Hyperdrive at VIR
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 3,475
Likes: 10
From: Wake Forest NC
Hyperdrive at VIR
For those C5 fans who enjoy an occasional hyperdrive, my recent experience at VIR, including video, can be seen here.
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Team Owner
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 22,703
Likes: 798
From: Hillsborough NC
NC Events Coordinator
That's about the most fun you can have with your pants on. 
I just watched your video twice. I couldn't make out much of what you're instructor was saying, but if you don't mind, I'll throw in my two cents.
DISCLAIMER: I'm only a couple Hyperdrives and 3 DEs ahead of you, so I'm no instructor. I know what I should be doing, but can't always do it.
Turn 1: You turn in a little early. 1 is a decreasing-radius turn and you have to smooth it out by starting out a little wider then apexing at what at first appears to be a normal apex; it's not. I make the same mistake there and carry too much speed. I've done a few unintended four-wheel drifts there.
Turn 2: Not much of a turn, but the set-up for 3 is critical. I was taught to aim straight at the light pole, but now I'm arcing wider to the right, hugging the grass to get as wide an entry into 3 as possible. I haven't really developed a good feel yet for how much or when I should be braking before entering 3, a work in progress.
Turn 3: You are a little abrupt with the wheel there and not wide enough on entry and exit. I could see your instructor's hands pointing to the curbing on the right. Your right-side tires should be on it. Smoothness is important here too. I have a lot to learn there too.
Turn 4: One of the hardest turns on the course for me. This is a "throw-away" turn because you're more worried about exit speed than the fastest line through it. This requires a wide entry and late apex so you can get on the gas as early as possible for that little straight. I don't think I've ever got it entirely right. You were all over the place here which is to be expected. Again, apex past where you think you should. (That said, at the ALMS race a few weeks ago those guys were apexing way earlier than I could imagine. Maybe it has a lot to do with aero downforce and much stickier tires).
Turn 5/5a: You can drive 5 very deep. Stay out wide for a slightly late apex which will set you up for a straighter shot at 5a. Stay out until you're past the curbing on the left. In my video you can see the tire marks. The widest of those might be too wide, but I'm often not wide enough there either.
Turn 6: You got better and better through here. Don't be afraid to go high up on the curbing. The straight that follows is deceptively fast. Stay as far right as you can to set up for the esses.
Turns 7-8-9 are all rhythm. The more you go through them, the faster you get. I'm not good enough yet that I just "know" where to turn the wheel. I have a piece of tape at 12:00 on my steering wheel and I've experimented with how much wheel I use and I just saw the wheel back and forth in a one potato-two potato rhythm to those points and I get through OK. Don't be afraid to go well up on the curbs.
Turn 10: You got better and better through here each lap. The apex seems early, but you have a lot more room to the right than you think. Use all of it. I did a ride-along in a C5Z with an instructor who dabbed the brakes with the left foot before entering the turn and then smoothly rolled on the gas just as he got past the apex.
Turn 11-12 "Oak Tree" (RIP): This is really three turns. Look at the map:
You were invariably too wide entering 11 and then stayed too close to the inside of the turn which made the entrance to 12 too sharp and you over-rotated the car or went up on the gators because you artificially made the exit from 12 too tight.
If you look at the map, the mystery turn is really between 11 and 12, by the last 'e' in "Oak Tree." You need to apex 11 normally and aim for that spot. At many DEs they put a cone there. Go all the way out to the edge of the track and start to turn in, slowing all the way. Then apex 12 normally. I am very inconsistent through here. I need that damn cone! When it's not there I'm screwed.
Turn 14: This is a tricky sequence. 14 is fairly fast. There is also a lot of braking going on because you've got to lose another 25-30 mph to get through the right-hand bend at Roller Coaster. This is another rhythm turn where it helps to be smooth.
Turn 15: Exiting Roller Coaster, stay out wide right on the curbing until it ends then drive almost straight at 15. Apex early and go as high on the curbing as you can. It's nice and smooth. If you're carrying too much speed, you can dab the brakes slightly prior to the curbing on the left. This whole sequence is difficult to learn and I know I'm not 100% comfortable there yet.
Hogpen and 16: There is plenty of track outside of the exits to these turns. Use all the road when exiting these turns. Also, there is a dip in the track exiting 16 where the car is down on its springs and you can put a lot of power down without worrying about the back end coming around.
This was the last session on the Sunday of my third full DE in January. My car is a C5 coupe like yours. I have a built motor and Z06 shocks and sways, otherwise stock. The track was mostly dry that day, but track temp was only about 30 degrees. I was on older street tires (BFG KDW2s) and new street pads (Hawk HP+). The tires were like bricks all day. I held back a lot in the straights because I don't have enough brake and tire for the speeds I could be going. The sun angle was annoying at times as you can see. My instructor's communicator broke earlier in the day so we were just yelling to one another.
Here's the way it's supposed to be done:
It looks like someone hit the FF button.
I just watched your video twice. I couldn't make out much of what you're instructor was saying, but if you don't mind, I'll throw in my two cents.
DISCLAIMER: I'm only a couple Hyperdrives and 3 DEs ahead of you, so I'm no instructor. I know what I should be doing, but can't always do it.
Turn 1: You turn in a little early. 1 is a decreasing-radius turn and you have to smooth it out by starting out a little wider then apexing at what at first appears to be a normal apex; it's not. I make the same mistake there and carry too much speed. I've done a few unintended four-wheel drifts there.
Turn 2: Not much of a turn, but the set-up for 3 is critical. I was taught to aim straight at the light pole, but now I'm arcing wider to the right, hugging the grass to get as wide an entry into 3 as possible. I haven't really developed a good feel yet for how much or when I should be braking before entering 3, a work in progress.
