For many of us with young kids, the prospect of shipping ourselves off to a far-flung race track in a far away neighboring country...like Connecticut...to do something that is all about us, well, it's quite a challenge. Trekking to Lime Rock for the Skip Barber school was great fun when I did it back around 2008 but, amazingly, it feels like we all have even less time for things like that as the kids grow up! But there is a more convenient way to do it suddenly! Skip Barber's instruction is coming soon to Thompson Speedway just 35 minutes from Providence in Thompson, CT!
If you're not familiar with Skip Barber, he's a retired race driver with three national SCCA titles, rare consecutive Formula Ford National Championships in '69 and '70, and a slew of other wins. He's raced both in Europe and the US. He was one of first (and few) to believe that performance driving is "coachable" like any other sport. He retired from racing and started a driving school - the Skip Barber Racing School. He's taught a few good drivers over the years - like Michael Andretti for instance.
I attended the one-day High Performance Driving class back in 2008 at Lime Rock. My wife, Deb, did the same class a year earlier. It was one of the more memorable days of my life so far, which is why I highly recommend giving it a try if you are new to driving on a race track. You start out with lots of classroom instruction and simple drills. Some autocross type of activities are also usually in the mix. At Lime Rock, they have a sprinkler-wetted skid pad and specially set up cars that will oversteer at will - great test of your ability to handle or maintain a slide! Not sure what the exact course content will be at Thompson, but I'm betting it will be a blast.
So if you've been itching to get onto a race track and haven't seen your opportunity come through yet...it's now knocking on your door!
Enjoy the winter-driving everyone! Stay safe and have fun! And don't forget the FASRI Karting Championships on Feb 6 at F1 Boston!
