What do people know about SpeedTrials events? My friend is interested in borrowing my car for a Speedtrials event this Sunday, and I'm trying to make a decision, but don't know how the SpeedTrials events are run.

Any info would be great, thanks.

no matt, don't do it.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=84078&highlight=speed%2A

just search badmonkey's posts

Keep in mind, this was several years ago when I had my Speedtrial nightmare. Things
may have improved.. but I wouldn't bet my dough on it.


...

I've been to a speedtrials event at Streets of Willow, I had a good experience. Everything ran smoothly and we actually got extra laps at the end since they ran ahead of schedule.

I instruct with them in the midwest. I haven't seen any issues with them. They seem on par with many of the low key schools/track days in the area. They don't offer the rigid instructor/student and structure of windy city bmw, but would be on par with some of the smaller chapters or clubs.

The big bmw and porsche DE's will offer more structure, but I personally like the smaller feel. I also assume that badmonkey is used to the big club's DE's.

If you are a newb and are super nervous, the structure of the big club's DE's will probably suite you well. Otherwise Speedtrials offers well done track days. Novices may have to SEEK some instruction, but it's available and many car nuts are friendly and enthusiastic about the sport.

The big bmw and porsche DE's will offer more structure, but I personally like the smaller feel. I also assume that badmonkey is used to the big club's DE's.



You assume incorrectly.

My experience with Speedtrial was several years ago, is well documented, and
has hopefully been resolved.


..

We're going to give it a try and see how things go. I'm not driving myself, since I can't use my clutch foot to much yet. My friend is going to be driving, but I ChatterBox headsets, so I can ride and Instruct him.

I've done events with SD, LA, GGC, Boston, WMC, BMWCCA, as well as SER Club and Redline, so I'm pretty familiar with how different size clubs work.

I'll post a report about how the event goes after we get back.

You assume incorrectly.

My experience with Speedtrial was several years ago, is well documented, and
has hopefully been resolved.


..

it's scary when someone has a SN that's exactly the same as a SN that you've got on another forum :)

I've heard very bad things about STUSA. Apparently they recruit the most charged up, driving by the crotch of their tight pants, aggro guys to drive in the advanced group, all of whom think that a DE is some sort of bush league version of the Grand Am Cup. As far as the rest of their events go, they tend to be run very poorly and with way more safety related near misses than a DE should ever have.

I've never driven a STUSA event, but with the word of mouth going around regarding their events, it's no mystery why. in contrast the other groups i've run with: Redline and Speed Ventures--have been great.

I heard they got a little better but taking 125 cars and 5 run groups..i duno dude...u really want to wait 80 minutes in between?

the events i used to run are 45 cars for the same price =)

The 2 problems I had with them:
1. Not ONE flag was used other than the green and the checkered. Imagine being behind a guy with an S2000 (I was in a Acura GSR) and the guy wont let you pass and the corner workers are ignoring the problem. Every time we hit a straight the guy would pull away. After 2-3 corners I was waiting for him. I had to pull off and get back on. Pissed me off. I wasn't the only one that day to have the same thing happen.
2. They don't make sure everyone can hear and understand their rules. I had 5 guys pass me either on the warm up lap or the cool down lap and they didn't do shit. Not even a black flag. And thats their rule..."No passing on the warm up lap or the cool down lap".

Overall I still had a blast but those things get very annoying very quickly.

SpeedTrialUSA example: I watched one car go 4 wheels off 3 times in one lap.
Not a single flag pointed at the guy. Thought he was a drifter, I suppose. :rolleyes

Another: GT3 went 4 wheels off, nearest guess, 6 times in one session, no flags.
He was just out of control.

Last example, of which there were MANY the one and only time with SpeedTrial:
Noob driver stuffed his very nice M3 into a dirt bank, totalled. Doubtful he had
much, if any, instruction all day. Classic tank slapper. Possibly preventable had
he received the bare minimum guidance early in the day.

Most of the drivers there looked like Best Motoring (video magazine) stand-in
rejects. Complete assclowns with zero common sense, zero respect.

As I said before, not even if it is free would I attend a SpeedTrial event.

..

Got this message today. Can not confirm details of incident but source is reliable. This occurred at SpeedTrial's Streets of Willow event on Saturday July 2. Not that this can necessarily be blamed on the event organizer. It could happen in almost any event.

So the story goes….



This afternoon an STI served on the front straight to avoid someone’s fender liner, lost control and spun head on into a cinderblock retaining wall. Completely destroying the front end of the car and the retaining wall. Driver and passenger had 4 pt harness with that common attach to the back seatbelt method of installation. The driver contacted his aftermarket, airbagless steering wheel and the passenger (girlfriend or wife depending on story) submarined under the belts and ended up in the footwell unconscious with her helmet spun around on her head (too big?). Both parties were unconscious to the first on scene with the driver coming to much sooner than the passenger. Both were airlifted out. I’m not sure on their condition tho they were awake and conscious and stable when they left.

