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In an effort to give back and try to introduce others to this incredible hobby I recently took the role of track registrar for our local PCA chapter. As part of that I've been doing bi-monthly articles documenting track weekends, experiences like HSR and a recent article on Race prep. Thought it would be kind of cool to share here... Enjoy.
Time for another installment of “Track Talk” : Preparation is key by Paul Solk
As we start to think about the upcoming season and race weekends (already underway) let’s talk about preparation. Preparation comes in a lot of different forms. To begin with there is physical preparation of the driver themselves. If you watch elite racers, they are also elite athletes. From endurance to strength to flexibility anything you can do to keep your body more relaxed and comfortable in the car is a tremendous benefit. Fatigue, both mental and physical are potentially hugely detrimental when you are trying to operate at 10/10ths. There are organizations like PitFit in Indianapolis that are entirely dedicated to not only driver training but crew training. If you watch Geoff, Dougie, AJ, Morgan and the Bodymotion race crew on even a DE weekend the level of physicality is amazing. On a race weekend carrying a tire and wheel while you jump over a 3 foot wall and change four tires in 30 seconds is more physical than most of us can imagine.
We have the physical preparation of the car, this is a section unto itself as you are only as good as your preparation. Myself personally I have a pre-track checklist to run through, an at track checklist to run through, tire strategy, suspension setup, data systems and camera system prep as well as the checks that Bodymotion builds into every event including marking every major nut and bolt on the cars suspension to monitor movement. To say the preparation of the car is thorough is an understatement. If you are trying to do all of these things at the track after you arrive as an afterthought inevitably you will end up scrambling. That’s not to say we don’t end up scrambling at times even with the best laid prep and plans but if we can minimize it all the better.
So that brings us to the next phase of preparation and one that I feel can not be emphasized enough and that is studying the track before you arrive. There is a plethora of tools available to us today. Coaches like Peter Krause and Ross Bentley https://speedsecrets.com/ have collaborated to bring us Virtual Track Walks. These can be used to break down every aspect of the track from car positioning, track layout, visual indicators, braking points, turn in, apex, exit and can be as detailed as you like. Personally, my notes for the upcoming Watkins Glen event are in excess of 80 pages. One corner can be broken down over several pages. One of the greatest benefits to all this preparation is having an idea of where you want to be and where you want to be looking as soon as you unload. For me a sighting lap is matching what I have studied prior to the event and syncing that information with what I am seeing from inside the car. In most cases it is merely acknowledging information, not trying to process it for the first time. Another great tool for preparation is YouTube! Most racers like myself typically have in car video systems. It is great to watch what others do, where do the professionals position their cars on the track, are there any videos of off’s or mistakes, what did the driver do wrong? The more information you can process and have stored prior to arrival is critical to how quickly you come up to speed and get comfortable on track.
Now comes the final piece of the track prep picture and one I feel people underestimate greatly or do not fully understand the benefits it will bring them personally. I am talking about the simulator. In my opinion if you are not utilizing a simulator prior to getting in the car you are doing yourself a great disservice. Simulators come in multiple forms and formats, but the concept of e-sports is one that is rapidly evolving around us. Even Porsche sponsored the first single manufacturer sponsored virtual race series the first half of this year with a $100,000 prize! (Links for digital version)
Every F1 team has multi-million dollar simulators that are critical to their real world success on track. In fact McLaren had a competition last year to find the fastest “gamer” to lead their simulator testing program for Fernando Alonso and the McLaren F1 team. The validation of the simulator and it’s benefits can’t be argued. As I mentioned earlier, there are multiple aspects to track preparation and the simulator can assist in almost all of them. Let’s break down the different simulator benefits. For starters there is physical prep. Not many people think about the amount of work your body is doing in the car. Brake pressure will routinely spike to over 1600psi, it’s not unusual to be putting almost 200 pounds of force into your braking. Now try doing that 17 times per lap over 15 laps or 255 times. Similarly try sitting in a chair and pumping your foot a few hundred times in a row. That is your throttle foot… On the sim you can have similar brake pressures to a real car, so much so the simulator seat must be bolted to the simulator itself and you can get into the habit of utilizing your feet just like you do at the track. Your arms, hands and shoulders are no different and like the lower body simulator time trains the body for what it will be doing in the cockpit. Myself personally I try to time my sim sessions to both the actual start time of my sessions as well as the length of the session as I get closer to race day to set my bodies routine.
