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Wanna learn to drive on a racetrack?

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 01:06:05 GMT

“There are only three sports: bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games.” – Ernest Hemingway

Although we’re not actually racing, NAAC is back at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on June 2nd & 3rd this year and we really hope you’ll join us. If you’ve never done a High Performance Driver Education school, or ‘track day’, before, then this is a great opportunity to learn a lot and have a ton of fun while doing it.

If you already know you want to register, go here and create yourself an account if you don’t already have one. Then follow the registration process on that site. Note that if you’re registering multiple people, each will need a Motorsportreg account. Also, if you’re registering someone else as a gift, you should use their email address for the account because they’ll receive all the information, directions, etc. directly through Motorsportreg.

If you don’t yet know that you want to register ;-) then read on!

Basically, this is a 2 day school that begins with classroom sessions and (if you’ve never done anything like this before) skill-specific exercises like a slalom and threshold-braking course. You will spend some time in the classroom and lots of time behind the wheel of your own car, driving around a real racetrack with an instructor in the passenger seat teaching you how to drive the “line” safely, smoothly, and quickly. You’ll also have plenty of opportunities to ride with instructors in their cars, which is particularly eye-opening.

You do not have to own an Audi to do this school. You do have to have a car that is in good running order, and there are several safety requirements, particularly if you have a convertible. Please see the event page for more details.

Note that due to the rollover hazard of high center-of-gravity vehicles, we cannot allow SUVs, trucks, or minivans (or any other related vehicles like SAVs, crossovers, and so on). Cars that are simply SUV-influenced, such as the Audi Allroad or Subaru Outback, are fine. In contrast, the Audi Q5 and Q7, BMW X3, X5, and X6, Mercedes G-, GLK, and ML-classes, and Subaru Tribeca are not permitted. Please contact us if you have questions about a specific car.

We’ve worked hard to keep costs down, and for a very limited time we are offering a sweet deal of only $345 for two full days. As always, we’re limited on the number of students we can take, so you’ll want to sign up early at this incredible rate. The special rate closes at the end of March unless we fill up early. If you have NEVER participated in drivers school with any club we are extending this special rate until the end of April, or unless we run out of openings, so again, don’t delay. We also have a limited number of openings for people that can only make one day.

If you’d like all the details, you can check out the event page

Here are some photos and videos from past schools to give you a flavor of the fun, camaraderie, and excitement of this event.

A photo gallery from NAAC’s 2006 track event at NHMS:

A student in the red (advanced) run group driving solo:

Instructor Noah Daniels driving a Mini Cooper S and having fun with another Mini:

The view from the other Mini, driven by Jason Collins:

At a different track (Mont-Tremblant), behind Instructor Jay Sohn’s Lotus Elise:

At yet a different track (Watkins Glen). Instructor Noah Daniels is driving, but pointing out some finer points of the track to a novice student:

Are you apprehensive about taking your car to the track? We’ve addressed some concerns about HPDEs here:

Will I break my car?

If this is your first time at the track, you’ll spend the morning of the first day in classroom sessions and car-control exercises (such as a slalom and skid pad) in a parking lot. You’ll learn the basics of the “physics of driving” as well as the skills and muscle memory to control your car in adverse situations. The remainder of the event will be lapping sessions of the track, with an instructor in the passenger seat. This is not racing, and one of the big differences is that we do not allow passing except on straight-aways, and even then only when the driver being overtaken has given a signal indicating that the overtaking car may pass. Thus, these events have an excellent safety record of which we are proud.

Will I be the slowest person out there? I’m not a fast driver. I’m kind of scared of this idea.

Students are placed into run groups based on experience, so you’ll be out there with drivers who have comparable experience to yours. First-time students will, for the most part, only share the track with other first-time (or second-time) students, and will always have an instructor in the passenger seat. We really stress safety and etiquette rather than competitiveness.

I just have a stock car, straight from the dealer; can I bring it?

Most people who are just getting started with this sort of event are driving completely stock cars. You just need to make sure your car is in proper running order by getting it checked out by a qualified mechanic who will look at the tires, brakes, suspension, oil, wheel bearings, and so on. Also note that there are restrictions on convertibles as specified here, and we cannot permit SUVs, minivans, or trucks at our HPDE schools (but they’re fine at winter driving schools).

Am I going to wear out my brakes and tires?

As a novice, it’s unlikely that you will wear out your tires or brakes in one event. Novice drivers do not tend to carry the sort of speed that advanced drivers and instructors do, which translates into far less wear on your tires and brakes. You still need to make sure your brake pads and tires aren’t already on their last legs going into the event, but you’re not likely to go through a set of pads and tires in one event.

