Quote:
Originally Posted by Rutger
Next time you register for a trackday, register for a lower class. Force yourself to drive at least 30 minutes without using ANY brakes. Let go of the gas and let the car roll. What you will see and what really destroys lines and therefore your laptimes is braking.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rutger
Another advice to go faster and gain more confidence; (and be less exhausted)
Show up early and walk around the track. On the tarmac. You'll notice 74892374982 things that you've never seen when driving the track. Ask race control first before doing this.
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For awhile I was more focused on tooling around with my buddies on the track and going faster. I was working on so many other things that I wasn't as focused on this aspect until I opened myself up to other venues besides your typical 20 minute HPDE session. So good point!
As far as walking the tracks? I've run (jogging...not driving) all three tracks that I run on here in Texas. Yes, there is a TON out there you don't see. For example, at MSR Houston you see a green flat infield from the car. You don't see two big ugly drainage ditches that would probably f your car up really bad. One of which is well within 4 wheel off-range of a turn. I am very familiar with the 3 tracks (7 different configurations) and can drive them all in my head. I drive with reference points and exit strategies, I know how bad places to go off, I feel that I can adequately control the car and there are only 4 places on that I "survive" on in most occasions. I can drive in traffic (just HPDE traffic) and am aware of who is coming up behind me.
Again, Ross hit the nail on the head. It comes down to regaining focus. That's what I will work on in the near future, kind of a 2nd mental wind. I'm consistent in hitting my marks and I'm really close to the edge of the track for about 6-7 laps (~15 min). So then I'm off by maybe a half foot and then the first thing that happens is I start tagging some high curbs which has made for a couple of interesting moments. See the video below to see an example...this was the first turn that I really botched at about 25 minutes. I saved it but I would MUCH rather avoid having to do that...that is one of the fastest turns in Texas. I know what happened, my head wasn't connected to my limbs. So the Miata slowed me down going up the hill. I hit the same turn in point with the same steering input with less throttle input. I know, later turn in was the right answer to maintain speed and to setup the turn...which I was anticipating to be on the inside. The message didn't get delivered in time. Then the rest of the session was crap for me.
If this happened much earlier, I'm confident that I would have just kept going and be fine. I didn't maintain focus on that mistake either. It had trouble getting back into the rhythm.