The Allen Berg Racing School Experience - Day 1
On the weekend of Febuary 13-15, 2016, I had the opportunity to attend Allen Berg Racing School at Laguna Seca. Overall, this was an incredibly fun experience, and I left the racetrack with confidence and knowledge.
Here are some essential facts about the cars that I drove this weekend: They have a sequential gearbox, and shifting gears without a clutch is possible, as long as I get the technique right. The cars' top speed is around 130 mph, which is almost twice as fast as a go kart!
On the first day, I started out with almost zero experience behind the wheel of a manual transmission. The first two times I started the car was beginner's luck. The 3rd time really showed the instructors that I had no idea how to start the car. They were very patient with me and walked me through the steps on how to turn on the car, put the clutch in, start the engine, and apply just the right amount of throttle. After that, I had no trouble starting up the car for the rest of the weekend. I ended the day with a best lap time of a little over 2 minutes.
The instructors at the school were all very nice to me and everyone else. Their names were Lu, Grant, John, and Mike. Lu, John, and Grant watched my performance out on the track and gave me feedback on what they saw, while Mike showed everyone data on their best lap times to tell them where exactly on the track they need to improve on their driving. Both forms of teaching helped me improve my lap times after every session, and I only got faster from there.
To see more photos and hear about how I fared with heel-toe, continue to Day 2