Got this message today. Can not confirm details of incident but source is reliable. This supposedly occurred at SpeedTrial's Streets of Willow event on Saturday July 2. Not that this can necessarily be blamed on the event organizer. It could happen in almost any event.

So the story goes….



This afternoon an STI served on the front straight to avoid someone’s fender liner, lost control and spun head on into a cinderblock retaining wall. Completely destroying the front end of the car and the retaining wall. Driver and passenger had 4 pt harness with that common attach to the back seatbelt method of installation. The driver contacted his aftermarket, airbagless steering wheel and the passenger (girlfriend or wife depending on story) submarined under the belts and ended up in the footwell unconscious with her helmet spun around on her head (too big?). Both parties were unconscious to the first on scene with the driver coming to much sooner than the passenger. Both were airlifted out. I’m not sure on their condition tho they were awake and conscious and stable when they left.

wow. just wow. my thoughts are with the two, but damn, that's just wow.

Got this message today. Can not confirm details of incident but source is reliable. This supposedly occurred at SpeedTrial's Streets of Willow event on Saturday July 2. Not that this can necessarily be blamed on the event organizer. It could happen in almost any event.

So the story goes….



This afternoon an STI served on the front straight to avoid someone’s fender liner, lost control and spun head on into a cinderblock retaining wall. Completely destroying the front end of the car and the retaining wall. Driver and passenger had 4 pt harness with that common attach to the back seatbelt method of installation. The driver contacted his aftermarket, airbagless steering wheel and the passenger (girlfriend or wife depending on story) submarined under the belts and ended up in the footwell unconscious with her helmet spun around on her head (too big?). Both parties were unconscious to the first on scene with the driver coming to much sooner than the passenger. Both were airlifted out. I’m not sure on their condition tho they were awake and conscious and stable when they left.
Holy crap. So this happened yesterday? Like E30SD said, wow...

wow indeed. don't know the details of the incident, and it's terrible to be hurt in a DE event...

i thought about going to that event, but the STUSA gave me pause. not to say that it's their fault, but all of the really shady stuff always seems to happen on their watch.

just having a convo over in honda-tech about how the "sport" is 1 lawsuit away from being extinct. every one of these incidents makes me nervous...

from nasioc. from what they said, i think they confused speedtrial with SV, who was running an event at the big track. looks like he hit a flagger station dead on. omg.

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=800056

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v124/shin12345/DSC_2588.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v124/shin12345/DSC_2613.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v124/shin12345/DSC_2604.jpg

They mentioned the skidpad, which is only at Streets. Another forum also mentioned Streets, so it seems it was STUSA.

Man I can't seem to picture where exactly that crash is at on the track. As many times as I've been there, that spot looks awkward.
I remember while going counter-clockwise when getting onto the front straight, that hot-pit retaining wall looked like a bad crash waiting to happen if someone lost it coming out of that sweeper.
I can't see someone coming OUT of the skidpad at 80mph.

July 2-3 was SpeedTrial USA on Streets of Willow.

Speedventures was on the big track, July 2-3. Speedventures is a solid outfit.



..

I did head up to the SpeedTrials event on Sunday and had planned to ride/instruct my friend in my car for a little bit.

Lemme give the background of why we went first. This is my friend that works at Dave Turner Motorsports and they were looking to become a Tech Center for SpeedTrials and wanted to go up and take a look at how the event runs and he wanted to drive Streets.

So we get there and talk to the Event Management and the inform us of the incident on Saturday and thus no Passengers are allowed, so I can't ride and Instruct. :-( I'll get to the Incident in a minute.

Based on what we see the event seems to be managed OK, with a few exceptions. The biggest thing I noticed is that there were only about 5-6 Instructors and about 20+ Beginner drivers that should have had instructors with them. After that there were probably about another 5-10 drivers that could have used Instructors, if not ALOT more. There was also a couple of guys that were there in the Advanced group that were practicing Drifting, which in itself is no biggie, but when there are other cars on the track trying to go fast it could be a problem if they mess up, and one was attempting to drift in the Skidpad, in front of other people. The other one was was at least doing it when he was in open space.

As far as the Intermediate/Advanced groups, they seemed to be OK and only had 1 or 2 offs, which can happen with any event, but more instructors can usually help that. So James went out with the Intermediate group for 2 sessions and had no incidents, other than pulling the Shift knob off!

