Team O'neils Rally School
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If I were east coast, I'd seriously look into a package deal to attend a school and rent a school car for the first event.
Having my front control arm fall off the car my first event was a serious waste of money. The day we did finish, we didn't even beat bogie times because I'd never had an opportunity to drive at speed on gravel before.
That was $800 in entry fees just to go slow as balls and have the car fall apart.
Having my front control arm fall off the car my first event was a serious waste of money. The day we did finish, we didn't even beat bogie times because I'd never had an opportunity to drive at speed on gravel before.
That was $800 in entry fees just to go slow as balls and have the car fall apart.
Even though we've all done it, you won't make many friends here posting about it.
Falls in the street racing in a school zone catergory...
I've never heard anyone not have very positive things to say about Tim O'neal. It looks stupid expensive to people new to the sport, but the more you look into it, the sports stupid expensive.
I'm personally leaning toward the "take the school do first event that weekend" thing.
Does the school teach you to drive or is it just a rally experience?
There is a debate on one of the British Rally Forums as to the experience of the instructors and that many don't know how to actually drive and teach what they know they just know how to drive fast but not actually teach technique.
Rally experience is just getting someone in a car and driving as fast as you can around a track.
There is a debate on one of the British Rally Forums as to the experience of the instructors and that many don't know how to actually drive and teach what they know they just know how to drive fast but not actually teach technique.
Rally experience is just getting someone in a car and driving as fast as you can around a track.
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They're focused on driving instruction.
To the best of my knowledge there is no "Rally Experience" there, not in the sense that all the US circle tracks offer "NASCAR Experience" where you get to take a hot lap in the passenger seat.
I've never taken the course (I'm a co-driver), but all who I've talked to that have say Tim's is about techniques and skills. I'd imagine that here in the US anyone trying to open a pretend rally school would be flushed out quickly given the closeness of the competitors and the realitive lack of interest from the general public. Now in the UK I could see it as being a bit different.
Jeremy
Jeremy
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Evidently you haven't been to a Team O'Neil school. Landing an instructor job there sounds ideal (and indeed IS a pretty cool gig), but many many hot drivers who wanted to be Team O teachers have come up short because they can't deliver the requisite teaching skills.
At this particular school, it matters less how absolutely fast you can drive and matters more how well you can teach fast driving. Of course, if you can't go pretty darn effin quick on dirt/snow/mud safely (and well) you won't get a job. But more to the point, if you can't relate well to students and quickly suss out the skills they bring to their school days and actually help them improve behind the wheel, you don't stand a chance of landing an instructor job.
Did I mention that these guys know what they are doing.
July 27 and 28 My wife, me and 2 of my brothers are going to Tims for some school'in I have had a nat lic off and on since 1986, So I will use this to take the rust off. But the other 3 have never been in a rally car should be good fun. I also had to Drag Tim out of the woods once cause he ran out of gas at a rally almost 25 yrs ago. But I have been to the school many times testing and delivering cars to him. Its always intresting when Tim is a round. Chris Putzier
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The 5 day school is the cheapest rally seat time you can buy. In 5 days you'll get ~30 hours of in-car instruction, and near ~150 miles, of closed stage roads. Including car use, fuel, spares, instruction, safety gear, and all the cones, trees, rocks you can hit. Day 5 is designed for more stage rally simulation; pace notes, time control, vehicle recovery, building a team, and so forth.
I rolled there once and the first word out of my instructors mouth were into the radio for someone to bring up another car so I can keep running. Good luck getting that sort of service at A Skip Barber school.
Also, as noted above, if you think TON is costly, you exploring the wrong sport. Try a 1-day "rally" experince course first, for 600 bux its dirt cheap [yes, pun intended]
I rolled there once and the first word out of my instructors mouth were into the radio for someone to bring up another car so I can keep running. Good luck getting that sort of service at A Skip Barber school.
Also, as noted above, if you think TON is costly, you exploring the wrong sport. Try a 1-day "rally" experince course first, for 600 bux its dirt cheap [yes, pun intended]
When I went the same thing happened. A guy in my group put a car on it's side. They got on the radio and another car came out for use, and we put the other one back on it's wheels and took it to the shop.
I think the folks in the shop are busy, busy, busy people.
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So, I just attended the school two weeks ago. There are multiple levels - ranging from the aforementioned "rally experience" up to 5-day rally school (which is rare on their calendar).
The most common, max-length school is the 4-day, which I attended. The instructors there are great (and many of them are well known in the US: Chris Duplessis & Travis Hanson just to name a few) and they are very patient. They teach you *technique* and much of it is reprogramming your brain from all of the bad habits you have!
Generally speaking, the 4-day school is structured such that about 1.75 days are in a a FWD car, and the rest are either in RWD or AWD depending on your preference. (My last days were spent flogging Audis and Subarus).
There are a million photos and videos online of people attending his school. Yes, it's expensive. But all said and done, it was about the total cost of competing one event by the time you factored in all of my costs (hotel rooms for crew, food, entry, gas to/from/at event, incidentals).
As said before, this is a stupid expensive sport. But you'll have a hoot at TON's - especially now that you can flog the Fiestas as the FWD cars!
The most common, max-length school is the 4-day, which I attended. The instructors there are great (and many of them are well known in the US: Chris Duplessis & Travis Hanson just to name a few) and they are very patient. They teach you *technique* and much of it is reprogramming your brain from all of the bad habits you have!
Generally speaking, the 4-day school is structured such that about 1.75 days are in a a FWD car, and the rest are either in RWD or AWD depending on your preference. (My last days were spent flogging Audis and Subarus).
There are a million photos and videos online of people attending his school. Yes, it's expensive. But all said and done, it was about the total cost of competing one event by the time you factored in all of my costs (hotel rooms for crew, food, entry, gas to/from/at event, incidentals).
As said before, this is a stupid expensive sport.
But you'll have a hoot at TON's - especially now that you can flog the Fiestas as the FWD cars!1 - 13 of 13 Posts
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