Well, another Marque Madness is in the books. We had sun (and lots of it), heat, and humidity – in other words, a fairly typical two June days in Southern Virginia. We also had a great group of experienced instructors, and the crew at VIR put on another highly professional show both days.

Chief Instructor, Rafael Garces, made sure the run groups were right, and kept things on schedule. What didn't go on schedule was registration (we really missed you, Joe), but we finally got things sorted out with help from GWS Driving Chair, Mike Wirt, and all-round good guy, Greg Knoll, who pitched in to speed up the process.

After a mandatory drivers meeting, we got down to business, with the more experienced drivers (red and blue groups) heading out onto the track while the novices and less experienced drivers (green and white groups) got some quality classroom time with an instructor who provided important information on aspects of performance driving for the students to work on over the next two days. It's safe to say the classroom and in-car instruction was particularly effective, as this was one of the most trouble-free events ever. That's not to say there weren't problems – there were a couple mechanical problems (tow required), and very few minor "agricultural" excursions.

It was obvious from the table talk during lunch (at the delightfully cool and breezy) concession stand area located under the deck of the Pagoda Inn, and at the traditional Thursday buffet dinner, that the students (and instructors) were having a good time.

The students were clearly in the spirit of things. Point bys for passing were common so there were very few "trains" (one slower driver holding up several faster drivers). And you could count the number of black flag infractions (you're doing something we don't like, so come in and talk to us) on the fingers of one hand. That's not to say that the black flag wasn't seen, because it was used to clear the track a couple of times to let the VIR crews retrieve cars that had broken down on the track (one with a catastrophic engine failure that required lots of kitty litter). But everyone affected by these events had time added to another session to make up for the lost laps.

Day two was much the same as day one only with fewer classroom sessions in the afternoon. The run order was reversed, and the red and blue groups started out with a classroom session. By the end of the first afternoon sessions, the crowd had begun to thin as students and instructors started packing up for the trip home. That meant the last sessions were for combined run groups with drivers from the green and white groups on the course together followed by drivers from the red and blue groups together in a session. Since there were very few interested in running late in the afternoon, the track was closed by 4:30, leaving the sweaty and tired participants time to clean up. A group of those who were staying overnight got together in the Oak Tree Tavern (now under new management), where we were joined by some folks who had just come in for the Mazda Drivers weekend event. Good food, and good conversation – the perfect way to end an event.

It was a great event, with both familiar and new faces, and that's the reason we keep coming to VIR for this event – it's just one of the nicest events and a perfect way to get to know and enjoy a world class venue like VIR.

While this year's event is over, we're already planning ahead for 2011. Be sure to keep your calendar open for the 9th and 10th or the 16th and 17th of June 2011. We'll announce on the GWS web site when the track has confirmed the dates for next year's event.