OCRC event at El Toro, PICS and VIDS

This past weekend I went to OCRC's first driving school held at El Toro. It was GREAT! Despite being a veteran of track days and driving schools I still learned several key things that made me a better driver. Many of the students were first-timers, and I was impressed by how the school brought them up to speed so quickly.

OCRC's next event is scheduled for October 2nd and 3rd. I'm going and so is my wife. I urge everyone who can to attend. Given the level of instruction and how quickly you will learn, the price is a bargain!

Here's a list of their instructor pool (if you're into motor racing you'll recognize most of the names!)
Rob Morgan
Simon Atik
James Sofronas
Betim Berisha
Craig Stanton
Andy Lally
Patrick Long
Darren Law
Davy Jones
Gerry Glen
Nathan Swartzbaugh
Drew Staveley
Johnny Kanavas
Scott Atchison
Ted Prappis
Roberto Guererro
Dominik Farnbacher
Wolf Henzler
Mikel Miller
Troy Muller
Bill Follmer


Now for pics...
(I took some, but mostly IMZ4N and DarkSchnitzer were responsible for the pics and vids in this thread. Thanks guys!)

The day started with registration and breakfast (pic does not show all of the breakfast options):


Then the morning meeting:


For guests who were not driving VGT brought their simulators:


TruSpeed was one of the other sponsors and used the day for testing their GT3s:






Then we broke into groups. My group leader was Roberto Guerrero! Our first "module" was learning to find an apex, and the effects of early and late apexing.

Drew Staveley giving us our briefing on the module:


Here is a walk-through with Scatha...
Accelerate, shift into 2nd, line up track right:


Hard on the brakes, spot the apex and turn in:


Continue toward the apex with a little trail brake, using the track out as a visual reference:


Apex, start feeding in throttle:


Close to WOT now, just don't want to run wide, eyes far down the track:


Track out, WOT:


Back in the cue for review and another run:


After everyone had a few runs the instructors changed the apex to early (not pictured) and late:


Then we worked on braking. Here is Gerry Glen trying to convince us that YES, we really want to use ALL of the brake pedal:


We'd launch...


...shift to 2nd and hit the brakes as HARD as possible somewhere near the big cones:


Everyone's cars were different, so the distance changed accordingly...

...but the instructors stressed that we should all learn the FULL capabilities of our brakes here in a safe environment so we could use them better and safer out on the track later.

After each run we would be briefed on what to do next:


Once we got the hang of threshold braking we would start applying it to trail braking.

Now for some braking vids:
700rwhp Ford GT
One of two F430 Scuderias
A rented 300C
A C5 Z06
An E46 M3 Cabriolet
An Exige
A 911 Turbo
Scatha's first run
Trail braking
Higher threshold trail braking

Our last module before lunch was the dry skidpad. I was surprised to see front wheel drive Mazda 6s used for this, but once out on the skidpad it made a lot of sense. The goal of this exercise was to achieve a feel for understeer - not just to recognize it, but to learn to drive at the threshold just before understeer starts to dictate the heading of the car.

Once we got the hang of that the instructor would suddenly yank the e-brake, and the student would correct for the ensuing snap oversteer:


And a VID.

This experience was valuable (for both speed and safety) once we got out on the track!

After lunch we repeated the exercise, but in the wet:


Towards the end of the day I took Scatha to play in the water. This sequence makes it look like I knew what I was doing:














The modules remained open to students after the track sessions began. You'd just grab an instructor and ask him to refine what you knew! Taking your own car on the skidpad was not mandatory...in fact, I was the only one who did

Before:


After:

Now for the main event...the OCRC track, which for the time being I'll simply call The Bull (El Toro). I CANNOT accurately describe how MUCH fun this track was! You simply can't get a sense of the flow and technical intricacies without driving it! It is, IMO, the most fun CA track I've been on. Partly this is due to superior course design; each corner has a distinct character and relates to the previous and next track sections in an intuitive and fluid manner.

I also appreciated the relative slowness of the track...which is to say that the top speed on the fastest straights was about 105mph for me. But this meant that there were no high speed corners (100+) like the scary turn 8 at Willow. Consequently I was able to (for the first time EVER!) push my M Coupe as hard as I could over every inch of every lap! There were two very quick turns (1 and 2), which took some balls to run really quickly. But the speeds were such that I could acclimate.

There were no "tire killer" turns (like Willow's turn 2), and this meant that the track was kind to both street tires and r-comps. The Bull was very easy to learn, good visibility and clear braking zones, but I can tell it will be very difficult to master as each turn presents different technical challenges! How Nathan and the rest of the staff were able to carve such a FUN track out of a "flat" airfield is simply genius!

