BostonDMD

In response to the numerous e-mails and PMs I have received from RL members who have read Gary R.'s thread about LRP this past Sat. and who were curious of what happen here is a "quick" rundown.

The weather conditions were spectacular, 70 degrees, dry with a warm breaze.

Personally I was a bit nervous, it was my first day at a PCA event in my new fully prepared beautiful black 1987 Carrera, which I had purchased as my dedicated track car.

After all the standard Club formalities, I met with my instructor roketman (which I had requested thru the region's registrar) and who had built and very successfully club raced the track car I just bought.

This is when the fun started......

About 45 minutes before our run, my instructor and I got together and that is when intense learning started.

First off, he showed me a few peculiar things about his ex-club car, then he started informing me about how important the state of mind is before even getting into the car.

The importance of breathing and relaxing, visualization of the perfect lap in your mind before even turning the engine on.....

Then we went over the importance:

Vision- look far ahead, look where you want to go, use peripheral vision to sense where everyone else is around you. Don't tilt your head, your sense of balance is in your ears.

Smoothness Everything you do in the car, steering, breaking, applying the throttle has to be done smoothly. Squeezing instead of jabbing (the brake or throttle) will result in a more balanced environment.

Line The perfect line will take you around the track quickly and safely.
It is important to hit all your marks, turn in, apex and track out consistently and smoothly in order to "straighten" that perfect line and carry your momentum thru. Also don't forget to unwind the wheel as soon as the apex is reached.

Focus It is imperative to remain focused on the current situation. If you make a mistake don't linger on it, just acknowledge it and move on focusing on the next turn.

It was by now time for our Yellow run group, roketman drove the first 3 laps to show me the line, then we traded places and it was time for me to show him how attentive I had been to his teachings.
The main focus in the first session was first and foremost to get a feel of the new track car (911 as opposed to the Cayman S I had been using for DE) and to get a mental picture of where all the turn ins, apexes and track outs were.

Before the second session I sat in the car, eyes closed, and visualized doing 2 perfect laps.

The focus of the second Yellow session was to drive the perfect line, even if it meant to drive it at half the normal speed. "You have to go slow to be fast"

After doing several laps at a "reduced" speed to achieve the perfect line, it became obvious that other cars in our path were preventing us from carrying the momentum we were gaining by driving our line.

It was then that I was instructed to "PIT IN... NOW!"

I am not exactly sure what happened next, it all happened so fast, but.....
next thing I know I was wearing a White band around my wrist and was staged, with my instructor, in the White run group.....

Well, it was like being in a different world! We were able to work on our line without anyone slowing us down, I gave a couple of point byes and I was given some too. It just felt right.....

Last session of the day I drove solo and kept on practicing on everything I had been taught. The 911 by now felt just as fast as the Cayman S was, but much more responsive and balanced. I just absolutely loved the way the carrera handled, it made me look good.

In conclusion, I had a great instructor, a great car and beautiful day; all I had to do was to follow the input from the instructor and car, the rest is history....

Bob Rouleau

Well Done. Bravo!

Dave in Chicago

Sounds like a perfect DE/Instruction day then. You obviously made the effort and investment in learning. This paid off in not only "getting it" but being able to accelerate the learning curve quickly and at the right time. Trust me, your instructor will feel as good about the day as you did.

There is nothing like stepping out of the car during the 3rd session and watching your student having a blast and displaying strong manners and skill. Yup, love those days.

Van

Paolo, you have done a good job summarizing many critical, important tips. Save that post and re-read it periodically as you progress through your driving career.

Good luck!

krC2S

congrats Paolo..keep it up!

doc2s

great job paolo and thanks for the write up.

Larry Herman

Did he have you doing the pre-session push ups too?



Ask Ronnie about that.

cab&coupe

Congratulations Paolo

smankow

Boston, congrats on the promotion. and here's the question that I'm surprised has not been asked yet - where's the video?

hammerwerfer

One little visualisation drill you might do is to drive an imaginary lap in your head. Do it against a stopwatch. You should be able to drive the lap in your head wihin a second or two of your actual track time.

See just how accurate you can be. Visualise shift points, braking points, turn in, apex, throttle application. Everything you can think of. You will be amazed at how well you do next time out.

roketman

Larry ,Its jumping jacks
Roketman

smlporsche

Congrats Paolo. Welcome to the White group!
One thing I've learned is not to be afraid to ask for an instructor for a session or two particularly at a new track, especially if you can get one as good as the last one you've had.
Sounds like you had a great weekend!
Now let the real learning begin!

Gary R.

You've come far Paolo.. welcome to the upper ranks!

paradisenb

Congrats Paolo. Obviously not all shoes are created equal.

mdrums

That's what I am talking about! Sounds like you had a great instructor that really cares about proper learning and it's great you got into the proper group so you could work on your skills.