I just got back from the Academy yesterday. It was an awesome experience and highly recommend it. It is a shame it will not be available once these cars are discontinued. I guess the 350GT will have to be the next one, the instructor joked about an Edge ST course too.
I showed up a day early and hung out around the complex. I watched some of the RS autocross stuff, some off-road racing, some of the Octane Academy afternoon track session, and did some karting. The karting was a little underwhelming but got me a little more prepped for the next day. My only high-speed cornering/racing experience is virtual as a long time Gran Turismo player, and some windy roads where I live.
We ran the track stuff in the morning. We started in the class room, then a van ride around the east track to get acquainted, then we did lead follow in the Focus and Fiesta, then I got to go without an instructor first, then an instructor got in and coached me through some laps. The instructor pretty much said I was braking to late, and that the tires should just "moan" and not squeal so much in corners, but I think they were just trying to save their tires and brakes a little. I think I had the lines down fairly well (except the third corner from the straight), and kept the speed up in the Fiesta. Then we got to ride with the instructor who showed me how hard to really brake and a little about how to get the back end to come around by lifting the throttle in a corner. You pretty much stay in the 3rd the whole track, there are a couple straights I would hit the rev limiter long enough before a braking zone to want to shift to 4th briefly.
I got a chance to drive the Focus and am glad I bought the Fiesta. Other than the shifter being higher and a little tighter and the extra power, I felt the Fiesta was just a lot more fun, nimble, agile, tight, etc. The Focus just felt more loose in general, the seats didn't hug me as much, the suspension and steering weren't as tight, etc. But it definitely got on it a lot faster out of the corners which was a nice feeling. But I kind of like to think of myself as a purest anyway and want to get the most efficient line and carry the most speed as possible and not rely on the additional power anyway.
I bought the insurance and was kind of glad I had it, I am risk averse and it helped my piece of mind. The one time I really came loose out of a corner I had images running through my head of needing it. I felt I was pushing pretty hard and had some times I wasn't sure I would be able to stay off the gravel. There was plenty of evidence of people losing control on the track, but I think only one person in our group went off road. I also got a little close to a bumper under braking during the lead follow. My fastest time around the track was somewhere around 2:04. Below two minutes would be ideal for sure in a Fiesta. I didn't look at the tires, but somebody said they were the all-seasons and not the summer tires. The Fiestas had wilwood brake kits, and most likely a RMM, everything else felt pretty stock minus the roll cage and hydraulic e-brake handle sticking up next to the steering wheel.
After lunch, the second half of the day was training on the autocross course, including the figure 8, 180 turn, and 90 degree parking slide in the autocross section, then onto practice laps on the full course, and one timed lap.
I am pretty sure I got the fastest time in the autocross portion of the day with a 53.454. The next closest was 54.2 something. However, I screwed up the last slide into the parking box maneuver and only got two wheels in the box. I think I had a pretty good run minus that, except I came in to hot on the first set of barrels on the figure 8 section and had all the traction control systems working to make that turn.
The last thing I did was the skidcar which was fun and I learned a little, but I still will probably just try to avoid road conditions that lead to severe understeer or oversteer.
I had a great time, I can't wait for my next opportunity for some track time.