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Spring Mountain Advanced Driving School
The
Spring Mountain Advanced Driving School is located in Pahrump Nevada,
just 45 minutes away from the Las Vegas Strip.
Even though Spring
Mountain is located in Nevada, it is Illinois that fields more students
than any other state. Flights to Las Vegas are usually frequent and
inexpensive from any major airport in the country and of course there is
the appeal of the glitz and glamour of Las Vegas.
In June of 2004, Rupert
Bragg-Smith sold the Spring Mountain facility to John Morris. John has
retained the original Bragg-Smith staff and added additional staff
members. John Morris owns Radical West (distributors of the Radical
Extreme Sport Car built in England), Advanced Access (a large real
estate web host and design company), a Helicopter School and previously
owned J. Williams, Inc. (a software company), and a real estate company.
John is an avid racer of Vipers & Radicals. He has recently become a
great fan of the C6 Corvette.
 The
great Spring Mountain staff continues the same proven teaching methods
previously taught by the Bragg-Smith Advanced Driving School. They are a
warm, friendly group that adapt the curriculum to the needs of each
individual student. There are major changes going on at the track. There
is now a temporary modular classroom that is both heated & air
conditioned. There are flush toilets. If you are laughing about these
statements, then you have never been there. Do not take such things for
granted.
An expansion of the
track is now under construction. There will be a 1.4 mile extension
added between turns 3 and 5b. There will be another .7 mile extension
added to the back straight between the turn in for turn 8 and turn 10.
This will give many combinations of track to use. There will be
permanent buildings for a starter tower, offices, classroom,
conference/meeting rooms, showers and drivers coffee area. There will be
rentable garages, workshops & vehicle storage areas. You will be able to
purchase 3 kinds of fuel during track events. There will soon be a Club
house with swimming pool, so that drivers can bring their families to
enjoy the day, weekend or week. Cameras will be installed on every
corner with Plasma screens available in the soon to be built clubhouse
so spectators can view the track in air conditioned comfort. The skid
pad/paddock area will be enlarged. There are now spectator bleachers.
The Corvettes at Spring
Mountain are show room stock. These are not specially prepared cars,
these are cars just like your own. The car is perfect as it comes from
the factory, it is the driver that needs the modifications.
Do I like this place? I
love it. I have taken a class every year since 1999. The end of November
I had an opportunity to visit Spring Mountain for 3 days. I ended up
joining a Level 1 beginners class. While taking part in this class, I
realized I had forgotten a few things, gotten into some bad habits and
erroneously adapted my own ideas of what is correct. I learned as much
or even more from this beginner class as the rest of the students.
Students are taught
performance driving, taking ordinary and basic skills to a high level of
competence. The class begins with an explanation of the importance of
the proper seating position, and Visual Scanning, looking where you want
to go, not where you are headed. Spring Mountain does not teach you
RACING. It does teach you to properly drive the Corvette from braking
exercises to reading a Road Track. Heel & Toe Downshifting are practiced
daily before you go out on the track.
In the 3 day, Level 1
class, students are taught the fundamentals of stopping the car and skid
control in both a skid car and skid pad oval exercises. Everything that
you learn will assist you on both the track and the street. This class
will make you a much more confident and safe driver.
 Then
begins the really fun part - you get to drive over 300 miles on the 2.2
mile track in a beautiful C5 Z06 or C6 Z51 Corvette. Every morning
starts with a heel and toe downshifting exercise. If you have never done
this, you will feel very uncoordinated at first, but it is the practice
that allows you to downshift in a smooth and precise manner that matches
the cars engine speed to the vehicles road speed.
Track time is the
foremost thought for everyone when they sign up for a driving school.
You will have all of the track time you can handle in 3 days. You will
practice lead/follow shadow lapping behind an instructors car as he
shows you the correct line to drive the track. You will have immediate
feed back from the instructors either with the onboard radios or with
the instructor riding with you. You will learn how to balance the car by
accelerating, braking or possibly just “lifting”. Then there is the
“free lapping”. This is what everyone is waiting for and it is worth the
wait. You take the track at your own pace, enjoying the skills you have
learned. That is when you decide that even though the class is not over,
you have to take it again. That is the time to think about the Level 2
class.
Level 2 is a two day
class for those that have mastered the basics of Level One. This is a
much more informal class that is based on your own individual needs. You
will have the freedom to hone your skills and pick the brains of the
instructors. The Level 2 class also begins each day with the basic Heel
& Toe downshifting exercise, but most of your time will be spent on the
track getting the required practice and seat time that makes you a much
better driver. Smoothness and balance will be your goal, you will
practice your Visual Scanning and learn to look ahead to where you want
to go.
I have learned something
new every time I have been to a Spring Mountain class. I believe that a
refresher class each year keeps me safe and makes me a more capable
driver.
If you want to learn to drive your Corvette
the way that it was designed to be driven, then take the Spring Mountain
class.
Visit the Spring Mountain
Website at:
www.springmountainmotorsports.com
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