Competition Camp

Sunday was a great settling in day for our campers.  It was wonderful to see our returning campers, Aidan, Bobbi, Dutch, Hendrix, Jack, Jamie, Jonah, and Olivia who will be in our Competition Racing Teen Camp. Welcome to our new teen race campers, Guy, Maria, Miriam, Owen, and Yoni who will be attending our Intro to Motorsports Camp. Orientation in Loft 6 went smooth. The energy from the parents and the campers in the room was contagious. New campers and their parents headed out in the Golf carts and vans for a tour of the MMC campus before lunch. After lunch we head over to the Kartrite for Paintball!  Paintball was awesome! Campers got some great shots out and yes, those little paint pellets do sting! Dutch, Hendrix, Bobbi, Jack, Jonah, Owen, and Jamie were our risk takers while, Guy, Aidan, Olivia, Miriam, and Yoni had great backup skills. After our first round Maria sat out and cheered everyone on. Ross took no prisoners! After paintball, the group went to the water park to cool off and then we all got settled into our rooms.

We headed over to the MMC Clubhouse to get Helmet, Hans, and Race Suit fittings by our professional instructors. The campers placed them in their Teen Race Camp cubbies that they will be using the next 4 days. Make your own pizza, salmon, chicken, salads, asparagus, and French fries were served at the Club House for dinner. The campers received their Teen Race Camp swag bags. Intro campers received 5 Teen Camp Shirts, a Sweatshirt and a large MMC Bath Towel.  Competition campers received 5 Teen Race camp t-shirts, a Helmet Bag with their last name, a MMC Balaclava and a leather journal. Campers were most gracious, and we received many thank you’s from everyone!

Evening at The Kartrite was spent down in the outside quad area making s’mores at the fire pit, playing corn hole, spike ball and football toss.  Around 9 pm we headed up to the camp meeting room to play cards and x-box. Campers went to their rooms at 10:30 and lights were out at 11 in preparation for a full day Monday at the track.  Campers are excited about this week!

Be sure to check out the PHOTO GALLERY to see Sundays events in action!

PW: MMC

Driving onto the MMC campus this morning our Competition campers were totally excited seeing the Porsche Cayman race cars (PDKs) out ready to be driven.  Taylor’s main goal with the campers today was to focus on building a solid foundation. Taylor and his instructor team started the day by setting goals and expectations for the camp. The morning classroom session focused on vehicle dynamics, the driving line and ocular driving techniques. The campers then spent some time in street cars learning the track and practicing the techniques discussed in class. Lunch was good and many campers went back for seconds.  One of our campers, Miriam,  from the Intro class celebrated her 15^th birthday today so everyone sang her happy birthday and enjoyed a delicious piece of chocolate cake.

After lunch, the campers split into two groups, suited up and hopped into the Porsche Cayman race cars for some solo driving. Everyone is progressing well and becoming more comfortable with their new environment. Today was a great start to the on-track activities.

Dinner was at Starters where we were the featured guests and had the place to ourselves.  It was nice and everyone had a good time.  After dinner we headed to the Kartrite to spend an hour at the arcade and to finish up the evening in the meeting room with x-box or just hanging out.  Some campers retired early to their rooms in preparation for another busy day, 7:15 am comes fast for growing teenagers.  Everyone headed to their rooms by 10:30 and lights out quickly followed. Everyone is looking forward to day 3.

Click HERE to view photos from today!

PW: MMC

All the best,

Danielle C. Wright

Teen Race Camp Director

It was another beautiful day at the MMC track!  Everyone was ready to go early so we headed over to the clubhouse for Breakfast.  The day started with a rolling review where campers were able to revisit the track at a slower pace before driving the race cars. Taylor followed up with a classroom on proper braking techniques and an on-track braking exercise. The campers finished the morning with an open lapping session.

Lunch was enjoyed by all.  After lunch Taylor had a classroom discussion covering more advanced driving lines and techniques followed up with a track walk to help solidify these concepts. The day concluded with two open lapping sessions where the campers were able to experiment with the theories from the previous class. The instructors also conducted a red flag/light test on track, and everyone did what they were supposed to do in that situation (come to a controlled stop off-line, in view of a light panel or manned flag station). This shows they have great awareness and act appropriately when shown flags.  The campers really enjoyed the day and worked hard applying the skills they learned.

