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Hi guys, I am planning to attend one of the Performance-level classes offered by the AMG Driving Academy, and I was wondering if anyone had experience with either location. I am a fan of both tracks, but I want to make sure that the experience will be enjoyable, as I have read that the old Laguna Seca academy was underwhelming. Thanks!
In what sense was it underwhelming? I attended Laguna Seca in 2019. It's a short track, but in the meantime I found out they generally don't use the whole track if it's a longer one. Many tracks can be configured at different lengths and in order to get through the day the laps tend to be somewhat short. I haven't participated at either track, but I went to an AMG Experience event at the Nürburgring last year. It was on the Grand Prix circuit, but again, they split it up into two tracks. One part was used for autocross and the other part for the lead follow laps. Was about the same length as Laguna Seca. They also do events on the famous Nordschleife, but again it only takes place on a small section of the track and not the whole ~13 miles. Sonoma is only about 0.3 miles longer than Laguna Seca, same for Road Atlanta. These are all very short tracks.
They are great events at any track, but I do wish the laps would be longer. Just a lot to pack into one day and drive all the different models. It's always split in two. Half day is in the paddock doing braking maneuvers, drifting and autocross and the other half is lead follow on the track.
I'll probably skip it this season. Not impressed by the US fleet after driving the AMG GT Black Series at the Nürburgring event.
Last edited by superswiss; Feb 22, 2023 at 12:50 AM.
We did road ATL in 2021. I thought it was pretty nice and even got to good speeds in heavy rain on the track. It has a nice skid pad but a elementary way of keeping it wet. The area they do the short acceleration test, short timed course, and evasive maneuvers is small though. I can’t compare it to Sonoma though.
I’m looking at the next level right now and considering both places too. I’m might rule out Sonoma just because there doesn’t seem to be an easy airport for me to get to and then on to the track. Plus I live near ATL and can drive there and stay at a hotel. If you consider ATL, Chateau Elan is close and nice. We used it for our night stay in 2021.
Let me know what you find out or why you are considering Sonoma.
Good luck.
Actually, this brings up a good point. Doing it at Sonoma pretty much guarantees that the track will be dry. That's California for you. 300 dry days on average per year and it typically doesn't start to rain until November and stops around March. I got lucky at the Nürburgring. It was supposed to rain, but ended up staying dry. The only thing was because they expected rain, they had PS4S tires on the GT BS instead of the Cup 2 R. The PS4S just doesn't have the grip for this car. ESP was constantly intervening. It'll be the same with the GT R in the US fleet. You'll be driving it on Cup 2s at Sonoma, but likely on PS4S at Road Atlanta due to the risk of the track being wet, unless they swap tires depending on the weather forecast. But either way it could be a wet day.
@superswiss I never went, but I remember reading a post that complained about the lack of pace for the lead/follow sections on the track. Do you know if the track configurations they use are posted anywhere? I haven't been able to find them, but it would be a bummer to find out they cut something like Road Atlanta short. I don't think much can top driving a Black Series on the ring. How much seat time did you get with it?
Also, you bring up a good point about the weather and tire selection. I might give them a call to find out if they change tires depending on location or forecast.
We did road ATL in 2021. I thought it was pretty nice and even got to good speeds in heavy rain on the track. It has a nice skid pad but a elementary way of keeping it wet. The area they do the short acceleration test, short timed course, and evasive maneuvers is small though. I can’t compare it to Sonoma though.
I’m looking at the next level right now and considering both places too. I’m might rule out Sonoma just because there doesn’t seem to be an easy airport for me to get to and then on to the track. Plus I live near ATL and can drive there and stay at a hotel. If you consider ATL, Chateau Elan is close and nice. We used it for our night stay in 2021.
Let me know what you find out or why you are considering Sonoma.
Good luck.
That sounds like a lot of fun in the rain. Did they run the full course when you did the Road Atlanta trackday?
I'm considering Sonoma since both tracks are the same price and are equally as technical with plenty of elevation change. The lack of elevation change is kind of why I am looking past the COTA events. I will definitely keep the hotel recommendation in mind if I go the ATL route!
@superswiss I never went, but I remember reading a post that complained about the lack of pace for the lead/follow sections on the track. Do you know if the track configurations they use are posted anywhere? I haven't been able to find them, but it would be a bummer to find out they cut something like Road Atlanta short. I don't think much can top driving a Black Series on the ring. How much seat time did you get with it?
Also, you bring up a good point about the weather and tire selection. I might give them a call to find out if they change tires depending on location or forecast.
The pace entirely depends on your group. If you have somebody in the group who is scared to give it the beans, then the pace is slow. I was so far lucky in all events I participated that everybody in the group kept up the pace. On the Ring when we lapped with the Black Series there was one person that was falling behind and the instructor decided that the rest of the group should just go on, so we lapped her a few times and eventually she pulled out into the pit lane. We had about 20-30 minutes in the BS and at the end we got to ride shotgun with an instructor complete with harness and hans device and they went like a bat out of hell with ESP turned off and taking advantage of the 9-stage traction control. We did two or three laps with the instructor if I remember correctly. As far as I know they don't publish the track layout. They'll show it on a slide during the briefing.