Do women come to these events?

Absolutely! Women usually make up 25-30% of the beginners’ group, and many return event after event. The club has several female instructors as well (including the webmaster’s wife!)

Do I have to be a member of the club?

Our HPDE schools are for members only, but joining the club is fast easy and inexpensive. In addition to getting access to events such as this, members also get discounts at a variety of dealers and vendors. These discounts can easily pay for your membership each year, as well.

Winter Driving School wrap-up

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:49:04 GMT

Thanks to everyone who made our February 27-28 winter driving school so much fun!

We hope you’ll join us at NHMS!

Here are some videos and photo galleries from the weekend. You can also download the time-trial results: Feb 2010 WDS Time Trial Results

Noah Daniels’ photo gallery

Steve Tracy’s photo gallery

Some highlights from the school:

The Time Trial:

Slalom course from Steve Tracy’s G35 Coupe:

Skid Pad from Steve Tracy’s G35 Coupe:

Road Course from Steve Tracy’s G35 Coupe:

Steve Tracy’s Time Trial run:

Thanks for coming to the Club Open House!

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:11:24 GMT

Thanks to everyone who came out tonight for our open house at Watch City Brewing Company (and thanks to the crew at Watch City for their hospitality!)

We’ll definitely do another event like this soon. If you’d like to see a few photos from the evening (including Zachary Ian Malo hamming it up), see the gallery below:

If you’re curious to know more about our upcoming high-performance driver education event in June, go here for lots of information.

First-timer Discount for NHMS

Fri, 02 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

If you are a first-timer (have never done a track event before; winter driving school and car control clinics don’t count) and you’ve been thinking about doing our High Performance Driver’s Education event at NHMS on June 2-3, please note that the reduced rate of $345 is still available to you.

If you’d like all the details, you can check out the event page

Are you apprehensive about taking your car to the track? We’ve addressed some concerns about HPDEs here:

Will I break my car?

Will I be the slowest person out there? I’m not a fast driver. I’m kind of scared of this idea.

I just have a stock car, straight from the dealer; can I bring it?

Am I going to wear out my brakes and tires?

Do women come to these events?

Absolutely! Women usually make up 25-30% of the beginners’ group, and many return event after event. The club has several female instructors as well (including the webmaster’s wife!)

Do I have to be a member of the club?

Car Control Clinic at NHMS on May 15th

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

There will be a car control clinic at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday, May 15th, from 9 to 3. The clinic will be focused towards teen drivers, but all are welcome and all can learn a lot from the various exercises. The price for participation in the clinic will be greatly reduced because it is being held as part of a school community service project. High school and college students can participate for $25, and adults are $50. Lunch is included in this price. Participants under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, and no SUVs, vans, or pick-ups will be permitted. The clinic will be a wonderfully fun and educational experience for all who participate, so sign up today at naaclub.motorsportreg.com !

NAAC 2010 Annual Meeting

Sun, 25 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Please help us direct the future of our club. The 2010 Annual Meeting is to be held Sunday, April 25th, at 2:30 PM in the cafe at Sun's campus, 65 Network Drive, Burlington, MA. If you haven't mailed in your Director ballot, you can bring it with you to have it counted.

Audis Wanted 2010

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 00:14:42 GMT

On June 20th, the North Atlantic Audi Club will again invade Brookline at the Larz Anderson Museum’s German Car Day event. This unique show brings together over 140 cars and 1800 spectators representing various manufacturers, including Audis, BMWs, Mercedes, Porsches and Volkswagens as well as some very rare German marques.

In years past we’ve had great turnout of over 40 Audis (including urQuattros and an R8 that won best of show). With your help we can outnumber all the other German makes; we’ve come close twice these past three years.

Show support for your Audi and the NAAC by bringing your Audi, regardless of vintage, modifications or condition, and adding it to the display. Many of the club officers, directors and volunteers will be there helping to register Audis, directing cars to their display area, as well as showing our own cars. Even if you can’t bring your car, it’s worth a trip to see German cars at their finest, ranging from vintage to showroom stock to wild customs and beyond.

Highlights from the past include, DKWs, a McLaren F1s, Porsche Speedsters, 550 Spyders, BMW Isettas, 3.0Csls, Mercedes Unimogs and much, much more. There will be ballots, judges, and trophies for the taking, as well as food and entertainment. This is a very family friendly event so bring the children and enjoy a wonderful Sunday meeting other enthusiasts while gazing at German engineering at its finest.

