dgrobs

Watch more hockey.....

RichFL

Ignoring some of the "off the point posts" i found this thread interesting. I run in black at Sebring often and have on occasion taken a pass and gone into turn 7 two abreast. During the PCA Instructor Weekend we practiced going through all the turns two cars next to each other so I'm not uncomfortable doing so. This thread has me question whether it's worth taking the risk. As mentioned, we're there to have fun and we're not racing. Also, I don't buy track insurance so I'm self-insuring my car. In the future, I'm going to decline a point by that would cause me to go into 7 off line.

PLNewman

Turn 7 at Sebring is a perfect breeding ground for trouble. My low-HP Boxster is bright blue and people can see it coming in the rear-view mirror. There is a tendency to assume it is faster that it is...and, often, I will get an early point-by as we approach the braking zone. But it takes me a while to get there and, as I barrel down the inside, now deep in the braking zone, I often wonder if the driver being passed will still honor the point he/she gave. Sebring Roulette.

LuigiVampa

Whenever someone fails to lift and takes the next turn I always wait for another point-by. I learned that lesson the hard way once with an "almost" bad story.

hf1

A good trick taught to me by Skippy instructors is to always take inside passes by getting very close beside the passed car. This makes you more visible to them as you fill out their side mirror at all times and they also see your nose much sooner (at a better angle) as you come out ahead. In terms of race-craft, this keeps the passed car pinned to the outside and gives you more options (more track) and the advantage of choosing the timing and the angle of the turn-in that suits you best -- for optimal corner entry, speed, and exit. He can only turn in AFTER you do. Finally, even if the passed car decides to move into you (or doesn't see you there), there is only a small distance before he finds out that you are there -- the contact will be a mere a brush instead of a full on hit if you were two car widths away inside the turn. Much safer for both parties.

I've observed that most good racers use this method most of the time. Of course, this is less relevant for DE and concerns mostly racing but I've often seen it done in the fast DE run groups (black, red) of my local region (CVR) where incidents like seen in the OP would be extremely rare, if not non-existent.

9114609048

I agree, Sebring’s turn 7 can be trouble. I only raced the Sebring 12hr twice and both times our race almost came to grief in the Hairpin (’52-’82).
In the ’77 photo, I had gotten alongside Greenwood under braking, but the Corvette moved over to take the turn. I went for the grass to avoid getting hit. I survived and we finished 1st overall.
The other time I got into trouble was in ’75, just 15 minutes before the finish. I caught a slower car which was running right in the middle of the track between 6 and 7. I had driven a total of eight hours and I was tired. I decided to pass on the left, got my nose in, just as he moved left. I went to the grass, tried to manage it, but spun all the way to the Hairpin, luckily headed in the right direction. Sometimes it pays to bail out. We finished 2nd place overall to the factory BMW of Redman, Stuck, Posey and Moffat. Regarding hand signals, few were given in my day and problems between drivers were handled on the track or in the pits right away.

uscarrera

mike1111

Which is why there is a white group, nothing wrong with staying there until you feel comfortable sharing corners fifty fifty.

stujelly

dang it thats right, sgt tells him "lighten up" frick, next time

mhm993

CDinSing

dgrobs

Great post...

TRAKCAR

+1

CrazyFast

hf1 - this is my understanding as well as to how a proper pass should be done in a racing situation to "lock in" the driver being passed. Question though is for DE - how much room is proper to give the car being passed? Clearly 6 inches (or at least what feels like 6 inches) I might use during a race is a too tight, but if I give him a car and a half, I'll be seriously off line and really slow down the corner.

Is it just a judgement call based on the corner / driver / speed? Any rules of thumb you use?

Steve113

Rule of thumb- Its DE give as much as you can . Fill his mirrors before the pass so he knows you are there and then give him as much room as you can without upsetting your car to much.Give hime a nice peek in his left side mirror then right and then pass, Again its DE if you are slower in a turn because you were more off line or checked your speed a littlie anticipating the worst, him moving over who cares. The checker means session over not that there will be trophy ,champagne and sponsors at the finish

All of this might doesn't apply to PL situation that was RED Mist/Really bad judgement on the passing car