Good performance driving schools in Ontario?

Hey everyone,

I live in Hamilton, ON, Canada (in the GTA), and after 3/4 of a year reading GRM and general fantasizing I've finally decided to act on my desires to drive a car fast (without breaking the law) and to look for a Canadian performance driving school. I'm looking them up on my own, but I could always use some suggestions - for example, it appears my only feasible options are the ones that go to Mosport (Saab racing school, BMWCC Trillium, Ferrari, and Trackmasters), and even then, I'm spending over 2 hours just to get there every day. 4 Hours of my day in a car in traffic can't be much fun...

So does anyone have any alternate suggestions? Personal reviews of these schools?

Would this not be a weekend course where you STAY near the track? If money is an issue, Mosport is a good place to camp out.

Casc-OR holds a race licensing school usually early in the year, where you end up being licensed for clubracing. I did it 3 years ago, was really worth it.

Edit: the school is held at shannonville

Thanks for the input so far, guys.

NOHOME wrote: Would this not be a weekend course where you STAY near the track? If money is an issue, Mosport is a good place to camp out.

I have no real experience with this sort of thing; is it common that people camp out near the track if they're taking courses? (I suppose it would be if they'd have to drive 2 hours out...)

CanadianTercel wrote: Casc-OR holds a race licensing school usually early in the year, where you end up being licensed for clubracing. I did it 3 years ago, was really worth it. Edit: the school is held at shannonville

That sounds good, but Shannonville is three hours from where I live. :P I'll certainly look into it for next year, though I'll be in the middle of another co op session (forgot to mention, I'm a university student, though I don't think it's relevant...)

Why not try out an autocross event near you? The Mazda Club runs a series at the Brampton Poweraid Centre. You can find them on the interwebs under Push It To The Limit. The Honda guys run a series out there too. You can look them up under HADA. Both groups are really friendly and helpful. You don't need to own a Mazda or Honda to race and the cost is only about $30. That includes lunch. If you tell them that you're new they'll get one of the experienced guys to give you a hand.

Barcode, racetracks are rarely found in the middle of heavily populated urban areas for some reason. Not for long, anyhow. So having to drive a bit isn't a surprise. I have to drive 4-5 hours to get to my closest high-speed track, and it's never hosted F1 like Mosport has So no matter how much you want it to be in your backyard, driving to the track is going to have to happen. Hey, it's closer than a decent ski hill.

The good thing is that if you're going to a school, you're probably leaving early enough that traffic isn't going to be a major issue.

Haha, yeah shannonville is 3.5 hours from me, so don't complain ;)

If you're a student (like myself,) then just bust out the street car, make your way to a lapping day or autocross and make a friend (preferrably one with lots of experience)!

I started off with karting, then lapping, and have done 1 autox before.. The autox in my opinion doesn't teach you racing essentials of car control, but teaches you damn well to keep your eyes up where you NEED to go.

I only say this because I rode along with the guy that was kicking ass in my class, and he was driving the wheels right off the car in the most crude, abrupt, rough driving style, and I don't think it would work so well anywhere else.

amiright?

If he really is driving that crudely ,and is still kicking your butt, you have an issue. Now,having said that, I've ridden in the passenger seat on too many sessions to remember, and it always feels pretty rough when you're not the one controlling the car. My experience has been that autocrossing was beneficial on the racetrack because of the feel for cornering limits that I learned running around between the cones.

Autocross is great for developing car control. It won't teach you everything for track driving, but it will certainly teach you something and is far from wasted. A fast autocross car can be pretty violent, too.

Google Toronto Motorsports Park. You want the lapping days with instruction.

Ok I'm glad I'm not alone on my thoughts, this guy had an Isuzu Stylus with RA-1s and was tossing it around hard. I was use to lapping day driving on my V700s and driving a lot smoother, that's for sure.

If you go out to TMP, let me know, i'm 40 minutes from there, and wouldn't mind meeting up!

Whatever you do, don't start with lapping days, even 'with instruction'. Autocross is fun but not the same thing. The best by far, instruction and value wise, is Trillium BMW Club. No a BMW isn't required and many don't have one. Don't be scared off by MoSport GP, you will go at your own pace and the events are extremely well controlled, zero pressure to exceed your comfort zone. The classroom sessions are great, so are the skidpad lessons.

Another terrific school thats more economical is Saab Club. Unfortunately they are Friday only, and only at MoSport DDT and Shannonville, but all of the best instructors in the area use these days as their play dates.