unusual shade of “Lime Squeeze.” The battle-worn warriors were missing taillights, had tacked-on bumpers and showed various other cuts and bruises. These cars had seen the trenches of Team O’Neil Rally School.
The interiors were modified, with five-point seatbelts and roll cages for increased strength. I was sud- denly distracted, imagining one of those shiny Fiestas wrapped around a tree, and a coworker’s words of farewell rang in my ears: “At least she didn’t have any dependents…”
STRAPPING IN Team O’Neil adheres to a 2:1 ratio of students to instructors. One stu- dent drives, with the instructor up front. The other student sits in back, and they swap after a few runs. Stu- dents also switch cars, so everyone gets a chance with each instructor. As the only one without a partner, I got plenty of one-on-one time.
After a few minutes fumbling with the harness, I was forced to turn to my first instructor, former New Hampshire State Trooper Mike Doucette, and confess that I had virtually zero experience driving a manual transmission, which was slightly problematic considering that none of the Fiestas had automatics. He shrugged and said he’d teach me in three simple steps: Slowly release the clutch until it begins to engage, then apply gas, then re- lease the clutch the rest of the way. To my surprise, I was able to start in
first gear — without stalling — for the first time, ever.
Our first course was the skid pad, a flat, gravel-studded ring. We were instructed to keep the car in sec- ond gear and maintain speed while circling the pad in order to under- stand the causes of understeer and oversteer skids. It was a serious les- son with practical implications, but it was extremely difficult to keep from grinning in sheer delight as I made my lurid green Fiesta slide around the skid pad.
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