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Johnny O’Connell’s Corvette Camp 2005

Text and Imagery by Rick Swarts
©2005 Rick Swarts
No use without permission

Wumbah, Wumbah, echoed through the classroom at the inaugural Johnny O’Connell Corvette Camp at Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, SC, September 17 and 18 as the current Factory Corvette ace taught heel and toe downshifting to enthusiastic Corvette owners primarily from the Southeastern United States plus some as far away as Ohio and Illinois!
 
Three time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner and current ALMS GTS Champion O’Connell, designed Corvette Camp to allow Corvette owners the opportunity to experience their cars the way they were meant to be driven. Education, experience and exhilaration were the theme for the day with a huge emphasis on safety. “We’re bridging the gap between a track day that offers limited (if any) instruction and a racing school that is probably too much for most people in content and price” eluded O’Connell

Concise and complete curriculum for Corvette Camp was designed by Johnny to offer average enthusiasts new skills that they could use on the racetrack and relate to day-to-day driving.  “Ground School” covered vehicle dynamics, cornering, braking, heel & toe downshifting, seating position and vision. Great efforts were made to continually emphasize safety and discipline to “campers” whilst sharing the secrets of more than twenty years of professional racing experience.
 
Johnny O’s ground school was informative and entertaining if not hilarious. The most entertaining moment of the weekend was Johnny describing “under steer” by creating a story about Blackie Chan his new cat that was brought home by his family. It drove home the idea of weight transfer and brought some people out of their chairs onto the floor in hysterics. “Johnny put on a Tour de Force of no BS, no phony hyped up instruction presented in a no-pressure manner” said John Balling a Corvette Camp participant from Florida.
 
Classroom talk shuffled into a proper heel and toe downshifting exercise on the front stretch of the fabulous 2.3 mile road course at CMP. Slowly, the drivers built confidence in this highly technical and challenging skill. Some got it, some did not. The level of commitment from O’Connell was evident in the patience to make certain all participants were being tended to personally and understood the importance of heel and toe. “Johnny and Rick are there to teach, not to humble. “I never once heard a negative comment from Rick or Johnny about someone's mistakes” said a participant from Saturday’s camp. 
 
Corner by corner discussion on the track with Johnny O’Connell offered participants the opportunity to learn the “language” of a racetrack. Using his keen sense of humor, Johnny pointed out that in a perfect “Schumacher” world, “there would only be one dark area of the racing surface.” Along the same lines, he drove home the importance of picking the right corners to push hard and those to offer respect. By showing students skid marks flying off the road at the exit of a corner; he was able to drive home with good visual reference that crucial point. Along with lessons on reference points, braking points, gear selection and how to use (or not) curbs, this forty five minute trip through the mind of one of Americas best racing drivers was invaluable to participants.
 
Finally (mind you it’s now only 10:45 AM) it’s time for students to lap the circuit in two thirty minute “lead/follow” sessions where students would follow Johnny’s line around the track and gradually build speed. All participants had the opportunity to follow Johnny as the car directly behind Johnny would pull over at the end of one lap and drop to the back of the field. This gave students a chance to see the proper line and also get accustomed to moving off line on the racetrack. The pace quickened rapidly and a few people had a difficult time keeping up at which time instructor Reese Cox (MTI Racing) or Rick Swarts would flag down the participants and get in the car with them to help build their speed and confidence. By the end of the second lead/follow session, drivers were building up speed and ability rapidly.
 
After the catered lunch, O’Connell had grouped drivers into “A” and “B” groups based on confidence and speed for the afternoon solo sessions where Johnny and the other instructors would view drivers both in and out of the cockpit. Drivers were able to go out and drive hard, pull into the pits to cool their cars, ask questions or have Johnny get in the car with them. “No where else can you get hands on training from the "cream of the crop" in road racing. The highlight of the weekend for me was getting "HOT LAPS" with Johnny in our Z06” exclaimed Marilyn Sabadaszka of Atlanta. Aside from the experience of driving with the winner of more races in ALMS history, having Johnny drive offered the participants a chance to feel the right way of driving on a racetrack. Many students found this exchange to be priceless and exhilarating!

Between sessions, drivers would spend time with Johnny talking about what they did right or wrong and get feedback from him to take with them in the next session. The track temp was nearly 125 degrees and drivers were encouraged to go hard two laps, cool down for two just to keep their Corvettes happy. Volunteers from the local Corvette club (Capitol City out of Columbia, SC) were at the circuit to support the participants and made sure they had plenty to drink and kept an eye out for any signs of fatigue in the drivers.
 
Tough and burly Aussie Bob Bell ran both Saturday and Sunday camps and said “I never thought I would be able to handle my car (C5 Z06) like I learned how here… It was the greatest weekend of my entire life.” After listening to more comments that generally fell between the above and “it was incredible,” it was evident Johnny O’Connell’s Corvette Camp was a total and complete success. “There is nothing more satisfying to me than knowing we impacted the students and they are leaving Corvette Camp with a new appreciation for their Corvettes and their ability to handle them safely” ,said a satisfied O’Connell.
 
The day ended as it begun, in the classroom listening to Johnny tell stories from Corvette Racing and sharing events of the day. Stepping back, you realize how special a day it was for those who participated and how much fun Johnny O had sharing himself with his fans. Ending the day with hugs is probably not the norm at most racing schools or track days but at Johnny O’Connell’s Corvette Camp it was. 
 
For more information on upcoming events, please visit www.johnnyoconnell.com or www.corvettecamp.com