An excellent article, and a compelling challenge for all of us.
I’ve undergone cervical surgery that restricts me from driving or riding in a car at HPDE or competitive speeds. Bar-room story, not for here. So my focus has shifted to walking the paddock, making myself available to any driver or group, and “chatting”. My experiences with after action reviews aligns with our “what is the car doing, where is it doing it, why …..” model. In the Classroom, even if I’m an server, I listen for this “we don’t do it that way” mentality. I suppose I broke my own mental-model with my first introduction to Lead/Follow sessions. Hey, it worked! So, an epiphany occurred and I started a new journey.
As an instructor/coach, I broke down the physic and mental models into small bites, shared videos and instructional material (much of it fro Ross Bentley), and did my best to let the student “see and feel” the experience before showing up in the paddock. I also began to appreciate classroom sessions that focused on things that can’t be communicated well except face-to-face. BOB (beginning of braking) and EOB (end of braking) took more than just a graphic, but it didn’t need more than 5 min. SO my Classroom style shifted from delivery to setup: “Your instructor is focusing on these things during this session.” I was then reinforcing previous material and asking students to relate their intellectual learning to their seat-of-the-pants learning. I opine I became a better classroom and in-car instructor as a result.
In the end, classroom and Novice sessions are meant to qualify a driver and introduce her or him to skills they otherwise don’t have, not develop proficiency. We can (and should) introduce concepts like trail braking once the students all can brake effectively and manage the grip of their cars. But repetition and post-run AARs are the best teaching experience in this endeavor. Proficiency is the ability to perform a complex task under varying conditions and achieving the end state consistently. Breaking tracks down into drill events (let’s work this entire session on your braking at the following turns…..) seems a better inflection point than hours of classroom.
Heresy? NO- as instructors we have to show and uphold standards of safety, and foster respect for the kinetic energy our sport. Change is inevitable; misery is optional.
Where could we put a shared repository of best-practice training videos?
I agree they need to be by topic and NO MORE than three minutes in length.
I’d like to see some of the registration sites we use (clubregistration.net and motorsportreg.com) add the capability for tracking training modules completed (with pre- and post-test scores?)- if they don’t already have it.
When I was first starting out, I found these to be very useful and approachable to fill in the gaps between the classroom and on-track instruction: https://driver61.com/uni/
I have a few thoughts on this topic. You know me, so you probably know where I'm going to end up. =-)
First, we used the monkey story at Summit Point Raceway when training new instructor candidates. The process there was quite rigorous, and probably the best training program I've done for anything. Many have been interested, some of those were accepted, and most (but not all) of those made it through the training. We specifically teach a few major points, but always accept questioning anything and everything. Challenge us as instructor trainers to give you an answer better than, "That's the way we've always done it." This same thought goes to the classroom sessions for the first-time drivers. Challenge what you don't understand. Being inquisitive is the best way to learn.
Besides being a long time driver coach, I've also taught dance (Lindy Hop, West Coast Swing, etc.), and am a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer. In those realms, I've been able to develop my technique, and it always involves questioning.
Literally every person I've taught how to dive has come to the classroom sessions. The ones who took the online learning, even though they didn't have to come, also showed up. They gave up an early Saturday morning to sit in the classroom, and their entire Sunday afternoon to do the same. They could have just come for the pool sessions working on the practical exercises I have to certify them on. They all chose to come to the classroom session. Being inquisitive, I always ask the reason they give up half their weekend. They want the classroom environment to learn from the questions and observations of the others in an environment where they're safe from injury. And this isn't just for Baby Boomer and Gen-X students. I've had students from 70+ year old Baby Boomers down to a 10-year-old just two weeks ago. Despite my encouragement for her to stick with the online and just come for the pool sessions, she made the choice to be in the class. She wanted to add to the learning experiences. Her parents were not thrilled about carting her across town at 7am on Saturday morning, but they did it because she was excited to take on the instructions.
I think the point there is it's highly individualistic.
