Performance Driving

Sunday was a great settling in day for our campers.  It was wonderful to see our returning campers, Dutch, Hunter, Julian, and Lily.  Bear and Brynne our new MMC campers are fitting is quite well and have caught on fast to the joking around and having a good time.  Orientation in Loft 6 went smooth and everyone headed out in the Golf carts for a tour of the MMC campus before lunch.  We were happy that Hunter and Dutch arrived safely and in time to 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, Julian, and Hunter were our risk takers while, Steve, Lily, and Brynne had great backup skills.  After paintball, the group went to the water park to cool off and then we all got settled into our rooms.

Helmet, Hans and Race Suit fittings were down with Bryan and Trent.   The campers placed them in their Teen Rae Camp cubbies that they will be using the next 4 days.  Make your own pizza, fish, chicken, salads, asparagus, french fries, and onion rings were served at the Club House for dinner.   The campers received their Teen Race Camp swag bags (Computer backpack, Rain jackets, 5 Teen Race Camp t-shirts, Journal and some cool MMC stickers) and were most gracious with their thank yous!

Evening at The Kartrite was spent at the arcade, making smores at the firepit and x-box in the MMC group meeting room.  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

Day two of Performance Driving was jam packed full of driving.  In the morning, the campers warmed up in the go karts, getting back into the swings of things.  The focus at the karting track was on passing drills and then the group went into a race weekend format (practice qualifying and race).  After lunch, the group went out on the Skid Pad in the BMW Mini Coopers for ABS braking drills to help everyone understand how to combine brake and steering to see how the car reacts when under heavy brake pressure.  All these skills were put to the test out on the main track for a timed mushroom event, doing a slalom and a few speed corners to a stop box on the track.

It was a warm day at Monticello Motor Club.  The campers stayed well hydrated but looked a little tired at the end of the day.  We headed back to the hotel where everyone showered and had time for a quick nap before going out to dinner at a local restaurant, Starters, who opened just for our campers.  It was nice to have the place to ourselves.  After dinner, some campers went to go play laser tag at the hotel and a couple campers chose to relax in their room. Everyone was invited to the Teen Race Camp meeting room after Laser Tag to play x-box and cards. Campers returned early back to their rooms after a busy day.

A 7:00 am wake up tomorrow for another exciting day out on the track!

Please check out the PHOTO GALLERY to see your campers in action.

PW: MMC

Day three for the campers was spent in the Minis, Miatas, and the Go Karts.  A good mix of different driving lessons.

In the morning, the campers started out on the skid pad with the Mini’s doing lane changes to work on getting used to “ocular driving” or getting your eyes up and being ahead of the car. The lesson involved being timed on a wet skid pad, to bring out their competitive nature.  The other half of the morning was spent getting a taste of the North course doing lead follow in the minis having them build up their speed and getting comfortable. After lunch, the group worked on manual shifting in the Miata’s either on the track or in the parking lot which was dependent on their comfortable level and experience. The day finished up on the skid pad in the go karts going through a hyper technical track focusing on overtaking and defense driving.  During this time there was a considerable amount of time of one-on-one coaching to really help them up their speed.

Although it was 90 today everyone stayed hydrated and had a fantastic day.  Headed back to the Kartrite hotel for time at the waterpark and quick shower.  Then it was off to dinner at Albella’s, a local Italian Restaurant where the service was excellent and the portions large.  Spike Ball in the quad for the evening and then a movie in the meeting room before everyone headed to their rooms for a good night sleep.

The campers are looking forward to day 4 which will introduce them to the PDK race car on the track and our new Polaris Side by Side on the off-road track.  The campers are doing very well and are really enjoying their driving experiences.  Be sure to check out the PHOTO GALLERY to see what they did (PW: MMC).

Be well!

Danielle C. Wright

Teen Race Camp Director

Day 4 was an epic day for the campers!  They were introduced to the Porsche PDK racecar in the morning and were familiarized with the quirks of a racecar and practiced on the North Course with a lead-follow exercise.

This led directly into a braking exercise to help them understand the braking potential of the car and allowed them to comfortably get to the edge.  After lunch, the campers were in the PDKs full course starting with a lead follow for track familiarization then one-on-one coaching in the right seat at full speed!  They ended their last two-hour block of the day with some fun on our off-road trails in MMC’s new UTV’s.

After a busy hot day, the campers headed to the Kartrite for showers and some downtime before making their way to The Brew in Rockhill for dinner with the instructors.   It was a great time with good food.  Evening was at a slower pace with a walk through of the arcade and hanging out in our meeting room with x-box and card games.  You can tell they have had 4 busy days; it is starting to hit them.  The campers can’t believe their last day of camp is tomorrow, it went by so fast! Tomorrow will be a day focused on applying all the driving skills they learned and practiced throughout the week.  Rain is in the forecast so we will see what the instructors have planned for the campers last day.

We look forward to seeing the parents at our closing ceremony at 4:15 in the Clubhouse dining room.

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

All the best,

Danielle C. Wright

Teen Race Camp Director

Hard to believe it was the last day of Performance Driving Camp, the time flew by!   We all had a blast,  Campers, Chaperones, and Instructors.

We lucked out Thursday with the rain.  Rain showers started during breakfast and then torrential downfall while everyone was eating lunch.  When campers went out to drive after breakfast and lunch the rain slowed down.  The campers had a lot of driving time spending their day in the PDK’s and Min’s.  In the early morning, they had Lead Follow in the PDK”s on a wet service on the North Course.  Then time was spent on the Skid Pad in the mini’s doing auto cross and using the PDK’s with under and over steering. Nice job to Dutch who has a vehicle issue and handled himself like a rockstar while on the track!

During the closing ceremony our instructors took some time to highlight each on the camper’s improvements and driving capabilities. Congratulations to our campers who completed the MMC Performance Driving Camp.

Baer Mize

Brynne Jordan

Dutch Goodman

Jullian Serafino

Lily Wolk

We also did a shout out to Hunter Koch who had to leave camp early due to a family emergency.  He was missed by the campers, chaperones, and instructors.  We are all sending well wishes to his cousin for a healthy and speedy recovery.

We look forward to seeing everyone next year for our Competition Driving Camp.

Be well and safe. Click HERE to view photos from day 5 (PW: MMC).

Danielle C. Wright

Teen Race Camp Director