Exercises for advanced drivers...
03-23-2007, 10:08 AM
#61
Nordschleife Master
Originally Posted by DrJupeman
Z, my thought is that if you want to learn in Red, do your own thing on your time. No one should freak out that you are taking an unorthodox line through a turn if you want. (Some regions may freak out about this kind of thing - why, I don't know.)
The disparity of driver talent even in red is so large I think any forced exercise would no doubt **** off someone. If a region really wants to do something like this, have them do it on the dedicated instructor day which larger regions often have. This day is usually pretty discounted and is intended to be training, and whatnot. Folks don't have to sign up for it if they don't want to.
To beat on your off line recommendation more, if you are in red and not already fully confident in driving offline, perhaps you shouldn't be in red.
Your suggestion about the rain line I agree with. My region never taught me any rain lines so I just figure them out now or listen to the whispering in the paddock for the best way to drive in the wet and then go see if the whispers are right...
Jack is dead on with this: "Nothing sorts through excuses like a lap time." If you want to improve, start timing yourself. If you can't do that in DE, find time trials or come racing. I guarantee you will become a better driver.
The disparity of driver talent even in red is so large I think any forced exercise would no doubt **** off someone. If a region really wants to do something like this, have them do it on the dedicated instructor day which larger regions often have. This day is usually pretty discounted and is intended to be training, and whatnot. Folks don't have to sign up for it if they don't want to.
To beat on your off line recommendation more, if you are in red and not already fully confident in driving offline, perhaps you shouldn't be in red.
Your suggestion about the rain line I agree with. My region never taught me any rain lines so I just figure them out now or listen to the whispering in the paddock for the best way to drive in the wet and then go see if the whispers are right...
Jack is dead on with this: "Nothing sorts through excuses like a lap time." If you want to improve, start timing yourself. If you can't do that in DE, find time trials or come racing. I guarantee you will become a better driver.
As Jack said originally, if going faster is the goal, then lap times are the way to go. All this namby pamby stuff wont do squat. In order to go faster, you have to push yourself. Seeing a lap time that is far down the sheet usually motivates people.
03-23-2007, 10:21 AM
#63
I do NOT favor mandating any exercises in DEs. Track time is precious enough without wasting even more of it.
That said, I also think it is BS that we all cannot learn techniques that can make us faster in the long run. I mean, if you are not honing your technique or learning something new, then focusing solely on times eventually will only lead you to drive closer and closer to the limit. Being able to maintain your car at the limit is a skill in and of itself, but it is not the only way to get faster.
Jim, Mark, Bob and I recently hired Chris Cervelli as a driving coach. It was one of the best things I have ever done. He taught me to look at driving in a different way, and I am now trying to incorporate the techniques he showed me. At the moment, I am focusing on learning those techniques rather than lap times. In reality, I am slower now. In fact, at VIR without Cervelli sitting in the passenger seat, I was a full 3 seconds off my normal lap times. I could have been faster if I lapsed back into my old habits, but my hope is to be disciplined and really incorporate the new techniques. Once I get them down, I should be far faster in the long run. You know, one step backwards so that I can take two steps forwards . . .
So, there is more to this than just lap times. Many advanced drivers can hit plateaus because they keep doing the same thing over and over again, and hope that they magically get substantially faster.
I wish that there were venues -- apart from expensive private schools and coaching -- to learn these techniques in your own car. THIS is a function that PCA could serve as a supplement to traditional DEs.
That said, I also think it is BS that we all cannot learn techniques that can make us faster in the long run. I mean, if you are not honing your technique or learning something new, then focusing solely on times eventually will only lead you to drive closer and closer to the limit. Being able to maintain your car at the limit is a skill in and of itself, but it is not the only way to get faster.
Jim, Mark, Bob and I recently hired Chris Cervelli as a driving coach. It was one of the best things I have ever done. He taught me to look at driving in a different way, and I am now trying to incorporate the techniques he showed me. At the moment, I am focusing on learning those techniques rather than lap times. In reality, I am slower now. In fact, at VIR without Cervelli sitting in the passenger seat, I was a full 3 seconds off my normal lap times. I could have been faster if I lapsed back into my old habits, but my hope is to be disciplined and really incorporate the new techniques. Once I get them down, I should be far faster in the long run. You know, one step backwards so that I can take two steps forwards . . .
So, there is more to this than just lap times. Many advanced drivers can hit plateaus because they keep doing the same thing over and over again, and hope that they magically get substantially faster.
I wish that there were venues -- apart from expensive private schools and coaching -- to learn these techniques in your own car. THIS is a function that PCA could serve as a supplement to traditional DEs.