Taking this diving instruction thing a bit deeper (get it?), looking at things like trail braking, and how we teach trail braking to our students on track, it's not dissimilar to the way we teach in the PADI environment. If I told you to jump in the deep end of the pool, go to the bottom, take off your mask, swim two laps of the pool underwater, and then put your mask back on and clear it, I think most people would just walk out of the class and never return. We first teach you to partially fill your mask and then clear it. Then fully fill and clear. Next you'll remove it and put it back on and clear it. Finally, after having done a lot of this stuff over literally hours under the water, you'll swim two laps of the pool, without your mask, then put it back on and clear it. It's easy when you build up to it. Teaching in increments is a good idea, especially when you're looking at a hobby that's potentially fatal. If someone loses their focus when trying to brake, turn, release the brakes, hit the apex, transition to throttle, move the car out to the track out while opening the wheel, then get to full throttle, all while an instructor is barking instructions in their ear, it's easy to see how taking it incrementally might be a good idea.
With that said, I should note, mediocrity breeds mediocrity; i.e., most teachers teach what they were taught, not what they do, but with that in mind…
No teacher teaches you with the intent of teaching you wrong.
That first classroom session of the morning isn't really designed to teach technique. I'll let that sink in.
When students show up for their first track day, dance class, scuba diving class, etc., they don't need to know the three laws of motion, understand linear momentum, angular momentum, kinetic energy, stored potential energy, center of gravity, line of gravity, arc of momentum, and the list goes on. But a first time track day student, or even one who hasn't been on track in a while, should have an introduction to basic safety protocols like what the different flags designate, how to properly buckle their helmet, the role of the instructor in the car with them, and basic facility rules like what happens if you have a minor off track, or if you're doing donuts in the paddock. There's no talk of trail braking, steering with your feet, friction circle, or any of that stuff. That's not going to stick. Asking them to swim two laps without a mask is a bit harsh at this point.
In my experience, and what we did at Summit Point Raceway, the second session was started with asking everyone what they thought about that first on-track experience. What were things they experienced while out there? Then we talk about those things, with many questions to slake their thirst for knowledge. Through experience, we even have questions in our head to help them think about things they may be observing and to get the questions/discussion flowing. A properly designed classroom session is a wonderful learning opportunity. As long as it's not "Death by Powerpoint" as many I've seen are, it'll be helpful, and applicable to what they're about to discover.
We're not asking them to study "Physics for Scientists and Engineers: Mechanics, Oscillations and Waves, Thermodynamics" and be prepared to defend a thesis. That would send them screaming from the classroom, never to return.
"I taught you that, so I could teach you this..."
This is why we tend to start with braking in a straight line (partially flooding and clearing their mask). Then we add a little later braking once we know they have basic braking technique down (fully flooding and clearing their mask). Now they get a little bit of turn-in at the end of the braking zone getting to the release of brakes (removing their mask for a full minute, putting it back on and clearing it). Then eventually trailing all the way to the apex at the end of braking, transitioning to throttle, and powering out while straightening the wheel and feeling the power of steering with your feet (taking off their mask, swimming two full laps of the pool while maintaining good buoyancy, then putting their mask back on and clearing it).
It takes five confined water dives to get to the point of the maskless swim. It cannot be done in their first session. They must build up to it. I can do all of the skills without thinking, but I'm a professional. I'm constantly tested on how well I do the skills. On the race track, I put my skills into full display every time the green flag flies. But asking a first-timer to get into the nitty-gritty of trail braking on their first session is demanding a lot from someone in a very stressful situation.
I could go on for hours about this sort of thing. We should definitely talk soon and let this get us both thinking. After all, when going from Divemaster to Instructor and eventually Master Scuba Diver Trainer, I learned that a student who fully floods and clears their mask passes the partially flood and mask clear skill, just as the first-timer who trails a little bit towards apex gets kudos from the in-car instructor.
Great stuff! One thing I need to clarify - and as I've written and talked about elsewhere - I definitely do not suggest or recommend formally teaching trail braking to a novice. All I suggest is that we teach taking their foot off the brake pedal smoothly, releasing it smoothly. We build that as a habit from the very beginning (I don't dive, but I'm sure there's an analogy to not snapping the mask against one's face! Or something like that :)), so they don't have to unlearn things later. Specifically telling student that they should do all their braking in a straight line and finish before turning into a corner results in some driver snapping their foot off the brake pedal - a bad habit, and one that needs to unlearned later. The phrase "trail braking" should not be heard by a novice, but neither should "finish your braking before you turn into the corner." In my experience, a fairly large percentage of drivers naturally (actually, it's not something they were born with, but something learned from practice driving on the street/road) release the brake reasonably smoothly, and they actually trail brake a little bit (any time the foot is still touching the brake pedal after turn-in is trail braking, right?). So, we don't want to change that habit because it's a good one. Later, as they gain more experience, they begin to learn about trail braking and how to use that smooth release that they're using now to their advantage.
