3on8

I don't have any additional tips that haven't been covered already.

Indirectly though, the SCCA and NASA racing members on this board have shown me either by driving my car or through their in-car videos, that my stock C5 has capabilities that far exceed mine as a driver. For once, I'm not the least bit interested in getting the latest/greatest/fastest street car available.

johnny c

"Keep your eyes up"


Once you commit to a corner look to the next one.

Captain Buddha

More of a funny story than advice but I remember it like it was yesterday....

I remember these words very well from a track day in my old '13 Z06...I was doing pretty good out there and passing everyone, that was the day that everything "clicked" so to speak - and being the courteous/nice guy that I am I was waving a "thank you" wave to all the folks I was passing....my instructor, I will never forget his name - Scooter Glass - how can you forget that name??? LOL! Scooter yells out: "Great job passing...quit waving at them - they're pylons...you know what pylons are for??? They are for PASSING! Keep your hands on the wheel!"

LOL

Needless to say, we got along quite well! He definitely helped me get faster/better!

jaa1992

Thats why I tell em - look when we come down the hill to 10A do NOT brake until I tell you, then I want you to try to put your foot thru the floor when I say brake. Takes a couple laps before they get the idea their car has better brakes than they thought. They still lift at the top of the hill until they get a bunch of laps in.

I remind them - Look if you don't brake enough there is a nice run off straight ahead.

Scooter70

Stay in it.

Captain Buddha

What I do for students that are not getting the idea of threshold braking - I take them to the hot pit...get them up to 60 then tell them to hit the brakes like a deer jumped out of the woods and in front of them...they get it after that.

ERND IT

this may be very simple and elementary at best but the greatest advice I got as a track novice was from my very first track instructor, Chris Ingle - it was a visual reference relating to weight transfer in the car - he half filled a water bottle with water and laid it on its side... then asked 'what happens when you step on the throttle hard? - all the weight goes to the back wheels, right?... then what happens when you stab the brake hard? - all the weight transfers to the front wheels"... where/how the weight is being transferred has a direct effect on the car's (and tires) ability to go, stop, turn efficiently. Being able to internalize that visual helped me a lot when I was first learning to drive and helped me drive with smooth intention on the track because I learned to manage the throttle and braking with more thought to what effect my inputs would have on the car's balance and ability to do what I wanted. I still give this reference to my students today -

STANG KILLA SS

lol i still thank you wave. i find that there more likely to point me by, or point me by sooner, if they remember me saying thanks the prior session. also kinda shows your not a ***** that thinks your faster than everyone else
i do wait until a safe spot though. when i dont need both hands.

Captain Buddha

If it's safe, I still wave while racing when lapped traffic makes it easy to safely pass.

RichieRichZ06

I use this one a lot when riding with drivers. If you paid for the whole track, use it. It's much easier to get in the habit of finding the turn in point, hitting the apex and tracking all the way out when you're not driving 100%. I make them drive the perfect line on the warm up lap and cool down lap to help get in the habit.

RHEACERDAVE

A bit more advanced, as I had been doing time trials for 10 years, but my first Comp school at VIR, John Baucom was my instructor.
During 1st session he was behind me. Kept filling my side mirrors. I thought he was wanting to get by, but he stayed behind me.
In the paddock he told me he was showing me there was more track. Use it all.
As far as looking ahead, Dick Burleson was one of, if not the best Enduro rider in the world. Was talking to him when I raced bikes and he said he would look down the road far enough to see where the gap in the trees indicated where the road maybe going. Worked on tracks, too. Looking well past the turn. At Roebling, you can look over at the front straight as you go into 3 to see if you are gaining or loosing to cars behind you.

SouthernSon

You guys are great! This is the type of discussion I was hoping for. As we all know, some instructors aren't very talkative and assume a driver understands more than they might. Any novice to the sport that doesn't fully understand these points should list them, take them to the next track event and ask his/her instructor "What is meant by this?" It would be a great way to open up a discussion and learn the finer points of high performance driving.

Keep it coming folks. This discussion depends upon input from first time trackers to well experienced instructors. I appreciate you all.

Magister Ludi

I think the best lesson for me was not what was said, but what was done by the instructor at the wheel of my car.
Humbling, but instructive.

RHEACERDAVE

Several years ago instructing at Barber.
Student was a friend of mine. Turn 3 is a climbing blind corner leading to a downhill straight to a 180 turn 5-6.
I kept telling him to go faster out of 2, but he would feather going over the top of the hill.
DON'T LIFT!... unless flagger at top of hill is waving.
I could hear the whoose of relief when we came out the other side and were still on course.
"OK, do that again."
Next lap same thing carried all kinds of speed over the top, but there was another car drivers' right. Student kept his foot in it till we passed, but then still kept his foot down trying to get in front and move right to set up for the "racing line". No way.
He braked as hard as he could and we still ended up in the gravel trap.
"ok. When you overtake a car, you don't HAVE to get back on line to complete the corner." Hard braking, even though we were center track, and he could have made the corner. We were past. It was our corner to control.
Some of my favorite racing took place into 5 with me passing on the inside and then passing on the outside. Good fun. (White car with wing)



Point better to brake harder than carry too much speed and drive off into the gravel pits. No harm, no foul, but spent a good 5 minutes waiting for EV to come get us that we could have been on track.

Painrace

LEARN THE LINE!

Jim

C6WNC

Turn 5 Road Atlanta! I had an instructor early on that beat into my head that turn 5 not taken correctly on exit could send you into the wall exit left. He told me on exit at track out, under acceleration, stay straight until the nose settles and then move to the left to set up for turn 6. He explained to me that if you try to move over to quickly with a light front end you have the opportunity to put more steering input than needed. When the front settles you have increased grip and a good chance of swapping ends on the car an you will meet the left wall.

When I got back from the track a buddy told me he was going to RA (First time) with PCA, and I told him about what my instructor said about turn 5. I saw him two weeks later and guess what.....Yep turn 5. He said he moved over too soon with too much steering input and swapped ends. He ended up backing into the left wall. $16K damage to his GT3

FASTFATBOY

Best one I heard at a drivers meeting is "That Miata behind you didn't drop out of the sky, let him by."

FASTFATBOY

One I heard and I tell every student:

Don't try to impress me because you can't, don't try to scare me because I already am.

Captain Buddha

One that I hear the flaggers tell everyone during the drivers meeting:

"There are no winners on a track day, but there can be losers!"

"We randomly pick a winning car..."

LOL

Ludeaem

Go fast, takes chances. Grass is there to slow you down.

Kidding of course