COTA Coaching with Dave Scott
02-12-2014, 04:30 PM
#1
COTA Coaching with Dave Scott
I'd like to post a quick report about my experience with Dave Scott at COTA this past weekend. First a little background:
I am currently driving a 2007 GT3 that I got back in July 2013. I ran the car quite a bit between then and now and did some good work on it. I have a fairly detailed description of its mods with some before/after commentary if anybody is interested.
I had to get a partial shoulder replacement (right side) back on Nov 7, 2013 due to arthritis. The shoulder had been giving me problems for a couple years and I eventually got fed up with it. I was told prior to surgery that I would be roughly back to normal 3 months or so after the surgery. I wanted to do an event that sort of commemorated the shoulder being fixed (finally). Originally I decided to do the DE at Sebring during the Club Race weekend but when the MVP COTA event came up I decided to do that instead, mainly because I have run Sebring many times and COTA only once. Plus Austin is about half as far from Denver.
By the time I arrived at COTA was shoulder was decent (it looks like it is going to take much longer than 3 months to get it right) but I had real concerns about shifting into 5th gear. I did a bunch of driving at my local tracks in January but they do not require 5th gear. On my first outing after surgery on Jan 1, I could barely shift into 3rd gear but my shoulder improved enough over the month that 3rd gear was not going to be a problem at COTA.
Late last year I decided to get some coaching after determining that I was learning a lot of new stuff driving the GT3. Prior to the GT3, I had raced an assortment of Cups and RSRs and various other full race cars. I was surprised that I felt like I still had a great deal of room to improve and that got me thinking about coaching. Dave and I tried to get together pre-surgery but we could not make it happen to scheduling and weather. Having him coach me at COTA made perfect sense since it is his home track and it would be easy for everyone.
After our first session Dave talked to me about how I was placing the car for the entries to Turns 3 and 19. He had me make a couple of adjustments to where I was on the track and try to get the car more settled and ready to turn in smoothly to these corners. This was a big help because it made me realize that I don't think much about how I place the car and whether it is really ready to turn in and enter the corner in a controlled fashion. My tendency was just to deal with what I had and make the best of it. The GT3 takes forever (compared to an RSR for instance) to get settled down again after a corner and I had just been throwing the car into the following corner anyway and dealing with the mess. This is a good skill to have, but it is maybe not as fast as being "organized" as you turn the car in.
Once I had a clear picture in my mind of how I wanted the car placed for Turn 3 and 19, I could then start working again on maximizing 2 and 18 without screwing up the entry to 3 and 19. Initially I was a bit slower in 2 and 18, but eventually I reached a good compromise and dropped my best lap from a 2:25.3 to a 2:24.6.
We also discussed my approach to the 13-15 stadium complex. Dave asked that I cool it a little and not slide the car thru 13 and 14, and that I brake earlier for 15 in order to get a better run out of 15. I wound up trying a bunch of different approaches here throughout the weekend and I will have to study data more to figure out what was best. I don't think I ever braked quite early enough for 15 to get the best possible run out of there.
After the 1st session I settled on a technique for getting into 5th gear that was not too painful and minimized the chance of a money shift. I stuck with this all weekend even though it was very slow.
Dave also had me experiment with braking slightly early for the 2nd gear corners. This is really tough for me because I feel like braking early at all is an invitation to pass. I found that a tough habit to break. There is a bit of time to be gained there though. He also saw I was braking too early for turn 12 and helped me fix that. I got that brake zone nicely maximized by the end of the weekend, and could maintain a very aggressive entry even with really late braking.
I have a tendency to apex pretty early that I think comes from driving cars that have a lot of grip and not that much power. The GT3 does not have grip due to the very durable NT-01 tires and it does have a very good engine. I think I could have picked up another few tenths had I perfected a later apex technique in 1, 11, 12, 15, and 20. The car had a problem with rear grip (it has stock shocks and they don't seem to handle the curb hit very well) as it dropped down off the apex curb so it was very difficult to accelerate away properly.
I knew going in that I was not likely to pick up multiple seconds. I have been taking this sport very seriously for a long time and the learning curve has been pretty flat for the past decade. Still though, Dave's second opinion was helpful and now I feel like I have some new stuff to build upon, and I feel like I can still continue to chip away at slow and steady improvement.
Chris Cervelli
I am currently driving a 2007 GT3 that I got back in July 2013. I ran the car quite a bit between then and now and did some good work on it. I have a fairly detailed description of its mods with some before/after commentary if anybody is interested.
