THSCC Forums

Ok, I have been provided with an awesome, maybe once in a lifetime, opportunity through my job. I found out that I have been selected to participate in the BF Goodrice All-American Driver Search, sponsored by Skip Barber. I get to go to a three-day clinic/school/comnpetition at Sebring in October. Pretty much everything is provided but there are a few things that I would rather source myself.

A helmet. Obviously I need one better than the $80 one I got at Ray Price

Racing Shoes.

Are there some local places I can find this stuff? I have no problem buying online, but it would be nice to try some of this stuff on first. I am thinking some racing gloves might be nice as well.

The second part, is that I have never undergone any extensive training, with lapping sessions or track time. I know many on here have. What can I expect? Is there anything I can really do to prepare, or do I just show up with an open mind and go from there?

Thanks in advance for your replies and suggestions.

Jeb
Buy a Helmet. SA2000 or better. Expect to spend $300-400 or more. You can try stuff on at VIR or go to the Simpson Store in Mooresville, north of Charlotte on I-77.

The other stuff... I wouldn't worry about it if they provide rental gear. I'm sure they'll have some shoes to fit you. Gloves are probably optional anyway. But if you haven't got anything that says you need to bring them, use theirs.

After a weekend with Skip Barber, you'll be looking to get involved with our track program anyway, and will go on a shopping spree for safety gear

Oh... And just show up with a willingness to learn. Drop your ego at the track gate.

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Brad

IF...Skip Barber doesn't require FIA certified gear, you have many choices in your gear selection, and we can keep your budget down.

- Shoes: Inexpensive wrestling shoes are very good driving shoes. The thin soles are good for pedal feel, and can help those with large feet navigate the pedals more easily. I have a pair of size 8.5 shoes I'd be willing to part with for next to nothing, but chances are, you're not an 8.5 . I moved up to some pimpy Piloti's.

- Gloves: I don't know of any place in raleigh that sells real racing gloves. Auto Sport Gallery (club sponsor) just off of Wake Forest Rd. might but I don't remember seeing anything in the store like that in the past. Granted I've been out of Raleigh for nearly 2 years, so things may have changed. Websites like RacerWholesale, OG Racing, Pegasus, and many others are good sources online. I haven't done myself, but I've seen many drive with "mechanic's gloves" that you can get anywhere for $20.

I'd definitely contact the school and see what types of gear they require - if they require fireproof/FIA certified stuff, you'll spend more coin. We can help you with that also.

As for "what to expect", I believe you're spot on with your attitude. Be very open and try to soak in as much as you can. While the cars will likely be pretty darn cool, don't get too caught up in the car, keep your focus on the driver. Work on enhancing your skills.

You will have a blast.

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Tom Freeman
'98 M3/4/5 | '93 Spec3 325i | '12 TSX sport wagon | '03 Tahoe
Team Silver Bullets '91 240SX

Re Gloves: Receiver gloves for footballl. Can be found at Dicks.

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Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.

Good idea, but probably NOT fire-retardant. If they require gloves, I'll bet they require them to be fire retardant.



Bret.

One of the best places close is CV Products in Thomasville. A little closer than Charlotte and they carry almost everything Sparco. You can try stuff on there, too. They have a couple very helpful ladies in there most of the time.


--Donnie

I-85, Exit 102 - Lake Rd
(Right across the street from where Les and I went to High School.)

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Tom Freeman
'98 M3/4/5 | '93 Spec3 325i | '12 TSX sport wagon | '03 Tahoe
Team Silver Bullets '91 240SX

EDHS FTW!!!

Jeb. When I took the Bertil Roos school they provided everything you need. Skip Barber is pretty much the same. They supply driving suit and helmet.

I brought my own helmet and gloves. Make sure the helmet is SA2000 compliant or better. I just used the batting gloves I keep with me because there was some rain and the wheel was hard to hold on to when wet. As far as racing shoes go. I just used sneakers with a grippy sole. The brake pedal is pretty big and very close to the gas pedal. So doing heel/toe shifts will not be a big deal. The non-synchro gearbox will be the bigger chore.

You might consider bringing knee pads and elbow pads. Those Formula cars are a tight fit and there is no padding. I kept on slamming my shins into a bar everytime I would shift/brake. So I put the knee pads on where I was getting beat. Elbow pads would help if you can't get it into your head to keep your elbows tucked in. Driving Formula cars requires you to keep your elbows tucked into your side almost all the time, other than when you are shifting.

If you have lower back problems, bring Advil...

To me these things feel like oversized go carts. They're a blast to drive.

PS: Mark Cooper (HH&W) just got some Bell kevlar helmets that are SA2005 compliant. I tried one on. They're light as a feather and he has them at a good price.