In addition to the physical benefits of the simulator the on-track benefits are immense. The reality level of today’s simulators is simply mind blowing. With the addition of virtual reality and the triple monitor setups becoming much more mainstream even your head movement is mimicked in the simulator with the ability to look ahead through a corner, check your mirrors and train your head and eyes where they need to be. At every track there are visual indicators we look for as drivers, typically a few corners in advance that transfer into an action when we find them. For example, before you turn into turn 1 at Watkins Glen you are looking for a billboard all the way down by the entry of turn two. Once you see that sign you should be full throttle. If not, you lost time. These are indicators that allow you to know you can be flat to throttle. They are critical. At VIR you are looking for the barn, at Sebring the blue dot on the bridge but amazingly simulators are so detailed all these critical visual indicators are in the simulator. The tracks are laser scanned to depict pavement changes, drop off’s, curbing and surrounding scenery. It is almost as though you are there. With the practicality of being able to turn hundreds or thousands of laps on a real track prior to arriving the simulator offers you exactly that. Arriving at Sebring having never driven there I immediately felt a level of familiarity with the track as though I had driven hundreds of laps here before.
Finally tying back into the original topic of car preparation which can be a later instance of Track Talk there is actual car setup in the simulator. One of the best ways to help understand how changes impact the car is in the simulator. It is very difficult to make large changes to the car at the track. However, on a simulator we can make any change desired and look at the virtual data to see how it affects the car. As a driver changing the suspension from one setup extreme to another and understanding what the car is doing is critical. How does a softer rear end effect the car, what about ride height or tire Pressures? Virtually any setup change that can be made in real life can be made in the simulator.
With so many tools at our disposal the level of preparation that can be done without ever setting foot at a physical track is incredible. As many technologies like simulators start to evolve the line between virtual and real is becoming incredibly blurred. As with so many other things in life the benefits are yours if you choose to leverage the tools in your arsenal. Whether it is physical prep, car prep, or track prep the one thing they have in common is the undeniable benefits they bring. So prep prep prep because August is coming up sooner than you think and we want everyone prepped and ready to go for the Jersey Shore DE!
Some examples of Track notes: (Exclusive Property of Peter Krause and Ross Bentley)
There are actually six pages for this one corner!
And a picture of my simulator approaching the same spot…
__________________ -Peter Krause www.peterkrause.net www.gofasternow.com
"Combining the Art and Science of Driving Fast!"
Specializing in Professional, Private Driver Performance Evaluation and Optimization
Consultation Available Remotely and at VIRginia International Raceway
My only criticism is where is the prep for alcohol, cigars and greasy food? You don't really expect people to go to the track without these, do you?!
If you have to be told about those things you don't deserve to be at the track in the first place. No one that lacking in common sense should be allowed.
Great article Paul. Thanks for sharing. It's both impressive and daunting to see the effort you put into preparing for a track event. Judging by the impressive 2:05 lap at Watkins Glen you posted a link to in another thread, all that preparation is paying off! It leaves a hack like me feeling like I have so much to learn and so much room for improvement. I am looking forward to reading more of your articles!
If you have to be told about those things you don't deserve to be at the track in the first place. No one that lacking in common sense should be allowed.
Our region makes it a point in the driver's meetings to let us know not to do our drinking and drugging until after the track goes cold....
05-10-2019, 07:16 PM
Track talk articles for local PCA