The cool thing is you also get video of the lap with the GT R or GT BS. Below are the videos of my GT R run at Laguna Seca and the GT BS on the Ring.
EDIT: Now that I re-watched my videos, one thing that comes back to mind is because we were not allowed to turn off any safety systems, the automatic braking kept kicking in whenever the car in front started to brake, so I tried to put a bigger gap between me and the car in front, but you can hear the beeping constantly pretty much as soon as the lead car slows down and it was actually braking for me.
Ok, we broke down and booked Sonoma for my 50th birthday. So, where should I stay? Sonoma? Napa? Where? We are coming in two days early to “explore” the area. We are looking for something convenient to the raceway but then when we get back to the hotel/inn/resort the ability to walk to food or night stuff.
Ok, we broke down and booked Sonoma for my 50th birthday. So, where should I stay? Sonoma? Napa? Where? We are coming in two days early to “explore” the area. We are looking for something convenient to the raceway but then when we get back to the hotel/inn/resort the ability to walk to food or night stuff.
Both Sonoma and Napa are not too far away and they both have nice centers, but the good restaurants and resorts/hotels are spread out throughout the region in places like Rutherford, Calistoga etc. Those are all north of Napa. Nice resorts are the Solage in Calistoga or Auberge du Solei in Rutherford, and there are plenty more. Both are about 45 minutes to an hour from the raceway. They each have a nice restaurant, too. Then obviously all the wineries are spread out through the region, so to explore the area to gonna be driving around. Towns like Yountville, St. Helena and Calistoga as well as Sonoma and Napa are worth seeing. If you want to go all out, the famous French Laundry (restaurant) is in Yountville. My favorite Italian restaurant up there is Bistro Don Giovanni in Napa, but it's outside of the town on Hwy 29. If your significant other wants to get pampered while you are at the raceway, before or after, there a several nice spas in the area. Solage has a spa, so do pretty much all the other resorts. Calistoga has some mud bath places and mineral spas. Then of course there's San Francisco, that's more walkable, but I'd stay up in Sonoma or Napa Valley.
Last edited by superswiss; Mar 1, 2023 at 09:49 PM.
Both Sonoma and Napa are not too far away and they both have nice centers, but the good restaurants and resorts/hotels are spread out throughout the region in places like Rutherford, Calistoga etc. Those are all north of Napa. Nice resorts are the Solage in Calistoga or Auberge du Solei in Rutherford, and there are plenty more. Both are about 45 minutes to an hour from the raceway. They each have a nice restaurant, too. Then obviously all the wineries are spread out through the region, so to explore the area to gonna be driving around. Towns like Yountville, St. Helena and Calistoga as well as Sonoma and Napa are worth seeing. If you want to go all out, the famous French Laundry (restaurant) is in Yountville. My favorite Italian restaurant up there is Bistro Don Giovanni in Napa, but it's outside of the town on Hwy 29. If your significant other wants to get pampered while you are at the raceway, before or after, there a several nice spas in the area. Solage has a spa, so do pretty much all the other resorts. Calistoga has some mud bath places and mineral spas. Then of course there's San Francisco, that's more walkable, but I'd stay up in Sonoma or Napa Valley.
I live in Sonoma and Superswiss is pretty spot on.
Closer lodging to Consider
- The Lodge in Sonoma- not to the same level as Auberge Resorts, but probably the most convenient to get to Raceway 10-15 min away.
- Carneros Resort in between Sonoma and Napa 20-25 min
- Stanley Ranch is the newest Auberge Resort on SW corner of Napa 25-30 min
Solage/Calistoga is amazing, but I personally would not want to do the 1hr+ drive for convenience. UNLESS you will be driving an AMG while here. One of my favorite scenic drives is Napa to Calistoga with no traffic. Feel free to PM with any questions.
Thanks everyone. My wife grabbed something quick in Napa. She wanted to walk to stuff after the event. She is going and driving at the track too. She tried to get the lodge but it didn’t have any rooms while we will be there and again, she wanted to walk. I’ll look into the restaurant reservations. Thanks.
Now though I’ve watched track videos (yes I should have done that already) and it seems that Road Atl is a faster track and I’m having second thoughts……and visions of saving $$$$ by going there instead.
Last edited by BACnMercedes; Mar 2, 2023 at 09:16 AM.
Do you mean ride alongs for the participants with a professional driver or some type of guest? Yes to the participants but not guests. I was a little confused with the question so maybe someone else was too.
Also we booked the Archer Hotel in Napa since we decided to walk at night to stuff. We tried the lodge also but it was not available. I’ll start looking at those other suggestions of restaurants and stuff. Thanks everyone.
@superswiss Sounds good. Thanks!
@BacnMercedes I haven't booked mine yet. I am still trying to coordinate a day that works best for myself and one of my buddies. I am leaning towards Road Atl after seeing a few videos from each of the driving academy locations.