To give you guys a better understanding of the track I put together this simple trace of my line through The Bull, with brake and throttle inputs as red and green gradients. I've numbered the turns as I saw fit, it's possible these might change should the track become permanent (I hope!):


I didn't take a vid of the track, but between Bob and Vinny's pics I can put together most of a lap...

Turn 1
Start as far track right as possible. This is not quite far enough:

Hard on the brakes at the 2 marker and trail brake heavily to both rotate and slow the car.

The entrance to turn 1 is very wide, but the exit is narrow. So you have to decelerate the car somewhat through the turn and get enough rotation so you don't "pinch" the car with throttle on exit. You don't really track out like you would on most turns.


Between turns 1 and 2 is a simple straight line. I'm posting this pic just to show a suggestion of Vinny's that helped ease my underhood temps due to the supercharger. He told me that if I removed the roundels that airflow through the engine bay would increase and reduce heat. It was worth about a 10F reduction and also made the car cool off MUCH faster when coming off track. We have more planned to maximize the effectiveness of this idea...


Turn 2
This turn was a little scary at first to take at speed. You brake hard just before turn-in, but need to get off the brakes and have the car settled with a little understeer.

You apex a little early, as track out is much wider than the preceding straight. Speed comes from being willing to carry more speed going into the turn and smoothly accelerating out while using all of the track out. If you carry enough speed your track out for turn 2 becomes your turn-in for turn 3.


Turns 3 and 4
This is a fast in, slow out chicane. Carry the arc from tracking out of turn 2 and as soon as you can get the car straight in the first part of the chicane brake hard.

Trail brake to rotate the car around the apex of the chicane and go WOT as soon as the wheel is straight. In this pic I was holding the brakes a little too hard and slid the rear end out. This is Vinny's fault because I saw him taking pics and he brings out the "evil" in me After I settled the rear end with a little throttle this became one of my faster runs through this chicane, and certainly the most fun!


Turn 5
After tracking out as little as possible from turn 4, get track left and brake quickly for turn 5.

I didn't trailbrake very much here, because it was easy to shed speed between the apex of turn 5 and turn 6.

Turn 6
This turn is a little tricky, as it's downhill and turns off-camber. I brake hard between the apex of 5 and the turn-in point of 6, keeping just enough load on the front tires to tuck them into the apex of turn 6. This is a good example of a turn that specifically hearkens back to the skidpad module. Once I got enough rotation and reached the apex it was easy to feed in throttle and jump the small hump between turns 6 and 7.


Turn 7
This turn is important because it leads onto the longest straight, and it's easy to scrub too much speed if you turn in too early. I just lift a little to help rotation and keep my entry speed down to the proper level. Look as far down the straight as possible, this will help you gauge your speed and rotation in the turn and how soon you can feed in throttle. Try to ignore the apex cone.


Turns 8 and 9
The back straight chicane. It's pretty straightforward. Shed most of your speed before turn-in to 8, keep a little brake pressure to slow for 9 and help rotation, apex as late as possible for turn 9 so you don't get forced wide when getting back on the straight. Here are a couple pics of us going through the chicane:




Between turns 9 and 10 there is a slight "lane change" in the straight. It's not sharp enough to warrant special treatment but you need to remind yourself to get back to track right before the braking zone for turn 10.


Turn 10
Turn 10 is much faster than it looks. The track out is quite wide and my strategy was to brake a little later than most and hold much of my braking force right down to the apex, at which point I would track out wide with lots of throttle.


Turn 11
I think this was the hardest turn on the track to really get right. In part this is because you drive over painted stripes and the front and rear tires alternate their grip level through the turn. The large amount of space around the apex also makes you want to take the turn faster than it can be done, which will result in tracking out too wide and killing your exit speed. So brake a little earlier than you think you need to, turn in with some trailbrake but be ready for intermittent understeer anyway, then get on the gas gently as your rear tires can be broken loose easily.

Track out is wide but because you can't put power down hard you want to focus on letting the car unwind more than usual.


Turn 12
This quick kink leads you onto the short straight before turn 13. Depending on how you exit turn 11 this is taken flat out.


Turn 13
This was a difficult turn for me to get, until I went for a ridealong with Nathan. The key is to turn in a bit early, even though it is a late apex turn. Do this and the rest seems to tend to itself.

Turns 14 and 15
If you don't pit you go through these increasing speed esses. They are self explanatory, although some cars can take 15 flat and some need a slight lift of the throttle. I don't have pics of these turns, but you can see Drew exit 15 (and go through turn 1) in THIS VID when he borrowed my car.

