Track Suggestions for Ariel Atom Experience

[swaltner]

I live in Wichita, KS and made it down to AtomFest last year. Shinoo was gracious enough to give me an exciting ride in his Atom. I'm thinking I might sign up for an AAE later this year and was curious if anyone had suggestions on which to attend. Living in the middle of the US and looking at the schedule, I'm going to be traveling, so travel costs don't really matter a whole lot.

I have no previous track experience and in fact my ride from Shinoo was the first time I had actually been on a track. I suspect it doesn't matter a whole lot which venue I choose and that any of the tracks would be equally exciting.

The currently scheduled tracks include:

Sep 9-13 == Autobahn Country Club â?? Joliet, Illinois
Sep 16 - 24 == Virginia International Raceway â?? Alton, Virginia
Nov 5 - 9 == Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch â?? Pahrump, Nevada

I'm curious if anyone has suggestions for a total novice.

Steve

[twebb]

Of the tracks listed, VIR stands head and shoulders above the rest.  VIR is a place that must been seen and enjoyed.

That being said, Mr. Atomfest and FourFathers will be at Hallett many weekends this year during COMMA.  you should keep in touch and find out when they are next at Hallett.  I'm sure you will be able to get another ride.

Do you have a sports car currently?  If so, you might want to attend a High Speed Touring event at Hallett before heading to the VIR.  For approximately $100 you will get 5 to 6 on track sessions.  Getting familiar with the "track" experience might make your trip to the AAE more enjoyable.

Feel free to give me a call anytime.  I'm the chief instructor for Hallett's HST program.

tim Webb
479-236-7606

[Mr.Woolery]

Another vote for VIR, not from experience, but from reputation.

[swaltner]

[quote="twebb"]
Of the tracks listed, VIR stands head and shoulders above the rest.  VIR is a place that must been seen and enjoyed.
[/quote]

Tim and Spaz, thanks for the votes on VIR. I asked one of the Porshe owners at work the same question and he also said VIR was a great track, but I don't think he had actually been there.

I'll definitely keep an eye on the events board here to see when folks might show up at Hallett during the year. It's a  pretty quick trip down from Wichita. The trip down was just a little over 2 hours taking the State/US highways and avoiding the Interstate (and toll roads).

My current car is actually a Dodge Ram 1500 Quad-Cab pickup, so it's not really what you'd call a performance oriented vehicle. With the recent gas prices, I've actually been putting more miles per year on my 1995 Honda VFR750F motorcycle, which has a similar power to weight ratio of the base configuration of the Atom. The VFR750F (minus me) comes in at 97 hp and weighs 523 pounds.

The HST Series at Hallett sound interesting. Tim, being an instructor, does that mean you ride along giving pointers, or is this just class-room instruction? I looked through http://hallettracing.net/hsts.html, but didn't really see that addressed. I did see the reference that you could take a passenger along during the HSTS, which is part of why I was confused about your role as an instructor. A couple friends at work have performance cars (Porshe, Corvette Z06), so I might be able to talk them into letting me borrow their car for a weekend. I doubt that's really an option, I'd be afraid to loan a car to a friend to take to a track, so I might not even ask and put them in the position of deciding. If that wouldn't work out, I guess there's always a the option of renting something like a Mustang, Corvette, or 350Z from Hertz for a weekend.

Thanks again for the responses.

Steve

[twebb]

Steve,

we are in the same boat.  My daily driver is a Dodge 1500 You got a Hemi in that thing!  I get a whopping 11 mpg going down hill with the engine off.  When I tow the race trailer, I get an even better 8 mpg.  I'm very disappointed in the car.

Our primary goal at HST is to make it safe for all of the participants.  That being said, you are allowed to run as quickly as you like on track.  If soomeone gets out of control and is driving dangerously, we will pull them in for a little talk.

As a new student, you will have access to an instructor all day.  We provide classroom instruction, ride-a-long instruction and will also drive your car to show you the proper line and techniques such as heel/toe.  i also have access to a 350Z that I take students on fast laps.

Most sessions I'm in someone's car or in the 350Z with a student.  After each session I walk to paddock to talk with my students to offer help and suggestions.  Unfortunately, most men are reluctant to take instruction.  If they let us drive their car or ride in the 350Z, then their minds change and instruction becomes easier.

Give me a call to discuss.  We'd love you and your friends to come down one weekend.  If you decide to do so, go to the Hallett's website and sign up early.  The slots fill up quickly.

Tim
   

[rfmarz@frontiernet]

Steve, I was at AtomFest too. You got a ride with a great driver(shinoo)! VIR is a blast and I'd definitely vote for it. Also, twebb gave me some great instruction and I'd highly recommend him.