Veloce Raptor

I thought I would post a link to this other thread that touuches on many of the topics we have previously discussed in Ask The Coach. Many of these nuances of the cadence and process of braking and brake release are where I and other coaches extract real, measurable time fo rmany driver in nearlyy every corner on any track...

https://rennlist.com/forums/racing-a...f-braking.html

stuttgart46

Please forgive me if this has been discussed before but I didn't see it.
Do you have a student drive all the way to track out even if their speed is not sufficient enough to push the car out there? I see this a lot in new students obviously and I generally have them drive all the way out so that they get used to driving the correct line and that they get comfortable going all the way to the edge of the track or curbing.

TRAKCAR

I am no coach, but I do instruct, I try to get them into a rythm of braking, shifting and the line where they will end up when they pick up speed.

Veloce Raptor

+1

RickBetterley

Not me (for novices); I want them to learn where their initial course takes them. If they still have track out room, its an indication that they could have driven the corner differently. Steering to the track out cone obscures that lesson.
But is is a good question to pose; thanks.

Veloce Raptor

Change of topic:

We hear so much about the incredible importance of looking far ahead while on track. However, it is easy to get tunnel vision even if it is way ahead...meaning it is easy to fixate on specific things/places on track/etc and miss a whole lot (like a car about to lose traction in front of us). So what I coach to is looking way ahead...as part of a constant scan left/left mirror/front/center mirror/gagues/right/right mirror scan.

San Rensho

One thing I learned from Keith Codes motorcycle racing books that I found very helpful, both for motos and cars, is the concept of "look nowhere but see everything." You can have your eyes pointed forward, and without moving your eyes at all, move your "attention" from straight ahead, to left or right, to the car just ahead of you, to past the car ahead of you to traffic further up the road, all within an instant. For me constantly darting my eyes around confuses and disorients me.

I certainly agree you have to scan your mirrors and the dash, you can't just fixate, but when focused forward, Keith Code's techniques works great.

Veloce Raptor

Yes, I actually learned this skill driving big armored vehicles in federal government motorcades, where all of us needed to be aware of potential threats cming from 360 degrees on all axes...

San Rensho

I also read somewhere that your reaction time is actually quicker to objects that are in your peripheral vision, another reason not to fixate.

Ross_Bentley

Absolutely!

And I'll add this: We teach drivers to look towards the apex and exit as they enter corners, but that sometimes lead to problems. Sometimes drivers turn their heads and look directly at the apex just as they get to the turn-in point. What happens? Their hands follow their eyes and they turn the steering wheel too quickly, rather than arcing to the apex. This is the cause of so many early apexes - and you know what often comes after an early apex...

So, while we want to look ahead towards the apex, we need to have an almost "curved" vision or view following the path we want the car to get there.

Veloce Raptor

Yup: tunnel vision vs. scan, scan scan...

dan212

I ask drivers to scan and see everything from some corner of their eye. Rather than just pointing out flag stations, I ask them what hat/shirt they have, where were they looking, see their hands - then other things. They think I am kidding, but very quickly they start seeing not just flaggers & their flags, but terrain features (and changes) and much much more.

I found that this effects their overall awareness of the track and lines.

And I have sat in a broken car and watched two people out of 20 not see me because of situational tunnel vision (with very unhappy result). Was there a flag? Who cares? Everyone else saw me without drama.

The above is not a segue. Its all part need for broad awareness and wider focus (VR's 360 degree vision). Because after all - The apex " has not moved in 20 years". So no need to stare at it.

These things and more to Ross's point - so they don't just tunnel focus toward the apex and avoid the "car goes where you are looking" tunnel vision.

The tunnel focus toward the apex that Ross describes really comes into play when someone brakes late and and the driver instinctively stares at the apex because their head is saying "ahhhh! ahhh! Am I going to make it??"

sbelles

How do I keep getting rubber marks on the back of my car? I don't recall going backwards. Perhaps it happens when my eyes are closed?

Veloce Raptor

Just follow my advice: keep your eyes on the track & both feet on the wheel

bobt993

It's a Boxster, maybe your driving the wrong end.