Spring Mountain Ron Fellows Driving School
 

Well, after the first day of my 2-day school, I can tell you all it is well worth the money! I've had a great experience so far, and have learned a lot about the capabilities of the Stingray, and of myself. And of a few old habits I need to kick. Everyone here has so far been very friendly, helpful and willing to spend the time with you individually if needed to get that tricky technique down. While there has been some inside class time, it has so far been a rather small portion of the school. The majority of time is indeed spent on the track in the car.

Note that it is not all just high speed runs around the full track. That is not the point of the school. You could do that at any local track day event. The point is to teach you new tools in order to safely drive the car at those track days, as fast as you can. The first day here is more about learning the individual skills, such as proper braking, situational awareness, etc. You do get several laps of lead-follow in order to put the pieces all together, but they keep the speeds relatively low (70s and 80s!) so you understand the skills as a whole. Additional, faster lapping will come day 2 along with more advanced skills.

Keep in mind, you will NOT be the next Ron Fellows after completing this school! That would require far, far more in-seat experience than is available in a 2 or 3 day school. In fact, Spring Mountain actually has 3 skill levels of courses. This is Level 1. Additional skills are taught in 2 and 3, and more track time is included. And certainly the more practice, the better you will become. One nice thing is that many of these skills can in fact be practiced during all your normal every day driving (well, maybe heel-toe shifting might not be the best thing to do while running for groceries!).

Below are a few photos my nephew took during the day. I'm in the Cyber Gray #01 car in these.

Do they have automatics available?

I have no interest in driving a stick. Did enough of that driving a truck.

Yep! They currently have 5 auto cars and more coming. Be sure to request it when you register!

How do you get there? Do they pick you up or you rented a car and drove there?

I rented a car from the airport and drove there. It's an easy drive that you can make in the dark. It goes through mountains that make you wish you were driving your stingray instead of a rental.

Having the rental car allows you to go off campus for dinner. I even went one afternoon/evening after class to Death Valley.

If you're being a cheapskate, I suppose you could just ride of the cars that goto the brothels (Pahrump is home to two of Nevada's brothels). I found that out the awkward way, when I was telling people in Vegas that I was looking forward to going to Pahrump.
They asked me why, and I said, "You know why (wrongly assuming everyone knew about the Corvette school)...I've been waiting a long time for this."

HAA HAA, how long is the drive, did u go alone then? Shouldn't bring wife?

I actually drove my Stingray all the way from St. Louis. A long trip to be sure, but well worth it! Just got home late last night. Will post more about my trip in a day or two. Darned work is getting in the way!

The drive is a little over an hour from the airport. I only did the 2 day course, and stayed until the end of the course and then drove to the airport and flew out that night.
I went alone because I was on business (making the flight and rental car free :)), but several people brought their spouses. The spouses can sit in on all of the lectures, and can ride along with instructors. Additionally, it's a resort so they can hang out there as well. Or they can go back to Vegas, which, as I said, is only an hour away.

It really is worth it (as long as GM is subsidizing it). It's a great deal for a 2 day course and free use of a stingray for 2 days. Drive it as hard as you want. It's not your tires, brakes, or gas.

I attended the school late last year, learned a lot, and it is well worth the money. My wife went for numerous rides with the instructors since other wives/girlfriends were not interested. One item of caution that I’ve not seen mentioned before. About 15 years ago, I noticed that I could not ride roller coasters anymore due to the centrifugal forces; upsets my stomach and gives me a headache. I experienced the same condition in the afternoon of the second day, especially when an instructor drove me around the track at speed. Another instructor told me that there usually are one or two people similarly affected. I'm not happy that I was one of them, but its my problem, not theirs. Bottom line: if you have this type of condition, bring medicine.

Take the third day if possible. It gives you a chance to put everything together that you learned in the first two. (All by yourself). The entire school was great.

I did the course in November 2013...:headbang:
My Time at Spring Mountain with C7 Corvette....



...and I'm going back in March 2 & 3..
:happyanim: :happyanim: :happyanim: :happyanim:

It would be Great to meet other Corvette7 members there...
....Anybody else going?


:becky:

Becky

I'll be in the class on Jan. 19-20. Can't wait and seeing your pictures makes the wait all the more painful. We'll be driving ours down and then heading to Vegas for the rest of the week, so we'll see about putting some new found skills to the test on the hour drive. I have an auto but have to drive a stick at the school since I was a wait lister and that's what was canceled. Whatever, it's driving someone else's 'Vette for 2 days, it could be a pedal car.

I'm registered for April 7 & 8 and the wife is coming along. She'll ride with the instructors and hang out, take pics etc.