NJMP Lightning track day -- my experience

Candide13 · 04-14-2015, 08:05 PM

After my 12th April Pocono event was cancelled at the last minute because the track was damaged from the winter, I scrambled to find something to do last Sunday and eventually decided to attend this event. They have an unusual format, with one advanced solo group and a few paced lap groups, where you follow a pace car and overtaking is not allowed. The whole shebang is run without instructors, which makes it cheaper and easier to run, obviously.

It was not my first choice, but I was really keen to start the season so I signed up for the `experienced' level of their paced lap groups. This was partly because I did not want to get stuck behind slow drivers in the lower `beginner' or `intermediate' paced groups, and partly because these groups were already full

This turned out to be a good thing, because with my stock M3 on Michelin A/S 3 all-season tires and stop tech brake pads as the only performance mod, I was still among the fastest in this `experienced' group, even though this was only my fourth track day and I am not pushing it.

The weather was glorious and I really liked the Lightning track. I was also lucky because in the first session (you get four 20 minutes sessions) I intentionally went last in case the pace was too fast, and an instructor jumped in to make sure I would behave correctly if we should get lapped by the pace car. That never happened, but I had a very nice few laps being talked through the track, which I appreciated.

There were all kinds of cars, many M3s and Porsches and a fair number of Corvettes and Mustangs. People had a good time, especially in the lower pace car groups, which gave newbies a low-impact opportunity of driving their cars around a track. For example, there was an R8, which drove very slowly but the owner was grinning from ear to ear, so kudos to him! Things went also smoothly in the advanced solo group, as far as I could see.

Also, in the lower groups the risk was so low that you can probably go without track insurance and then this event is a lot cheaper than a regular HPDE track day. I actually thought this might be true for the experienced pace group as well, except that in the last session the Porsche in front of me spun and went four wheels off the track. It did not actually get damaged, but still.

As for learning, I really don't think this format teaches you much unless you are already comfortable with keeping your car on the line and driving smoothly, something I think you can only learn with an instructor on board. There were many novices with highly powered, and in some cases highly modded, cars who drove very slowly on the track because, I think, they have never been shown how to set up their car for a proper turn and balance it through it at a controlled high speed. So they typically dipped their brakes two or three times during a turn, which made them slide more and lose control, so they felt even more insecure.
That a difficult behavioral cycle to break without an instructor.

Anyhow, most folks seem to have a good time, but I think I won't go back to this format because in three of the four sessions I got stuck behind slow cars. On the other hand, I was happy with the stop tech pads, which did exactly what it said on the tin, i.e. identical performance more or less as the OEM pads but no deposits on my rotors.

Really, given that they cost the same or less as the OEM pads, these should be the standard pads!

FLOSS M · 04-15-2015, 07:34 AM

Good write up, I think we spoke briefly. We were in the same run group and I saw the Porsche go off. That said, it was nice day over all.

Estoril Blue · 04-15-2015, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Candide13

The whole shebang is run without instructors, which makes it cheaper and easier to run, obviously.

How does not having Instructors make the event "cheaper and easier to run"?

BNBM3 · 04-15-2015, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Estoril Blue

How does not having Instructors make the event "cheaper and easier to run"?

I was thinking the same thing.

Candide13 · 04-15-2015, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BNBM3

I was thinking the same thing.

My guess was that it gets rid of the logistics and planning needed in order to have enough instructors. This event is organized by the NJMP club itself, and all they need is a track crew and a couple of instructors driving the pace cars.

Anyhow, maybe I am wrong about this; fyi the attendance cost was $180-200 for paced laps (depending on group) and $300 for solo.

dmw16 · 04-22-2015, 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Candide13

My guess was that it gets rid of the logistics and planning needed in order to have enough instructors. This event is organized by the NJMP club itself, and all they need is a track crew and a couple of instructors driving the pace cars.

Anyhow, maybe I am wrong about this; fyi the attendance cost was $180-200 for paced laps (depending on group) and $300 for solo.

$300 for how many sessions and how long? That's not that much cheaper than a DE...

Candide13 · 04-22-2015, 01:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmw16

$300 for how many sessions and how long? That's not that much cheaper than a DE...

