Instructors: Ever had to park a student?

[Sirl]

Just thinking about that....
I have not, yet.

I did have one particular student with a rented Corvette.
This guy made me the most uncomfortable since I've been instructing.

Could not understand the concept of an apex, just did the old "Point and Shoot" from turn to turn, and hammer it down the straights, stayed right down the middle of the road.

Fortunately, there was very little traffic, and I let him have some fun. He was having a blast.

Did a debriefing after each run, but it just never sunk in.

Thankfully, the day was cut short, after lunch due to rain, and he took off early!

So again, wondering if you ever had to park someone, and what the circumstances were.

 

[wheelhopper]

I had two opposite extremes.

The first was a asian fellow in a GTR. He rolled into the paddock about 8 cars deep. It was like Fast and Furious Tokyo Drift. It was his first time on track. All he was worried about was going faster than his buddies and getting soloed. His car was the fastest car in group 1. The car was an amazing driver.

The second was a guy that was a jet pilot. He had a pumped up WRX. It had all the right parts, but the guy would not take it past 80mph, even on VIRs back straight.

The first guy left when it started raining, the second never came back for the second day. I was relieved in both cases.

 

[gcassidy]

I had to pull into the pits with a guy once to go over how this wasn't a drifting school. He had a GT500, and just wanted to get it sideways in the turns.

I did have a driver who started out like your's, Mitch. First time out, and he had an SL500 AMG-Black (some 550 hp 4 door automatic). It was point and shoot, but the damn thing was so fast he wasn't really causing a problem. And he was learning as best as a car like that would allow. Damn that thing pulled. :burnout:

 

[MFE]

The car was an amazing driver.

:beer:

I've never had to actually park one, but I thought I'd come close just this last time. Dude in an STi who admitted right up front that he had a problem with entering corners too hot. Boy howdy. I said good, admitting you have a problem is halfway to the solution. But I'm pretty sure that if I hadn't literally shouted at him to slow the **** down entering one corner complex in particular, even though it was his 20th time coming through it, they'd still be pulling pieces of his car out of the fence at Firebird.

I've also had students who were so unteachable I had to wonder if it was me that was the problem, and hand them to other instructors, but both of those were autocross school and Street Survival students. I've never had a road course student that bad in something like 10 years of doing it.

 

[WPBcobra]

I have had to sit one guy out once after 2 sessions. It was at Daytona. He said he has done 10 events with another car but never made it to the end of day 1 since the car broke. So he bought a GT500 with 650HP and his 1st time at daytona pretty easy track to run. Well he was another one that wanted to point and go and he also was great at riding his brakes. I spent 2 sessions tell him to slow it down a bit and stop riding his brakes that he was going to warp them and half way thu the 2nd session coming down turn 1 they were warped and shaking like no tomorrow.So he thought he can finsh that session like that and finish the day out i told him he cant unless he finds rotors. So he dint find any and took off after begging the people running the event but they said no also.

 

[9cobra4]

You guys are brave people, there's no way I could ride with a person I didn't know, especially in an environment where they're trying to go as fast as possible.


That being said, I would love to have some training and seat time at a track in my Miata. My problem is probably pretty uncommon, I get too nervous when I'm about 150-200ft before the corner and slow down too much then accelerate out hard. I'm just too scared of understeer, which is very hard to get my car to do, but I'm used to having Mustangs set up for drag racing. I've never had a car actually made for handling like the Miata.

 

[edz]

Having got many students that others have give up on, you just got to be firm with them. Also it helps to take them out with you for a somewhat slow laps showing them the correct way to do it. The only one that I had to give up on was at VIR. I got him as a solo candidate that needed a check ride, in the solo group (Viper driver). He said he had hundreds of laps at VIR. Well not knowing how to pit out should have been my first indication that something was wrong. After two turns I had to start talking him through the rest of the course, back to the pits. He told me he had the laps on his PC in a simulator. He could not be taught. Not only was he dumb as a post, he knew everything about “road racing” and just ignored instruction. After two sessions I gave him back to the LDS for another instructor. I think that he got one more half session before he was terminated from the event. My other student (first timer in a Mustang GT) that weekend was a pure joy. Great improvement from session to session, and got to solo him about a year later.

 

[David Hester]

Only had one sent packing.
Had a student at TGP in Amabama. No one wanted to go out with him, so I sorta volunteered. Was actually a good driver, but tended to drive over his head. Drove off one corner, kept everything straight, and pulled back on track without losing much speed. He looked at me, and all I said was "nice save." Got a black flag and I explained..again..driving off track was a no-no and might get him kicked out. I couldn't say a whole lot. I had been off every corner there during SOLO I (Track Trials) at one time or another.
That worked about 2 sessions when he over cooked and drove straight off the last corner. Told him we probably needed to talk to stewards. They told him to pack.
I've ended up in the gravel at turn 5 at Barber. Student attempted a late pass, Good, but then tried to get back on line in front of the other car. Forgot he had to turn left. No blood, no foul, but we talked to the powers that be. He did improve throughout the day.
I've only got excited once at SVTOA event at Nashville when I had a student move right coming up on turn 1 (left turn) when he saw a Ford GT in the mirror. Trouble was my student wasn't slowing and we were in the marbles. "STAY ON THE BANKING! STAY ON THE BANKING!" Puckered up a bit, made it through on the banking and rejoined on the back straight. He was a guy I knew from autocrossing. He did improve, too.

