When you get that time machine working, make sure you take this, too:
Photography by David S. Wallens
If only I could go back 30 years.
Once my time machine gets finished, as soon as I’m done collecting Infinity Stones and buying Apple stock, I’d head to whatever track a younger, likely mulleted me is circling and share the following driving tips. They would have gotten me up to speed sooner.
• The car is always better than you. Let it do the hard work.
Fast laps aren’t so much about forcing things to happen as they are about operating as close to the ultimate potential of the machinery as possible. Trying to exceed the car’s innate ability is just going to slow it down and tire you out.
• Don’t work so hard.
As a follow-up to the previous tip, the lightest possible touch is always the best. You want to do the least amount of work possible to achieve your goal. This not only keeps you fresh as a driver, but, again, you end up not trying to do something the car doesn’t want to or can’t do. Relax your shoulders and especially your hands. Clenched hands and stiff forearms have no feel, and feel is important.
• Braking is more important than you think.
Regardless of what you’re driving, your brakes are the most effective speed-changing device on your car. They deserve respect. The brakes are also nearly as important as the steering wheel for managing weight transfer and load on the tires. Particularly important and underappreciated is brake release and how it affects corner entry and even mid-corner speed. So don’t skimp on learning and practicing high-level braking techniques.
• Get comfortable.
You can’t properly operate a race car unless you’re properly fitted to that race car. Spend the extra time getting properly fitted so you can go about the business of driving without worrying about adapting yourself physically to the car. Make seat bolsters and pedal extensions; adjust seat mounts; install wheel spacers; just do whatever it takes. Every sport requires an athlete to be in their ideal position to address their task, and motorsport is no different.
• You can never look far enough ahead.
Starting out in autocross gave me pretty good car control skills and taught me that looking ahead was important. But looking ahead in an autocross means something different than looking ahead on a track, so you have to learn to recalibrate that look-ahead window for the situation. The farther you look ahead, the more everything slows down. There will be fewer surprises and seemingly more time to react to them when they do occur.
• Take every opportunity to be coached.
Your driving skills may grow to the point where they’re seemingly equivalent to those of the many excellent instructors and coaches in our sport. That doesn’t mean you won’t still have an exceptional amount to learn from them. Any time someone wants to provide an outside perspective or evaluation, let them. There’s always more to be learned–or at least validated.
When you get that time machine working, make sure you take this, too:
friction circle, bitches!
1. Put down the cell phone.
2. Keep right except to pass.
3. Look where you want the car to go! (Credit to Bertil Roos)
You'd be surprised how many people think that the brakes are for slowing down the car"
Mario Andretti
I'm a big fan of left foot braking for yaw control.
=====
And while we're quoting famous people and thinking about time machines...
Albert Einstein, obsessed with gravity, was once asked: "What do you think is the most powerful force in the universe?"
Compound interest.
These are not fundamentals, they are tips. Fundamentals are the core structure of process, how you do something with clear objectives and report cards. Fundamentals are looped, meaning they reconcile and build upon each other. The fundamentals for track driving are:
- Car placement
- Vision and Focus
- Motor Controls
- Brake Adjustability
- Turn in Point/Turn in Rate
- Body Position
Ken Hill
Focus on driving and seat time before you do any mods.
Choose a reliable, low cost platform with good support.
But also... Choose a fun and rewarding platform. Having fun trumps winning. Isn't that why we're here in the first place?
Read rule books first!
The "best driver" is definitely not always the fastest driver or the driver who wins. Decide early whether you are committed to out prepping and out spending competitors, or whether executing to your own personal best is sufficient reward.
To younger me: Pick a car and stick with car. QUIT SELLING AND REBUILDING. The fun is driving and tinkering, not car shopping and building you idiot.
Matt Huffman said:Having fun trumps winning.
That's a big life lesson that can't be repeated enough.
It is preferable to sacrifice a small gain in one corner if it gives you a much larger gain in the next.
And don't accelerate so damn early.
Every car mod can be viewed through the lens of whether it helps or hurts the driver's ability to execute the task of driving the car at its limits.
Displaying 1-10 of 43 commentsView all comments on the GRM forums
You'll need to log in to post.
