I know the CCC is filled up are you all going to have another one soon, I did not see one on the schedule. This sounds like and interesting clinic since I have done no driving school.

 

An alternative to the Laguna Seca or Infineon BMWCCA driving schools is the SCCA driver's school held on March 4-6 at Thunderhill Raceway. Plus, the SCCA has autocrossing on Jan 23, 2005 at the Oak Col, and it's a practice session.

http://www.sfrscca.org/RoadRacing/drivers_school.htm

edit: I just realized that was a racing driving school and what most people want would be the high performance driving school.

http://www.thunderhill.com/school.html

Schedule

http://www.thunderhill.com/calendar.html

Looks like Feb 6, 2005 is the next one at Thunderhill.

 

The GGC will have several more of the Car Control Clinics throughout the year, usually a month prior to our driving school events. The dates are not set yet, best to check our calendar occassionally.

 

Thanks, I will be looking forward to attending one:smile:

 

So who has signed up? It's only a few weeks away, any other MINI's gonna be there?

 

I have signed up and I am almost finished getting my MCS prepped for the event. I noticed 34 people have signed up so far, not sure how many MINI's will be attending. Let's hope for good weather.

 

I am getting my tech inspection next week, and had an oil change, new brakes, wheels and tires put on last month. I think I should be set.
Hope to see you there! You have a CR/B mini also don't you?
Cheers,
Skottoman

 

I'm signed up for both the Car Control Clinic this weekend and the HPDE at Laguna Seca on 2/7. Really looking forward to this! I've been watching races at Laguna Seca since about 1970. I can't tell you what a thrill it will be to actually drive on that track. (Hell, I would have paid money just to go out and walk on it!)

I had Tillie in the shop (Niello MINI in Sacramento) last week for some warranty work and programming (alarm, rear fogs, etc.) and asked them to do the tech inspection while she was there. They had never done one of these before, but they estimated 1/2 hour and charged me $50. (The car is only 1-1/2 months old, so it must have been pretty easy. I don't know if they'd charge more for an older car.)

That seemed like a good price at the time, but I'm interested to hear that there are shops that will do a tech insp for free. Anyone know of one near Sacramento? (Hmmm - maybe I should see if Mini Mania does this sort of thing. Sacramento to Grass Valley - now that's a nice drive!)

 

Looking forward to meeting you guys and other MINI/BMW owners.
See you there!
Cheers,
Skottoman

 

Is anybody bringing their girlfriend or wife? My girlfriend is tagging along and I hope she doesn't get too bored while I drive.

 

Bored? Bring her a helmet and let her have some fun, too! I enjoy riding shotgun in a car on the track - the same thrills, and if something breaks, I don't have to fix it.

 

I'm bringing my 17-year old daughter to the Car Control Clinic this weekend, but I'm going to be by myself at Laguna Seca.

 

No passengers allowed...not my policy

 

I can't get away fro this event, but if you all want a great driving club. Check ou the Northern California Racing Club. http://www.ncracing.org We do track days at T-Hill, Laguna, Infineon, Reno/Fernley. I have been to the SCCA school at T-Hill, and NCRC is a much better run event. I'm planning on doing T-Hill on Feb 26, and Reno/Fernley in April. There are 5 or 6 other MINIS in the club, and we would love some more. Check it out.

 

anyone interested in a caravan down to Laguna Seca?

David

 

I'm in Santa Cruz, so I would assume most people would be coming thru there. Let me know if you are so I can join up.
Skottoman

 

I will be coming over the hill from Saratoga on Monday morning (early). Let me know if I can caravan with you guys by PM or reply to the message. Should be a great day!

 

The event is over, and anyone who was there knows that we had a lot of rain. This lead to much slower than normal lap times. I'm sure everyone had a good time though. I did.

Here is a vid of one lap I did. In reference to a video I took of my mini doing the same thing 2 years ago, this time I was 16 seconds slower! Oh well. That's what the rain will do...I just worked on being smooth.
Enjoy.

http://www.baileymusic.com/mini/laguna_bmwcca.mov

 

Cool video - hey, that was me at the start of the clip, in the BRG MCS you passed coming out of 11! Felt like being there again - thanks for posting the clip!

I agree that this was a great experience. I was pretty nervous - it was my first ever track day and it was raining! But now that it's over, I think I probably learned more (especially about being s-m-o-o-t-h) because of the rain. And it was nice that it dried out by our fourth and final session.

Have you posted info somewhere about your video setup? Very nice!

 

Really cool, the video really makes you feel like you are there. I had a good time despite the rain, and for so few MINI's in our group, it felt somewhat like a parade at times for some reason.

 

Go sharks...which car was yours there, did I meet you? Did I pass you? It's a little confusing between internet screen names and people's real names sometimes.

Lombard, I just cut a piece of wood (covered with gaffers tape) and put 2 holes in it to go beween the seat and the headrest. then drilled a hole to hold the camera and used a screw from an old tripod I had. Works great!
Cheers,
Scott (EVL MINI)