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Been meaning to update this thread. I know some or all posters in this thread have attended Evo schools before, but in case anyone else stumbles upon it, I'll give a short review.
Wrapped up Phase 1 & Phase 2 courses last weekend. Jinx and Courtney were instructing at Danville Regional Airport. Around 10-12 students/day. In total, nearly 50 runs in my car. What an awesome time!
The instructors were great - skilled, patient, and excited about teaching. The seat time (for AX) was unreal, and the curriculum seemed very sound. If you've taken a novice school or two, and/or read any of the popular AX texts, there will be nothing taught at Evo that is super profound or that you likely haven't heard somewhere before - I think the difference is in the extensive practical application (i.e., many, many runs). Principles are methodically drilled, with course design that greatly encourages and rewards looking ahead. In fact, probably the whole class could be boiled down to "look ahead," lol. I mean, I'm oversimplifying, but truthfully it's probably the foundational skill of racing, and it's something that takes practice. The great thing about Evo is you will have plenty of opportunities to practice, followed by immediate feedback from instructors.
I sort of feel like I did a full season or two of AX in one weekend, at least in terms of seat time. After a while I felt a little like a saturated sponge that couldn't take in anymore, but I think it's given me a lot of tools going forward, and a little more of the confidence that only comes from experience. Time will tell, but my feeling is that the lessons learned over the weekend will stay with me for some time and continue to pay dividends as I continue on in this sport.
Downsides? Well, the school is pretty expensive, for one. $500 all in for both days (lunch included). At that price, it would've been nice for them to throw in a t-shirt, lol. Even so, I think it was money well spent, and obviously if these guys don't make money, they don't continue to put on courses around the country.
This particular iteration of the course seemed a little hastily thrown together, and none of the students got a "welcome" email confirming registration, event location/time, etc. That seemed a little odd and unpolished, but it's also kind of no harm/no foul. I was able to find the info I needed by Googling. Also, I think this class was a last-minute addition to their schedule, which is normally wrapped up by now. We have a big regional event coming up in Charlotte (NCAC - North Carolina Autocross Championship); it was supposed to be in October but was postponed due to weather, so I think the school organizers saw an opportunity to have an unofficial NCAC prep course. In any case, the organization on the ground the day of the events was perfectly fine, and everything ran smoothly.
All in all it was a great time, and I'd gladly do it again if a date/location ever lines up with my schedule again.
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