Here are Bob's pics from 7-17...

I composited this series of the more powerful of the two GTs spinning in front of me in turn 11. He just got on the gas too soon and did a good job of exiting the track in a predictable manner:


Paul was present again with his M6. You may have seen other pics of him from Willow:


A Mini that I had previously shot at Streets:


The OCRC's videographer's M3:


An instructor doing lead follow through the back straight chicane:


One of many GT3s, the only RS I believe:


Keith's M3:


Not everyone brought a high-$ car. This Mustang was there both days and ran well:


One of the twin F430 Scuderias:


Scatha, hounding a 911 Turbo:


A long shot from turn 11 down toward turn 7:


The GT exiting turn 11 again, but smoother:


Exiting the back chicane:


Now hounding the F430:


Another shot of Chris' GT (Randy also had his GT there, but was in a different run group):


Running away from the F430:


A little drift on exit:


A nice red GT3:


Chris' GT going into turn 12:


This truck was there for testing. Bob caught this pic of him going full lock in turn 11:


An F430 again:


Scatha, tracking out:


My favorite of Bob's pics, catching Chris drifting his GT in turn 11. He didn't go around this time, but slid out nicely without hitting a cone!


The end of a session:

Parked next to Vinny's Coupe at the start of Day 2:


Shots from the pits, mostly Vinny's:






















BBI's "Razor" R8:






I LOVE this shot!


Drew driving Scatha:


The owner of the F430 I was dicing with at the end of Day 2. Cool guy.

Now Vinny's pics from 7-18...

Money on the front straight:


Between turns 1 and 2:


Scatha, in a little bit of a slide exiting turn 1:


The GT3 RS and an R8, going into turn 2:


Scatha chasing a 911 Turbo Cab through turn 1:


I love this shot! I flew through turn 1 this time around...a little too quickly perhaps...and got the rear end loose. I caught it before hitting cones, and Vinny was quick enough to catch the drift:

A closeup:


The quicker F430 Scuderia in the first chicane:


And in turn 6:


Keith's M3 going through turn 1:


And the 911 Turbo Cab:


The R8 in turn 6:


A worked-over CLK63 Black Edition:


As far as I know this is a real 997 GT2:


Scatha, leading the R8 through turn 6:


Ironically this is Nathan's father spinning off track! He got the "pink hat" award for day 2 (don't ask!)


Following the CLK63 into turn 1:


The R8, going through turn 1:


And tracking out:


GT3 RS and M3:


During the last session I was in a pack with the GT2 and F430 Scuderia. We all ran hard and had a BLAST!




After the GT2 couldn't pull away from us he drove through the pits to let us run free (there is no passing allowed by El Toro's owners) and the F430 tried to get away from Scatha:


To my surprise Scatha was the quicker car! The F430 would pull on me on the back straight (using 4 gears where I was just using 3rd), but I'd gain back the time under braking, in the higher speed turns (1 and 2) and in the first chicane. All in all lap times were pretty close. I caught limp mode once on the front straight and by the time I was through turn 1 and power cycled the car the F430 was already exiting turn 2. Within 2 laps Scatha was on his tail again! Twice he got sideways trying to put power down too quickly trying to pull away

Leaving the event for the after party at TruSpeed:


Parked at TruSpeed:


Nice company for snacks and drinks!


More of TruSpeed's facilities:








Special thanks to Nathan and Hallie, and the rest of the OCRC crew for putting on such a great event! I can't wait to go back in October!

Thanks also to Rob Morgan and TruSpeed for the after party!

I'm sorry I missed this one, but I couldn't pass up some summer days on my home turf at Laguna Seca the same weekend. It does look like a good value with the type and quality of instruction provided - I certainly plan on being there in October. Is the October weekend the same basic structure as this one?

I had a blast Earl,thanks again for the invite !

Maybe a few more times working that camera of yours and I'll catch the flames coming out of that GT-40's tailpipe !!

Originally Posted by CalRick

I'm sorry I missed this one, but I couldn't pass up some summer days on my home turf at Laguna Seca the same weekend. It does look like a good value with the type and quality of instruction provided - I certainly plan on being there in October. Is the October weekend the same basic structure as this one?

-The structure will be basically the same, but I expect that we will have even more seat time through efficiency improvements in the modules. Nathan was very up-front about event feedback, took notes when some of us offered suggestions, etc. I expect him and Hallie to be very good school coordinators

Originally Posted by Dark Schnitzer

I had a blast Earl,thanks again for the invite !

