Pabst Blue Ribbon

Drunk at the American Ale House and Grill in Suwanee, GA. Served in a Ball mason jar - because, the waitress said, we were in Georgia.

Friday morning was cold and bright.  The sun rose and gradually burnt off the previous night’s frost as I drove north from Atlanta on I85 to the small town of Braselton and Road Atlanta.  I arrived at the race track at 7:45 am and easily found the Skip Barber building. Parked on the road outside the building were six Mazda MX-5 sports car and twenty open-wheel Mazda formula cars.  I was at the right place.

After checking in, signing the requisite waivers and being fitted for a helmet and a driving suit, the six of us in the MX-5 school were taken by bus to the press center next to the track where we were introduced to our instructors - Don Kurtschall, Grayson Upchurch and Kyle Shields. All three of the instructors are veteran racers, who not only know the how to race, but have actually done it many times. Don was the lead teacher.

We spent the first three hours in class learning about race car driving, what is the best line around a corner and making sure we understood the equation 15 GR = (mph)^2. Which translates to the square root of 15 x (gravity) g force x radius of a bend = max mph you can go round a curve. For example, at 1 g side force on a 100 ft radius curve, the maximum speed is 38 mph. Don has been driving race cars for more than 30 years and has been teaching people to drive race cars for 20 years. He knows what he is talking about. He knows how to explain the theory behind driving a race care fast around the circuit, what to do and what not to do, and, as we were to see later, he can demonstrate the techniques on the race course in a race tuned Mazda Speed 3.  After the lesson and pep talk we got into the cars for our first ride - driving in third gear around cones at the highest possible speed to feel the sensation of a car drifting.

After a break for lunch we were back in the cars practicing heel and toe shifting on a long straightaway in the second pit area. The drill was to accelerate hard until reaching the cones, then downshift from 4th to 3rd to 2nd keeping our foot on the brake and blipping the accelerator with your heel to equalize rear wheel speeds.

Then we were finally on the race track, driving the MX-5's, in groups of two following one of the instructors, emulating his line and speed. Each of the sessions was followed by a discussion about what was being done right and what was wrong, then at the end of the day we were sent out on the track with instructions to change gear at 5,000 rpm and keep top speed at 70 mph.

An amazing day, my first time driving a race car. It is an exhilarating adrenalin inducing experience that takes time to understand. After the first day, I have made progress, but there are others in the class with previous experience who are faster than I. Tomorrow will be another exciting day as I build competence and speed.
A light beer without much taste