Land Jet

I admit I am a point to point driver then, but all my recent instructors tell me I am smooth, driving the line well, and have good situational awareness. But fear of car lose is keeping me from looking too far ahead when I am coming up on my marks. I guess I think that looking far ahead will make me sloppy at the apex, which could compound into unwanted circumstances. Any other suggestions to overcome this?

Veloce Raptor

Get instructors and/or coaches in the car with you and ask them specifically to help you find things to look at in your scan that will help you look farther ahead, and the timing of when to look at them... When you get comfortable with this approach, IMO you will find that the car is MORE settled and you will thus have LESS fear of losing the car.

fleadh

For me, it basically means looking far enough ahead so that I'm putting the car where I want it and it's doing what I want. If you don't look far enough ahead you'll just be reacting to what the car does (or where it ends up) instead of grabbing it by the back of the neck and putting her face into the pillo...... err.. we're talking about driving cars rite?

It's not just a visual thing, it's also attitude and psychology. I personally drive some sections with a connect-the-dot technique, but I'm looking and attacking the next dot before I reached the previous one. To me, that's looking ahead too.

Also, keep in mind.. as far as the physical part of looking ahead: your sight picture will change. You need to work up to it.. that might mean slowing down for a few laps while focusing on keeping your eyes up. Your brain will figure out the new "sight picture" for what your braking, turn-in, track-out marks should be. You'll find yourself upping the pace without even trying.

One last thing, looking ahead doesn't mean staring at the horizon or the farthest point on the track that you can see. At least for me, I continually move my eyes from "looking ahead" distance to something much closer (I think that's what VR means by scanning). I try not to explicitly focus on anything in particular (like the inside curbing of a corner, or the track out curb, etc) but I just kind point my eyes in that direction and trust that I'll automatically pick it up and make adjustments to the driving inputs. Sometimes it feels like you're looking off into the distance without really focusing on anything in particular, but you're still picking up everything in your field of vision.

-mike

Nick Wong

Hitting marks... Haha! That was funny, reminds me of a typical DE driver scanning for cones.

A good analogy of smooth driving would be to imagine yourself riding a bicycle downhill through corners. You're not going to square off the turns in that situation unless you want to high side.

There are times to be smooth and times to manhandle the car- but the former is predominant and the latter usually error correction or accident avoidance.

Veloce Raptor

Yep, exactly what I mean, Mike !!

Also, pillowbiters FTW

LuigiVampa

Thanks - just found this online as well so I appreciate the input from someone who is using it. I am also thinking about using the OMP quick release which adds 3 inches. It has the added benefit of getting out of my way when I get in and out of my car. I am going to mock something up to see what suits me best but the four position spacer is still in the mix. Thanks again.

ProCoach

Great post.

"See Everything, Focus on Nothing..."

ProCoach

I don't think 20mm is going to be enough.

ProCoach

You have to integrate your marks into your visual scan as another "stop" for your eyes and as a point of progress on the imaginary line you've drawn in your head.

Hitting certain paramount marks (i.e. the innermost "clipping point" or area of critical corners) IS the goal. The fastest line determines and defines those marks that start and end the cornering phase. They change with speed, understanding, experience and a greater global view.

The "marks" also assist in instant evaluation of whether or not the sight picture is correct. Consistent placement of the car is the only way to evaluate changes and/or recognize minor problems before they become major malfunctions (or a BIG incident).

How many times have you heard champion drivers (Keen, Long, Law, Auberlen, Said) saying "I just focused on hitting my marks" to pursue, cement a lead or extend one? It's important. Very important.

You can't let your eyes lag, however. And I think this is what VR is pointing out here:

Great discussion.

FFaust

Someone recently told me: "By looking further ahead, you get a better read on the butt-o-meter, meaning that it makes it easier to feel and interpret what the car is doing on the yaw axis".

I found it to be an interesting concept, but have not had a chance to play with it yet. Not sure it's at the conscious level, but probably a good source of high-level info.

LuigiVampa

I was incorrect - it actually adds 3 inches. I took the wheel off and held it where I thought proper and 3 inches appears to be spot on. Any thoughts?

ProCoach

Sounds good!

rkirshner

i have been reading rennlist for years but stumbled onto this thread only 3 weeks ago.I have read through it all and found this thread to be fantastic . Mostly it is a place with reliable and useful information.
i have a couple of questions that i will ask individually .thank you in advance for your time
Can you more fully explain the difference between rotation and yaw .

winders

Yaw, pitch, and roll are all rotational movements.

Yaw rotation describes where the car is pointed. The yaw angle may describe the difference between the direction the car is pointed and the direction it is actually going.

Scott

TRAKCAR

Fantastic thread.

I've learned a lot. I used to drive just so it felt right.
This going fast stuff is a lot of of work, keeping records, look at data and always be thinking and concentrating! So cool.

I don't have anything to add, my driving is mostly based on scared is brake not scared is throttle ;-)

Thanks coaches! I probably should re read this thread every time I leave for the track.

I know reposing post #10. But it's a year ago and worth a repost: