The Motorsports Safety Foundation (MSF) is an instructor accreditation organization that is trying to standardize HPDE driving instructors nationwide. I have a MSF Level 2 certification, and felt that program (taught by Hooked on Driving, in my case) was great, and I learned a lot. MSF was supposed to have an instructor event this year, but that somehow fell through. Mass Tuning either picked up the ball or already had it rolling, so kudos to them.
Who is Mass Tuning? A bunch of cowboys, that’s who! I’m joking of course, but in the realm of HPDE, they feel like the disruptors. In just a couple years they’ve grown massively to become the HPDE organization with the most events in the northeast. Then they started adding time trials to their HPDE events, and this year they are even starting their own racing series, Northeast GT.
So given their rate of expansion and innovation, it doesn’t surprise me that Mass Tuning is also making waves in HPDE instruction. On March 2nd and 3rd (this coming weekend), they are hosting the first Instructor Fest (register). I believe you have to be a coach or aspiring to be one, but it’s FREE, so get on it!
You can see the full agenda below, but the important part is that I’ll be teaching a class on Saturday, on how to read a speed trace. The session is a little odd, because it’s a hands-on exercise using pens and paper. You won’t learn how to navigate a difficult app (ahem, Race Studio), instead you’ll learn the following things which you can apply to any motorsports data app:
- Look at the squiggly lines on a speed trace and know what they mean
- Recognize common errors in braking, cornering, and acceleration
- Describe “backing up the corner”
- Explain why vMin may be the most important data point
- Contrast two laps for for time gained or lost
Why data? Because most HPDE organizations don’t have a data coaching program, and don’t have enough right-seat coaches for intermediate drivers. Those drivers tread water in a pool of conflicting information, with little guidance after they’ve been soloed. I’d like to be one of the people that turn that situation around. As part of that, for the past two years I’ve been data coaching for the Niagara Porsche Club of America, and I can pass along my experience so that you can read data as well.
Even if you have no desire to be a data coach in the future, it’s important to understand data. I mean, everyone uses data already, from knowing what gear they are in, to what braking marker they use, and of course their lap time. If we did everything by butt dynos and “you know, I think that felt faster,” we’d get nowhere in life. Objective measures are the only way we can quantify anything, and data is the foundation of that.
So if you’re not doing anything this weekend, and are in the vicinity of Thompson Speedway, register for Instructor Fest. See you there!
Agenda
12:00pm – Lunch Meet & Greet
1:00pm – Instructor’s Meeting
1:15pm – “Survive Your Student” by Nick Fontana (Corner Faster)
2:15pm – “An Introduction to Data Coaching: Reading a Speed Trace” by Mario Korf (Occam’s Racer)
3:00pm – Break, Break, BREAK
3:15pm – “You, Me and the Journey to MSF Level 3” by Eric Kaul (Motorsport Safety Foundation)
4:15pm – “Trends in Causes of Claims & How to be a Safer Instructor” by Steve Katz (OnTrack Insurance)
5:00pm – Dinner & Cash Bar Social
10:00pm – Checkered Flag
Sunday:
8:00am – Breakfast Meet & Greet
9:00am – Instructor’s Meeting
9:15am – “Insurance Concerns for Instructors and Tips to Avoid Incidents with Students” by Ryan Staub (Epic Brokers)
10:15am – “Data Guided Coaching” by Matt Romanowski (TrailBrake.com)
11:00am – Break, Break, BREAK
11:15am – “A Guide to HPDE Instructing” by Matt Leblanc
1:00pm – Lunch Meet & Greet
2:00pm – “Taking Your Instructing Over the Top” by Bill Stevens (BnS Racing Services)
2:45pm – “Communicating with your Student” by Paul Balich
3:00pm – Questions & Answers
4:00pm – Checkered Flag
Occam's Racer 