I agree with the thinking! As an instructor, I try to send a good track walk video for my students to learn the track just in case they don't know to do this before the track weekend. I also try to meet with them the night before if possible, or before track sessions begin to see what they want to accomplish and get a feel for them to help with their track experience. I would much rather, and do teach correct technique rather than teaching the "novice" technique with the intention of changing later. Law of Primacy states you remember what you first learn, even if it is wrong, so let's not do that and have to reteach/relearn.
I also tell students not to try holding me responsible when they are addicted to this amazingly fun sport!
SOLD! Where do we get started with building this training material into our events for spring 2024? Did you just need a partner to execute this idea with, if so let's get the discussion going.
I’m happy to share an example from one of the NE tracks I teach. Go areange a non-profit account on Zoom and run a pre-event 30-minute on flags, safety, getting on and off the track.
Build a FB group, link to some of your YouTube videos of the track.
Oh, and data!!!! These students live to tear down data! They all run Garmin or Aim or whatever.
Prepare. Some how, some way. Don’t walk in cold. 21 years flying fighters, 20 at an airline; I’ve seen almost every instructional method invented. There have been several new ones since I retired, I’m sure. I’ve taken instruction in shotgun sports, precision rifle, and more. Walking in the door cold with no prior preparation simply sucks and if a “school” says that is all that is required, consider another school. At a minimum, read on your own. I’ve been to the C8 owners course and three new-guy HPDE schools. Not one even had “suggested reading” prior to showing up. I read all of Ross’s books and more before I went to C8 school. I watched C8 PDR video before I went to any track. I refuse to show up cold. What Ross proposes here would be great. There should be some minimum knowledge required before showing up. It would at least show some real desire and commitment on the part of the student.
I'm 2/3s on board with this. Teach what's right from the beginning, check. Explore new formats and methods of instruction, check. Shift the classroom work to "self-study" and go right to the car...I'll sit this session out. One-on-one or small group custom instruction is a different story, but for mass production, the classroom session at least provides a known baseline of what every student's been exposed to. Give me a group of 10 who've been told to do the work up front, and at least one will have skipped it for some reason. The result in the car may be simply a slow-to-advance student, or it may be lethal. The classroom session also gives instructors an opportunity to size up the students -- who looks uncertain, who has the fidgets, who is mentally absent -- and how they absorb verbal instruction, because that's what they're getting in the car.
That's not a vote for "doing this because we've always done it this way", but for "here's the good reason we do this." Watch out for the guy with the hose....
Notice that I suggest NOT eliminating the at-track classroom, when I say...
"Rather than a long classroom session, there would now be a shorter one where a group discussion could take place about what they learned from the e-learning course and self-learning, a reinforcement of critical information (i.e., flags, event rules), and details about the outline/schedule for the event. It even opened up opportunities to do things like walking the group over to pre-grid, and talking about entering and exiting the track."
The benefits of the traditional classroom that you mention would still be there, but without the negatives - and the addition of pre-learning. So, rather than an either/or thing, this is a positive-neutral-positive thing. And when you say, "Give me a group of 10 who've been told to do the work up front, and at least will have skipped it," I can tell you from teaching and observing hundreds and hundreds (thousands?) of at-classroom sessions, that at least one out of 10 students aren't paying attention in a live session - even with the very best and most engaging instructor. So, that is, at worst, a wash. As I also point out, a key to this being a better approach is the interaction between the assigned in-car instructor and student prior to the event, and the "community" forum where instructors and fellow students build relationships and learn before the event.
But, I know that not everyone will like this approach, so I'm glad to hear someone disagreeing with me here!
Totally agree with you. I always felt that classroom sessions were boring. I love the idea of having an online hub where people can communicate and learn together.
