I searched and found that other BITOG members have attended Bondurant, and I'm sure others have attended different high performance driving schools, but I didn't find any threads so I thought I'd start one. Post your experiences here!
Near the end of April, I went on a road trip with three of my best friends down to Phoenix to attend the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving. We did the four day Grand Prix Road Racing course. It was the most fun I've had in my adult life and I recommend it to anyone who likes driving and has no track experience. They do a very good job of building up your skills and confidence to the point where you're driving around the full track as fast as you can while also feeling safe and in control. There was more classroom time than I expected, but I got my fill of track time.
The first three days are spent driving a 2008 Z51 Corvette. There is one car per student, and you stay with the same car unless (until?) there is a mechanical problem. None of us had the same car throughout the course. Those cars are driven hard and minor problems were common. One of my friends experienced brake issues, another had shifting problems (twice, in two separate cars), and the other had differential problems. I didn't experience any problems with mine, but when I came out on the morning of the third day my car wasn't there, so they must have pulled it for some reason. It's not a big deal as there are plenty of backups in the fleet. Regardless, I developed an appreciation for the Vette and I'd love to own one. It seemed rough and crude when I first set off, but that impression became unimportant the moment I opened it up. I always thought they'd be a little unstable, uncommunicative, and hard for a novice to control, but none of that turned out to be true. My instructor did say that a stock Corvette is a "bad race car" when I expressed amazement at how much trail braking we had to use with them, but you certainly can't fault a manufacturer for setting up a street car to understeer. The stability control was also a bit intrusive at times, but maybe that's a good thing, since we're responsible for any crash damage and the deductible on the optional insurance is $6000. If the stability control kicked in, you lost power for a bit and it slowed you down considerably when coming out of a corner. It didn't interfere with me very often and it didn't annoy me too much though, as I simply considered it to be a penalty for not applying the throttle smoothly.
The last day, we drove Formula Mazda cars. I think they have a 1.8L or 2.0L engine making about 160 hp and they weigh under 1500 lb. The formula car made the Vette seem like a big, heavy, understeering boat in comparison. The first time I was comfortable enough to go full throttle down the fast back section in my formula car, I started laughing like a maniac. It seemed unbelievable how fast I was taking the curves while feeling so stable. The Corvette was always a little scary in that section because the weight transfer effects were so exaggerated compared to the formula cars. That effect also made braking feel strange in the formula cars. With no dive under braking and an unyielding, unassisted brake pedal, they didn't feel like they stopped very well; but that was just an illusion. The solid brake feel also made heel-toe downshifting much easier than with the Vette. With no electronic interference and neutral handling, there were quite a few minor spin-outs with these cars. I went a little sideways at one point, and it was a good rush. One of my friends spun out on the track and was t-boned by another guy, but they deemed the other guy to be responsible for the $3500 worth of damage. I'm not sure how he didn't see that there was a car sitting sideways on the track. The impact happened a few seconds after the spin-out.
The weather was perfect. It was hot and sunny for the first three days in the Vettes, when we were wearing shorts and t-shirts. We only used a helmet when they opened up the full track to us on the third day, and it was already a little cooler by then. The fourth day was cloudy and cool, so the race suits and full-face helmets were comfortable. I don't know how much difference it would have made though, as 100% of my concentration was on driving when we were on the track. It was a great mental escape. I thought I'd have difficulty keeping two hands on the wheel, as all my street driving is done with my one hand at either 11 o'clock (city) or 7 o'clock (highway) unless I'm doing some hard cornering, and I had trouble remembering to use two hands when we were doing heel-toe downshift practice sessions on the skidpad, but the instant we got on the track my hands were glued to 9-3 without even thinking. I couldn't imagine driving at the limit any other way.
We also drove the shifter karts on the evening of the third day. They're very quick, but also very rough due to lack of suspension and engine vibrations, and the two-stroke-exhaust bath from the other karts is unpleasant. Regardless, I'd have probably enjoyed driving them if I wasn't experiencing tendonitis; to which my arms are prone, though it usually only occurs during extensive throwing. I found myself fighting the steering wheel under braking because the pivot point of the front wheels is well inboard of the wheels, so you really feel the effects through the steering wheel. A lot of quick shifting is required, especially when braking, so I was probably using only my left hand on the steering wheel during braking and my left arm suffered for it. I quit early to avoid injuring myself before the formula car day. My friends had no issues driving the karts, but found the Corvettes and Formula Mazdas to be much more fun.
For accommodations, we rented a four bedroom house in Phoenix. It was about five minutes from the track, and we had our own pool and hot tub. Much better than a hotel!
http://www.rent-arizona.com/index.htm
On the way back, we spent a couple of days in Vegas. I found that place to be underwhelming, but interesting. We tried out the firing range at The Gun Store. I fired the UZI, M249 SAW, and AK-47. We also checked out the Grand Canyon on the way home. We drove a 3/4-ton 2006 GMC Duramax with a bed cover. It was a good vehicle for the trip. Lots of interior room and lots of luggage space.