The show begins at 10 AM and runs through 2 PM. Registration for all vehicles is $20. Adult spectator admission is only $10 and $5 for children, seniors, and active military and includes admission to the museum. Children under 6 are free!

Pre-register by emailing the form to frontdesk@larzanderson.org or by calling (617)522-6547. Check out the Museum of Transportation’s website, too.

Hope to see you there!

Become a better driver

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

East Longmeadow hosted several highly successful Car Control Clinic in the parking lot of the High School in 2009 and have two planned for this summer, July 10 and August 7, 2010. The events offered hands-on driving experience for drivers to learn more about how to control their cars in the event of emergencies. The events featured both classroom sessions as well as some spectacular driving exercises in the parking lot. The North Atlantic Audi Club (NAAC) who organized the events and provided instructors for the events as well as classroom content is a 501c3 organization that conducts similar events all over the North East. Please register for the July event if you’d like to attend; registration for the August clinic will open soon.

These events typically attract 20 plus students, both teens and adults. Students use their own cars on a series of exercises over the course of the day. NAAC Past President Mike Kelly commented on the need for students to drive their own cars saying “we encourage people to use their own cars rather than have us provide a vehicle for them. This has two advantages; first, it dramatically reduces the cost to the student and second, the student gets to experiment and then understand how their car will react in a variety of situations. Our experience has been that students get far more benefit from an event when they use their own car. In fact, NAAC requires students to use their own cars across the full range of driver events they organize – from winter driving courses near the Canadian border in January and March to their High Performance Driver Education at the New Hampshire International Speedway, this year on June 2 and 3rd."

Parents, students and onlookers were shocked at the improvement in driving through just an hour or so, of practice at each exercise. Students learned what caused various types of skid and how to control each one. This was not just the usual simple stuff of ‘steer into the skid’ but learning what causes the skid as well as how the car can be steered through a skid just using the throttle to either induce or stop skidding. Other exercises included slalom where car and drivers struggled to get in and out of the course quickly, without skidding or losing control. This simulates sudden changing of direction or lanes on the highway and event organizer Douglas Cowieson explained this is the area where most people struggle. “Most students think they have an idea how to control the car in the type of situations we create, but the reality is we almost never see anyone get this right without help. The same is true of the skid pad. Most people know in theory what to do in a skid but very few can control the car into and through a skid. That’s why these clinics are so good for everyone – the exercises we use demonstrate what to do in everyday events such as avoiding something in the road, changing lanes suddenly, controlling a skid. Understanding what causes a skid helps you understand when it is about to happen and as a result make changes that will control it and allow you to move on without a fuss”. As the High School Resource Officer Don Cavanaugh said “this is all life saving stuff, everyone should learn it and this is great way to start learning”. “It was great to see the students go from being nervous and timid, to confident and safe drivers in the matter of a few hours, what an excellent experience”.
Christine Skiffington, who heads the Brianna Foundation, said, “I wish I knew about this for Brianna, we hadn’t even heard of it until it was too late”.

Jim Driscoll, who watched the event from start to finish, commented, “this is exactly what the town needs, for our new drivers especially. To get this kind of practice and instruction is invaluable and will save lives”. He finished by saying “I heard one parent say this should be mandatory for all new drivers and not just an extra – I think I might look into that for the future.”

Timing Belt-a-thon: save money and learn for the future

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 00:42:05 GMT

Join us Saturday August 21st for club sponsor Advanced Technologies
Annual Timing Belt-a-thon.

For at least the past 4+ years Lee and his staff have opened their shop
Saturday for a DIY Timing Belt-a-thon.

Audi recommends a timing belt service approximately every 60,000 miles
and the dealer service usually exceeds $1500. This event is for the
mechanically inclined, those who can wrench on an important component
of their motor, yet doesn’t have the specialty tools or the knowledge
of Lee & his Techs who have done hundreds of these repairs.

The labor saved in this service is about $1000 per vehicle.

The knowledge base alone for: “what fastener goes where” and “how does
this bumper cover come off” are just some of the over the shoulder
Questions one can get answered while in this event.

The event fills up fast, there are only 5 spots available and this
event is open to our ACNA/NAAC area members. Membership does have its
privileges!

IMPORTANT NOTES:
$50 registration fee towards light food and beverages.

Parts need to be ordered through Advanced Technologies: (978) 282 5544

Contact Advanced Technologies with your vehicle year, model, VIN,
engine and transmission.

Registration is now open (create yourself an account on MotorSportReg.com if you haven’t used it before).

See you there!