BBMGT3

I don't LFB at all.

Veloce Raptor

It is something to consider. I will admit, I have only been there once, for a full day in a variety of cars. You have a lot more seat time there than I do. But in every car I drove there, I used a little bit of LFB selectively through that complex to keep the nose bit & help gently rotate the back end. The challenge is that T1 is aggressively downhill, and many folks get to the throttle too hard too soon there, before the car has quite rotated enough. All this does is lift the nose (rear engined car ) and reduce the front contact patches, which causes aggressive understeer....which makes T2 a bit dodgy, and then we get behind the car into T3, etc. So, in many ways, trailbraking a bit longer (maybe 1 or 2 meters?) in 1 before getting to gas helps 2 work better, and a tiny bit of LFB in there helps 3, which makes 4 and 5 work well.

All IMO....

BBMGT3

Thanks for the feedback!

Any tips for T3? Since its kinda cresting (and apex is blind), I try very very hard to keep as much throttle as possible to avoid unsettling the rear. I try a single throttle application - slow, a bit more, a bit more, then WOT just before the 2nd kerb. Will the car understeer or oversteer you think if I just mash the throttle and crank the steering?

Veloce Raptor

Seems to me that cranking the steering & mashing the throttle in a Cup will oversteer even without a blind crest!

Again, I have only one full day there. However, that way I read the track, T3 with steadily increasing throttle, combined with a slightly wide entry (and thus straightening out a bit where the car crests), worked well as long as I brushed a tiny bit of LFB to keep a bit more weight on the nose.

BBMGT3

I'll work on it, thanks for the tips all round.

Its so dusty off track there that getting the car out of shape can have pretty severe consequences. You don't scrub speed. Will tip-toe quicker and quicker, and flirt with the limit in a way that I can keep the car close to the race line.

Veloce Raptor

Cool, good luck. IMO if you could practice LFB on a skid pad or parking lot, over time it will pay big dividends on your driving & racing.

coryf

One thing I tell my coaching clients is trust yourself. Instead on trusting your car will hold at exit or not suddenly spin in a 90 mph corner, trust that you have the ability to correct and catch the car if it does step out of line. A car should never unexpectedly loose grip and spin. (unless there is a mechanical failure or something on the track) You should be anticipating what the inputs will do to the balance of the car. When people watch video's of fast drivers with sudden steering corrections they always comment on how awesome their reflexes are. It isn't reflex as much as they are anticipating what the car is about to do and making adjustments before the car goes beyond the ideal slip angles.

Those corners you posted are my 2 favorite sections of both of those tracks. The flat out entry at Yas was a lot of fun. The fast esses's after T1 were also a blast. (different config than the video) The section at the Autodrome was tricky. It was amazing how deep you could drive the car into that section. (3:50 on the video)

BBMGT3

Yeah the Yas video was based on the cork-screw config. Normally, T2/3 are like the F1 config and they really are awesome, especially T3, and you have that lovely dive downhill to enjoy your exit.

The autodrome 1st sector is really something. Getting it perfectly right (in a road car) is quite challenging. I drove a Radical SR3 through there a couple of times - piece of cake (flat out throughout!!!)

What you say about trusting your driving is something I will really take to heart next time I head out there. Truth is, about 15 months ago I spun and wrecked the car at about 40mph in a straight line, on the road (aquaplaning), and am still suffering residual confidence effects. True, the roads here are absolutely awful when it first rains... still, I keep thinking the car is capable of a sudden spin that I won't catch. Which is weird because in the shifter karts when I look at videos I see corrections that I didn't even remember doing.

It doesn't help that I discovered today that the rear ride height is off spec (too high). I'm running a 35mm rake, when spec is 25mm. Am sorting that out...

ProCoach

Cory has nailed it! Trust yourself!

Dubai944

I'm no instructor, but having done nothing but race around Dubai Autodrome for the last three years, I agree with that. A wider entry is key. I catch a lot of faster cars in races through there, I think, for that reason.

From my observation a lot of people don't pull the car back far enough left for the entry into 3. They then turn in for 3 from the middle of the track, apex too early and find themselves mid corner, still turning and having to lift off the throttle just as the track crests. The car gets light and moves around and by the time they settle it down they have run wide on the exit onto the dirty part of the track which can be slippery and are now badly positioned at the entry for the immediate left right down the hill. Even watching a lot of the 24 hour cars, I see that.

Much better as said to start wider, get more turning done earlier, be more or less straight at the crest then you can hold the car right past the apex to allow for a straight shot through 4 down to the entry for 5 at the bottom of the hill. You can get on the throttle earlier and it's a smooth progression until you are flat over the top and down into 5.

It's quite a quick corner and I have seen it go very bad for a few people there over the years.. usually guys in rear engine Porsches

BBMGT3

They are called the "Porsche curves" for a reason

993fvr

I just discovered this thread but read it all to be sure this newbie question hasn't been covered.I'm trying to learn heel and toe downshifting but am uncertain as to the exact timing of the blip.Going Faster and the Hurley Haywood video describe completing the downshift then blipping the throttle at the same time that you release the clutch.Other sources recommend doing the blip as you are passing through neutral during the downshift.Is there a right/better way?
Also, how specifically should one approach the process of learning to H/T? Should you break the manuever into separate parts(for ex just practice braking,clutching then blipping without the downshift)? Perfect practice makes perfect but I'm concerned I'm just engraining bad habits.Any suggestions on how to learn the separate parts and then combine them would be appreciated.

trygve

You can split the learning into two parts. If you haven't mastered throttle blip yet, do that first. On the freeway at cruising speed, just keep going back and forth between 4th gear and 3rd gear. On the downshift, blip the throttle to match revs and avoid engine braking and any deceleration lurch. Then accelerate and upshift. Repeat. You'll get it quickly. Downshifting without the blip should start to seem improper.

Once you are able, without thinking, to effortlessly match revs and experience very little engine braking going from 4th to 3rd, you are ready to learn heel-toe. You just do the blip (and downshift) while your foot is already braking; your right foot of course will need to be positioned differently to do both things. But the blip part is done as before, for the same rev-matching purpose. (3rd to 2nd requires more precision because the engine braking is more severe.)

Then you can apply it on the track when you are under pressure and at the limit heading into a corner!

KaiB

Hereya...to answer your question.

You want the engine speed to match the road speed in your new, lower gear, thus...

the blip should occur just prior to release of the clutch.

If you do it earlier, the revs fall and you've accomplished nothing. There is no hurry getting it out of gear and through the neutral gate into the lower gear, just do that and blip when yer ready to release the clutch.

Zoom and have fun learning.

993fvr

KaiB,tryve
Thanks for the tips. I just read it takes 60,000 attempts to perfect H/T. I hope that is an exaggeration.