Near the end of April, I went on a road trip with three of my best friends down to Phoenix to attend the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving. We did the four day Grand Prix Road Racing course. It was the most fun I've had in my adult life and I recommend it to anyone who likes driving and has no track experience. They do a very good job of building up your skills and confidence to the point where you're driving around the full track as fast as you can while also feeling safe and in control. There was more classroom time than I expected, but I got my fill of track time.
The first three days are spent driving a 2008 Z51 Corvette. There is one car per student, and you stay with the same car unless (until?) there is a mechanical problem. None of us had the same car throughout the course. Those cars are driven hard and minor problems were common. One of my friends experienced brake issues, another had shifting problems (twice, in two separate cars), and the other had differential problems. I didn't experience any problems with mine, but when I came out on the morning of the third day my car wasn't there, so they must have pulled it for some reason. It's not a big deal as there are plenty of backups in the fleet. Regardless, I developed an appreciation for the Vette and I'd love to own one. It seemed rough and crude when I first set off, but that impression became unimportant the moment I opened it up. I always thought they'd be a little unstable, uncommunicative, and hard for a novice to control, but none of that turned out to be true. My instructor did say that a stock Corvette is a "bad race car" when I expressed amazement at how much trail braking we had to use with them, but you certainly can't fault a manufacturer for setting up a street car to understeer. The stability control was also a bit intrusive at times, but maybe that's a good thing, since we're responsible for any crash damage and the deductible on the optional insurance is $6000. If the stability control kicked in, you lost power for a bit and it slowed you down considerably when coming out of a corner. It didn't interfere with me very often and it didn't annoy me too much though, as I simply considered it to be a penalty for not applying the throttle smoothly.
The last day, we drove Formula Mazda cars. I think they have a 1.8L or 2.0L engine making about 160 hp and they weigh under 1500 lb. The formula car made the Vette seem like a big, heavy, understeering boat in comparison. The first time I was comfortable enough to go full throttle down the fast back section in my formula car, I started laughing like a maniac. It seemed unbelievable how fast I was taking the curves while feeling so stable. The Corvette was always a little scary in that section because the weight transfer effects were so exaggerated compared to the formula cars. That effect also made braking feel strange in the formula cars. With no dive under braking and an unyielding, unassisted brake pedal, they didn't feel like they stopped very well; but that was just an illusion. The solid brake feel also made heel-toe downshifting much easier than with the Vette. With no electronic interference and neutral handling, there were quite a few minor spin-outs with these cars. I went a little sideways at one point, and it was a good rush. One of my friends spun out on the track and was t-boned by another guy, but they deemed the other guy to be responsible for the $3500 worth of damage. I'm not sure how he didn't see that there was a car sitting sideways on the track. The impact happened a few seconds after the spin-out.
The weather was perfect. It was hot and sunny for the first three days in the Vettes, when we were wearing shorts and t-shirts. We only used a helmet when they opened up the full track to us on the third day, and it was already a little cooler by then. The fourth day was cloudy and cool, so the race suits and full-face helmets were comfortable. I don't know how much difference it would have made though, as 100% of my concentration was on driving when we were on the track. It was a great mental escape. I thought I'd have difficulty keeping two hands on the wheel, as all my street driving is done with my one hand at either 11 o'clock (city) or 7 o'clock (highway) unless I'm doing some hard cornering, and I had trouble remembering to use two hands when we were doing heel-toe downshift practice sessions on the skidpad, but the instant we got on the track my hands were glued to 9-3 without even thinking. I couldn't imagine driving at the limit any other way.
We also drove the shifter karts on the evening of the third day. They're very quick, but also very rough due to lack of suspension and engine vibrations, and the two-stroke-exhaust bath from the other karts is unpleasant. Regardless, I'd have probably enjoyed driving them if I wasn't experiencing tendonitis; to which my arms are prone, though it usually only occurs during extensive throwing. I found myself fighting the steering wheel under braking because the pivot point of the front wheels is well inboard of the wheels, so you really feel the effects through the steering wheel. A lot of quick shifting is required, especially when braking, so I was probably using only my left hand on the steering wheel during braking and my left arm suffered for it. I quit early to avoid injuring myself before the formula car day. My friends had no issues driving the karts, but found the Corvettes and Formula Mazdas to be much more fun.
For accommodations, we rented a four bedroom house in Phoenix. It was about five minutes from the track, and we had our own pool and hot tub. Much better than a hotel!
http://www.rent-arizona.com/index.htm
On the way back, we spent a couple of days in Vegas. I found that place to be underwhelming, but interesting. We tried out the firing range at The Gun Store. I fired the UZI, M249 SAW, and AK-47. We also checked out the Grand Canyon on the way home. We drove a 3/4-ton 2006 GMC Duramax with a bed cover. It was a good vehicle for the trip. Lots of interior room and lots of luggage space.