I think this is a great idea. You could cover all kinds of things from making sure the car is prepped and safe for the track, what to bring, and other things like that.
I'm a 2-years in, 25 track days intermediate driver first dragged to the track by my husband with no real interest or expectation of loving it. However, he prepared me for my first day by urging me to watch youtube videos of the track until I had the corners/line somewhat memorized, and explaining all the beginner concepts: flags, line, braking, and yes...late apex. Because I had all of that pre track day instruction, the classroom session was review, and not that useful. Nor were all the subsequent mandatory ones I had to attend while working my way through beginning and beginner/intermediate groups in HPDE schools.
On the other hand, I think one of the reasons I was 'bitten' was because my first day was actually fun instead of intimidating. That pre-preparation was a game changer, and we now recommend it when encouraging newbies to sign up. However, I've noticed most don't take us up on it, and struggle with frustration on their first day.
As a fairly new driver I can confidently say every turn is different. Late apex is definitely not the 'rule' and trail braking makes total sense, is not that hard to start to learn, and is just one more skill to develop. One problem with not teaching that to beginners is that once you're in more advanced groups you're kinda on your own unless you're actively seeking out coaching. So the 2-3 times/year recreational trackers are just trying to go faster with beginner skills.
Online learning as an adjunct to in-person track etiquette reminders is an underutilized tool by HPDE schools. I have driven with only one club who insists you watch a track video before arrival. The password which you give at registration is embedded in the video...to prove you've watched. You could still cheat. But for those of us who want to learn, and don't think we know everything, a required evergreen beginner 'course' with the resources you describe would have been AMAZING. More drivers might stick with HPD, and all the women who come to 'try it out' with their husbands/boyfriends might be driving instead of sitting around in the paddock after an intimidating novice track day with too many overpowered cars and their onboard testosterone. (Not to disparage T, I could use a bit of it on those fast sweepers.)
An excellent article, and a compelling challenge for all of us.
I’ve undergone cervical surgery that restricts me from driving or riding in a car at HPDE or competitive speeds. Bar-room story, not for here. So my focus has shifted to walking the paddock, making myself available to any driver or group, and “chatting”. My experiences with after action reviews aligns with our “what is the car doing, where is it doing it, why …..” model. In the Classroom, even if I’m an server, I listen for this “we don’t do it that way” mentality. I suppose I broke my own mental-model with my first introduction to Lead/Follow sessions. Hey, it worked! So, an epiphany occurred and I started a new journey.
As an instructor/coach, I broke down the physic and mental models into small bites, shared videos and instructional material (much of it fro Ross Bentley), and did my best to let the student “see and feel” the experience before showing up in the paddock. I also began to appreciate classroom sessions that focused on things that can’t be communicated well except face-to-face. BOB (beginning of braking) and EOB (end of braking) took more than just a graphic, but it didn’t need more than 5 min. SO my Classroom style shifted from delivery to setup: “Your instructor is focusing on these things during this session.” I was then reinforcing previous material and asking students to relate their intellectual learning to their seat-of-the-pants learning. I opine I became a better classroom and in-car instructor as a result.
In the end, classroom and Novice sessions are meant to qualify a driver and introduce her or him to skills they otherwise don’t have, not develop proficiency. We can (and should) introduce concepts like trail braking once the students all can brake effectively and manage the grip of their cars. But repetition and post-run AARs are the best teaching experience in this endeavor. Proficiency is the ability to perform a complex task under varying conditions and achieving the end state consistently. Breaking tracks down into drill events (let’s work this entire session on your braking at the following turns…..) seems a better inflection point than hours of classroom.
Heresy? NO- as instructors we have to show and uphold standards of safety, and foster respect for the kinetic energy our sport. Change is inevitable; misery is optional.
You’ve nailed it.
Where could we put a shared repository of best-practice training videos?
I agree they need to be by topic and NO MORE than three minutes in length.
I’d like to see some of the registration sites we use (clubregistration.net and motorsportreg.com) add the capability for tracking training modules completed (with pre- and post-test scores?)- if they don’t already have it.
When I was first starting out, I found these to be very useful and approachable to fill in the gaps between the classroom and on-track instruction: https://driver61.com/uni/
They are in bite-sized modules.
