damenh85

Hi everyone-

A friend just sent me these pictures he took from an HPDE I took my black Z06 to in Jan. at MSR Houston. I liked them and thought I'd share just in case someone else might like them too.

Damen













I guess his camera buffer was full after the last one here. Pass was completed though The Porsche pointed me by towards the inside as we were exiting the turn (which was reasonable), then proceeded to drive down the middle of the track (not what I expected). The exit of that turn takes you all the way to the wall of the front straight, so I was able to stay on the racing line and go by safely.

Z06cool

Uhh..I was just going to ask as I was looking at the PICs, he pointed you by to the left but you passed on the right???...

95jersey

wow, not liking that big concrete barrier at the end of a high speed turn...ARGH.

burners

Cool photos. I looks like you were closing the gap the entire time, entry, mid and exit.

damenh85

The concrete barrier is coming onto front straight after two low-ish speed turns- not to worry The photos are coming out of turn 17 (upper-left of the map):



Damen

bearnest

I agree with zo6. IF he was in the middle and you passed on the right you had the same
amount of room on the left. He pointed you by on the left and the next turn is to the
left so why did you pass on the right???

GeorgeZNJ

I love when someone is paying attention to their mirrors and quickly points you bye. The guys who don't, and grudgingly point you bye need to be taken out back and shot.

damenh85

He was more to the left of the track, so there was more room on the right. Also, the driver started his point-by in the middle of the turn, when I was already increasing the throttle; adjustments at this point would have been sketchy at best. By the time we had hit the track-out point of the turn, he was in the middle-left of the track and I was far right (where there was plenty of room) and closing quickly. At that point I had two options:

1) Lift off the throttle, move all the way across the racing surface to the left side of the track (which is off-line), then get back into the throttle and hope that he lifted so I could get around him before the braking point for turn 1, then move back across the track to the right side to set up for turn 1.

2) Stay in the throttle and pass him on the right (where there was plenty of room), staying on the racing line.

I certainly did appreciate the point-by and was glad the Porsche driver was watching his mirrors. If he had stayed on the racing line, I definitely would have passed on the left. However, even with a point-by, it is my responsibility to make the pass. I felt option 2 was the quicker and safer way to complete the pass, so I went with that one.

rfn026

That pass would get you a black flag with a lot of HPDE groups. Most of the groups I've run with require you to follow the point-by directions.

Richard Newton

damenh85

This was HPDE-4. From the NASA website:

"Group Four (HPDE-4)
Congratulations! You have made it, no passing restriction except those of good judgment and rules of the road etiquette. You and your peers are now experiencing the joys of doing it right in a relatively safe and controlled environment! You can now enjoy high performance driving at its finest. Those that wish to can petition to apply for a competition license."

I'm sure more here will argue that I was in the wrong by not following a point-by from a much slower and less experienced driver that was not following the racing line. I'm happy to have that discussion. I took the pass that would be completed in the least amount of time with the least amount of driver input changes on the side that had more room. I am certainly more concerned with the safety of myself, my car, and those of the other driver than I am with receiving a black flag for not following a point-by. If I were to be black flagged, I would have no problem discussing the situation with the official.

l8_apexer

Who would argue with you for making an unsafe pass?

Most of the car-to-car incidents in the HPDE's I've been to have been from drivers getting surprised, or not managing a situation with patience and good judgment.

The passing zone is in the straight, not the corner. Wait until you are in the passing zone before beginning to execute the pass. You're lucky you didn't spook the other driver-- I once got caught up in a 4 car car melee from exactly that type of situation (I was able to aviod everyone).

He was being courteous, and was going to let you by. It wouldn't have cost you anything to have waited a moment, and then begun the pass where he indicated for you to overtake.

You would surely get a black flag and a talking to by the chief instructor in this part of the world. An argument would get you tossed.

we've had way too many cars get tore up-- and yes, drivers killed from mistakes.

The risk outweighs the benefits. It is a driver EDUCATION event, not a GT2 race. (In even races, its a best practice to take a pass where the slower driver gives you the point-by).

damenh85

bearnest

Hey were not giving you a hard time,I have done the same thing before.This is what is great about this forum we can all learn things. Don't know if you have ever driven a
911 but these cars handle a lot different then vetts he might have been on the right
line for his car or trying a new line.

rfn026

When you get a black flag the best thing is to go full humble. Don't volunteer anything and just keep saying "Sorry".

Don't ask me how I learned that.

Richard Newton