erko1905

Does anyone have any experience running at a FCA - Empire State Region DE, specifically their Glen event? Any feedback would be welcome - Thanks all.

ProCoach

good group!

Matt Romanowski

I think their are a couple of people here that have history with FCA-ESR. I don't have any, but I'm sure they will post up.

Mussl Kar

Gofishracing member may be of help. I would love to do their event at LRP.

sicilian1

Great group. Did several of their events with Challenge club racing as the partner. Bob Coates has organized for years. As you might guess, mostly Ferrari’s.

ProCoach

Bob has been a part of that deal since the beginning. They have a good instructor corps, too.

mhm993

When Mindy was ESR CI, she brought on the most experienced, mostly pca, instructors in the zone. They (Gofishracing by example) were a terrific, dedicated group.

I always had a good time and mostly had good, down to earth students, but truth is I found a few FCA drivers were unable to follow event rules. By example, at more than one event, a driver who crashed walked around the hot track inspecting his damaged car. And yes, we addressed staying in the car until the EV’s arrived at every meeting. I chalked this up to privilege.

Bob requires a driving suit for advancd run groups. Fyi. .

erko1905

Very helpful - ty

Ron Cohn

I have instructed for the FCA WGI events for roughly 14 years. Yes, it is a good event overall and you will find many non-Ferrari drivers, particularly instructors, and maybe 10-20% non-Ferrari entries, varying by year.

Bob Coates does a good job running the event and Chris Vorce is a great Chief Instructor. Chris appreciates and respects his instructors and LISTENS to them. I have seen many of the same instructors year after year, mostly from PCA.

Like any event, you will get a great variation of driving talent and ability to learn procedures and skills. In my opinion, the overall level of driving skills fall short of most PCA events. There are many more new drivers with little or no track experience. I always suggest that a student learn on a lower-powered car with fewer electronic nannies than a Ferrari, but if you have gotten to the point of affording a Ferrari you want to drive it.

The entry fee is steep, but you get a ton of track time. It is certainly worth giving it a try.

Gofishracing

As the drivers have aged the situation has mellowed. We run a tight ship and are on top of our game..You mess up in any aggressive way- your gone. Unfortunately some new Ferrari Guys would rather be seen than drive. Other Marques welcome. I hope the weather is acceptable for Lime Rock Park.. I'll be working staging mostly. I wish the fees were more in line with other clubs but we will have 9- 20 minute sessions . You can't put a price on being on track with them & the sounds. Hypnotic. Yes driving suit- August- Many PCA Instructors. I've been running with them for so many years. Such dear people. Most important for coaches is to remind the new student that everyone starts off as a novice no matter their position in the working world.

mhm993

The car eye candy at the wgi event is pretty serious. One driver meets a tractor trailer with a couple dtm cars, a 993 rsr and some italian stuff. He drives them, too.
I dont know if they still do this, but when the event was over labor day, ESR put on a concours as the centerpeice of the Corning holiday celebration. The race cars drove down parade style to Corning in the evening, with police escort.

gbuff

I went one year and got a kick out of the porters with their tip baskets in the restrooms

But I got a bigger kick out of the Prugna 308GTB that I wanted to buy right then and there. And, as Ferraris go, that car was easily one of the humblest there.....

Gary

mhm993

I parked between an enzo and an f40 at a summit pt fca event.

You know you’ve arrived as an instructor when your FCA student’s crew opens your passenger door and hands you a towel and cold drink before you exit the car.

ProCoach

I started with FCA in the early 1980's, my first annual meet was at the Glen in 1985.

The F-car owners that bring them to the track are true enthusiasts and most are very open to instruction, just like every other club.

Good to hear most everyone else is positive about this group, because it's a good one and some of the cars are very special that show up.

Gary, Prugna is one of my favorite colors!

gbuff

Yeah, Peter, and a Berlinetta, not a GTS--just stunning. Great color for an Alfa coupe or sedan, too