[cmartin]

Great thread guys, many good points. I had to think about my track skills a little after reading through this post. I only have ~10 days under my belt, so I have tons to learn. I think it took me at least 2 events to figure out the basics. I wouldnt worry too much about not knowing what's going on, it will come. Driving is so much fun I dont have to be perfect in a corner, just safe and having fun.

I had a great event with Ralf in the right seat last fall, what a blast. He had me work on precise position, getting a set, in the corners, what a blast. Another instructor had me 'drift' through 5, fun fun fun! My point it, dont take things to seriously, it's all about having fun.

Tony - Good point about the rennlist threads. You have to weed through loads of crap, but there is a lot of great info/experience if you are willing to wade through it.

Signed,

Wannabe track junkie

[Don Wohlfarth]

Kurt posted:
"If your car can handle the upset of driving on the curbs then for the most part you could have loadded it up some more and not hit them in the first place. With that said there are some that beg to be driven over such as top of T3 and in the climbing esses at VIR. All depends on your car and suspention."
Don posted:
"CAUTION!!! The climbing ess's at VIR are linked turns but is NOT a place to try jumping curbs."
A well set up car driven by a very experienced driver can jump any curb he wants as he has the skills necessary to intuitively make any adjustments in a split second when the car becomes unbalanced.
A driver with less than 40-50 track days time will be more productive in trying to focus on what his car is telling him thru the seat of his pants.
This board is full of comments from drivers that are worn out after 80-90 minutes of track time. Work on entry speed at turn in, on the power before the apex, unwind the steering, go to track out, learn to be smooth.

[rs911t]

Don't forget paint is slippery when wet ...

I'm naughty with curbs. Something to work on this year. Seems I
tend to "engage" most of those mentioned above as STAY OFF (4,6,10
@ SP and the Esses @ VIR).

Funny thing, though. This must be a common problem being so well known ...

John, Kurt, Don, Tony, et. al.: it's really great having you engage in this
type of discussion on the forum. It'd be a rare moment to find you all
together in one spot in the paddock at an event. Thanks.

[Charlie Stylianos]

John, Kurt, Don, Tony, et. al.: it's really great having you engage in this
type of discussion on the forum. It'd be a rare moment to find you all
together in one spot in the paddock at an event. Thanks.

I agree. Great discussion guys. Gives us something to think about and ingest off track in preparation for our next event.

Us greenies need all the help we can get

[APKhaos]

something to think about and ingest off track

Its a fact that students, particularly early students, can make a lot of progress off the track by 'processing' the experiences and information from their on-track time. This is often really obvious between day 1 and day 2 of an event. I've seen drivers improve dramatically between the last run on Saturday and the first run on Sunday.

The chance to reflect and process information without the stress of actually driving the car is the key to this phenomenon. It really works!

Or.... maybe its the beer consumed overnight? Damn, that would blow this theory!

[JBryant]

I have learned from this board the importance of saftey issues like checking tires, breaks, engine compartment etc. before going out on the track (everytime) . When you see all the things that can go wrong it helps to remind you what's important going into turn 1 at 120+.
I used to take for granted my lug nuts would be tight, etc. Not any more.

Va Steve-
I am never afraid to ask a stupid question (and I ask alot!). The guys on the board always help out (just dont let them drop your engine), without passing judgement.

Jim

[VaSteve]

Originally Posted by JBryant

Va Steve-
I am never afraid to ask a stupid question (and I ask alot!). The guys on the board always help out (just dont let them drop your engine), without passing judgement.

Jim

You guys can help me drop my engine time*




*if needs it.

[VaSteve]

Originally Posted by APKhaos

A better starting point might be to read a few basic books on performance driving. Vic Elford's Porsche High Performance Driving Handbook is one of my faves, and Skip Barber school's Going Faster covers just about everything. Read these, and you will have a good basic knowledge before you get too deep into the track talk.

I picked up Vic's book Saturday when I got home, by coincidence.
i have sat down to read it cover to cover, but once I get past the anecdotes, it's got a lot of good information.

[type954]

did someone say "engine drop"?

[Vicegrip]

Instructor hat on... I was in no way stating that the curbs in the climbing esses should be driven on. I was only stating that many drive on them. Don is dead on, you can clip them but you better be good at the micro corrections or you will be looking back down hill in a snap. One in particular will kick the back end out a little.

My right seat rule of thumb is, while learning, to save the gators for accuracy error corrections. I also think that we always are learning.

I.H off.

If you want to see smooth driving watch the last 5 min of the Homestead race.