When Kia Performance announced it will be offering a complimentary high-speed driving training course to all 2016-2018 Ford Focus RS proprietors, we  knew this was going to end up being something special. As details began to emerge on the upcoming RS Adrenaline Academy, the realization that this will be our chance to drive the hot emerge in a way that the Blue Oval technicians intended started to sink in.

We already know that driving primary RS as a daily driver is really a blast but learning firsthand the particular capabilities of our car in a class room environment and on the track had been just too good to pass upward. In fact , the one-day driving college was so popular that when it was at first announced, all available spots for that 2017 calendar year sold out in just 5 days! Ford Performance announced twenty-seven classes for 2017, running through April through October, with every course being able to support a total associated with 16 drivers. If you do the mathematics, that’s a total of 432 slot machine games!

Primary RS delivers a premium driving encounter and our school is the ideal venue to demonstrate just what it can perform. — Dan McKeever, Ford Functionality Racing School

The crazy part is we all didn’t even receive our standard email from Ford saying the college was accepting registrations until the day time before it was sold out! Luckily, most of the top RS forums put the phrase out that they officially had began taking applications.

The RS Adrenaline School provides owners having a full immersion into the performance plus handling characteristics of the Focus RS, in a safe environment with expert instruction. The course takes place on the Utah Motorsports Campus in Grantsville, Utah, in the Ford Performance Racing College .

Founded within 2006, the school has become one of America’s top training programs for those planning to sharpen their skills while getting better and safer drivers. As well as the RS Adrenaline Academy, the school utilizes a fleet of modified Mustang GT, Mustang Boss 302 FRS, GT350, Focus ST, Fiesta SAINT, and Ford Raptor courses too.   Each of the classes has a group of professional instructors ready to educate you on a thing or two about your new Ford Efficiency vehicle.

The substantial course time teaches skills which includes braking, shifting and cornering methods, and also focuses on the particular dynamics from the Focus RS, such as the car’s four driving modes . The particular goal is to establish the overall performance capabilities of the owners’ cars and also to improve their driving skills – almost all while having fun.

“The Focus RS delivers a premium generating experience, and our school may be the perfect venue to demonstrate just what it may do. Our professional instructors may help anyone take their driving experience to the next level, whether a newbie or an experienced driver, ” Kia Performance Racing School’s Dan McKeever said.

Beehive State Bound

Although the RS Adrenaline Academy is really a free one-day course, it does not include travel or lodging.   Due to the fact our central office is located within Southern California, we found yourself hopping on a quick flight through San Diego, California, to Salt River City, Utah. On the official Adrenaline Academy website,   the school really does a great job of offering resort rates for drivers.

We ended up booking a room in the recommended hotel a week before our own course with no issues at all. After we landed, we  jumped into the non-Ford rental and traveled regarding 20 miles West of Sodium Lake City to the small city of Tooele, Utah.

Our RS Adrenaline Academy experience began with an evening reception in the Ford Performance Racing School Accepted Center the night before the course. The particular social and dinner lasted regarding two hours, and it gives RS owners the chance to meet each other inside a non-classroom environment.

The Utah Motorsports Campus is really a world-class, 4. 5-mile, 40-50-foot-wide, 23-turn circuit, which is the longest within North America. Upon arrival at the campus, we were immediately greeted by the Kia Performance staff and put into 2 separate groups. On this particular time, the school was running both the Concentrate RS Adrenaline Academy and the Shelby GT350 Track Attack , so the staff made sure they directed us into the right direction for the day of instruction.

Once we  were thoroughly examined in, we were then directed towards the classroom  where we were fitted  along with Ford Performance racing suits plus helmets. We were then instructed to get our assigned seats in the class room. Each of the positions contained our public name badges, a schedule associated with events, and a pen and papers to take notes.

I was then introduced to our instructors during the day and spent the next 45 minutes groing through basic driving  skills that would assist us for our time at the monitor. Vehicle acceleration, braking, and  the way to immediately  recognize whether your vehicle is within an oversteer or understeer scenario were all covered in this 45-minute session. Although many of us had prior experience, many of us have only looked at a few ideas on just how technologically advanced Ford’s hot hatch indeed is.

