[magnus]

Last weekend I flew out to Salt Lake City with my wife to attend the long-anticipated Adrenaline Academy. It's not the reason I bought the car, but it was a big perk rattling around in my head helping me write the check! I signed up for the mailing list so I could be ready when 2018 dates were announced, and booked as soon as they were available. I signed up for RS school on Monday 6/11 and added on the Mustang GT day for Tuesday 6/12.

I had an absolutely awesome time and I want to share some photos and notes with the forum. We made a weekend out of it - flying in on Friday night and staying in downtown Salt Lake City (35m drive to the track). This is my first time to the area, so I want to give a shoutout to everyone who contributed to the things to do in the area thread.



Flying out of the bay on Friday night



Mormon temple grounds are beautiful. We had perfect weather every day. Walked around the city Saturday morning



Found some dudes



Saturday afternoon we drove up to Snowbird, where the 2018 Brewfest was in full swing



Took the gondola up to the top for the awesome view







We drove around to Park City and walked around downtown, eating bison burgers for dinner at the No Name Saloon



Stopped by the Olympic training grounds and got a photo of our exciting rental. It was actually pretty good, aside from being incredibly slow. Which was also good in a way for not getting into trouble on the drive home from the track



On Sunday we drove up to Antelope Island north of the city - it looks like a peninsula but it's an island in the salt lake and you have to drive around the long way. Takes about an hour from the city. This gave us some great views of the lake, and the city. There are wild bison and antelope that wander freely. You can hike but we had a good experience driving around and stopping periodically to eat more bison burgers and take photos.





Looking back at the city





Scratching an itch. We didn't talk about the burgers...

On Sunday evening we drove out to the track for the reception and welcome dinner. I regret that we weren't more social... should have made an effort to meet some of the people from the forum who said they attending. There were some exciting cars on display and we were greeted by Dan Buckle, the lead instructor.







The reception is not a 'must' but it is a good opportunity to get in the spirit for the next day, and meet your other classmates. You get dinner as well! Our reception was shared with the Raptor school, which ran on Monday. Next post will be photos from the track.

 

[euRoSport]

Thanks for posting some pics, looks like you guys made good use of your time in the SLC area! That's my son and me ogling the school car. We spent a few days in Park City as well and took in Bonneville which is another hour plus west, helped somewhat by the 80 mph speed limit. Nice work carving up the Urbane-cross! :bowrofl: Stiff competition as I think I overheard the guy with top time say he regularly tracks a Radical. My son was able to get his first track and auto-x experience and I managed to coach him into taking 2 full seconds off his third and final laps. Definitely an experience not to be missed given the chance. That and a local dealer advertising $5k off an '18 are making me reconsider another go!

 

[magnus]

Full album: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmhBqMUG

Monday morning we had an early start to make sure we were on time and set up well for our day at the RS academy. I brought my wife along as a non-driving guest. We checked in and went straight to the classroom, where we got suited up and picked up helmets.

The format of the day:

(8a start)

- 45-minute classroom session - flags, racing lines, cornering theory, overview of day
- Van Laps
- Lead-follow on the east track
- Instructor in-car / Lapping
- Demo laps with instructors

Lunch

- Exercise rotation 1 (launch control / figure-8)
- Exercise rotation 2 (apex practice / slalom with different drive modes)
- Exercise rotation 3 (drift stick demonstration)
- UrbanX timed autocross
- Graduation / closing (4p)

I bolded the activities in which your non-driving guest can participate. The morning is a bit slow - they can't get in the car until they ride along with an instructor - but in the afternoon they can ride along with you for all activities except for the drive mode demonstration. The instructor is shotgun for that exercise and these cars have a half-cage so no one is in the back.

Morning/track session



















I really enjoyed the track work, and how quickly we got into cars and up to speed. The 2.2-mile east course is a great learning ground - it has a good variety of different types of corners, but nearly all of it can be done in 3rd gear in the RS which keeps speeds lower and builds confidence quickly. I thought I was pretty fast until the demo ride-along laps... it's amazing to see how capable these cars are in the hands of skilled instructors. The RS impressed me with its grip and stability. I had to laugh, every car I drove had the seat bottom click-click I've been trying to get fixed on my car.



