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I have driven the BMW M5 Series car, and I have driven everything from the Lotus Evora race car, to the Mazda Miata and Subaru BRZ race cars, to the Porsche GT3, to exotic automobiles including Ferarri’s and Lamborghini cars.  But little prepared me to drive this light, fast, high torque, high performing, low to the ground, open wheel Formula car. Even more so, the complicated 4H gearbox requiring coordination of both movement and mental processes — at speed.

At one point of frustration (and I almost never get there these days in my life), I literally had to stop the race car on the track to sort out my thought process.  The first video is before I found my zone.  I did though find a track cone to drive over, and a gravel pit to frame an emergency stopping zone.

The second video is a lead-follow session with me and my professional racing instructor Scott Dollahite, with him driving a race spec Mazda Miata and me in the Formula Mazda.  We drove the entire course for the first time.

This third and final video represents the culmination of all of my learning at Driveway Austin.  My instructor felt comfortable enough to let me drive the full track course alone.  Hope you enjoy watching it, as much as I enjoyed driving it.

A special thank you to Bill Dollahite, track owner and a new friend.  Bill is a former professional race car driver who drove at the top of his craft with and for Ferrari. He also ran the official Lotus GT Racing Team in North America, which of course was a thrill for me to know.

Bill runs a fine shop in Driveway Austin, and I would encourage all who live or visit the area who are passionate about proper driving instruction to visit him there.

And of course, a special thank you to the Formula Mazda car, which I now feel a special bond with. At one, at 135+ MPH.

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You can find the complete Flickr album from my time at Driveway Austin here.

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