Turn 3: You are a little abrupt with the wheel there and not wide enough on entry and exit. I could see your instructor's hands pointing to the curbing on the right. Your right-side tires should be on it. Smoothness is important here too. I have a lot to learn there too.
Turn 4: One of the hardest turns on the course for me. This is a "throw-away" turn because you're more worried about exit speed than the fastest line through it. This requires a wide entry and late apex so you can get on the gas as early as possible for that little straight. I don't think I've ever got it entirely right. You were all over the place here which is to be expected. Again, apex past where you think you should. (That said, at the ALMS race a few weeks ago those guys were apexing way earlier than I could imagine. Maybe it has a lot to do with aero downforce and much stickier tires).
Turn 5/5a: You can drive 5 very deep. Stay out wide for a slightly late apex which will set you up for a straighter shot at 5a. Stay out until you're past the curbing on the left. In my video you can see the tire marks. The widest of those might be too wide, but I'm often not wide enough there either.
Turn 6: You got better and better through here. Don't be afraid to go high up on the curbing. The straight that follows is deceptively fast. Stay as far right as you can to set up for the esses.
Turns 7-8-9 are all rhythm. The more you go through them, the faster you get. I'm not good enough yet that I just "know" where to turn the wheel. I have a piece of tape at 12:00 on my steering wheel and I've experimented with how much wheel I use and I just saw the wheel back and forth in a one potato-two potato rhythm to those points and I get through OK. Don't be afraid to go well up on the curbs.
Turn 10: You got better and better through here each lap. The apex seems early, but you have a lot more room to the right than you think. Use all of it. I did a ride-along in a C5Z with an instructor who dabbed the brakes with the left foot before entering the turn and then smoothly rolled on the gas just as he got past the apex.
Turn 11-12 "Oak Tree" (RIP): This is really three turns. Look at the map:
You were invariably too wide entering 11 and then stayed too close to the inside of the turn which made the entrance to 12 too sharp and you over-rotated the car or went up on the gators because you artificially made the exit from 12 too tight.
If you look at the map, the mystery turn is really between 11 and 12, by the last 'e' in "Oak Tree." You need to apex 11 normally and aim for that spot. At many DEs they put a cone there. Go all the way out to the edge of the track and start to turn in, slowing all the way. Then apex 12 normally. I am very inconsistent through here. I need that damn cone! When it's not there I'm screwed.
Turn 14: This is a tricky sequence. 14 is fairly fast. There is also a lot of braking going on because you've got to lose another 25-30 mph to get through the right-hand bend at Roller Coaster. This is another rhythm turn where it helps to be smooth.
Turn 15: Exiting Roller Coaster, stay out wide right on the curbing until it ends then drive almost straight at 15. Apex early and go as high on the curbing as you can. It's nice and smooth. If you're carrying too much speed, you can dab the brakes slightly prior to the curbing on the left. This whole sequence is difficult to learn and I know I'm not 100% comfortable there yet.
Hogpen and 16: There is plenty of track outside of the exits to these turns. Use all the road when exiting these turns. Also, there is a dip in the track exiting 16 where the car is down on its springs and you can put a lot of power down without worrying about the back end coming around.
This was the last session on the Sunday of my third full DE in January. My car is a C5 coupe like yours. I have a built motor and Z06 shocks and sways, otherwise stock. The track was mostly dry that day, but track temp was only about 30 degrees. I was on older street tires (BFG KDW2s) and new street pads (Hawk HP+). The tires were like bricks all day. I held back a lot in the straights because I don't have enough brake and tire for the speeds I could be going. The sun angle was annoying at times as you can see. My instructor's communicator broke earlier in the day so we were just yelling to one another.
Here's the way it's supposed to be done:
It looks like someone hit the FF button.
Last edited by jcsperson; Oct 20, 2013 at 05:27 PM.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 3,475
Likes: 10
From: Wake Forest NC
Thanks for the analysis – I’m sure I, as well as others, can benefit greatly from it.
No matter how prepared I think I am before an event, when I’m actually on the road I feel overloaded with information – from the instructor, the traffic, feedback from my (lack of) skills, even the weather in this case. I suppose that’s natural and with time that feeling will diminish and I can concentrate more on learning the turn-by-turn details.
That’s why analyses such as yours are valuable because I can take the advice and run over my videos to see the recommendations at speed, in slow motion, in reverse, frame by frame, all at my convenience.
Turn 4 has always been a problem for me. I’ve run off the road more times than I care to mention at that turn. On this event, I wanted to concentrate on braking and smoothness, and instead I feel I’ve almost created a video on how NOT to tackle VIR! But sharing such a video begets feedback such as yours, and for that I am grateful. Thanks again for taking the time to look at it and provide feedback.
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No matter how prepared I think I am before an event, when I’m actually on the road I feel overloaded with information – from the instructor, the traffic, feedback from my (lack of) skills, even the weather in this case. I suppose that’s natural and with time that feeling will diminish and I can concentrate more on learning the turn-by-turn details.
That’s why analyses such as yours are valuable because I can take the advice and run over my videos to see the recommendations at speed, in slow motion, in reverse, frame by frame, all at my convenience.
Turn 4 has always been a problem for me. I’ve run off the road more times than I care to mention at that turn. On this event, I wanted to concentrate on braking and smoothness, and instead I feel I’ve almost created a video on how NOT to tackle VIR! But sharing such a video begets feedback such as yours, and for that I am grateful. Thanks again for taking the time to look at it and provide feedback.
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