So why the hell not. Lots of guys do it, lots of people want to do it. I know that the lack of easily available (or so I thought) info, that I was scared to get into it. I spent the day at mission with performance drivers club (
Home | Performance Drivers Club) and it was a must do experience for anyone who has interest in driving. The best part of the day was being waved through by a cls63, 2 f10 M5s because I was too fast through the turns.
Its definitely not a race, but the passes were merely a byproduct of me driving my line, and what I was comfortable with and I'd be lying if I didn't feel good about being able to hang with cars that have double the HP and cost literally 10x as much. My instructor was great, and picked out bad habits of mine at the beginning and made me aware of them which helped my driving get substantially better through the day.
To the part that so many newcomers are worried about and what keeps people away from the track. NO INSURANCE. I know, the thought of losing my car and not getting any money for it makes me pretty sick, or being on the hook for the body shop bill. The event is VERY well controlled. Novices are sent out in pairs for the first two sessions with instructors keeping things in control. Passing is only allowed in specific areas which are safe to do so based on your ability level. If you trust your car, and trust yourself, you will be fine. There is no point where you will be driving 100% of your ability during the day if you have common sense, especially with a properly set up car. Keep your traction control on if you have it, get some sticky tires, and make sure your brakes are up to snuff. New pads, good quality fluid, and some brain power make for safe braking, as well as well marked braking zones. At no point on the track did I feel unsafe, or feel anyone else in my group was being unsafe. The fastest I hit was 165 on the front straight, and there is plenty of run off and massive braking zones marked, other than that, you don't feel like you are barreling too fast. Turn 2 was the only "holy fuck theres the wall" turn, but again, your best tool is your brain, so use it often.
Now the important part. The pictures. I didn't bother editing any, so they aren't amazing, but man what an amazing bunch of cars.
I hope this is a good write up to give newcomers a feel of what its going to be like, from the perspective of a newcomer. I can't think of a better way to spend a day off for a real driving enthusiast.
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