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http://www.greywinds.com

Jeb, Florida is really hot, even in October. Sebring is in the middle of nowhere and if you have not had any experience on track you will never remember the course and you will not have any fun. It is a 10 hour drive down there through boring I-95 traffic and the hotels in Sebring are way expensive. The track is bumpy and open wheel cars allow you to eat bugs which number in the millions there.

The solution is to make me your honorary stand-in. I will gladly put up with the travel the bugs and the long bumpy course in the effort to help out a club member.


Let me know if you are interested in my generous offer

If not, have fun I am soooooo jealous

You could drive up to VIR this weekend if you have an SCCA membership. The pro shop there has a lot of stuff in stock - I think they tend to sell a lot of OMP and Simpson stuff.

How much are you looking to spend? I've found, over the years, that you get what you pay for with driver gear. If you're buying a suit, do not DO NOT buy a cheap fire suit. They are hot and thick and ill fitting and you'll hate it. Find whatever $400-$500 Sparco they're offering now, and buy it. And get it bigger than you think you need.

I **love** my suede-palmed Sparco nomex gloves. They're wonderful. They were not inexpensive at around $70, but well worth it.

For a helmet, I'm really happy with my Impact Racinc Charger. It's got all the features of the high end stuff like Sparco and Arai, at about half the cost. Very light, very well made. If it's within your timeframe, I'll have it at the Danville autocross, and you can try it on. Mine's a large, and I've only worn it for like three races. Apart from being wired for radios and having cleats for the ISAAC installed, it is as new.

With your new helmet, wear a balaclava under it. The helmet will live longer that way.

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Karl S.
2014 Baby, 2014 House, 2013 Ford Focus ST, 2013 BMW 328i, 1994 Mercedes E320
(Insert passive aggressive signature line here)

Looks like when the server went on the blink for that short span it lost my post.

Congrats Jeb!! I don't have much in the way of advice on the gear and other things, but it looks like others are chiming in for you and more probably will later! Oh, and I would take Rob up on his offer. It really is a pain down there and you would be better off putting that pain on someone else.

Thanks for all of the advice guys and keep it coming. My travel arrangements are actually being handled by Michelin (they own BFG). So lodging, airfare and food are all covered.

I better be quiet, as I am not making any friends here...

I might cruise to HH&W to at least get an idea of what fits and some pricing ideas. I would venture to VIR, but I have no SCCA license (although it looks like I can qualify/or get one after this).

Yeah, the standard three day Skip Barber (or "Skippy School" as the instructors there will call it) will be enough for your SCCA license. I think those schools time out, though, so if you want your SCCA license you should go ahead and do the paperwork. That said, you have to run two regional races per year to *keep* your SCCA license, so keep that in mind. If you don't have a car there are several outfits you can rent from for a lot of regional races around here, particularly VIR.

Also, while you need an SCCA license to get into VIR during SCCA race weekends (some are spectator events you can just pay $20 or something to get into, but most aren't), you can usually get in just about any weekday without one. You just need to call the shop before you go to make sure they'll be open when you plan to be there, and also to be sure you *can* get in (sometimes they have closed test sessions and such and you can't get in...they can tell you at the shop, though).

I think CV's showroom is only open during normal business hours, too. I'm fairly certain that for anyone wanting to buy a *good* suit, that's the place to go. Those ladies will help you fit one properly, and can even get things tailored (which isn't something I'd recommend you doing, since you need someone who has Nomex thread). Sounds like you don't need your own yet, but for anyone else who does....

Also, I'll throw in my opinion of Skippy School. I did the three day in the infield of Daytona (infield course only). Since I had never done anything like that, I thought it was pretty cool. But I did find driving the non-synchro cars they have quite annoying. I also don't profess to be the greatest driver in the world, but there were some really stupid people in the school I was in that simply COULD NOT DRIVE. We had everything from some hot-shoe ARCA driver who had never done road course stuff and wanted to run Grand Am (and he was good) all the way down to some female plastic surgeon who was only there because her rich boyfriend wanted her to go with him (and he stunk...he was only there because he wanted to do some vintage racing in some of his Ferraris in his collection).

We even had two plumbers from NJ who were the most annoying people on the planet. They held up groups while they swapped a camcorder to the top of each others helmets via duct tape and they were generally rolling obstacles (though it was easy with that camcorder on the helmet to tell who was who on course). At the time I thought it was great, but now that I've got some experience, I'm not so impressed. Of course, if it's free, you have *no* room to complain. It'll be worth the time, particularly if you've never done something like that before. I think there are better schools for your dollar if you have to pay, though.


--Donnie

Why not just buy the helmet from Mark at HH&W? Actually, Mark runs the racing/sales operation under a different company name. His prices on **good** helmets will be in line with anyplace else. There ain't no deals on brain buckets. Since you will be in an open-cockpit car with potential idiots all around, don't scrimp on your helmet. Plus, of course, Mark is a loyal Club Sponsor and deserves to be given a shot at your business

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Brad