Going to Evolution Phase I & II Schools

[SpaceMonkey]

I'm real excited. Boy this stuff is addicting. Phase I is tomorrow, and Phase II is Friday. Can't wait. :drive:
Come to think of it, I haven't worked a full week this month. :angel:

I hope I have enough tread to last both days :eek:

[·clyde·]

Cool :thumbup:

I hope to do Phases I&II later this year too.

[FSelekler]

There are some talks of having an Evo class in our area too, but I did not see anyone post any schedules or anything yet. I'd like to go to phase II.

[cenotaph]

I decided to just do Phase I this year. Hopefully I'll be able to do Phase II & Phase III next year.

See you Fri.

[SpaceMonkey]

Wow. What a day! :D One course, three national champion instructors, and 20+ runs. And I get to do more tomorrow. :yikes:

The biggest problem we had in my group (there were 3 Phase I's held today), was the lack of timing equipment. The EVO timing will actually give you 5 different segment breakdowns, as well as your overall time. This is really cool, but only 2 of their equipment setups were able to make it out here today, and my group was "stuck" with only overall times. Regardless, I learned TONS. My class only had 10 students, with five run groups of two. EVO really is all about seat time.

It was a good little course, with many different parts. (Yes, you still have to shag cones) The morning was focused on car control. After introductions and walking the course a couple times, you start with three solo runs, just like at an SCCA event (I haven't been). This is used to gauge your improvements. Then another 8 runs: first two an instructor riding with you; next two you ride, he drives; another two with the instructor riding, then a final two solo, with the instructors watching from outside the car. Fantastic, immediate feedback.

Then we broke for a working lunch, where the instructors talked to us, and we all discussed what we've learned so far. Then the afternoon was mainly focused on looking ahead. One instructor took 3 people at a time through the course, pointing and telling everyone where they should be looking. For example, when you are setting up for a five point slalom, be looking at the 3rd cone before you enter, 4th cone as you pass the first, etc. There was a lot of using your side windows. Then back to our run groups. Another 8 runs with the instructors, like above. Then you get a final 3 runs to put it all together and see how much time you've lost since the morning. I was 1.774 seconds faster. I still have a ways to go, but learned so many things today. I had a lot less push around the corners by the end of the day, and was faster on the straights. I know I'm supposed to be looking ahead all the time, but this really hit it home.

From what I heard, Phase II has no times, and is more about memory, and the mental aspects. And the Challege school sounds amazing. I can't wait for that next year. More on Phase II tomorrow.

[SpaceMonkey]

I decided to just do Phase I this year. Hopefully I'll be able to do Phase II & Phase III next year.

See you Fri.Cool! I'll see you there cenotaph! :D


Here's a map of the Phase I course, the five sections are where the timing break downs are. This would really show you which areas you are picking up the most time. And also another tire shot, after my many runs of understeering the tight circles. :p Heh. At least I was pushing less in the afternoon than in the morning.

[·clyde·]

Wow. What a day! :D One course, three national champion instructors, and 20+ runs. And I get to do more tomorrow. :yikes:

Awesome! Can't wait to hear about tomorrow.

:thumbup:

Did you feel like you learned much when the instructors were driving your car? And how did your tires hold up?

[brave1heart]

Sounds great. I didn't know about looking at the 3-rd cone when you enter the slalom.

[SpaceMonkey]

Did you feel like you learned much when the instructors were driving your car? And how did your tires hold up?My tires held up pretty good. I'm a little over 20K on my stock Dunlops, and have a little tread left. I'm not sure exactly how much I used up today, but I know I have enough for tomorrow. :)

It was amazing when the instructors drove my car. One had won nationals in a Neon (not sure what class). They were on a TOTALLY different line than I was on in the beginning. Very big eye opener. The morning instructors best time beat me by over 1.5 seconds. Seeing what they can do in your car is a great part of the class. Seeing where they are looking, the line they are taking, their hand movements, and just feeling how damn fast and smooth they are is really impressive.

I guess at the end of the Challenge school, you get three runs solo, like Phase I. But then an instructor drives your car solo, FULL OUT, trying to get the best time. Your job is to try and beat his time in three more solo runs of your own.

[brave1heart]

The morning instructors best time beat me by over 1.5 seconds.

How long is the course?

[SpaceMonkey]

How long is the course? On our Phase I course, people were on average running between 36-40 seconds. The best time was in an EVO 8, at a little over 35. My best was 38.0 Christian (not on this board) was in my group and I believe his best was around 36.9. One instructors best time in my car was 36.5. But he only drove it twice, and I don't think he was going all out. Maybe 80%. :dunno:

[LarryN]

I had a blast there yesterday myself. Luckily, my course had the EVO timing, and it was unbelievably beneficial to see the split times. I would have been a bit bummed to not have the split times that your group did not get to see.

However, taking the instructions, seat time, having a national champion drive your car, and "talk" time (where the instructors are discussing lines/techniques/details with the group) were worth the price of admission.

