destination. It’s actually a pretty nasty dirty place for the most part. The track is quite a ways south of the city in some open farm field. The kind of open farm field that looks perfect to Chicago investers for a huge track complex ;-)