Cool Racing Experience Vacation?

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MowTin

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I want to do in real life what I do in games like GT5P. I want to drive a car fast on a track.

My first idea is to travel to Germany, rent a BMW and get on the Nurburgring.

I have ZERO racing experience. All my experience is racing sims. Is the Nurburgring dangerous? I'm worried about other drivers going fast and crashing into me because I braked suddenly or something.

I also found a place right here in the U.S.A that will allow you to drive a 600hp stock car around an oval for a few laps.

http://www.877stockcar.com/

Does anyone have any ideas for a cool racing experience for a noob?
 
If you have zero racing experience what-so-ever then travelling to the Nurburgring would be overkill, you wouldn't be able to make use of what you have.

Your best option is to go to a local track day and see if they hire out cars to drive.
 
As you are in New York you should look into Skip Barber.
Here is a link to current programs for Sebring.
http://www.skipbarber.com/landing_link_ourschools.aspx

The following link has dates and prices for taking a Mazda MX-5 around Lime Rock, which is in Connecticut. Just scroll through the sessions and see what interest you and your budget.
There are a wide choice and the prices reflect that.
http://www.skipbarber.com/racing_school/mx5/mx5racing_school.aspx

Skippy has lots of choices, but these seem to offer the beginner a lot of fun.

The Pocono experience looks like great fun.
 
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Do they not do trackdays etc. at Watkins Glen?
 
For you the 'Ring would definitely be overkill. Maybe you should start with some regular tracks at trackdays. Instead of Germany you could e.g. go to other countries. (If you really want a vacation :P) Like Belgium (Spa and Zolder), Holland (Zandvoort), France (Sarthe though not full length, and Magny Course) ofcourse in Germany you can also go to Hockenheim.
 
Skip Barber FTW. My friend is currently taking leesons with the program and he loves it. I would do it too, if it wasn't so darn expensive.
 
TsukubaTrueno
Skip Barber FTW. My friend is currently taking leesons with the program and he loves it. I would do it too, if it wasn't so darn expensive.
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And you could legally drive. ;)
 
If you're under 25, a Nurburgring trip would be waste of time - you wouldn't be allowed to rent a car. Driving on the Nurburgring itself is fairly safe, so long as you're sensible. If you did go, spending your first laps cruising in a low powered car and keeping an eye on your mirrors should see you through. I went a few years ago in my old Mini and shared the track with Lamborghinis, Porsches, Nobles and TVRs, and nobody drove into me!
 
Skip Barber, mimicing everyone else.

With little racing experience, many of the turns at the 'Ring could easily overwhelm you. This in combination with the amount of experience and inexperienced drivers running that track. If anything to run there, a Mini would also be your best bet. Anything more, again, with your little experience & the Ring could kill you. As Roo said, you'd also have to spend your first laps cruising.
 
Forget spending all that dough on track days, driving school, blah blah blah. Go find your regional SCCA folks and start Solo II autocrossing. Safe, fun, cheap, and you will learn how to drive. There are classes for any kind of car, from a base Chevy Cavalier (Cobalt, these days) up to Corvettes and Vipers.

They won't put you down for being slow out of the gate, they will help you. They will show you what counts on the course: slow in/fast out, proper lines, when to take the apex. Just ask around. Some regions do after-event runs, too, so someone can take you around as a passenger, show you what's up.

I did that several years ago, a Navy pilot showed up in his VW Corrado, I beat him by 4 or 5 seconds in my Probe GT. Same the next month, and the one after that. He finally asked for a ride, and from then on was much more competitive, we were pretty much even on any given day. What he learned from the ride was how good the brakes are, and how to find the best lines.

You don't need as much money to autocross as for any other motorsport, and you need no equipment other than a Snell-rated helmet. You will need a tire budget, though, and when you get into it really hard, you'll have a set of wheels with special tires. Biggest single thing you can do for your car on an autocross course is good rubber.

Once you've been autocrossing for a while, you'll start to ask about Solo I (time trials, single-car running on tracks for time) and club racing.
 
Skipbarber sounds like a lot of fun but there are two problems:

1. I can't drive a clutch. (sad but true)

2. At $4,000 for the 3 day school it's just way too expensive.

Trackdays: What are trackdays? Where can I go?
 
MowTin
Skipbarber sounds like a lot of fun but there are two problems:

1. I can't drive a clutch. (sad but true)

2. At $4,000 for the 3 day school it's just way too expensive.

Trackdays: What are trackdays? Where can I go?
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Skip Barber sounds like just want you DO need.

For between $500 to $1300 at Lime Rock you can get this or this kind of package.

If you have never pushed a car to it's limits, I suggest this package.

It sounds to me like you will need to find someone with a manual tranny and learn how to use one if you really want to drive fast on a race track in some kind of race ready car.


As far as track days, most places require you be in a club, have your own (safe) car and pay upwards of $200, plus the cost of an instructor ($200 + more).
As for where/when and so on at LRP look here.
Here is a rally club that has cones in parking lots and track days.

And talking about the prices, how much were you planning on spending to go to Nurburgring?

I like the fact that the Ring sounds fun and all that, but if in Germany and you want to pay to drive (not race) it, then by all means, step on it.
 
MowTin
I want to do in real life what I do in games like GT5P. I want to drive a car fast on a track.
....
I have ZERO racing experience.
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Then you need to learn how to drive first. I'll echo the others' sentiments that a high-performance driving class is a worthwhile investment. The class I took at Bondurant last year was a priceless experience and greatly expanded my skill-set (skills I didn't even know I needed). There are plenty of options out there that won't break the bank, and you'll be a much more competent track driver for it.
 
If you're in NYC, and want to travel a little north to Quebec in good ol' Canada, there's also Club Porsche aka AutoSport Basi racing school. It'll get you out of country, into cheap bars & lots of clubs, you'll meet some awesome French girls, and you can get a 3-day training session at the racing school in either F2000 karts, or high-powered Porsches.
 
I so want to take my friends Mustang GT to the west coast and run the piss out of it on every track we can find (including Laguna Seca and Infineon).
 
You'd be disappointed. Street cars make very poor track cars without serious upgrades in suspension, tires, brakes, and cooling, and you might have noticed I haven't mentioned engine upgrades.

Basically, you'd have lots of fun until the engine overheated and blew up, or you crashed because the brakes gave out. That is, if you didn't crash sooner because the car didn't hold the pavement as well as you expected it to.
 
wfooshee
You'd be disappointed. Street cars make very poor track cars without serious upgrades in suspension, tires, brakes, and cooling, and you might have noticed I haven't mentioned engine upgrades.

Basically, you'd have lots of fun until the engine overheated and blew up, or you crashed because the brakes gave out. That is, if you didn't crash sooner because the car didn't hold the pavement as well as you expected it to.
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Its a track toy for him, so all those bases are covered. I have driven it before at Homestead-Miami Speedway last summer and there was no problems that I know of. I told him about going to the west coast and running it, he said it was a good idea and we will go next July. First stop, Monterey Bay 👍.
 
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will do, and some video on youtube as well
 
If you like going fast and want to do it more. Buy a go kart (tkms are good budget karts)

You can then do races :)
 
lbsf1
If you like going fast and want to do it more. Buy a go kart (tkms are good budget karts)

You can then do races :)
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I was reading this thread and wondering why absolutely nobody had suggested go-karting, and there you go and do it for me :p

So yeah - the OP should probably try karting, especially since it's one of few motorsports you can do if you don't know how to drive a manual transmission. Sure, it's not driving a proper car around a well-known circuit, but it's definitely up there for thrills and it'll get you used to the sensations of going quickly.
 

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