Dinner was at Albella’s where everyone had more than enough food to eat.  Some campers chose to bring what they did not eat back to the hotel.  The evening was spent out in the quad at the Kartrite playing Cornhole, Spike Ball and tossing the football around.  Some campers stayed in their rooms to relax and were invited down to close the evening with Smores at the fire pits and then it was off to their rooms for an early night in preparation for a more intense driving day tomorrow.

Click here for photos from today (PW: MMC)

Be well,

Danielle C. Wright

Teen Race Camp Director

Day 4 was another amazing day at the MMC track.  The campers have really ramped up their skills and confidence out on the track. We could not have asked for better weather, cloudy skies with the temperature on the other side of mid 70s.  Jamie and Dutch are our early risers and the first ones down to meet in the hotel lobby.  Our morning drive to the clubhouse for breakfast is full of music but minimal talking.  Everyone is just trying to wake up and get going for another busy day!

Today’s focus was on racing. The morning started with a quick warm-up session in the race cars followed by a classroom on the art of passing. Taylor and his team discussed racing etiquette, setting up a pass and how to successfully complete a pass. The campers then took part in an on-track session where they were forced to enter some corners off-line to simulate a pass thanks to cones blocking a lane. The cones were then removed, and the campers went wheel-to-wheel with instructors in a passing exercise. After the passing exercises were completed, we discussed the expectations for drivers in an open-passing session.  The campers finished their day on the south course with an open-passing session where the students were allowed to pass freely on the track without a point-by.

Dinner was at the Brew, and we were joined by a few of the instructors. Good discussions and delicious food.  The campers headed back to the hotel and chose to hang out in different rooms for a low-key evening in preparation for their big race day tomorrow.

We look forward to seeing all the parents at our closing ceremony at 4:15 in the Club House.  We ask all parents and their visits not to arrive any earlier than 4:00 pm to MMC for the safety of the campers and to prevent any distractions while they are out on the track racing.

Click HERE to view photos from today (PW: MMC).

Best,

Danielle C. Wright

Teen Race Camp Director

Where did the time go this week?  We were driving to the Clubhouse in the morning, and campers could not believe it was the last day.  All were excited about the final day activities especially their first race out on the track.

They started with a warmup session for each group out on the south course followed by a classroom on counter attacks. The instructor team wanted to teach the students to identify when their competitor may have over driven the corner presenting with an opportunity to counter that with an overtake. The students rode with instructors for in car demonstrations, followed by real time in car practices. Each student was able to identify and practice the technique of counterattack with instructors working alongside them.

Once they successfully identified counter attacks, the campers then had a classroom on qualifying by learning the importance of taking advantage of clear racetrack and focusing on hitting their “marks”.

Time is of the essence, as they were instructed to put down a qualifying lap that was both early in the session and with competence. After lunch, and with nerves of steel the teens each in group were given the opportunity to run a session of qualifying. With intelligent driving the students all performed well in some of the closest qualifying times to date.

After qualifying, we had a classroom on practice starts. Where Taylor and the team coached the students in safely and properly handling a side-by-side start. Multiple practice starts were had and all students demonstrated that very well with smart decisions behind the wheel. They all were able to identify Flagger and My laps lightning systems.

Finally, it was time for the races. It was a spectacular race in the history of our teen Race camp.  The top finishers were within seconds of each other!  Congratulations to our winners, Hendrix McCarthy in the first race group and Olivia Wilson in the second race group!

Race Group 1                                               Race Group 2

Hendrix McCarthy                                        Olivia Wilson

Jonah Figdor                                                   Jamie Prince

Bobbi Welsh                                                  Aidan Peterson

Jack Chan                                                       Dutch Goodman

Fastest Laps – Hendrix in Group 1 and Dutch in Group 2

WOW, what a great job each student did displaying the four days of the school in a 6-lap race. With respect and sportsmanship, the campers displayed a solid performance. 

Congratulations to our Competition School campers for successfully completing the camp with flying colors.

Aidan Peterson

Bobbi Welsh

Dutch Goodman

Hendrix McCarthy

Jack Chan

Jamie Prince

Jonah Figdor

Olivia Wilson

The students were incredible!  They put all the pieces together and exemplified the meaning of a racer.

Our Monticello Motor Club Operations team extends a sincere thank you for sending your children to camp and trusting us with your priced possessions.  We hope to see them back on the track soon.  If you have any additional questions concerning your son/daughters next steps, please reach out to me and I would be happy to get you connected with one of our professional instructors to assist you.

Click HERE for photos from Day 5 (PW: MMC).

All the best,

Danielle C. Wright

Teen Race Camp Director