Quote:
Originally Posted by Azeka1
- Install proper safety equipment. Roll bar, seats, belts and HANS. Doing so will give you more confidence and keep you and your instructor safe.
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This overkill for HPDE in a modern designed car. What keeps instructors safe is students who check their ego at the gate, listen to their instructors, and keep their cars in top mechanical condition.
You can put in the roll bar to make your car safer at the track (assuming you put in track seats and harnesses), but it'll be at the expense of safety on the street. Don't believe me? Hit your head against a steel pipe with and without a helmet on. You can and will contact the roll bar in a crash. No question. Soft foam insulation is insufficient to protect you. You need to install the harder padding (feels like no padding at all until you smack it in a crash).
OP: Setting goals is important, but I'd suggest you focus more on tangible driving skill goals, not getting to the next run group. Your run group doesn't define you, your driving skill does.
Azeka1 has sound advice about reading Ross Bentley and investing in the driver. The seat to steering wheel interface is the weakest link in the chain.
Logging tire pressures, and other setup info is a good habit to get into, as well as writing notes about the track on a track map. Turn in points, visual references, what gear you're in, where you start braking, etc. are all things to put on that map.