[MightyBobo]

Originally Posted by N Camarolina

Good for you in going to your first track day (after the driving schools)!

VIR is my local track. I'd suggest that you be happy to have an instructor and not be so quick to drive solo. Instructors can provide a lot of useful tips and help, both to keep you safe and to help you increase your skills (and speed).

Aside from showing you the race line and breaking zones, and helping you learn trail braking and off-line passing/corner entry, they provide a second set of eyes that you will definitely need during your first couple of times on track.

Why do you need a second set of eyes in the beginning?

As the driver, you have several jobs to perform simultaneously:

1) Drive the racing line, hitting your marks consistently (turn in, apex, track-out)
2) Keep the car properly balanced and maintain control, sometimes by modifying your inputs
3) Be aware of where the other drivers are at all times, both in front AND behind you
4) Consistently spot every flag tower station so you know if there is any danger around the next bend (several turns are blind, and the flagmen are your only means of getting advanced warning of an obstruction or other safety issue on track)

In the beginning, you will be so focused on what's immediately in front of you and managing the car that you will have a hard time looking in your mirrors and looking for the towers. The instructor can be your second set of eyes to catch the things you miss. You'll eventually learn to manage all these tasks, but in the beginning, it can feel overwhelming. So be thankful for instructors!

All this. Save yourself time and pain of learning the track by yourself as a Novice (especially learning bad habits and repeating them), and take the instructor.