 

[13COBRA]

Instructors have balls of steel.

Sometimes I have a hard time getting in a car with a customer for test drive..

 

[wheelhopper]

You said it. You should see my GF forehead.

 

[gcassidy]

You said it. You should see my GF forehead.

 

[fastduo]

Mitch, You know me very well personally. In 18 years of instructing, I have never parked a student for the day. Some have made me nervous and I have brought several into pit lane for not following instructions well and explained the definition of the term "concequences of your actions". I basically black flagged them from the passenger seat. Usually, they were a changed man (or woman) once they rode in the passenger seat with me in my car and I walked them through the track, turn by turn.
What really works is when we sat on pit road parked against the wall talking about their "track-titude" while their track time ticked away. Some people though, I agree, are harder to crack then others. I just take if with a grain of salt, hold on a pray a bit !

 

[fastduo]

Having got many students that others have give up on, you just got to be firm with them. Also it helps to take them out with you for a somewhat slow laps showing them the correct way to do it. The only one that I had to give up on was at VIR. I got him as a solo candidate that needed a check ride, in the solo group (Viper driver). He said he had hundreds of laps at VIR. Well not knowing how to pit out should have been my first indication that something was wrong. After two turns I had to start talking him through the rest of the course, back to the pits. He told me he had the laps on his PC in a simulator. He could not be taught. Not only was he dumb as a post, he knew everything about “road racing” and just ignored instruction. After two sessions I gave him back to the LDS for another instructor. I think that he got one more half session before he was terminated from the event. My other student (first timer in a Mustang GT) that weekend was a pure joy. Great improvement from session to session, and got to solo him about a year later.

Of topic.....HI ED, how the hell are you. Long time no see!!!

Rene'



Back on topic.

 

[RDJ]

NOT an instructor but thought I would share my "almost got parked" story for your enjoyment.

it was track day at Hallett, on the weekend of the Shelby America meet in the early 2000s I had been around a couple of times and was hitting my marks pretty good. Times were not spectacular but I was having fun and doing ok. decided to ramp it up some and still managed to hit my marks on all corners but one. I just couldn't seem to get the hang of that one damn corner no matter what I did. I spun into the dirt a few times and they pulled me off the track and said .. "you spin out there one more time and yer gonna be done for the day" I backed it off some and went back to hitting my marks on all corners LOL.

I was at Summit Point with a lady instructor one year. she told me I was not driving the car near to it's capacity and I should ramp it up. I was like .. allllrighty then. was much more fun. only went off track once and when the car settled I looked at her as said "well, that was interesting" her response "you handled that very well" not much you can do when you are just along for the ride at that point.

I got a lot of respect for you guys who instruct. dont think I would have the patience. or enough drawers to keep me cleaned up.

 

[edz]

Of topic.....HI ED, how the hell are you. Long time no see!!!

Back on topic.

Rene' still the only Instructor that did not complain when I assigned them a Marauder.

 

[gcassidy]

I was at Summit Point with a lady instructor one year. she told me I was not driving the car near to it's capacity and I should ramp it up. I was like .. allllrighty then. was much more fun. only went off track once and when the car settled I looked at her as said "well, that was interesting" her response "you handled that very well" not much you can do when you are just along for the ride at that point.

I got a lot of respect for you guys who instruct. dont think I would have the patience. or enough drawers to keep me cleaned up.

Somewhat older lady with white hair? That would be Miriam.

 

[NVR2L8]

I had two opposite extremes.

The first was a asian fellow in a GTR. He rolled into the paddock about 8 cars deep. It was like Fast and Furious Tokyo Drift. It was his first time on track. All he was worried about was going faster than his buddies and getting soloed. His car was the fastest car in group 1. The car was an amazing driver.

I think that I had the same guy. I was asked by his primary instructor to give him a check ride to let him drive solo. He thought he was a real "hot shoe", but the car was so forgiving that it almost drove itself. After a few laps, I brought him in and told him that if he did not slow down enough to show me five perfect laps, I would not sign him off. Second time out he was better, but still too agressive. I debriefed him at length, and the next session, he got his act together. I would like to see him drive again, he had good instincts, but just tried to learn too fast. :beer:

 

[fastduo]

Rene' still the only Instructor that did not complain when I assigned them a Marauder.

LOL. Love the Marauder guys. Plenty of room to slide around in that park bench of a passenger seat ! One year Ed, you assigned me two Marauders. Don't know if you remember that but I had a Marauder with an Eaton supercharger and I also had a student with Cobra convertable. I failed the broom stick check on the roll bar vs top of windshield *(because I'm 6'5") and I opted out of the Convertible. So you swapped me with another Marauder instructor and this one had a Turbo Charger. It was a fun weekend trying to keep both of those guys pointed in the right direction.:dancenana:

 

[NVR2L8]

My worst ride was at Putnam Park in Indiana. I got called on to sub for another instructor who was having overheating problems. I grabbed my helmet and Chatterbox and jumped into a Ford Focus with a guy and headed out on track. The car was the biggest POS that I have ever been in! I have no idea how it got through tech inspection. Thank God that it wasn't very fast! The driver was OK, but I have never been happier to get through a session.

:beer:

 

[RDJ]

Somewhat older lady with white hair? That would be Miriam.

yeah that sounds right. it's been a long time tho