I'm booked at Road ATL for Rocktober 27 and trying to get an experience in German for May but I've got challenges trying to get the required German or International driver's license; not to divert this thread.
Happy to make any member's acquaintance if you're going to be at Road ATL; HMU.
Has anyone done the two day Advanced class with AMG driving? When I called recently to ask other questions about it, the AMG representative said something about having a dinner one of the nights. Then though she couldn’t tell me anything more about times or which night it was because it hadn’t been decided yet. Does anyone have any experience with this dinner during the advanced class? Which night is it usually? Is it at the track? Is it worth it?
I’m asking because I have nice restaurants booked the 5 days we are there and I need to move my Michelin dinners around. Yeah, I know first world problems.
Thanks
Has anyone done the two day Advanced class with AMG driving? When I called recently to ask other questions about it, the AMG representative said something about having a dinner one of the nights. Then though she couldn’t tell me anything more about times or which night it was because it hadn’t been decided yet. Does anyone have any experience with this dinner during the advanced class? Which night is it usually? Is it at the track? Is it worth it?
I’m asking because I have nice restaurants booked the 5 days we are there and I need to move my Michelin dinners around. Yeah, I know first world problems.
Thanks
Haven't done it, but the agenda is on the website. Although things are always subject to change, the dinner is on day 1.
Found it finally. Thanks. I thought I remembered seeing it online one time but I couldn’t find from my phone. I asked for something like that in an email and on the phone from AMG and got no where. I knew someone on here would know.
I'm heading to Sonoma Raceway in May for the AMG On Track Experience (Performance) and making a weekend out of it with my wife. This thread was all very helpful for accommodation recommendations. Thanks.
Q. If you owned one of the AMG models they list as possible track cars, and wanted to drive that, how would you go about trying to get the organizers to slot you into that same model (roughly) beforehand, so that it wasn't happenstance on the track day?
My model (E53) is probably bottom third of the performance pack (they offer 9 models) so hopefully this wouldn't be frustrating for others, but maybe it is. Not sure. https://www.amgexperienceus.com/ontrack/performance
I'll probably ping the MB info lines, but I'm guessing those will reply with canned, vague reminders it is all up in the air (which it probably is). Any more targeted ideas? Maybe someone here knows the North American MB Track Experience organizers? Showing up 30 minutes early is a reasonable backup if all else fails. They may not even have my model on the day. Wondering if the C63 S E Perf is probably the closest to my E53 since they are both Hybrid. The GT55 has a similar footprint, but guessing it drives very different.
Q. If you owned one of the AMG models they list as possible track cars, and wanted to drive that, how would you go about trying to get the organizers to slot you into that same model (roughly) beforehand, so that it wasn't happenstance on the track day?.
That's not how it works. Everybody gets to drive all cars. The day is split into two parts. One half you will spend in the paddock and the other half on the track. Each half has 4 sessions. In the paddock you'll be drifting, doing braking and reaction maneuvers, there's usually a little timed Autocross and I forgot what the 4th one is. The track half of the day is also split into 4 sessions. Each of the paddock and track sessions are with a different car. The car is assigned to the session, not the participants. You'll be assigned to a group, and each group moves from session to session. Depending on the group, you'll do paddock in the morning and track in the afternoon. That's in my opinion the best order as you get to warm up for the track sessions. The order in which you do the sessions will also depend on the group. I've so far been lucky that I had the paddock sessions in the morning and then the track sessions in the afternoon started with the slowest car and ended with the fastest, but it can be in any other order.
Last edited by superswiss; Jan 15, 2026 at 11:46 AM.
Yeah that’s how it goes.
I have a different question. I recently picked up a new 53 and even though it only offers $995 credit to AMG drives, I cannot use it toward the Pro class. Does anyone know if they will make an exception? Or even whom I might try to contact and plead my case? The person that answered the phone there wasn’t very “helpful” with this other than explaining to me again the criteria.
I guess I’m a little bummed I found this out after the purchase (really wouldn’t have made a difference anyway) but the fact that EVs and some smaller AMGs get the full amount and classes is a little discouraging.
Thanks.
Yeah that’s how it goes.
I have a different question. I recently picked up a new 53 and even though it only offers $995 credit to AMG drives, I cannot use it toward the Pro class. Does anyone know if they will make an exception? Or even whom I might try to contact and plead my case? The person that answered the phone there wasn’t very “helpful” with this other than explaining to me again the criteria.
I guess I’m a little bummed I found this out after the purchase (really wouldn’t have made a difference anyway) but the fact that EVs and some smaller AMGs get the full amount and classes is a little discouraging.
Thanks.
The rules and eligibility varies by model and is spelled out clearly at the link below. There's nobody you can plead your case to. In case of the E53 it's a partial credit that you can use towards PERFORMANCE or ADVANCED, but not PRO etc. It's what it is. Used to be that you could only use it towards PERFORMANCE, so they already expanded it.
They made me an exception in the past for timeframe but I can’t remember how I did it. Just trying to see if anyone had a similar experience and remembered what they did.
Thanks.
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