Anyone who can get me track time on Laguna Seca is going to get at least 4 stars regardless of any other circumstances. Laguna Seca is my old stomping grounds from back in my SCCA days. Plus, I've witnessed many forms of racing including Indy Cars, Moto GP, American Le Mans Series, Trans Am Series... Altogether, it took about 3 hours for classroom instruction & driving the track. There were 15 of us in my session. During the classroom portion, we got suited up & went over the very basics of the car itself, vehicle dynamics, the racing line & how we should apply it to the track. The classroom portion was short & sweet. The driving portion was a blast. The cars corner as if they are on rails. We were limited to 120 mph max speed, would have liked a bit more along the straightaway heading into turn 1 ( also know as Mario Andretti hairpin ). The drop down the corkscrew is a rush & the approach gives you a great view of Monterey Bay. We got to lap the track for 3 stints of 20 minute each. It was essentially follow the leader with an instructor out in front driving the ideal line through the curves. For what it was, a very simple & basic introduction to race car driving in a nimble but not too fast car, it was a blast. Your asked to keep 1 car length between cars even at 120 mph. Faster drivers are rotated into faster groups. Our group passed everyone!! Insurance for the car runs $75 for coverage with a $1000 deductible. It was, by no means, a hard sell. Although, the instructor assured me that I wouldn't need it. The $795 price is worth every penny. Although, I understand Yelp offers a half price deal. I'll be sure to take advantage of the savings for my next Skip Barber adventure. So, if you have a bad case of LEAD FOOTITUS, Skip Barber Racing School is for you!! Thanks Skip. read more

I did the 5-hour High Performance Driving intro to racing combo. Supposed to start at 8:00 am, but there was a conflict as another Skip Barber class was on it's second day. Our instructor showed up at 9:00, but we did not have a room for our class. We did not start until 10:00 a.m. and both classes had to use the same room but at different times. We couldn't use the track except when the other class was having lunch. We missed some track time, and almost two hours of instruction. I was unprepared to do what was required on the skid pad and track. There were only 9 cars that were working, and both classes shared them (total 22 people). They were decrepit and one driver's seat was too broken for anyone to actually sit down. I asked for two hours of my money back from my Skip Barber contact. He countered with some free track time. I then asked just for the lecture time I missed. No response. Their Customer Service is poor and I will not do business with them again. The positive: The instructor was competent and tried his best to make us feel good about the day. read more

One of the funnest hours of my life. 60 minutes around Laguna Seca is something to cherish, regardless of what car you are in. I did the intro to racing school with the formula car and it was everything I wanted it to be. Although, I don't know if its worth 800 bucks. I got lucky and got a Yelp deal, and did it for 375, and that was a STEAL. They have very good instructors, awesome cars, and its a good program overall. Now I just hope that this doesn't spur a new addiction.... read more

I just finished having my second teenager take the one day new driver class. It's worth every penny. They learn to control skids, collision avoidance, how to drive a manual transmission, etc. The instructors are good and work well with the kids. The class paid immediate dividends with my first kid; she had to avoid a solo spin-out at the 101/380 interchange in the rain and was able to swerve without skidding and analyze the error of the other driver (over-steer). read more

Being a driving enthusiast, I received a one-day gift certificate for Skip Barber. I was super excited to race around a track. How naive of me...of course, one must master the basics of driving dynamics first! So the first half of the day was all about truly feeling the physics of the car, motion, momentum, and driver control. Everything from braking to apex/efficiency, skid control. Don't get me wrong, this was actually a lot of fun. I was quite surprised when I discovered things I did not quite know because I had never been in those situations (thankfully). So for skid control, for example, they sprayed water and the instructor deliberately braked in such a way thaht the car started skidding. Then he talked through the dynamics, as if we were in slo-mo...turns out the human instinct is to do quite the opposite of what will actually get you back on track and perhaps save lives. I cannot describe the fear then accomplishment of mastering skid control, it is quite visceral. The latter part of the day, we were taken for instructor led drives on the track. What was interesting is that it just as much about planning and strategy as it is about driving, even at high speeds. It was quite a rush. The instructors were fun, helpful, and clearly expert drivers. For the last part, we took out muscle cars for real racing -- this is closest I will come to F1 or Daytona feeling, haha. I wish the cars were not muscle cars, but more of the German handling flavor. Bit scary, but again, quite safe and quite an adrenaline flow! One of the most exciting gifts I ever got! Even if you are not a complete driving/racing nut, this one-day course helps one become an agile, safe, and expert driver on normal roads. Try it! read more

Bought this for my husband, at the suggestion of his friend. They both went & had the time of their lives! I highly recommend!!!

