SBRS: Robert Stout news 2008-02-19

Robert Stout passes Skip Barber at Moroso Motorsports Park

Robert Stout with the support of Lucas Oil attended one of the best driving schools in the country this past weekend at Moroso Motorsports Park in West Palm Beach, Florida. The goal was to earn his competition license and there's no better place than the Skip Barber three day school to do it. While the young Robert Stout has had plenty of success in karting over the last three years, wheeling a 3,000 pound manually shifted Mazda MX5 would put him and his eight other classmates to the test.

The three highly accredited instructors of Doug Smith, Jonathan Miller and lead by Stephan Bastrzycki had their work cut out for them as some of the young drivers had very little time behind a stick shift car. The process was methodical and thorough and by Sunday Robert was approaching speeds of 120MPH on the 2.25 mile course.

With plenty of class time before climbing behind the wheel the instructors explained correct car control, heel toe shifting, braking and safety, then all that was left was seat time and the students got plenty. Over 100 laps and better that 225 miles were driven with the three instructors placed at strategic positions around the course. Equipped with radios they watched and recorded the drivers every move. After every lap advice and direction from the instructors would be given to the drivers and it was easy to see them advance. With only 30 minutes of shifting time before attending Robert struggled on day one with the heel toe shifting but by the end of day two was catching on. By day 3 he was standing on the brakes at the last minute while down shifting and then picking the throttle right back up to drive the Mazda to its limits through the turns and recorded some of the quickest lap times of the weekend.

" Wow what a great time! Stephan, Doug and Jonathan were great to work with. They never pressured us and let us advance at our own rate. While their instructions and advice were always serious they did it in a fun way with a great sense of humor. I really don't think a school could be much better."

The Mazda MX5's were meticulously maintained every day and performed flawlessly. With plenty of power, the five speed trans carried them to speeds over 115 MPH. It took all the tough driving thrown at it and was surprisingly nimble through the turns.

The next step for the young Stout is to get into a couple of regional races and then advance into the National Mazda MX5 series where Mazda Speed has a great ladder program for all racers.

At the end of day three the goal was attained as Robert was handed his Skip Barber Race Series Competition License.

"It was the most fun I've ever had in a car. When I rode with one of the instructors it was unbelievable what they were able to do with that car. I still have a long way to go to catch them but I now have the confidence and basic training necessary to start chasing them. Give me some time guys but I'm coming after ya."

-credit: www.Kenstout.com