I think they get 4 sessions of 25 minutes each for $300. The paced laps were 4 sessions of 20 minutes each for $175-195, depending on level.

Yeah, it's marginal; I guess it's quite cheap to run for the club..

M3 Number 86 · 04-22-2015, 07:43 PM

$300 is not cheap compared to California prices but then our tracks are pretty much something to lap on in the middle of nowhere.

I would fork up the little additional money and go with a better group but like you said, last minute, not bad.

I find myself being a little lenient all the time and assuming everyone is faster than me and just get annoyed as shit. Next time I'm going up front and whoever passes me passes me.

04-14-2015, 08:05 PM	#1
Candide13 Captain 203 Rep 699 Posts Drives: '11 E90 M3 ZCP 6MT AW/FR Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: NYC iTrader: (1)	NJMP Lightning track day -- my experience After my 12th April Pocono event was cancelled at the last minute because the track was damaged from the winter, I scrambled to find something to do last Sunday and eventually decided to attend this event. They have an unusual format, with one advanced solo group and a few paced lap groups, where you follow a pace car and overtaking is not allowed. The whole shebang is run without instructors, which makes it cheaper and easier to run, obviously. It was not my first choice, but I was really keen to start the season so I signed up for the `experienced' level of their paced lap groups. This was partly because I did not want to get stuck behind slow drivers in the lower `beginner' or `intermediate' paced groups, and partly because these groups were already full This turned out to be a good thing, because with my stock M3 on Michelin A/S 3 all-season tires and stop tech brake pads as the only performance mod, I was still among the fastest in this `experienced' group, even though this was only my fourth track day and I am not pushing it. The weather was glorious and I really liked the Lightning track. I was also lucky because in the first session (you get four 20 minutes sessions) I intentionally went last in case the pace was too fast, and an instructor jumped in to make sure I would behave correctly if we should get lapped by the pace car. That never happened, but I had a very nice few laps being talked through the track, which I appreciated. There were all kinds of cars, many M3s and Porsches and a fair number of Corvettes and Mustangs. People had a good time, especially in the lower pace car groups, which gave newbies a low-impact opportunity of driving their cars around a track. For example, there was an R8, which drove very slowly but the owner was grinning from ear to ear, so kudos to him! Things went also smoothly in the advanced solo group, as far as I could see. Also, in the lower groups the risk was so low that you can probably go without track insurance and then this event is a lot cheaper than a regular HPDE track day. I actually thought this might be true for the experienced pace group as well, except that in the last session the Porsche in front of me spun and went four wheels off the track. It did not actually get damaged, but still. As for learning, I really don't think this format teaches you much unless you are already comfortable with keeping your car on the line and driving smoothly, something I think you can only learn with an instructor on board. There were many novices with highly powered, and in some cases highly modded, cars who drove very slowly on the track because, I think, they have never been shown how to set up their car for a proper turn and balance it through it at a controlled high speed. So they typically dipped their brakes two or three times during a turn, which made them slide more and lose control, so they felt even more insecure. That a difficult behavioral cycle to break without an instructor. Anyhow, most folks seem to have a good time, but I think I won't go back to this format because in three of the four sessions I got stuck behind slow cars. On the other hand, I was happy with the stop tech pads, which did exactly what it said on the tin, i.e. identical performance more or less as the OEM pads but no deposits on my rotors. Really, given that they cost the same or less as the OEM pads, these should be the standard pads! Last edited by Candide13; 04-15-2015 at 07:37 AM..
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04-15-2015, 07:34 AM	#2
FLOSS M ///M3 386 Rep 1,123 Posts Drives: 22 M3 X-Drive Join Date: May 2008 Location: NJ iTrader: (1)	Good write up, I think we spoke briefly. We were in the same run group and I saw the Porsche go off. That said, it was nice day over all.
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04-22-2015, 07:43 PM	#8
M3 Number 86 Major General 3221 Rep 6,218 Posts Drives: black m3 Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: pasadena iTrader: (1)	$300 is not cheap compared to California prices but then our tracks are pretty much something to lap on in the middle of nowhere. I would fork up the little additional money and go with a better group but like you said, last minute, not bad. I find myself being a little lenient all the time and assuming everyone is faster than me and just get annoyed as shit. Next time I'm going up front and whoever passes me passes me.
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