Worth the money. Not very much track time and not very fast on track.

This is a PROFESSIONAL group of businessman and racers! As a former SCCA National driver and successful businessman, I signed up for a 4 day course, so I could get some retraining and hopefully qualify to get my licenses back. Unfortunately, the school had an "incident" moving their cars within a few days of the course date, and they cancelled on short notice. When I was notified the head of the company called me personally and told me they would " make it right". It is a long and detailed story but the bottom line is, THEY DELIVERED! Mike and Chris, were always available and "active" in finding an alternative course for me. The actual training/instruction was excellent and well presented very helpful. Cars were always ready every morning and any mechanical issues were dealt with immeadiately. Well done to Chris and Mike! read more

I have a feeling I'm going to lose my hubby to this place!!! I got him a class for a birthday present.... My mistake! I created a monster!!! He is obsessed! And already planning on signing up for the 3 day class! He said the facility's are not the best, but the racetrack and the staff are more amazing then words! He said this was the best birthday present ever! And that he only wants to go to this racing school! Doesn't ever want to check out the others in the area!!! read more

Really enjoyed my time on track! Professional and well run. I have taken it 2 times - worth it.

I liked it, but man, it's like letting a little kid lick a lollipop and then taking it away and telling you that you need to pay more to get more.. :) The instructors are pretty good about driving you to your limits, but if you have had a decent amount of tracktime under your belt, this will definitely just be a teaser.... Overall I highly recommend it to people who have never done something like this before. read more

If you ever have the itch to get professional instruction to really drive a race car, Skip Barber is the way to go! I've done the 3 day race school at Laguna Seca and the 2 day advanced race school at Road Atlanta. Both tracks were an incredible experience and the instructors at each location were top notch. Ya, it's a little pricey, but if you really want the best experience possible, Skip Barber is the way to go. I will be doing another course in the near future! read more

Took the Intro to Racing class through the Yelp deal. 100% worth it - got to drive Laguna Seca in a formula car. You follow an instructor the whole time to learn the line, but they speed it up based on how fast everyone's going, so you definitely get pushed during your hour of track time. read more

Like some others I have mixed emotions about my Skip Barber 3 day racing school at Laguna Seca, September 12-14, 2016. Pros: Excellent instructors, Laguna Seca is a "bucket list" track. Lots of track time in three day format. Plenty of useful feedback. Cons: The Skip Barber cars have seen better days, as have their uniforms and helmets. No data acquisition or video. Overall: My track day experiences until this school have been at manufacturer supported events by Mercedes-AMG, Porsche, Ford and Jaguar. They put a high premium on making the customer/participant experience special. Skip Barber doesn't do that. Their focus is on driving and driving skills. The real value comes from the (great) instruction. If you are looking for something more modern (like data acquisition and on board videos) look elsewhere, but my group of three drivers had a blast. read more

I chipped in to buy a friend a one day school at Skip Barber Racing. He can't stop talking about it. The best "gift" money I have ever spent. Look at the refrigerator in Seinfeld, Jerry has a Skip Barber Racing decal on it. read more

So far, my experience with Skip Barber Racing School's staff has been phenomenal! I bought the intro deal through yelp and scheduled the first session in late May, but I realized I wouldn't be able to attend due to other priorities. I called and rescheduled and the staff was very kind and accomodating about it! Now that's what I call service! I'm real excited to redeem my purchase in the summer and look forward to the experience and of course will update my review once I get on the grid :) read more

Well it was an interesting day. My husband signed me up for the day of driving school. The cars are small and they squeeze you into them. Once I got comfortable being smashed into the car, i was able to relax and have some fun. read more

This was my first track day andI had a great time. The instructors were fun, the classroom session was a bit long and redundant at times but the track time was a blast! I definitely recommend it and will do it again, and again. read more

Fun. But the short half-day group lesson had little personal instruction.