In the afternoon we started on the launch control / figure-8 exercise. I've never tried launch control before, so I enjoyed that. Unfortunately the car I had for this exercise had some type of issue and would not launch particularly well, bogging down both with launch control and without. I'm still undecided on when/if I'll use it on my car.





Drift stick demo - really enjoyed this. They wetted down the lot, and had us 'drift' around a couple of cones. The drift stick is an interesting thing - it felt really artificial, like a track feature on an amusement park haunted house ride where the train rotates 90* very deliberately to focus your view on something. (sounds weird, but that's my best description) Artificial or not, it was a ton of fun, look at these smiles! My wife's favorite part of the day.



To roll all our skills together, we ended with the UrbanX. We combined everything we'd learned to try to lay down a fast time - launch control, different tight apexes, slalom, figure-8.







One driver (and then the following driver, in a strange coincidence) found a gap in the cones in and somehow cut the course. He didn't hit any cones, there wasn't any mention of penalty for shortening the route...



Go this way



Now go that way



And now over here.


[photo credit: Ford Performance school]

We (I say 'we' because my wife was riding with me, haha) went second-quickest on the day in the UrbanX. We both had an amazing experience - the instructors were friendly, knowledgeable, and provided clear instruction. I have a few track days under my belt, but I was able to gain as much from the school as the guys who had never been on track before. I learned more about what my RS can do, and now I have to figure out how to get myself back out on the track. The closing ceremony included some nice swag as well as a really nice gift for everyone. I won't spoil what it is, but I will advise you to leave about two fists' worth of extra space in your luggage to haul it home!

 

[magnus]

Tuesday I came back for my add-on day in the '15 Mustang GT.



There were 16 drivers this day (the max class size), all but 2 were returning from the previous day's Raptor and RS classes. I didn't have my wife with me to help manage my DSLR, so I took a lot fewer photos and they were just on my iPhone.



This day had a similar, but inverted schedule compared to the RS day.

(8a start)

- 45-minute classroom session - flags, racing lines, cornering theory, overview of day [identical to Monday]
- Slow in-car sighting lap on west course behind instructors
- Exercise rotation 1 (threshold braking / heel-toe)
- Exercise rotation 2 (oversteer / understeer in Fusion rig)
- Exercise rotation 3 (apex practice)

Lunch

- Lead-follow on west track
- Instructor in-car / lapping
- Open lapping
- Graduation / closing (4p)



On Monday we jumped from RS to RS for the exercises, on Tuesday we had one specific car all day. This was nice for getting your driving position set up one time and being stable through the day. I had #15. These are the same cars that the instructors used to lead us on Monday. They're 2015 Mustang GTs with roll cage, 4-point harnesses, Ford performance suspension, exhaust, and higher-rated pads and fluid. I've driven a Mustang just once, on the street, and I was really impressed with these cars. Smooth, stable, balanced.



I was worried, coming straight from the RS day, that I would have difficulty transitioning from the stomp-it-and-point approach of the RS on corner exit to the FR layout of the Mustang. I was really happy that the cars are set up to be very neutral and the snap-oversteer I feared was not a reality.



Of the morning exercises, my favorite was the heel-toe and braking exercise. I practice heel-toe on the street as much as I can (you're not usually braking hard enough to get the pedal down where throttle blips are easy, even with a throttle pedal spacer like I have), so I wanted to try it in a track "maximizing brake effort" scenario. I also wanted to practice "track braking;" like most people coming from the street I am not using the brakes to full potential on the track. On the street you typically ease into the pedal, increasing pressure until you get to your minimum speed - this is smoother on you and passengers, safer to cars around you, etc. On the track, you start at maximum pressure (just short of ABS or lock-up, if no ABS) and bleed the pressure off as you turn into the corner and ask the tires to do other things. I really felt like I had a great opportunity to practice and improve both of these skills. The importance of braking in a straight line becomes apparent when you go straight to maximum pedal pressure!