One thing I was not expecting, and was nice to see, was that there was a good bit of camaraderie as well. It was kinda cool to cheer for one of your fellow "classmates", who, just by seeing them go thru the course, you know they nailed a good run. It was also nice to recieve that same feedback.

Great time! I hope SpaceMonkey and cenotaph had a blast today!

[cenotaph]

Well, the Phase I school was fun. There were 13 students :eeps: . Some of the more intersting cars included a '94 Viper, an SVT Cobra with suspension work, a WRX STi, an S2000 and a 323 GTX. The course was the same basic layout (which has apparently been in use for 10 yrs.), but we had the EVO timing equipment so we got 5 sector times. FTD was 28.7, IIRC, from an instructor driving the S2000. My fastest time was 30.9 and an instructor got 29.+ in another 330Ci.

It was a fun day with lots of seat time and great instructors. I can't wait for next year.

Next weekend: Boston CCA autocross school. :)

I'm soooo tempted to go to the NER event tomorrow.

[SpaceMonkey]

I had a blast there yesterday myself. Luckily, my course had the EVO timing, and it was unbelievably beneficial to see the split times. I would have been a bit bummed to not have the split times that your group did not get to see.

However, taking the instructions, seat time, having a national champion drive your car, and "talk" time (where the instructors are discussing lines/techniques/details with the group) were worth the price of admission.

One thing I was not expecting, and was nice to see, was that there was a good bit of camaraderie as well. It was kinda cool to cheer for one of your fellow "classmates", who, just by seeing them go thru the course, you know they nailed a good run. It was also nice to recieve that same feedback.

Great time! I hope SpaceMonkey and cenotaph had a blast today!Yeah. Not getting the split times really sucked. I didn't even think about that yesterday, since I didn't want to complain or focus on negatives before the school even began. I just wanted to have fun and learn as much as possible. And I did. But it wasn't right that nothing was really said or done for the lack of timing equipment.

The camaraderie was really impressive, I agree. Everyone was real encouraging. It really was great being able to see so many different cars too. I guess the SHO and VST clubs also run autox's at Devons too. I'd like to check one of those out at some point.

The instruction was awesome. These guys really know their stuff, and also know how to teach. And the discussions after each run session was very enlightening. It was also good to hear what the other students had learned after each session.

Another great thing is the smaller class sizes. No class had more than 14 students, I believe. And you have at least 2 instructors. They have a good system down, and as cenotaph said, they've been running the same courses for Phase I and II for about 10 years. The thing about both of these courses are that they are small and tight, so 1 little mistake or mental lapse will kill you. And that's the whole point, and what really drills down (at least for me) how absolutely critical it is to look ahead.

So if you break down the cost, you get between 20-30 runs a day. Call it roughly $9.00 a run. Compare that to our normal events, 8 runs for $20 or $2.50/run. Considering how much you learn taking that many more runs in a day, and the quality of instruction, and the extra information you can learn by asking questions, I'd say it's absolutely worth it. Would I do it again? Tough to say right now. Probably, but most likely not for a couple years. I will do the Challenge school next year.

I guess the Challenge school is limited to 10 students, which is excellent. I can't wait for that next year and see how I do with most of the windshield taped up. :D

[SpaceMonkey]

Awesome! Can't wait to hear about tomorrow.
Okay here's my Phase II impressions:

Phase II really is more about the mental aspect of this sport. It's all about visualization and learning a course on the first run, then improving on the next two. However, there isn't timers for this event. The point is preparedness, driving smooth lines, and getting very close to the right cones. Heh, one of the younger instructor's ideas of a perfect run is to hit EVERY SINGLE CONE. Just don't knock any down.

I don't want to say too much about the Phase II course in case people don't want it spoiled for them. They throw some stuff at you that's interesting. I will say the course is less constricted, with a couple of really good, fast straightaways. Still a short course, so things can come up and bite you in the ass if you're not prepared (i.e. looking far ahead). However, if people want, I'll be more than happy to talk about the Phase II course itself. Let me know.

I still learned an awful lot today. It was good to do both classes back-to-back, as today really reinforced and built upon the lessons from Phase I. If I've mentioned "looking ahead" way too much in this thread, it's because the instructors were stressing that both days. It is absolutely critical in Solo II, especially in SCCA events when you only get 3-4 runs. Period. Instead of focusing on apexes, or when to break/accelerate, if you visualize the course, and look 3 turns ahead (for the entire run :banghead:), you'll drive a good line. It was not at all the focus I was expecting, but it was really illuminating. It will be interesting to compare this to the Boston BMWCCA's school next week.

Best quote of the day after a messed up run: "The cone made me do it." :rofl:

[·clyde·]

Okay here's my Phase II impressions:

thanks!

Phases I & II sound like what I want/need.

From everything that I've heard, you should expect to be much quicker at your next few autox events if you really take it all to heart.

[brave1heart]

thanks!

Phases I & II sound like what I want/need.

From everything that I've heard, you should expect to be much quicker at your next few autox events if you really take it all to heart.

That's what scares me. We've been running neck to neck with LarryN at each autoX this year :eeps: