This is my Skippy story; its mostly true with names deleted to protect my meager bank account from civil action.
As a Dodge dealer in 1985 we went down for a two day intro to high performance driving (very low performance). The Skippy guys were the guiny pigs for all of us with lead in our shoes and head. They were very brave riding with us around Pocono raceway.
Over the years chrysler has hired Skippy to handle dealer intros for many cars. The Viper intro in Vegas was the best ( we only got to ride, but what a ride!) My wife took the full on fast ride and loved it. The guy in front of her said to the crazed driver, " This car cant hold a candle to my Corvette" Big Mistake !
He must have gotten quite a ride.... he made the driver SLOW DOWN!, then burned his Italian silk suit on the sidepipes ! Turned to my wife and accused her driver of taking it easy on the girl. not!
I now knew these guys were going to be fun.
So I signed up for my 3 day at Watkins Glen (spent so much time outside the fences, this had to be the place.)
Signed in at the Glen Motor Inn. You know the place, world class photos of cars and drivers on the wall, walls made of paper, and I swear, the matress I slept on was the same matress that Denise Hulme slept on in 1967.
We have all had fun learning in our three day class, learning to heel and toe, proper line, threshold braking, and the first real thrill of going around the historic Watkins Glen long course.
But my class had really interesting people in attendance.
1) The NY city lawyer (this man embodied every single stereotype a lawyer can have; I swear even his car came to hate him by the end)
2) The spin doctor ( A very nice man who expressed no interest in performance driving... his friends chipped in and gave him the school as a presant..hmmm trying to tell him something?)
3) The ladies from MIT ( This was the third of five straight 3 day classes they were taking; Because in the three day, you don't have to pay for crash damage! good thing!)
4) The Senior tour ( This man was most interesting. He was retired andhad signed up for classes at all of the great tracks.... The Glen, Road America, Laguna Seca etc...
He had a terminal speed of about 50mph, and I thinkl I lapped him every 3 or four laps. How could this man have been going fast enough to crash at Sebring? He hit the wall in the last turn.
Each day would start the same ... The nyc lawyer woul ask to drive his Ferrari on the track... instructor would say No...he'd say why?...instructor would say "because I said so"
Then we would lineup for our warm up lap to warm up the brakes, and lawyer would pass all of us on the straight, hit his cold brakes and land in the kittylitter at the bus stop... lack flag....line up again, go down the backstraight, hit his cold brakes and land in the kittylitter at the busstop again.....black flag again
At the end of the day "can I drive my Ferrari on the track?" NO
The women from MIT were the best, They were learning to drive so they could come up with a computer program that would manage over or understeer for the driver. However, they argued with the instructors constantly.... like this
Instructor; "you need to take the rain line through the laces"
MIT;" I know what I'm doing"
Inst; "There is a lot of water coming across the track"
MIT; " I know what I'm doing, I have a PHD from Harvard in Computer science, what degree do you have?'
Inst; "I don't have a PHD"
MIT; "So, I know what I'm doing, and you don't"
Inst; "But I'm the driving teacher and you need to be on the rain line in this corner"
MIT; " I know what I'm doing!"
I watched all of this from the back seat of the NEON, really amusing.
Time to get back in the school car
As I followed MIT down into the laces(still wet), she drove the dry line in. As I rounded the corner, a lot of dirt was on the track and then a nosecone and then a pretty sad looking Skippy car.
My thought at this time was, "How can they download to a computer all of this driving instruction when they can't drive? You know the phrase 'Garbage in.......'
Well at least they dont have to pay crash damage in the 3 day.
NOTE: Last year I found out that they had a large part in coming up with the DaimlerChrysler ESP traction system!!!!!!
Finally the SPIN DOCTOR. He really was a doctor. His wife came along to cheerlead. She was as interested as we were in the class training. She rode in every van trip to watch a corner.
The spin doctor had an unusual line through the corner; Inside;Outside;Spin; Continue. His speed into the corner was never too extreme, but, he saved his braking for the latest possile moment; namely in the middle of the turn. Hence; he became the spin doctor. We never told his wife untill it slipped out the last day when he came by on his last lap of the school. I said "here comes the spin Doctor, he came; he spun; he continued. His wife was right beside me! She laughed, thank God. But when he came into the pits she was very forceful when she informed him of his new name,and that she would be driving home from now on.
So dear readers, this was my 3 day, and my other students were just as entertaining to me. I certainly hope I was entertaining to them. The whole Skippy experience is Great instruction, Fun and skilled teachers, great tracks and very interesting classmates. In each school I have taken, the people are the most fulfilling part, be they instructor, student, or family.
Thanks for allowing so much room.
And by the way " Can I take the Ferrari around the track?
