How I learn, progress, and what I do to go faster (Advice from Senior drivers)

colin_koehler

colin_koehler

Great SCOTT!
I wanted to start a thread for Novices and Senior drivers alike to talk about what each of us do to get better at racing. And by "better" I don't just mean faster but more aware, more consistent, safer, etc.

Here are just a few things I do and have done to get better.

  • I read and re-read the Speed Secrets books
  • I never go out on track without a plan. "What corner do I need to focus on?" "What technique do I need to improve on..Heal/toe, left foot brake, trail-braking." Basically, never waste track time.
  • Play Forza 3. You might think I'm kidding... right up until I pass you! I play Forza with other very fast guys in the game and we do spec races (Spec E30, Spec FWD, Spec Miata) so the racing is very similar to what we do in real life and we turn all assists off and all damage on. This has taught me how to maximize each and every lap from a good launch to drafting to race strategy. It didn't really help me drive my CRX faster but it made me A LOT more comfortable in traffic and it taught me how to strategize and race close, safely. This is a great off-season way to keep from getting the non-racing blues
  • While it seems like I talk fast, I listen even faster. When I'm around racers with a lot more experience than myself I listen whenever they have advice. I then try to apply under safe conditions. I have found that some advice doesn't apply and I don't use it but that is very rarely the case (usually if it's specific to RWD vs. my FWD car).

Last but not least and I'm embarrassed to admit it:
  • I had to have Slip-Angle explained to me several times but once I fully understood and how it applies to going fast I was more than a second faster at every track. The way it is explained in the speed secrets books is what did it for me. Often times as I'm sliding through a corner I'm thinking, "Is that 6 degrees or 8 degrees?"



What advice do you have?

rookies
What questions do you have?
 
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im the opposite when first getting on track I dont have a plan to work on anything until ive made a few laps then i work on the corner i feel the worst on or farthest from the "line" like in the movie "driven" where "The Line" shows its self infront and he starts humming.
 
Have a goal--and stick to it the whole way through a race. If the goal is simply to stay on the track in mucky conditions cause all you have to do is finish, don't go after the guy in another class simply cause he's there--stick to the goal.

Avoid the red haze.
 
+1 with a plan. It's too easy to become distracted with something irrelevant while on track if you don't have a specific goal in mind for that session.

Read the rule book - the whole book, not just your class section. Sounds obvious, but I think you may be surprised how many of your competitors may have missed a section or two!

Constantly be checking the car and your safety equipment. Create a checklist. Mine is broken down into three sections: General pre-race prep (check oil, brakes, shocks, etc); Pre-pregrid Departure (helmet, gloves, etc.), and 5-minute Warning (pull pin on fire bottle, start camera, etc.). Even after using that for five seasons and most things are natural to me now, I still use a fresh check sheet for every time the car goes on track. It makes for a much less stressfull time preparing the car for the next on-track event.

As for going fast? Learn from those around you and those who are faster. Watch their online videos if possible. (Of course, this works well in a class like PRO3 where the cars are similar...) Ask questions! There's a HUGE knowlege base around the paddock and it would be a shame to not tap into that! Here's something else to think about: talk with the turn workers at the Saturday BBQ. They spend all day watching us race through the same corner and I've received some valuable hints from those who watch over us (and our competition!)
 
after thinking more about going faster, ive come to an epiphany that at the tracks i know really well i look for the corner/corners that hurt me the most . and tracks i dont know that well ill focus on the most important corners first and then work backward.
I also play forza 2 and 3 with wheels any driving simulator at arcades and gokart bi monthly. and every time im on the road i practice racecraft looking ahead and trying to out manuver the cars around me to get to where im going sooner with out weaving in and out of lanes and with out speeding. got to play the traffic game and who looks like the will be turning is there a bus up there , are there people on the corner that lane might slow down or stop if one person turns right and has to wait for people in the cross walk.
 
its easy at the speed limit basically just stay in the slow lane. its much more difficult at 5 over because you now have people faster and slower then you and 97% dont look ahead or plan for escape routes
 
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