The "getting my comp license" thread

#1

If all comes together as planned, I hope to go for my comp license at VIR next month. I’ve read that the school is pretty intense, and that there is not much free time to even fuel the car. My predicament is trying to figure out if I can do this alone, or if I need to scam my long-suffering spouse to come along and perform a few car related tasks for me. Since I’m about a day’s drive away, getting one of my normal car chums to help out is unlikely, particularly because this will occur on a Friday and I’ll have to drive down Thurs.

Could use some BTDT advice and tips. Time to get off the pot, as they say. :unsure:

#2

I did my comp school at VIR with the Mid-Atlantic group. It was a full day of activity, but I don’t recall being so busy that we didn’t have time to go over our cars and sit around a bit. I think you’ll be fine on your own, but having your car ready and some support, surly won’t hurt.

#3

the problem is if you have any issues. you dont have time to work on the car at all. if you miss a class or if you are late it reflects on you and your chances of passing. its going to cost a lot of money to come down there and the school isnt cheap either. Maybe look to a rental group and pay a few bucks to have your car supported. probably worth it. Unfortunately we probably wont be there until Friday night.

Drive-gear.com
"we rent spec e30s"

#4

scottmc wrote:[quote]… surly won’t hurt.[/quote]

I think you meant “surely,” unless of course you were referring to IndyJim. In that case, surly it is. :laugh:

#5

Cool, another SpecE30.
Doing my comp school at VIR in October as well.

Bob

#6

comp school isn’t the place to try to “win” so focus ahead of time on making your car reliable, study the CCR, and then enjoy the day
bruce

#7

I did the MA region comp school at VIR too. It was by far the most intense day at the track I’ve ever had, even with someone there to help get the car ready. You’re going to have a lot of things on your mind, so having one less thing to worry about will definitely help your focus.
Depending on how motivated you are and how much time you have to spend getting ready, study the CCR, get the car ready for a beating, start or continue working out, read or re-read your racing books, and talk to people who have taken the school before.
They won’t hesitate to fail you for any small reason. I heard that there’s only been one comp school in the history of the MA region where everyone passed…

#8

Doing it without a helper will be very tough. I did mine this past Feb. with SE and without the help of my Dad I would have been late to most on track sessions. This would not gone over well since most sessions you are paired with another driver.

Know that CCR!! Good luck and have fun.

#9

“know the CCR”…yeah, about that. That’s a darn thick book. Most of the advice I’ve picked up seems to gravitate towards “know the flags” but are there other areas I should concentrate on also? I’ve never been good at written tests.

Failure is not an option. :stuck_out_tongue:

Bob, maybe we can get together there and lend each other a hand if I don’t come up with a gullible assistant.

Edit: here’s a thought…if you took the school and failed, or know someone who did, what was the thing that did you/them in? May as well learn from the mistakes of others.

#10

One off during comp school is an automatic fail. What makes that hard is the Racers will try everything they can you rattle you and force you into mistakes. Dial it back and just have fun.

In the back of the CCR there are numerous diagrams of different passing situations you would do yourself a favor by giving those a good looking over.

#11

87isMan wrote:

[quote]One off during comp school is an automatic fail. What makes that hard is the Racers will try everything they can you rattle you and force you into mistakes. Dial it back and just have fun.

In the back of the CCR there are numerous diagrams of different passing situatins you would do yourself a favor by giving those a good looking over.[/quote]

What Greg wrote is the key.

Comp School is a rolling goatscrew. A whole year’s worth of mechanical problems will suddenly befall you. Your brakes and suspension will fall apart, your car won’t start, you’ll be late for every class and track session. You’ll have to pull off the track early to fix shit, you’ll be struggling to get your car to Tech so you can race that weekend, your car will fail tech so there’ll be other crap to do, you’ll get 3rd degree burns from changing red hot rotors, and you’ll be fastening shocks to mount points with chicken wire and washers.

You’ll laugh about it for years.

#12

I’ll be there next month instructing and I might be there Friday to just hang out. If you guys need some help let me know.

Two of my freinds just went through comp school in July and we just made sure the car wasn’t leaking, had fuel, checked oil, looked under the hood, and before they went out we checked tire pressure and torqued the lugs.

#13

My father almost failed a comp school in the NE because his tow vehicle broke down on the way to the track the second day. He ended up on time and made all the classes and turns on track on time, but the head instructor felt he could have been “distracted” because of the incident that morning. “If you tow vehicle is at least as reliable as your track vehicle, you aren’t paying attention to detail” was the other argument.

#14

“Bob, maybe we can get together there and lend each other a hand if I don’t come up with a gullible assistant.”

I’m trying line up help as well, but I will be happy to help if possible.

#15

Ranger wrote:

[quote] you’ll be fastening shocks to mount points with chicken wire and washers.
[/quote]

Scott isn’t kidding about that one. If Robert Patton hadn’t saved my a** with some well-timed parts I’d still be in DEs…

#16

Well, the best laid plans…

Okay, not so well laid. I got the green light to attend comp school as a bit of a surprise but can’t get the medical done in time, so I’m throwing in the towel until Feb 2010. It’s a bit of a relief in a way. Hopefully I will be able to better prepare if I’m not rushed. Keep the advice coming, though, and I’ll file it away.

I may still try to make it down to VIR as HPDE again anyway.

#17

ddavidv wrote:

[quote]Well, the best laid plans…

Okay, not so well laid. I got the green light to attend comp school as a bit of a surprise but can’t get the medical done in time, so I’m throwing in the towel until Feb 2010. It’s a bit of a relief in a way. Hopefully I will be able to better prepare if I’m not rushed. Keep the advice coming, though, and I’ll file it away.

I may still try to make it down to VIR as HPDE again anyway.[/quote]

It’s not that hard to get the Medical done in a hurry. Go show up at your doc and tell him/her what’s up. Bring her flowers or bring him a 6 pack of good beer. Sit in the waiting room a while and they’ll fit you in. Or go see your kids doc, or your shrink. Or network thru your buddies an find a buddy of a buddy MD. There’s always a way.

#18

Back in the old days when I had a “doctor” I’d agree with you. Around here now it’s all “health centers” with a half dozen or more doctors. Believe me, I took whichever one was available first.

#19

Be aggressive and think out of the box. There’s all sorts of ways to skin this cat. For example, walk into a Doc-in-the-box with $50 in your hand and ask for a nurse to fill out the form and a doc to sign it. The nurse will ask a few questions, take your vitals and it’s all done.

#20

if SCCA is big around you, they’ll often have a doctor-racer in their midst that will do race-medicals in a hurry
bruce