We purchased a teen safety survival driving package. They took $500 deposit - two years ago - and we still haven't gotten a refund. Considering suing in small claims court just on the principle. I'm sure the good reviews here are for when you actually get to participate but if your class is cancelled, you are screwed. See previous reviews - we had that exact experience where the owner states cash flow problems. Really unfortunate but we can't recommend them for this reason. read more

In June of 2014 I took advantage of a father's day special that Skip Barber Racing School was running on their 3 day school and booked a course in Lime Rock, Connecticut from August 12-14, 2014. My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed the first day of class and learning how to drive the formula cars. On August 13, 2014, we showed up for day 2 of the class and were informed that the steering wheels of the race cars were stolen overnight, probably by a disgruntled employee. Over the next 4 hours we were told to wait while the instructors looked for the missing steering wheels. Before lunch, we were offered an opportunity to re-schedule the 3 day racing school at a later date and Skip Barber would also throw in two $1,200 driving schools for my wife and me. After we left Lime Rock I contact Skip Barber to request a formal letter explaining the situation and also requested a balance on my account, unfortunately my request for this information has never been honored and till this day I do not know how much money is in my account. In December of 2014, I booked a 3 day MX-5 racing school for February 24-26, 2015 at Road Atlanta. While driving to Atlanta on Monday, February 23, 2015 I received a call from Skip Barber informing me that the racing course was going to be cancelled due to the Road Atlanta Race track being closed due to inclement weather. After my wife and I stopped for the night, I emailed Skip Barber asking for a refund of my June 2014 payment. The next morning I received and email informing that they would not refund my money and offered us dates for a third course. We have incurred substantial costs associated with travel to Connecticut and Georgia to attend courses that were cancelled through no fault of our own and I feel that Skip Barber Racing School is unfairly refusing to refund a substantial amount of money for services that they have not provided us. While I fully understand that weather conditions are out of Skip Barbers control, the steering wheel incident was not. I have checked with other SCCA approved schools about their cancellation policies and they all will refund all or most of a student's money in similar situations. What really upsets me about this whole situation is that I am out nearly $8,200 and my wife and me are no closer to having an SCCA competition license and Skip Barber is unwilling to refund me for services they have not provided us. UPDATE After several emails back and forth between me and Skip Barber, including fromt their CEO, and getting my credit card company involved I just recieved a refund for the full amount that I paid them in June 2014. It's unfortunate that I had problems getting a refund from the corporate office. The one day of class that we had was very enjoyable and the instructors were top notch. Hopefully Skip Barber Racing will revise their refund policy so that others do not have to go through as much trouble getting refunds for cancelled classes in the future. read more

The single day class is one that all daily drivers to novice racers should go and participate in. They will teach you how to drive on wet cement, handle spins (had a couple of those), hit the apex of turns, braking, heel/toe tricks with shifting. My only problem was that when I left to drive home I wanted to speed out of there at 120 mph (not that I did); feels like daily driving moves at a snails pace. At the end of the day we were driving Neons and then it was on to the Viper. Besides doing a 720 spin in a Viper and just about knocking out one of the kids managing the cones (and almost soiling my shorts) it was a hell of an experience. The instructors are top notch, super knowledgeable and are hilarious. I would definitely sign up for one of their more extensive couple day programs. My Dad owns a Viper and I felt much more comfortable driving it after this class - the car became more predictable; not an easy car to drive. read more