I have a few thoughts on this topic. You know me, so you probably know where I'm going to end up. =-)
First, we used the monkey story at Summit Point Raceway when training new instructor candidates. The process there was quite rigorous, and probably the best training program I've done for anything. Many have been interested, some of those were accepted, and most (but not all) of those made it through the training. We specifically teach a few major points, but always accept questioning anything and everything. Challenge us as instructor trainers to give you an answer better than, "That's the way we've always done it." This same thought goes to the classroom sessions for the first-time drivers. Challenge what you don't understand. Being inquisitive is the best way to learn.
Besides being a long time driver coach, I've also taught dance (Lindy Hop, West Coast Swing, etc.), and am a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer. In those realms, I've been able to develop my technique, and it always involves questioning.
Literally every person I've taught how to dive has come to the classroom sessions. The ones who took the online learning, even though they didn't have to come, also showed up. They gave up an early Saturday morning to sit in the classroom, and their entire Sunday afternoon to do the same. They could have just come for the pool sessions working on the practical exercises I have to certify them on. They all chose to come to the classroom session. Being inquisitive, I always ask the reason they give up half their weekend. They want the classroom environment to learn from the questions and observations of the others in an environment where they're safe from injury. And this isn't just for Baby Boomer and Gen-X students. I've had students from 70+ year old Baby Boomers down to a 10-year-old just two weeks ago. Despite my encouragement for her to stick with the online and just come for the pool sessions, she made the choice to be in the class. She wanted to add to the learning experiences. Her parents were not thrilled about carting her across town at 7am on Saturday morning, but they did it because she was excited to take on the instructions.
I think the point there is it's highly individualistic.
Taking this diving instruction thing a bit deeper (get it?), looking at things like trail braking, and how we teach trail braking to our students on track, it's not dissimilar to the way we teach in the PADI environment. If I told you to jump in the deep end of the pool, go to the bottom, take off your mask, swim two laps of the pool underwater, and then put your mask back on and clear it, I think most people would just walk out of the class and never return. We first teach you to partially fill your mask and then clear it. Then fully fill and clear. Next you'll remove it and put it back on and clear it. Finally, after having done a lot of this stuff over literally hours under the water, you'll swim two laps of the pool, without your mask, then put it back on and clear it. It's easy when you build up to it. Teaching in increments is a good idea, especially when you're looking at a hobby that's potentially fatal. If someone loses their focus when trying to brake, turn, release the brakes, hit the apex, transition to throttle, move the car out to the track out while opening the wheel, then get to full throttle, all while an instructor is barking instructions in their ear, it's easy to see how taking it incrementally might be a good idea.
With that said, I should note, mediocrity breeds mediocrity; i.e., most teachers teach what they were taught, not what they do, but with that in mind…
No teacher teaches you with the intent of teaching you wrong.
That first classroom session of the morning isn't really designed to teach technique. I'll let that sink in.
When students show up for their first track day, dance class, scuba diving class, etc., they don't need to know the three laws of motion, understand linear momentum, angular momentum, kinetic energy, stored potential energy, center of gravity, line of gravity, arc of momentum, and the list goes on. But a first time track day student, or even one who hasn't been on track in a while, should have an introduction to basic safety protocols like what the different flags designate, how to properly buckle their helmet, the role of the instructor in the car with them, and basic facility rules like what happens if you have a minor off track, or if you're doing donuts in the paddock. There's no talk of trail braking, steering with your feet, friction circle, or any of that stuff. That's not going to stick. Asking them to swim two laps without a mask is a bit harsh at this point.
In my experience, and what we did at Summit Point Raceway, the second session was started with asking everyone what they thought about that first on-track experience. What were things they experienced while out there? Then we talk about those things, with many questions to slake their thirst for knowledge. Through experience, we even have questions in our head to help them think about things they may be observing and to get the questions/discussion flowing. A properly designed classroom session is a wonderful learning opportunity. As long as it's not "Death by Powerpoint" as many I've seen are, it'll be helpful, and applicable to what they're about to discover.
We're not asking them to study "Physics for Scientists and Engineers: Mechanics, Oscillations and Waves, Thermodynamics" and be prepared to defend a thesis. That would send them screaming from the classroom, never to return.
"I taught you that, so I could teach you this..."