Ok, about the Incident, or at least what we were told. Somehow the Subaru swerved to avoid something on the track on the front straight, he touched 2 wheels off, right near the Start finish tower on the LEFT side of the track, then the car Launched across the track towards the infield, and hit the small 10ft long wall that is opposite Pit out. The report that we were told is that both driver and passanger were using Schroth or Schroth type harnesses and Open face helmets. From what we were told, the Event Management made the call for the Helicopter due to the transportation time to the nearest Major Hospital Facility. Which due to the nature of the incident and possible need for MRI's was probably a very good call.

So other than all that, it really seemed like the biggest issue was not enough instruction for the Novices. If your an Advanced or intermediate driver I would say it's not a bad run event and the Management seems to want to run a good event.

All that and there were a bunch of scantily clad asian girls with their boyfriends, so that makes it better too!

Ok, and it was probably 105 up there and my car has no AC, so that really made the drive home SUCK!!!!!!!!!

Man I can't seem to picture where exactly that crash is at on the track. As many times as I've been there, that spot looks awkward.
I remember while going counter-clockwise when getting onto the front straight, that hot-pit retaining wall looked like a bad crash waiting to happen if someone lost it coming out of that sweeper.
I can't see someone coming OUT of the skidpad at 80mph.

that wall was on the front straight just past the tower (right side of the track going clock wise). I was there on sunday.. and heard about it from a guy that as there.. scary. "apparently", the sti driver swerved to the left to avoid some parts that came off of a honda. he hit two wheels in the dirt, and "tried" to correct by accelerating. he spun the car, and went across the track into the wall. - according to the witness.

but my experience w/ STUSA was positive.. IMO (a beginner), i learned a lot, and i had a lot of fun! most of the spin-outs were in the advanced group (about 2 or 3). they didnt really follow the rules and you could tell a few of them were having ego trips.

I didnt see any flag issues either.. all the flaggers were on mark w/ the passing flags and black flags too.. i think it was more of the drivers that made it dangerous.

i thought the instructors were pretty cool.. but im a beginner, and i know i have a lot more track events to attend.

All that and there were a bunch of scantily clad asian girls with their boyfriends, so that makes it better too!


dude.. there was one asian girl in an orange skirt and top.. she was HOT!! haha but anywaz... =P

heres some pictures of me yesterday..
http://www.e6designs.com/brian/stusa2.jpg
http://www.e6designs.com/brian/stusa8.jpg

track day chicks are a mirage in the rosamond desert. hit on one and soon she'll disappear and become a pile of sand. drink more water at DE's :)

about not enough instructors: no group really has enough instructors to handle the high amounts of beginners. 5-6 sounds like a lot to me, compared to some other groups i've run with...

track day chicks are a mirage in the rosamond desert. hit on one and soon she'll disappear and become a pile of sand. drink more water at DE's :)

about not enough instructors: no group really has enough instructors to handle the high amounts of beginners. 5-6 sounds like a lot to me, compared to some other groups i've run with...

Really? At BMWCCA DEs there's usually a good 2:1 or 3:1 ratio of students to instructors. Broken into run groups of 4, you will ALWAYS have an instructor with you and their rules regarding sign-offs are really strict.

For anyone from beginner to intermediate, I highly recommend BMWCCA ran events, especially in the Pacific region. If you've made A or B in their system, and you'd like to move-on, Driving Concepts Incorporated host up to 5 racing schools in the year.

After hearing these "incidents" re other organizations, I'd rather walk away at the end of the day without a scratch than risk it with a poorly run, poorly organized outfit like the Ferrari Club at Fontana or SpeedTrials. Anyone that is allowed on the track with loose body-work, did not get black-flagged for loose body-work, and no waving debris flag/yellow flag to warn incoming drivers of the impending danger is a clear sign of lack of concern for safety.

July 2-3 was SpeedTrial USA on Streets of Willow.

Speedventures was on the big track, July 2-3. Speedventures is a solid outfit.
..

Was referred to this thread by a friend. I am with you about STUSA and Speednventures. I have had bad experiences with STUSA. Once, they had drifters in the novice group.

But yes, crowd at Speedventures is more mature and has more self-discipline.

But yes, crowd at Speedventures is more mature and has more self-discipline.


Aside from their leader, of course! Just kidding - Aaron's a good guy.

we need pics of girls not the cars


I do hope the guys in the sti were ok. I'd rather a helicopter called than taking a chance. Yes it is expensive, and who knows if your health insurance will cover it, but considering the potential alternative...

i would have taken a picture of the girl.. but she rolled w/ a bunch of guys. i figured it wasnt a very good idea.. she was cute though.. mmmm