I just finished (as in yesterday) a 3 day MX-5 racing school and I thought it was absolutely great. Since I didn't see many reviews of this particular school I thought I would post mine up so people could get an idea of what to expect. Our school had about 18 people and concurrently with us was also a 3 day formula racing school with ~18 people. The way it worked out for us was that our class was broken into two groups of 9 so that one group of 9 would do a driving exercise while the other group either was taught technique on a board or driven to a location to watch our progress (surprisingly helpful). The breakdowns of the days can be found on Skip's website so I won't go into much detail about them. In general, everyday you spend ~1-1.5-2 hours driving/racing a car. That may not sound like a lot but it is definitely very exhausting and is plenty of time in the seat. After every driving session you get feedback from each of the 5, or so, teachers on a particular corner they were watching you at so that next time you can further improve your technique (note I didn't say speed, necessarily). Here are a few tidbits to chew on: 1-Since I haven't seen it posted elsewhere you meet at the paddock in front of the Skip Barber facility, it is next to the souvenir shop for Laguna Seca. 2-Listen to the teachers and try to hear everything they say (ie. eyes up, on the brakes hard initially, etc.). Remember it throughout the weekend and you will eventually start doing it all and think "god, this is so much easier, why didn't I do what they said initially". Its difficult to break your habits but I felt by the end of the last day I was capable of doing what they asked and doing it to my "current" abilities as a novice. 3-Talk to all the teachers after each lapping session and get your feedback. Some of it is a little vague "brake later" or "carry more speed", I"m sure this isn't purposely vague but because everyone is different and they can tell that someone can go faster, or is going too fast, in some corner or drill. Asking "how fast should I be going into ______" although a fine question depends on entirely too many things and won't get you a response like "67 mph". The teachers are trying to teach you strong technique, that will inevitably lead into speed NOT the other way around. 4-Get the insurance or don't. I bought it and didn't need it but two people caused some damage to their cars in separate incidents (they were perfectly fine). As someone on the less wealthy scale of things and buying the insurance I never ONCE thought "oh my god don't wreck this thing", which was very odd in retrospect since I'm a huge worry wart on mundane things. But hey if you can afford a wreck don't get it, stimulate the economy, be my guest. 5-Lunch is provided but is the same meal everyday: make your own Caesar salad, cold bread (a travesty), cold cuts, and a hot soup. They have tons of water to drink but if I were you I'd bring like a Cliff bar or something everyday and maybe a Gatorade for when you feel a little drained. 6-They provide you with helmets and suits, make sure to bring gloves because it is cold. Wear long socks, not ankle socks because at least for me at ~6'1" the provided suit always felt like I was wearing high waters and a breeze would easily reach my ankles, also felt like it was slicing the family jewels sometimes. Also, wear a bunch of layers of clothing, you can always take them off when its hot but you can't put more on when its cold if you didn't bring them. 7-There are bathrooms everywhere, use them often, its one less thing to think about. 8-Try and listen to the radio feedback when you aren't driving, the teachers talk to each other about individual's performance and what they like or don't like that they see, this might be helpful for you too. 9-On the third day we got to do open lapping with passing, remember the passing etiquette. Whatever they taught you is in FULL effect until you are TOLD otherwise. For us this meant you were point by passing all day, if you didn't point me over I'm not passing you, if I'm not passing you I'm on your back-end the rest of the lapping session. You don't want this, I don't want this, pay attention and remember the etiquette. 10-They give you a handbook with some of the basics, I'd recommend reading the flags and getting them in your head. Many people "didn't see" the flags or didn't know what to do when they saw them. So when someone got a blue flag in front of me they didn't do anything, or when black flagged they didn't come into the pits. There are no microphones nor headsets in the car these flags are one of the only ways you are told what is going on around you, watch and obey them. Also, don't read up on flags before starting your school. The flags are not uniform throughout motorsports. Unless you are also doing a motorsport already they may not apply at the school. read more

I did the Performance Driving School are Road Atlanta in Dec 2016. Bad experience. No classroom instruction. Vans broke down so we couldn't get to our stations. No instruction at the autocross; "just go drive." Same with skidpad. Got more instruction from BMW's free driving experience. Lunch was 1.5 hours of sitting as vans were not available. Instructors at the end apologized and said they were short handed. Contacted SB and got an email response. Responded to that with an email documenting my experience and offering to have a phone call. No response. Poor customer service all around. Hope they are able to fix their business. read more

Great day of racing. My son and I went, got the miata's and had a blast.

