Where do you live?

 

Tennessee
COTA is my Bucket List

 

Excellent! Come on out! I'll show you the fast safe way around COTA!

 

Question: For driver development is it more effective to go to a familiar track and work on a specific corners/fundamentals or to go to a completely new track?

Background: I'm still in the very early stages of this racing hobby with only 35 days on track including 5 race weekends over the past 2 years. To me, right now seat time is the most important thing for development. Since my time and resources are not unlimited I'm trying to plan out my track day opportunities to maximize my growth.

 

A little late here GT3, but……DO IT!!!!

 

In my experience, for driver development, your primary goal is the best execution of fundamental skills.

A few of those fundamental skills are 1) consistent lateral car position for every foot forward of travel, 2) consistent brake points and high retardation rates, 3) using all the width of the road, unless there is a compelling reason not to and, 4) consistent speeds at turn-in and apex areas.

The final skill that drivers need to go quicker is COMMITMENT to maximum throttle for the maximum period during the lap and braking close to or near the vehicles maximum capability.

You can't do those things while learning a track. Pick a track you're VERY familiar with (or just one you KNOW well and can DO more often than the others) to develop these fundamental skills.

THEN, you can venture out.

 

I agree with your whole post....but I would add to this suggesting a track that you know well but is also forgiving of mistakes. For example, out here in northern California I would pick Thunderhill over Sonoma...

 

I think Palmers just might fit the bill
here in the east

 

 

Definitely use a track you're more familiar with...

 

Had a ride through the grass coming out of 9 at VIR this weekend.


trying to figure out what I did wrong here, I had been nailing the Esses all day and the better it flowed the faster I got, no slips/slides/issues. Not sure if I just got behind the car, turned into 9 too early, or what. I definitely didn’t countersteer enough (at all?) when it started to go but on the other hand I’ve seen enough bad wrecks in this part of the track from people trying to hang on that maybe mentally I just let it go. Didn’t deliberately get off the gas, but the video definitely shows me letting off right at the moment it starts to go. Did I cause it by lifting or lift once it started?

In the car it all seemed instantaneous but I’m watching the video it seems like it happened very slowly. Also, if anyone finds a splitter in the grass let me know and I’ll send you my address.

 

It is tough to tell for sure. You definitely lifted after the spin began. However, at the initiation of the spin, you were on much less throttle than you had been prior. You also were very high in the RPM range, which meant the back of the car was heavily loaded and extremely sensitive to any reduction in throttle. In an ideal world, you would have been one gear higher there, and thus able to maintain throttle position and keep the back end of the car under.you.

 

A lack of purposeful throttle through the previous transitions, plus a more-less-more throttle sequence with the combination of the last less-more coinciding with a place that unloads the car was the perfect storm. VR’s comments are spot on.

SO glad you missed the T9 worker station. Any debris would be at the tech garage after the session or the day.

 

Yeah, seeing that station flash by the windshield was a bit of a moment, glad that didn’t happen. As far as throttle goes I was trying to just maintain a constant amount of power but obviously wasn’t either because of the motion of the car or unconsciously trying to modulate it or both. Should I just have had it planted the whole way?

 

Not planted, otherwise it would wash out at the front.

Just thrust positive all the way through.