This day was an excellent add-on to the RS day. The west course was just as good as the east course - again 2.2 miles with a good variety of corners and tricky apexes. In the Mustangs you were running in 3rd gear except at the front and back straights, where you would get into 4th. This was my opportunity to practice heel-toe at full speed. The instructors were many of the same folks as Monday, and again they were all courteous, knowledgeable, and I really feel that they helped develop my abilities. My one gripe is that I felt there was too much down-time between sessions. There are 16 drivers, but only 8 run on track at a time. While the other run group is out, you're inside for a classroom session. Post-lapping downloads are a great thing, but we didn't need 20m x 3 = 60m worth of discussion - I felt it broke up my flow. It would be a huge plus if they could squeeze another run session in for the afternoon.

That's all for the write-up - hopefully it is helpful and, if you were there with me Monday and/or Tuesday, I got a photo of you doing something cool! As I said before, the whole experience was absolutely fantastic from start to finish and I am so impressed that Ford picks up the tab for anyone purchasing one of their performance cars. That you can buy a 19k Fiesta ST and get ~2k track school for free is mind-boggling. I don't know if there are still open sessions available, but if you're on the fence I highly encourage you to get out to Utah!

If you were there please feel free to share whatever photos or impressions you have.

 

[CarGuyNeil]

Well written Magnus! Thanks for sharing.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[Nsticks926]

Thanks for sharing! I'm slightly jealous because when I went last year, the drift stick hadn't yet been released. The drift circle, for me, was the least enjoyable part of the academy. I'm surprised they were incorporated into the RSOA vehicles.

 

[sublime1996525]

Great write up!

 

[JoelsRS]

+1--Glad you enjoyed SLC area and the AA! It is definitely a fun day, and like you, the demo laps by the pros really highlighted the capabilities of the RS for me.
FYI, if you want to hone those new driving skills, the Golden Gate Lotus Club is having a track day at Laguna Seca next month on Sunday, the 15th.
GOLDEN GATE LOTUS CLUB - GGLC Track Days

They run 3 groups, and all cars are welcome, but space is limited. You can get on a wait list if your group is currently full.

 

[magnus]

+1--Glad you enjoyed SLC area and the AA! It is definitely a fun day, and like you, the demo laps by the pros really highlighted the capabilities of the RS for me.
FYI, if you want to hone those new driving skills, the Golden Gate Lotus Club is having a track day at Laguna Seca next month on Sunday, the 15th.
GOLDEN GATE LOTUS CLUB - GGLC Track Days

They run 3 groups, and all cars are welcome, but space is limited. You can get on a wait list if your group is currently full.

Thanks! Do you know if there are any autocross events closer than Marina and (I think it’s called) Crow’s Landing? I did one day when I had my Type R at Marina, and while it was enjoyable, it was essentially an all-day commitment for ~200 seconds of actual driving.

 

[JoelsRS]

That's about it for GGLC AutoX venues. Although the GGLC has participated in events in the Cow Palace parking lot in Daly City in conjunction with other clubs in the past, that kind of an AutoX is not on the current calendar. Locating a suitable AutoX venue near the Bay Area has been a long-term goal, but I am not aware of any progress in finding one.

 

[lmtd_rs]

Thanks for sharing! I called them last month and they said they were booked for the rest of the year . I'll definitely try for next year!

 

[idahoskiguy]

Heading out in the morning to the RS Academy! Looks like it will be fun.

Thank you for posting.

 

[RSArt]

Thanks for a very fun and entertaining read! Great pictures too.

 

[EKFocusRS]

Thank you for a wonderful writeup and a great read! I really enjoyed it and it helped tremendously with figuring out when/what my non-driving guest will get to participate in. Looks like a blast!

 

[OppositeLock]

Very nice writeup! It's such a fun thing, the RS Adrenaline Academy. I almost went a second time after getting my second FoRS.
@magnus: Do you ever do any local track days at Laguna Seca, Sonoma or Thunderhill? Perhaps I'll run into you sometime (well, not literally!)

I took some video while I was there - this is the free lapping session after you've gone with an instructor. I love the snowy mountains around this picturesque track: