Last Updated: 12/24/2024, 11:21:12
To ensure our participant's highest level of safety and fun, the most important rules of
our Driver's Education program are:
Rule 1: No Racing
Rule 2: No Racing
Rule 3: No Racing
Rule 4: See Rule #1
Driver Safety
The safety of all our participants is our foremost concern. Therefore, we insist that all rules be followed to ensure a safe,
pleasant, uninterrupted learning experience. If you do not conform to the written and verbal rules of this event, you will be not be permitted to drive on the racetrack
and asked to leave the event. Additionally, you will forfeit your registration fee - no exceptions. Peachstate Region Porsche Club of America wants all participants to
have a safe, rewarding, and enjoyable weekend. Erratic, unsafe, or at-fault driving incidents on the track will not be tolerated, and will serve as grounds for
immediate dismissal from the event, plus registration fee forfeiture, at the sole discretion of the Event Chairman.
We ask that you pay particular
attention to the rules set forth under the Flagging Regulations.
In case of rain, slow down to a speed below which you know you
can drive safely in the wet. Check the condition of your tires and brakes after every session. Check you oil level before every session.
Keep an eye on your schedule and always be on time!
Concentrate on being smooth and taking the correct line. Do not focus on improving your speed -
instead focus on improving your consistency and accuracy in driving the racing line, and a commensurate increase in speed will naturally follow.
Recommendations in Case of Trouble While on the Racetrack:
If you are about to run off the track surface, it is always best to
drive off in a straight line. Do not make a futile attempt to hold the car on the track, as this usually creates a more dangerous situation. If you err in
judgment and lose control (i.e. spin), the best rule is: "both feet in" (brake totally depressed, clutch totally depressed) until the car comes to a complete
stop.
If you suspect that your car is experiencing mechanical problems while on the racetrack:
Convertibles
Any make of car delivered with factory installed roll-over protection meets the minimum standards for PCA DE events. In these cars, the soft-top must be placed
in the up position, or have the hard top installed. If, however, the restraints have been changed to 5 or 6 point systems, an approved seat and a rollbar meeting
the "broomstick" rule will be required.
If a car does not have factory installed roll-over protection, a roll bar must be installed, which meets the
"broomstick" rule (the driver's helmeted head is below a bar placed atop and across the rollbar and windshield). All targa tops must be installed unless there
is additional roll-over protection in place. All sunroofs must be placed in the closed position. The windshield alone is not considered to be factory roll-over
protection.
Equal Restraints
Both student and instructor shall have the same restraint system. All vehicles must be equipped
with a properly installed lap and shoulder restraint system.
Harness Systems
If the participant chooses to install a 5 or 6
point driving harness, several changes to the automobile must be made to create a safe occupant restraint system Harnesses must include an antisubmarine strap, and
be mounted in an approved manner consistent the manufacturer's instructions. The harness system must be used in conjunction with a seat which has the supplied
routing holes for the shoulder and antisubmarine belts. All pieces of the restraint system must be installed in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.
This means that a seat must have proper routing holes for the harness, as supplied by the seat manufacturer, for the shoulder and anti-submarine straps.
The shoulder straps should be mounted at 90 degrees to the axis of your spine, or at most 40 degrees down from horizontal. Because the addition of the harness
system means that the occupants are fastened upright in the vehicle, a properly padded roll-bar or roll cage is strongly encouraged to complete the system.
The use of one without the other may result in an unsafe environment and is not a complete system. Due to ultraviolet light degradation and wear, the harness
webbing must be replaced every five years.
Four point systems are not allowed in Porsches because of the integrated headrest supplied by the factory.
In addition to the standard SFI and/ or FIA approved five and/or six point system, a four point system is allowed in non-Porsches that meets the following
requirements:
1. Meets the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 209
2. Attaches to the factory seat belt mounting points
3.
Each belt is designed to work in a specific vehicle and that vehicle tag must be attached to the belt system
An example of a system that meets the
above criteria is the Schroth Quick Fit system.
Pre-Event Technical Inspection
A technical inspection must be completed
in writing, usually by a qualified Porsche dealer or service center prior to the event. This inspection is your responsibility and it is for your safety! Please
have your car totally prepared for the event on Saturday prior to the driver's meeting, which usually occurs under the chalet in front of the front straight at
around 7:30-8AM. For this preparation, remove all loose objects from the trunk and passenger compartment, including the driver's floor mat, have a sufficient amount
of gas for the day, properly inflated tires, lug nuts properly tightened, and your car number affixed.
Onsite Technical
Inspection
Onsite technical inspections ("Tech") will be performed Friday evening in the Road Atlanta Tech Shed (located in a white
building/garage in the center of the paddock along the front straight of the track) at the time published in the Event Schedule. Tech will also be performed
Saturday morning at the track from 6:15 AM until 7:45 AM only. If you miss both of these two tech sessions, your car will not be certified as inspected until
after the run groups go out on the track and an inspector is available between their own runs. It is imperative that you bring to tech both your Pre-Event
Technical Inspection form filled out and signed, along with the Technical Inspection Certification and Indemnity Form. Also, please have your assigned car
numbers affixed to your car when presenting it for onsite technical inspection for processing your car as quickly as possible.
Helmet
All drivers are required to have a SNELL SA2010 approved, or newer, helmet for this event. You will not pass onsite technical inspection unless you have
a helmet which meets this safety standard - no exception. Motorcycle or "M" rated helmets are absolutely not permitted.
Clothing
All drivers are required to have proper clothing for track driving. This means:
Car Numbers
All drivers are required to display their pre-assigned car number on both sides of their car, in a color
which contrasts with the car color so that they can be easily readable from the Road Atlanta Control Tower. (No checkerboard numbers, please.) The
numbers must be at least 8 inches high, and 1 inch wide. The numbers must be affixed to the car at the onsite technical inspection. Without numbers,
you will not be allowed on the track! If your numbers blow off, you must replace them before going out on the track again. Numbers on the windshield
are deemed not acceptable. Approved numbers can be pre-ordered from Discovery Parts, 20 Duck Thurmond, Building E-2, Dawsonville, GA 30534, 1-888-748-RACE (7223)
or 706-579-1607, here.
Staging
Staging will
be in the Pit Lane (the grid area directly in front of the chalet overlooking the front straight) for the next Run Group to be organized and safety-checked before
going out on the track. All other cars will be located either on the track, or in the Paddock (large parking area). Drivers only will be allowed into the Hot Pits
with the approved clothing (See Clothing above).
Instructors
Instructors shall be stationed in Pit Lane
near the Hot Pits. For safety purposes, driver changes, instructor pickups and discharges, are to be made only in the Pit Lane, or as noted in the event supplemental
regulations.
Windows
For safety purposes in the event of an accident in which driver or passenger access is required by a
Corner Worker, all cars are to be driven with the driver and passenger side windows down. Drive with sunroof closed. Always drive with you and your passenger's hands
and arms inside the car, except to signal from the track your intention to enter pit lane after Turn 10b.
Entering the Track
Pull your car up to the end of Pit Lane. Follow the instructions of the Pit Marshall and stay to the left of the track as you accelerate up to a safe speed. Use your
mirrors to see if you are being overtaken before you attempt to leave this lane.
Passing Rules
Passing will be allowed based
upon the individual event supplemental regulations. All passing shall be done with the car being overtaken remaining on the racing line. Be sure that you have plenty
of time, space and horsepower to complete your passing maneuver. Never pass another car until they give the appropriate clear hand signal allowing a pass.
A) Overtaking Car
Be sure that you have plenty of time, space and horsepower to complete your maneuver. Never pass another car until they signal you by!
Do not tailgate. Do not group together. If you find yourself too tightly grouped, slow down for a lap and let the pack get away from you. Alternately, come into the
pits to give the pack a few moments to get far ahead and then reenter the track with lighter traffic.
B) Overtaken Car
Watch your mirrors for
cars that want to pass. You must signal another car by you by pointing over the top of the car, or out the window, signally the side they should pass you on. Do not
move off the racing line. Do not try to out-horsepower an overtaking car by accelerating- let them by safely! Do not block faster cars. Do not group together. If you
find yourself too tightly grouped, slow down for a lap and let the pack get away from you. Alternately, come into the pits to give the pack a few moments to get far
ahead and then reenter the track with lighter traffic.
Failure to comply with the passing rules will result in you being Black Flagged and directed off
the track, missing your Run Group track time.
Two Spin Rule
If any driver spins their car, or leaves the track surface with
all 4 wheels, on the second incident of spinning, they will be required to leave the track for the remainder of the day. If they spin 3 times over the two-day event
, they will be finished for the event.
The procedure will be as follows:
Exiting from the Track
To safely signal your
desire to exit the track into the pit lane to other drivers, extend your left arm upward, out of the window, in a fist, prior to your exit from the track. At the
Road Atlanta Course, the pit road exit begins at turn 11 (The Bridge Turn). The lane is on the left, but is not visible until you have passed under the bridge.
Extreme caution should be used in locating the Pit Lane entrance. Once you have completed the 90-degree turn at the bottom of the Pit Lane entrance, you must
reduce your speed to 10 M.P.H. while in Pit Lane.
Road Atlanta Rules
Extreme Heat Guide
Road Atlanta can be hot and humid in the summer. In order to prepare for this, read this information provided by
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about Extreme Heat: A Prevention Guide to Promote Your Personal Health and Safety
here.
Driver's Education Tips
Find excellent Driver's Education tips at the PCA National website
here.
One Lap Around Road Atlanta
Join driving instructor Bill Crumley in his Porsche 911 for a lap around Road Atlanta during a
typical driver's education event here.