I had to get a partial shoulder replacement (right side) back on Nov 7, 2013 due to arthritis. The shoulder had been giving me problems for a couple years and I eventually got fed up with it. I was told prior to surgery that I would be roughly back to normal 3 months or so after the surgery. I wanted to do an event that sort of commemorated the shoulder being fixed (finally). Originally I decided to do the DE at Sebring during the Club Race weekend but when the MVP COTA event came up I decided to do that instead, mainly because I have run Sebring many times and COTA only once. Plus Austin is about half as far from Denver.
By the time I arrived at COTA was shoulder was decent (it looks like it is going to take much longer than 3 months to get it right) but I had real concerns about shifting into 5th gear. I did a bunch of driving at my local tracks in January but they do not require 5th gear. On my first outing after surgery on Jan 1, I could barely shift into 3rd gear but my shoulder improved enough over the month that 3rd gear was not going to be a problem at COTA.
Late last year I decided to get some coaching after determining that I was learning a lot of new stuff driving the GT3. Prior to the GT3, I had raced an assortment of Cups and RSRs and various other full race cars. I was surprised that I felt like I still had a great deal of room to improve and that got me thinking about coaching. Dave and I tried to get together pre-surgery but we could not make it happen to scheduling and weather. Having him coach me at COTA made perfect sense since it is his home track and it would be easy for everyone.
After our first session Dave talked to me about how I was placing the car for the entries to Turns 3 and 19. He had me make a couple of adjustments to where I was on the track and try to get the car more settled and ready to turn in smoothly to these corners. This was a big help because it made me realize that I don't think much about how I place the car and whether it is really ready to turn in and enter the corner in a controlled fashion. My tendency was just to deal with what I had and make the best of it. The GT3 takes forever (compared to an RSR for instance) to get settled down again after a corner and I had just been throwing the car into the following corner anyway and dealing with the mess. This is a good skill to have, but it is maybe not as fast as being "organized" as you turn the car in.
Once I had a clear picture in my mind of how I wanted the car placed for Turn 3 and 19, I could then start working again on maximizing 2 and 18 without screwing up the entry to 3 and 19. Initially I was a bit slower in 2 and 18, but eventually I reached a good compromise and dropped my best lap from a 2:25.3 to a 2:24.6.
We also discussed my approach to the 13-15 stadium complex. Dave asked that I cool it a little and not slide the car thru 13 and 14, and that I brake earlier for 15 in order to get a better run out of 15. I wound up trying a bunch of different approaches here throughout the weekend and I will have to study data more to figure out what was best. I don't think I ever braked quite early enough for 15 to get the best possible run out of there.
After the 1st session I settled on a technique for getting into 5th gear that was not too painful and minimized the chance of a money shift. I stuck with this all weekend even though it was very slow.
Dave also had me experiment with braking slightly early for the 2nd gear corners. This is really tough for me because I feel like braking early at all is an invitation to pass. I found that a tough habit to break. There is a bit of time to be gained there though. He also saw I was braking too early for turn 12 and helped me fix that. I got that brake zone nicely maximized by the end of the weekend, and could maintain a very aggressive entry even with really late braking.
I have a tendency to apex pretty early that I think comes from driving cars that have a lot of grip and not that much power. The GT3 does not have grip due to the very durable NT-01 tires and it does have a very good engine. I think I could have picked up another few tenths had I perfected a later apex technique in 1, 11, 12, 15, and 20. The car had a problem with rear grip (it has stock shocks and they don't seem to handle the curb hit very well) as it dropped down off the apex curb so it was very difficult to accelerate away properly.
I knew going in that I was not likely to pick up multiple seconds. I have been taking this sport very seriously for a long time and the learning curve has been pretty flat for the past decade. Still though, Dave's second opinion was helpful and now I feel like I have some new stuff to build upon, and I feel like I can still continue to chip away at slow and steady improvement.
Chris Cervelli
02-12-2014, 06:46 PM
#2
Three Wheelin'
Wow. That is fantastic. I say your shoulder was not much of a hinder with those times.
Videos???
Videos???
02-12-2014, 06:52 PM
#3
Rennlist Member
Thanks, Chris, for the kind words!!! It was a true pleasure working with you & Scott. I hope we can do it again after you are fully mended!
Thanks for making the tow out & back through some truly crappy winter weather.
Thanks for making the tow out & back through some truly crappy winter weather.
02-12-2014, 08:38 PM
#6
Rennlist Member
Trending Topics
02-12-2014, 10:48 PM
#8
Rennlist Member
Thanks, Andy...hope we can!
02-12-2014, 11:30 PM
#9
Those are nice times Chris. You rode with me back in September at High Plains. I couldn't make COTA work this time, but maybe our paths will cross again. I'm glad to hear your shoulder didn't keep you from making it back to the track.
-Steve
-Steve
