A recently upgraded modern world-class road course that you won't find a single road sign for. The track sits just a couple of miles from the Mt. Tremblant mountainside resort town, down a bumpy rutted dirt road that appears abandoned. (Turn left at the stop sign in front of the bike shop)
At the end of that road your jaw drops as the track and scoring tower appear. The track is smooth, fast and a great challenge to drive well. The mountain resort offers all kinds of accommodations, dining, shops, nightlife and a luge ride that has been known to attract large groups of Skip Barber racers and instructors. If you could only go to one Skip Barber race weekend in your life. This would be the track and location to do it. (DalyDuo)
-Number of years racing: Since 1977 (Stopped actively driving in 1997, now full time race engineer, occasional Skippy coach).
-Number of years with Skip Barber: Since 1992
-What you did before racing and instructing? I was 12 when I started Karting (actually 11 but I lied to get a license), so before that I pretty much just spent extended time in the bathroom with Playboy and skipped school.
-Favorite tracks? (In order of preference) Zandvoort, Sears Point (the old, manly version with embankments and looming death over every brow).
-Favorite track moments and/or achievements as a racer? Winning races. There's nothing that makes you feel more alive than winning, whether it was as a driver or now, as a race engineer, the feeling's the same. For a moment you're King of the world. Winning Long Beach this year (2006) as race engineer for Andreas Wirth in Champ Car Atlantic was a highlight for me.
-What series and or types of cars have you raced and when? Karts (British team, world championships, etc), FF1600, Skippy stuff, Marenello Ferrari, Showroom Stock, Motorcycles, tested a big variety, Atlantic, Trans Am, etc.
-Of the cars you’ve raced, what’s your favorite and why? Atlantic car was everything a real race car should be (needed more HP though... of course I've never got out of anything and said, wow, wish it had less power!)
-Racers who inspired you when you were coming up and racers who inspire you now? Rindt, Cevert, Villeneuve, Senna. After Senna I decided it wasn't healthy to be my favourite driver and stopped having them for their own good.
-Students who have impressed you most as you watched them grow as drivers? The ones that come through and go on to fame and fortune are normally stand outs when you first meet them, so I think I'm more impressed by the average Joe (or Joanna) that's never raced before but "gets it" behind the wheel.
-The best thing about being a Skip Barber instructor? Don Harple on Tequila shots. Actually, as these days I only do a few race weekends and odd schools in the off season, I enjoy it more than ever. I'm not exposed to the political/corporate BS and "instructor burn out" so it's really fun to hang out with the old crowd and see if I can help some drivers in some way.
-The funniest and/or dumbest thing you’ve seen a student do? (Don’t limit yourself to one if several apply :-). MHP's student that managed to lane change exercise down an embankment into a porta john was good fun. Had a 3 day student take off the whole left side while driving across the paddock at Laguna, that has to rank up there. Of course if we can include dumb instructor stuff then the door opens a little wider.... Gemone, need I say more.
-If you hadn’t become a racer and instructor what would you have done? Big into scuba diving these days, maybe I would have found my way in that direction. Otherwise, drawing a blank. I think I would have ended up racing or competing in some other way, somehow, with something, I'm just wired that way.
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