This is why we tend to start with braking in a straight line (partially flooding and clearing their mask). Then we add a little later braking once we know they have basic braking technique down (fully flooding and clearing their mask). Now they get a little bit of turn-in at the end of the braking zone getting to the release of brakes (removing their mask for a full minute, putting it back on and clearing it). Then eventually trailing all the way to the apex at the end of braking, transitioning to throttle, and powering out while straightening the wheel and feeling the power of steering with your feet (taking off their mask, swimming two full laps of the pool while maintaining good buoyancy, then putting their mask back on and clearing it).
It takes five confined water dives to get to the point of the maskless swim. It cannot be done in their first session. They must build up to it. I can do all of the skills without thinking, but I'm a professional. I'm constantly tested on how well I do the skills. On the race track, I put my skills into full display every time the green flag flies. But asking a first-timer to get into the nitty-gritty of trail braking on their first session is demanding a lot from someone in a very stressful situation.
I could go on for hours about this sort of thing. We should definitely talk soon and let this get us both thinking. After all, when going from Divemaster to Instructor and eventually Master Scuba Diver Trainer, I learned that a student who fully floods and clears their mask passes the partially flood and mask clear skill, just as the first-timer who trails a little bit towards apex gets kudos from the in-car instructor.
Great stuff! One thing I need to clarify - and as I've written and talked about elsewhere - I definitely do not suggest or recommend formally teaching trail braking to a novice. All I suggest is that we teach taking their foot off the brake pedal smoothly, releasing it smoothly. We build that as a habit from the very beginning (I don't dive, but I'm sure there's an analogy to not snapping the mask against one's face! Or something like that :)), so they don't have to unlearn things later. Specifically telling student that they should do all their braking in a straight line and finish before turning into a corner results in some driver snapping their foot off the brake pedal - a bad habit, and one that needs to unlearned later. The phrase "trail braking" should not be heard by a novice, but neither should "finish your braking before you turn into the corner." In my experience, a fairly large percentage of drivers naturally (actually, it's not something they were born with, but something learned from practice driving on the street/road) release the brake reasonably smoothly, and they actually trail brake a little bit (any time the foot is still touching the brake pedal after turn-in is trail braking, right?). So, we don't want to change that habit because it's a good one. Later, as they gain more experience, they begin to learn about trail braking and how to use that smooth release that they're using now to their advantage.
I agree with the thinking! As an instructor, I try to send a good track walk video for my students to learn the track just in case they don't know to do this before the track weekend. I also try to meet with them the night before if possible, or before track sessions begin to see what they want to accomplish and get a feel for them to help with their track experience. I would much rather, and do teach correct technique rather than teaching the "novice" technique with the intention of changing later. Law of Primacy states you remember what you first learn, even if it is wrong, so let's not do that and have to reteach/relearn.
I also tell students not to try holding me responsible when they are addicted to this amazingly fun sport!
Oh yes, I’d be happy to take this approach.
SOLD! Where do we get started with building this training material into our events for spring 2024? Did you just need a partner to execute this idea with, if so let's get the discussion going.
Tim, what tracks?
I’m happy to share an example from one of the NE tracks I teach. Go areange a non-profit account on Zoom and run a pre-event 30-minute on flags, safety, getting on and off the track.
Build a FB group, link to some of your YouTube videos of the track.
Oh, and data!!!! These students live to tear down data! They all run Garmin or Aim or whatever.
Lmk how I can help.
Prepare. Some how, some way. Don’t walk in cold. 21 years flying fighters, 20 at an airline; I’ve seen almost every instructional method invented. There have been several new ones since I retired, I’m sure. I’ve taken instruction in shotgun sports, precision rifle, and more. Walking in the door cold with no prior preparation simply sucks and if a “school” says that is all that is required, consider another school. At a minimum, read on your own. I’ve been to the C8 owners course and three new-guy HPDE schools. Not one even had “suggested reading” prior to showing up. I read all of Ross’s books and more before I went to C8 school. I watched C8 PDR video before I went to any track. I refuse to show up cold. What Ross proposes here would be great. There should be some minimum knowledge required before showing up. It would at least show some real desire and commitment on the part of the student.