I had a blast. The intro to racing class with formula cars is worth every penny. Highly recommended. BTW, the formula car is quite tight. A few big people in our class did not enjoy being cramped for an extended period of time. read more

I attended the one day performance driving school. The instructors were very helpful and experienced. The seat time provide for $1700 was very low, probably a total of 1 hour of true seat time. For the on track session I was stuck in a slow group which provided no challege at all. They made no attempt to fix the grouping which was disappointing. Good content but the lack of seat time made the experience disappointing read more

DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY !!! I would give them ZERO stars if possible. I signed up for a 3 Day Racing School, They cancelled the event because of supposedly waiting on transmissions for the cars. They could not reschedule in a reasonable time so I opted for a refund they offered. It has been 6 months and numerous phone calls, there is always an excuse as to why they have not sent out the refund. The last phone call with Scott said he could not give me any idea when the refund would go out and suggested I just reschedule. This company has NO ETHICS and like the last 1 Star review points out below is probably destined to go away... Below is the post i saw as i posted this: Do not get ripped off by this company. Do not do business with this company. This company will steal your money, not deliver what is promised, and the cars and equipment are poorly maintained, and shouldn't even be allowed to operate. The company used to be a reputable company, when it was being run by skip barber himself, but since being sold, and now being run by the new owner, Michael Culver, he has driven it into the ground, and just a matter of time before the company goes out of business, due to financial troubl e and him choosing to not pay his employees, sponsors, or basically anyone they have done business with. Skip Barber has chosen to screw his employees and not pay them, so all the long term, top notch, instructors, and mechanics, have all left the company, or were fired, after they demanded to be paid all of their back wages! Its simply a matter of time before someone is killed due to the complete disregard of proper maintainence of its racecars. Don't let that be you. Go spend your money at any other racomg school, other than this one. Skip Barber, which used to be the best, largest, racing and driving school, but not anymore, it is now the worlds worst racing and driving school! read more

Skip Barber Racing School stole my money! In September of 2015 I was to attend the formula class, 3 days, in St. Louis, MO. A representative of the school called me, and explained that they had transmission failures the previous event, and therefore had to cancel the St. Louis class. They gave me the option of rescheduling to another event, or, receive a full refund. I opted for the refund. The representative explained that it could take a MONTH to return my money. After a month of waiting I tried getting in touch with the school, and no one would give me an answer as to when I would receive my money. Two months, three, four, it is now almost five months.....still no money, still no contact, still no effort has been made at all to return the $2307 that they stole from me. This has been the worst experience of my life. Learning how to race has been a lifelong dream, and they downright crapped on it. read more

I've taken both the 3 day and 2 day advanced open wheel racing schools through Skip Barber (both at Laguna Seca). The instructors and track are world class. Several of the instructors have driven the 24 hours of Daytona, and also are very effective teachers. The cars are very simple, which is probably good for a driving school, especially if you are looking to get into SCCA open-wheel racing. The mechanics do a great job with what they are given to work with, which isn't much. During the 3 day course my transmission went out, and my co-driver squared out the front wheels through continued lock-ups on the replacement car and we couldn't get another set because they were short on tires that weekend. During the second class many of the cars (including mine) didn't have front or rear wings. The wings don't really create much downforce, but it was disappointing not to have a fully setup car. After talking to lots of people the picture is clear- Skip Barber has historically been the top driving school in the US, but has been on verge of bankruptcy constantly for many years. I'd advise anyone considering taking a class to not pre-pay for multiple programs, and realize they have a zero refund policy. Also, you should never pay full price as they constantly run specials to fill classes up. I'd encourage everyone to purchase insurance. During my first class a guy put his car into the wall before turn 5 and was out $15K. During my second class I spun after turn 5, did a 360 and was hit from the rear by another student following too closely (it was a pass by invitation only exercise). The insurance saved me around $5K. The guy that hit me had to pay $8K for his car. In summary, I had a ton of fun at both classes, but racing is EXPENSIVE and this school is no exception! read more