Tracking Ford’s Popular Hatch

Right after our classroom instruction and a short question and answer session, it had been time to get behind the wheel of the many monitor cars they had waiting for us. As this was the last course of the 2017 season, we were a little worried that this cars we were going to be given experienced already been through the ringer. This was simply not the case.

Each vehicle looked immaculate and if it has not been for the required safety equipment which was installed in the vehicles, they would have got felt exactly like our own daily motorists. In fact , the cars that they use for that course are for the most part, completely share cars!

For our initial driving instruction of the day, we discovered ourselves behind the wheel of the Focus RS on the main track. The program consisted of quite a few lead-follow laps having a professional instructor leading in a Shelby GT350 as we followed behind your pet in the Focus RS.   The particular cool part of this instruction is that we were able to jump behind the wheel with no instructors and feel how the hot hatch reacts on the monitor. Each student was able to  stick to directly behind the lead trainer in the GT350 to get a feel for your correct racing line and  the way the world-class instructors attack each height on the track.

The 2017 Ford Focus RS handled exceptionally well on the monitor, and the pops and bangs which our 350-horsepower, turbocharged hot hatch showed as we were downshifting into the becomes was music to our ears.

After having a go when driving on the track, we jumped to the passenger seat of another RS that was driven by a member of the particular Ford Performance cadre.   I must admit that most of us were sensation pretty good about our driving abilities at this point, but  all that went away whenever we realized just how much harder the trainer staff could push these automobiles on the track. The result was a few tire screeching, head turning popular laps that left everyone getting out of the passenger seat with a perma-grin  on their face.

The ultimate track session of the day had all of us in the driver’s seat of the RS and professional driving coach within the passenger seat for a couple of informative laps around the track. This is where I got probably the most out of the course because the feedback We received from my instructor allowed me to understand how the vehicles torque vectoring system works in sync with all the all-wheel-drive system.

Within my first lap, I was told simply by an instructor that I was relying as well heavily on the big Brembo brake systems leading up to the turns. But simply by listening to my instructor and relying the all-wheel-drive system, by panel three, I was able to keep the foot off the brake pedal plus efficiently carry a  much higher price of speed into the corners.

Catching The Move (Mode)

After the time on the track, we proceeded to an open area to try the hand at the Focus RS move mode. Because we have had  primary RS for a little over a yr now, we have  had a small practice with this cool feature. Yet one thing many owners learn in this session is just how easy you should engage the Focus RS’ Drift setting at low speeds, which is some thing I had never tried.

At only 15 mph and the Move mode button engaged, merely switching the vehicle’s steering wheel hard ın the direction of the turn will efficiently start the  rear of the car to  let loose. From there it only takes the particular slightest of throttle  inputs and a few steering correction, and we were nicely on our way to living that Hoonigan lifestyle.

What I discovered after this block of instruction can be I was initiating the turn along with much more speed than is required which may end up in having to over correct on the wrong time. The RS trainers showed how easy it is to chain together a couple of proper drifts just like the engineers and Ken Block   intended.

Metropolitan Street  Assault

After taking a split for our catered lunch, we were away to the last session of the day in the urban street assault. This course had been set up in two different sections;   a figure-eight course which demonstrated us the hot hatch’s launch setting, braking distance, and how to rotate effectively around a tight arc, and speed up in the opposite direction.

From there we moved onto the final section of the urban street attack which was set up in an autocross settings. The timed course had all of us maneuvering our vehicles through a group of cones that incorporated tight 180-degree turns, a quick reaction slalom, the particular Figure-8 that was mentioned before and 2 straightaways before we had to bring the car to a complete stop.

The autocross course was a great time, and although we did not return home with the fastest time, we were  definitely  in the running. We furthermore came away with a newfound regard for the handing of our hot emerge when your life (or in this case, time) depended on it.

Along with that wrapped, our experience reached a close. So , would we go to again?   This is a resounding indeed! We  believe that anytime you are provided a free course to explore the features of your new vehicle you should leap at the chance.

We all learned how to tap into the full abilities of the Focus RS in a way that you are able to only do on a closed training course. The professional instruction and worldclass track environment made the Focus RS Adrenaline Academy one you will not wish to miss.

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