Autocross Instructor?

Im just going to add things that have been said to me by instructors that I've found useless.

1- Dont bitch about the car unless nessasary. I had one instructor that drove a GT2 Porsche, and complained (repeatedly) about the body roll and accel in my H stock car. (note- this is a '02 SVTF not exactly a softly-sprung or worn out stock car)

2- Don't say stuff like "a little faster everywhere and you'll be good". Unless im missing something, I found this useless. I think being a little more specific helps.

Don't say, "You did that wrong" Instead, "Now here is how you can do that better" Or, " do you know why that happened ? "

BobOfTheFuture wrote: I had one instructor that drove a GT2 Porsche, and complained (repeatedly) about the body roll and accel in my H stock car.

Man, that's just plain old rude.

fast_eddie_72 wrote:

BobOfTheFuture wrote: I had one instructor that drove a GT2 Porsche, and complained (repeatedly) about the body roll and accel in my H stock car.

Man, that's just plain old rude.

I know right? Very annoying...

So how'd it go? Give us the "after action report".

In reply to plance1 :

People ask because they take the responsibility of teaching others highly. He's simply doing the research now to better assist others later. People who aren't nervous to teach others are either an experienced teach or don't value other people.

Sometimes zombie threads are really good.

Start with a walk-through.  Tell them which cones you look at as you go through the course.  Otherwise they get overwhelmed looking out at a hundred or more cones.  This makes is easier for them to follow the course.  It also gives you talking points about what to do where.  Such as brake earlier here, so you are set up for two gates later.  Noobies are not able to figure that kind of thing.  Make sure you give one to three ideas for them after each run (depending on their absorption rate), no more than that.  Your goal is to have them go faster and faster and end the day with an accomplishment!

Floating Doc said:

Sometimes zombie threads are really good.

Yep. 

If you're ever at an event and Mazdeuce is there.... picking his brain would be my advice to anyone wanting to be a better instructor. 

Start with the basics and move from there. 

If they can finish the first event and not DNF every run things are going well.

My first event mazdeuce let me flail in my absolute E36 M3 driving. I was releasing and grabbing the steering wheel at corner exit and just generally bad driving. He got me around the course and I had been bitten. I look to him for critique on my driving to this day. 

I've also ridden with students and they've got their stuff together and are happy and don't want more instruction and if they're being safe then I'm not going to force them to have an instructor. 

kazoospec said:

So how'd it go? Give us the "after action report".

Man this is back from the dead.

To answer the question, poorly for me. The students had a blast and I think they learned a lot, so the instruction parts went fine. However the car sickness is a thing. I've never been motion sick in my life. Off shore fishing, cruises, rides through the mountains in the back seat, no problem. Back to back runs with two students at a novice school, by 2pm I was ill. They had the basics down pretty well and I ended up instructing the rest of the day from outside the car. 

Ginger is effective against motion sickness, and won't make you drowsy like the antihistamine type products.

I don't drink soda, but this is the only exception. Photo of a bottle from the refrigerator.

Twenty six grams of ginger per bottle!

Forgot about the car sickness thing.  I usually don't get that with novices.  Getting out of the car between runs really helps to minimize that.

Last event I went for a ride with an experienced driver in a FFR Cobra.  Even with a 5-point harness it was extremely violent.  I was fine on acceleration, but when we hit the slalom .  Thought my head was a ping pong ball!

You can see a lot of what they are doing from outside the car, so that was a good move for their later runs!

In reply to trucke :

I was getting out of the car between runs...to get in the other car. We were short on instructors for the day and everyone was doubled up. By the time you finished the run and went over it with the student, it was time to get in the next car. Pretty much no breaks until lunch. 

I think my biggest mistake was eating lunch. I was borderline until the lunch break, not good, but manageable. Tried eating something to settle things down but that just made it worse.