Looking for Top Quality High Performance Driving School anywhere in US
I would like to enroll in a high performance driving school. Preferably over several days with nice accomodations, I plan on bringing my wife and trying to make a little vacation out of it.
Originally posted by IMA Z06 At left our very own Justin Bell
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It looks good! Would I have an opportunity to take my own Z on the track? I would really like to know what my car will do in a safe environment with proper instruction.
So ultimately I'd like learn in my car instead of theirs since that is what I will be driving.
Location: Mt Juliet, TN Z06 FEST PARTICIPANT I II III IV V VI & VII
Posts: 18,151
Ditto on the Justin Bell GT school!
I came so close to taking their 3 day school this past year, unfortunately, my Mom was very ill, and I had to cancel. I really hope to re-schedule the 3 day soon, and can hardly wait!
I did the Justin Bell school. They use 3 types of cars; SS Camaros, C5 Coupes and Z06s. You will spend pleny of time in vettes. Since we had a group of us from the forum they gave us about 30 minutes of track time for our own cars at the end of the session. I enjoyed the session and thought the drivers were extremely good. I got an email from them last week stating that they will be receiving the 2002 versions very shortly.
As far as a vacation area. You are in north Palm Beach County. One of the best places in the country for beach, boating, golf, scuba diving, deep sea fishing and shopping. You can give your wife you credit card and let her hit Worth Avenue (Cartier, Gucci and such) while you are doing the driving school. You may not be able to afford to get back home but what the heck.
I got a good discount at the Embassy Suites which is about 10 minutes from the track. The driving school has a good pricing program with them, about 33% off ($99 as opposed to $149).
You can also check out the Panos School at Sebring. You drive there race cars instead of GM cars. Keep in mind Sebring is in the middle of nowhere and doesn't have the other accomodations that you amy like for a vacation.
I just went to the Justin Bell Driving School (11/6) for the 1 day class and wished I could have styed for the 3 days! You drive Z06s, C5 coupes and Comaros which was nice to see the differences in each on the same track in the same conditions. The Embassy Suites (right on PGA Blvd.) accomidations were absolutely great. Close to West Palm beach, Boca Raton and Ft Lauderdale. There's also, Bragg Smith in Nevada which I've heard great things about. There you sign up for Comaros, C5s or Z06s and you stay in the same car for your stay. As far as driving your own Z, you might want to consider the wear and tear on your tires and brakes. I think that surprised a few of the other Z06vette.com'ers that were able to run their Z's on the track for the last 20 minutes of the day at Justin Bell. Just do it, cause you'll be addicted to course driving in no time!
Good luck,
Dave
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01 Black Z06, Kirban shifter, Halltech TRIC, FLP headers, high flow cats
I too, would like to try the Justin Bell school! I haven't been to that one yet. There are HPDE's at many local tracks. Check the ones in your area.
I have been to level one and level two at Bragg-Smith. They do a fine job. You can switch between cars if you like. I mostly drove a Z06 in Nov but I did a couple of sessions in a Camaro SS (I won both) just to see the difference. I was tired after the SS session!!
I would not want to abuse my own car for that long. We go through a set of tires every three days at Bragg-Smith. Bragg-Smith got the 2002's in last week. Go to anyone, you will love it.
Oh, one more thing. I brought my wife with me. We spent a couple of days in Vegas and drove to Sedona as well. It was a nice vacation.
Good luck, feel free to email me if you want more details.
JNATION, I attended as well with the group and live about 40 minutes South. The Breakers Resort in Palm Beach is a world class property located on Palm Beach that offers every amenity you can ever imagine. The Ritz Carlton is a few miles South and is also located on the beach.
I am a member of Heron Bay Country Club[we have a World Class Pro Golf Course and much more] in Coral Springs which is 40 minutes south where I had Frank stay when he was my guest in October [ not on the beach but very beautiful] and can get you hooked up there for very little $$[ I'm a Charter member]. Let me know, my wife Debra and I would l like to have dinner with you guys if you come down. Fubu/Les BTW Jan and Feb are huge Vette event months down here.
I have only heard good thigs about Justin's school. Try them when you want to get out of town.
For a local spot, take a look at what they offer at the Motorsports Ranch in Cresson, TX. About and hour and a half from you. They have lessons as well as open track time and test Z's. We have done some 'track days' out there in the past originating from members of corvetteforum getting together for a day of runs and bief instrcution, in our cars, for about 95 bucks. It's a good way to see what it is without any further commitment. They may offer similar options for 'odd' weekends too.
You can also get a membership out there that allows you track time for when you can't get out of town for ahwile.
If you want to just use your own car, you might try Car Guys, they have classes at various tracks, including the track used by Justin Bell. While they may not have the extensive program of JB, you get plenty of seat time in you own car.
As a new Z06 owner (100 miles now) I wanted some experience with it as I am an avid autocrosser. So I just completed (11/28) the Bragg-Smith 3-day driving school driving a 2002 Z06 exactly like mine. Well almost, it didn't have the body side molding and it had some 800+ miles on it. I highly recomend it as I had a fantastic time! The track (2.2 miles) is very open and a blast to drive, the instructors were great and very helpfull. Track time for me was 300+ miles. If you're interested in a great experience just do it. Las Vegas is about 55 miles east of Pahrump, NV where it is located so other activities are available. However, all our class stayed in Pahrump as you can expect to be quite mentally exhausted after each day's fun. See WWW.Braggsmith.com for more info.
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