Mike Skeen takes us for a ride at the start of the Cup/GT3/GTD race at Sebring this weekend.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/727942673681605

Whew...

The pro tip is to keep your head, while all others around lose theirs...

 

I feel like a disproportionate amount of ridiculous driving occurs at Sebring.

Obviously, T7 is notorious but is there something about Sebring that just brings out the worst in some drivers or just a coincidence?

 

Lot's of mutual disrespect in that video. GT2RS ClubSport always rules!

 

Way too much aggression and red mist for my taste. Some of these knucklehead need to realize a race isn't typically won in a single corner. There is a basic lack of situational awareness and a lack of respect for the other racers. I like to win by my overriding goal is to finish the race with an unblemished car..

 

All I can say is OMG.

 

Seriously.

WTAF did I just watch????

 

I thought Historic racing was better than that.

 

It is. This is not historic racing, this is "barely obsolete, last few year's car" racing.

In terms of controlled aggression, that's what we are seeing appropriately from the camera car driver.

He took a car qualified by his teammate and moved forward immediately (and with "controlled aggression") to clear the mid-field scrum, usually the most dangerous place to be.

I am not one who thinks controlled aggression is bad. In fact, it's a talent and execution that is shared by the best, top-tier drivers.

What is of concern is aggression for aggression's sake, without a plan. More than that, we are seeing drivers whose grasp does not equal their reach. Both the T10 and T16 hits were classic dive-bombs, and I can almost see that the attention the 16 car was paying to the camera car though Webster lingered just a bit too long before trying to figure out how to slow to avoid the Interlaken car at the apex. Both drivers in the overtaking cars in T10 and T16 realized too late that they were doomed. Shouldn't be that way. Geometry rules...

As far as Turn 1 is concerned, this is an incident I've seen a dozen times at PCA Club Races and in IMSA. No lane discipline or leaving people space. Not knowing where the edges of the car are, with catastrophic results for four beautiful cars.

This is a problem not specific to this sanctioning body, PCA Club Racing, IMSA or any other series.

This is a loose nut behind the wheel problem. Rarely is it so contagious in such a short time, though.

 

Man, that camera car sliced through T1 beautifully.

 

Were there fistfights afterward?

 

Nope, just shops licking their chops for all the extra off-season work.

 

Peter, aside from Mike, what is the level of drivers in this video? I've seen better the decision making and race craft at an indoor karting track with complete newbies.

 

That's a good question, and tough to answer. I would say about the same as PCA CR Red Group (behind Cory and the front few), about the same as most in IGT, approaching IMSA VP and the mid-field in other series.

It's not normal for this kind of stuff to happen, which is why it's so incredibly distrubing when you see it like this. There were a few times, I'm sure, that Mike said to himself "there but for the grace of God, go I."

For years, there have been folks like Mike working with clients as co-drivers at these events. We've seen a ton of good racing as a result and a lot of low-time drivers boot-strapped up the order as they rapidly improve.

But, it's one thing to conduct cars like these around the track without traffic at a reasonable pace, and quite another to do it in rush-hour traffic.

Bottom line is that I think there are more than a few folks overloaded with the speed at which everything unfolds, as well as the capabilities of the cars themselves, and as a result, find themselves ahead of their skis. so to speak.

Again, I think this is a particularly bad one-off example, but the fact that it happens at all, and certainly with greater frequency in the last five years, means either vetting needs to improve, or the culture of personal responsibility gets radically reinforced, or some people are parked and told "other sports beckon," OSB.

Thankfully, I don't have to make those decisions. But I can help teach people how to practice and develop Mike's exceptional 360-degree awareness as well as improve their decision making process.

 

Completely agree.

Add to that the fact that an increasing number of people are going straight into racing with high-powered cars like 992 cups, rather than starting with lower powered cars and learning race craft. So they never really learned race craft properly, and as you say, they are not able to process the speeds with which things happen in fast cars on track, nor make good decisions quickly enough.

 

Make no mistake, these guys and some of the coaches are in the 2:05-2:10 range at Sebring, so no one is hanging about. Big names driving, too.

It doesn't seem to happen in the older car groups, that's what I meant when I said this is not my idea of historic racing.

Certainly, the orgs make their own eligibility rules. Since IMSA purchased this group, there's been a big push for newer cars, including such exotica as an Cadillac DPi and Acura DPi cars coming out regularly.

As a consequence, a fair number of masters drivers in PCC, SRO, VP and other series are joining in.