Maybe a few more times working that camera of yours and I'll catch the flames coming out of that GT-40's tailpipe !!

-Next time I'll show you how to change the shot rate and focus settings

Dayum Looks like an incredible event.

Originally Posted by Palantirion

i usually don't go for vanity plates but this one is awesome.

and the people with the painters tape. i understand in principle why they do it but seriously... just stop.

Originally Posted by qwyjibo

i usually don't go for vanity plates but this one is awesome.

and the people with the painters tape. i understand in principle why they do it but seriously... just stop.

Nobody's out there sweeping the track free of debris my friend. If your planning on repainting your car soon or don't plan on ever being able to catch someones tail,or in Earls case...a dedicated track/street car.....then I guess you could skip it.

The tape may not be pretty for a day.....but,

I need a heads up for the next event... looks like a blast

Originally Posted by BKZ4MC

I need a heads up for the next event... looks like a blast

10-2 and 10-3! Consider yourself notified. I'll see you there

Earl, you out did yourself on this thread. Thanks so much for putting all this together. I really wanted to be there but just could not break away from work that Thursday and Friday. Did you get to drive with Nathan at all? He has helped me out so much. I am sure they had other instructors out there that were at his level, but Nathan just really impressed me with his instruction skills. I am really hoping to make it to the next event!

edit:

I should have looked at this before doing my reply. James Sofronas, Patrick Long
Darren Law, Ted Prappis, Dominik Farnbacher, Wolf Henzler, Troy Muller are all names i know well. I have not met them before but wow what a list!



Here's a list of their instructor pool (if you're into motor racing you'll recognize most of the names!)
Rob Morgan
Simon Atik
James Sofronas
Betim Berisha
Craig Stanton
Andy Lally
Patrick Long
Darren Law
Davy Jones
Gerry Glen
Nathan Swartzbaugh
Drew Staveley
Johnny Kanavas
Scott Atchison
Ted Prappis
Roberto Guererro
Dominik Farnbacher
Wolf Henzler
Mikel Miller
Troy Muller
Bill Follmer

Originally Posted by deknight

Earl, you out did yourself on this thread. Thanks so much for putting all this together. I really wanted to be there but just could not break away from work that Thursday and Friday. Did you get to drive with Nathan at all? He has helped me out so much. I am sure they had other instructors out there that were at his level, but Nathan just really impressed me with his instruction skills.

-I didn't get a chance to ride with Nathan in my car, but I did get to talk to him about his observations of my driving while he was out with students in the Mazda 6. I also went out with him in the Mazda and conversing with him about certain turns, and watching his line through them, helped out a lot - not just for that track but for my driving in general.

Originally Posted by deknight

I am really hoping to make it to the next event!

-You WILL make it to the October event! Or I will punk your car by putting a big CF wing on it

Fritz sent me a link to his pics and vids. He's got two cool in-car videos of his E92 M3 going around the track.
http://gallery.me.com/fritz.anker

Nice...I was leaning in and tilting my head the whole time,lol

Excellent thread! Sounds like a one heck of course to take!

Originally Posted by KingOfTheRoad

Excellent thread! Sounds like a one heck of course to take!

It is especially good for those who want to start tracking their cars so they can learn in a safe environment (this track has no walls, or cliffs since on an airfield, the worst is hitting a small cone) or those with really nice cars that do not want to risk messing them up on a regular track.

for sure a great experience. I went to the second one.

You guys realize you are posting on the thread from July? The latest (October) event is here: http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=406240

Nathan just sent me an AWESOME vid that one of the other students put together describing the school: http://videos.streetfire.net/video/714368.htm

Originally Posted by Palantirion

Nathan just sent me an AWESOME vid that one of the other students put together describing the school: http://videos.streetfire.net/video/714368.htm

okay last post on this thread for today. The girl in that video was in my group. When we went to the skid pad i was in the car with her. She grabbed the steering wheel with one hand, her right, in the middle of the bottom section, under hand. The instructor kept telling her to hold it with 2 hands at 9 and 3 but she kept going back to the "one under handed bottom middle" grip! The instructor and everyone else in the car were afraid, very afraid!

Originally Posted by deknight

okay last post on this thread for today. The girl in that video was in my group. When we went to the skid pad i was in the car with her. She grabbed the steering wheel with one hand, her right, in the middle of the bottom section, under hand. The instructor kept telling her to hold it with 2 hands at 9 and 3 but she kept going back to the "one under handed bottom middle" grip! The instructor and everyone else in the car were afraid, very afraid!

-ROFL, well at least she made a good video.