Here are some videos from the race:

Skip's Videos

There are WMV and MPEG formats, with the former being smaller and the latter a bit higher quality. Please right-click to download them locally to your system for best performance.

Here are the titles and short descriptions of the videos:

Start - The start and first laps.

Restart #1 - The first restart. Who knew that there would be so many more?

Restart #2 - A few more laps with some passing and a spin in turn 5.

Restart #3 - The 3rd restart and the finish of the race, with a "photo finish".

HWFM Moment #1 - A HWFM Moment in turn 9 during practice.

Qualifying Fast Lap - The fastest lap from qualifying.

Here's a collage of stills from the videos:

 

Skip, Great video of the race I bet it was a blast. I could hear you hit the rev limiter a few times where do you have it set.

 

Absolutely great videos!! Loved them!

 

Great video's Skip. You appear to be using the RaceCam system for at least one of your views. Do you have a second camera recording in car?

I love to watch (and listen) to other drivers for two reasons. One, I see where I can do things to improve myself and two because I can see that I'm not the only one who misses a few times.

That track looks like fun and I can't help but try driving it vicariously through the screen. Thanks for the posts. Any east coast visits in the cards?

 

 

JWERION, it was set to 8500 RPM per the SWC regulations. Most of the time I chose to keep it in gear and bounce off the limiter versus upshifting and then having to do multiple downshifts, but during practice we identifed a few areas where an upshift would make sense. For example, here's an image which shows the MoTeC data for speed, gear, and track position. The section of the track in red corresponds roughly to that in the plotted data, and the cursor is at the same position.


The red is my fastest lap during qualifying and the blue is the fastest lap from practice the day before. As you can see, the 4-5 shift resulted in the car being 13 MPH faster when entering the braking zone, with all else being similar.

I also used the data to learn to keep my foot in the throttle through turn 1 and down into turn 2, being as much as 15 MPH faster there. Similar improvements were made by adjusting the line in turn 8 on advice of a pro-driver/instructor from Kelly Moss, braking harder and accelerating harder through 3 and 4 on his advice, and so on. I managed to shave nearly 4 seconds off between my first session out and qualifying, so the data, external observers, and advice from other drivers was invaluable. I was still almost 4 seconds off the pace of the fastest drivers, so there's plenty of room left for improvement!

PSM993, yes, that's a RaceCam for the main and a ChaseCam for the secondary, with the ChaseCam video overlay box. The overlay box uses RCA jacks instead of S-Video, so the result isn't quite as clean as the RaceCam by itself, but I like the secondary view. I tried to shoot out the back, but the lexan rear window and wing made for a less than ideal image.

 

Good observations concerning the rev limiter. I too have "bounced" off of the limiter because there didn't seem enough time to get into a higher gear then imediately having to downshift. However, your data seems to indicate yes. Now the next question, could the speed differential be attributed to later braking and could the same result have happened while staying in the lower gear?

 

PMS993, I looked at the data and it appears that at least for that corner that the upshift is worth it.

The max speed I obtain anywhere on the track in 4th gear is 115 MPH, which is somewhat less than the 122 MPH that the gear ratios, tire diameter, and RPM limit suggest is possible. I'm not sure if this is due to the MoTeC speed being off or not, but it seems to be 100% accurate when compared to the pit radar display. I'm guessing that there is some loss somewhere else that the gear calculation isn't showing.

The max speed for 5th gear on the front straight is 135 MPH at 8200 RPM, with the limit being the driver in that case. The gear calc suggests that speed should be at 8000 RPM, so that might explain some of the difference. In any case, it's much easier to go faster in 5th, and the car pulls very hard all the way to the top of the gears. Going up the hill towards turn 7 (corkscrew) and up the hill on the front straight towards turn 1 is more exciting than any roller coaster I've been on.

Here's a graph showing two sessions where I shift to 5th and two sessions where I held it in 4th. The former are red and blue and the latter are green and yellow:



I might have been able to achieve a similar time by holding it in 4th and waiting a bit later to brake, but it felt smoother to go to 5th there, and my times were consistently faster when doing so. So I think the answer to your question is yes, but I'm not certain that my driving style or abilities would have been able to do it. I know that I'm braking earlier and more gently than I could, and I'm not on the gas as quickly as I should. That's where most of the time is probably lost, and what I need to work on most.

The other spot where going to 5th would have probaby helped is up the hill towards 7, where I was hitting the rev limited about 1/2 way up the hill:



I never had the chance to test this out, but I'm certain the car could have handled it, and the brakes were certainly up to the task. Another 5-10 MPH before braking might have shaved a few more tenths off, and I might have been able to brake harder into the corkscrew and come out of it harder as well.

Note that I'm not trained in MoTeC, so all of the above "analysis" may be suspect!

 

How do you like the Motec system? I am currently working with a different system but have always been drawn to the Motec because of its simplicity for analysis.

What all are you logging with the Motec system? I see throttle position, lat and long accel, and steering angle, and several others. But what I'm really curious about is whether you're measuring shock position and speed. I've seen the Motec shock histograms, but have not been able to see the affect of their use.

 

The videos are very nice, and helpful! Can't wait for the opportunity to race at Laguna

 

Skip;

It all boils down to your comment: "I know that I'm braking earlier and more gently than I could, and I'm not on the gas as quickly as I should. That's where most of the time is probably lost, and what I need to work on most." I share the same issue. that trusting of the brakes and hitting them harder and later is key to entering turns. Getting on the gas sooner is the key to exiting the turns. All of us who drive competitively recognize that speed at the end of a straight is a function of the brakes and the accelerator through a turn. I guess the only way to gain this trust in your car's abilities is through seat time and analyzing the data. Good luck on progressing.

 

Thanks for the vids, Skip! Good to see you're "living the dream"!
Brian

 

Skip,
Thanks for sharing those great vids.

I have a question about your line in turn 9 (the downhill left after the corkscrew). You seemed to be turning in much earlier than I've read and experienced to be the ideal line. I'm curious if that line was taken on the advice of the other drivers that had more experience on that track? Or, perhaps there was oil or dirt on the ideal line?

 

dp35, that line was suggested by a friend who is an instructor for Kelly Moss. He had been driving the track and said that the cup cars did well on that line. I tried it and found that the car felt better, avoiding the off camber bit to the outside. The data suggests it is a faster line, but then again that may also be due to my becoming more familiar with the track.

BTW, Laguna Seca has been modified, with several corners being quite different than before. Some or all of the old wisdom may now need to be updated.

 

But... but... what was your g-sum?