I'm 2/3s on board with this. Teach what's right from the beginning, check. Explore new formats and methods of instruction, check. Shift the classroom work to "self-study" and go right to the car...I'll sit this session out. One-on-one or small group custom instruction is a different story, but for mass production, the classroom session at least provides a known baseline of what every student's been exposed to. Give me a group of 10 who've been told to do the work up front, and at least one will have skipped it for some reason. The result in the car may be simply a slow-to-advance student, or it may be lethal. The classroom session also gives instructors an opportunity to size up the students -- who looks uncertain, who has the fidgets, who is mentally absent -- and how they absorb verbal instruction, because that's what they're getting in the car.
That's not a vote for "doing this because we've always done it this way", but for "here's the good reason we do this." Watch out for the guy with the hose....
Notice that I suggest NOT eliminating the at-track classroom, when I say...
"Rather than a long classroom session, there would now be a shorter one where a group discussion could take place about what they learned from the e-learning course and self-learning, a reinforcement of critical information (i.e., flags, event rules), and details about the outline/schedule for the event. It even opened up opportunities to do things like walking the group over to pre-grid, and talking about entering and exiting the track."
The benefits of the traditional classroom that you mention would still be there, but without the negatives - and the addition of pre-learning. So, rather than an either/or thing, this is a positive-neutral-positive thing. And when you say, "Give me a group of 10 who've been told to do the work up front, and at least will have skipped it," I can tell you from teaching and observing hundreds and hundreds (thousands?) of at-classroom sessions, that at least one out of 10 students aren't paying attention in a live session - even with the very best and most engaging instructor. So, that is, at worst, a wash. As I also point out, a key to this being a better approach is the interaction between the assigned in-car instructor and student prior to the event, and the "community" forum where instructors and fellow students build relationships and learn before the event.
But, I know that not everyone will like this approach, so I'm glad to hear someone disagreeing with me here!
Formula 1 fan and I have been wondering for years why they don't do much late apex style turning.
The ks for clearing that up.
Totally agree with you. I always felt that classroom sessions were boring. I love the idea of having an online hub where people can communicate and learn together.
Your best article ever. Thank you
Couldn't agree more. Hope it happens.
I think this is a great idea. You could cover all kinds of things from making sure the car is prepped and safe for the track, what to bring, and other things like that.
Great article!
I'm a 2-years in, 25 track days intermediate driver first dragged to the track by my husband with no real interest or expectation of loving it. However, he prepared me for my first day by urging me to watch youtube videos of the track until I had the corners/line somewhat memorized, and explaining all the beginner concepts: flags, line, braking, and yes...late apex. Because I had all of that pre track day instruction, the classroom session was review, and not that useful. Nor were all the subsequent mandatory ones I had to attend while working my way through beginning and beginner/intermediate groups in HPDE schools.
On the other hand, I think one of the reasons I was 'bitten' was because my first day was actually fun instead of intimidating. That pre-preparation was a game changer, and we now recommend it when encouraging newbies to sign up. However, I've noticed most don't take us up on it, and struggle with frustration on their first day.
As a fairly new driver I can confidently say every turn is different. Late apex is definitely not the 'rule' and trail braking makes total sense, is not that hard to start to learn, and is just one more skill to develop. One problem with not teaching that to beginners is that once you're in more advanced groups you're kinda on your own unless you're actively seeking out coaching. So the 2-3 times/year recreational trackers are just trying to go faster with beginner skills.
Online learning as an adjunct to in-person track etiquette reminders is an underutilized tool by HPDE schools. I have driven with only one club who insists you watch a track video before arrival. The password which you give at registration is embedded in the video...to prove you've watched. You could still cheat. But for those of us who want to learn, and don't think we know everything, a required evergreen beginner 'course' with the resources you describe would have been AMAZING. More drivers might stick with HPD, and all the women who come to 'try it out' with their husbands/boyfriends might be driving instead of sitting around in the paddock after an intimidating novice track day with too many overpowered cars and their onboard testosterone. (Not to disparage T, I could use a bit of it on those fast sweepers.)
We evolve...we further learn.
Master braking in a straight line and I can teach you trail braking.
Master a forehand tennis volley and I can teach you how to spin the ball for effect..
Other examples ...
So, effectively, we are all correct in this learning process.
RP