TXE36

I was able to talk VR into taking my car for a spin in the first yellow DE session at last week's LSR PCA Texas Two Step at TWS. I wasn't going to originally post it because the yellows that morning conspired to drive conga line style, but with a few edits, the video is still pretty instructive to me.

I was expecting VR to keep the car balanced because that has been his mantra in the white classroom since I got there. Smooth steering inputs, looking ahead, and smooth braking have been key takeaways. He has much more confidence than I do about how the car will turn and its stopping ability. The big surprise to me was just how relaxed he was, especially the grip on the steering wheel.


I've been on a plateau for quite a while and I discovered my issue is not my line, as it is practically the same as his -- the real difference is he keeps the car much more composed than I do, a better dance partner with the car is an apt description.

Something must have rubbed off, because an hour after this I managed to do this:

The only thing I did different was I actively reduced my death grip on the wheel and paid more attention to not upsetting the car. I find the video to actually be quite boring - it wasn't until I downloaded and examined my data from the weekend that I discovered this session as a personal best. I had been running in the 2:08-2:10s with an occasional 2:07. This session, the average lap was a 2:07 and the best was a 2:05.4. Not a track record by any means, but I'll take it.

I'm also impressed that I was able to glean that much out of session that didn't even have one complete non-conga line lap.

I will also mention the yellows got a lot better by the end of the day. The final yellow-white session Saturday went surprisingly well given the yellows had lined up first. Somebody tells me that the yellows got a talking too sometime Saturday.

-Mike

Gary R.

Ok VR, stop having your relatives post here...

KaiB

Can't be VR, I hear no squealing or giggling!!

Gary R.

Didn't think of that, it's a forgery!

mrbill_fl

smooth is FAST. it took me quite some time to figure that out...

Doug007

Good to hear you've got a bit of your mojo back Mike!

It's always instructive to ride along with a good driver in your own car to remind yourself of what it is capable of when treated well. Even better when you can immediately put some of that to use.

There are a bunch of places at TWS where it is really critical to carry momentum due to the flowing nature of the track (MSRH a lot less so). When you over constrain the car you end up pinching corners or just scrubbing speed where you don't need to. The other big game changer for me was realizing just how much real estate is out there in turn 1 and how late I can come off the gas and do the braking needed to turn into 2. It's really scary when you are going your maximum speed, but when I realized how much time I actually have I cut seconds off my lap times.

Oh, and it's really a shame you can't hear VR's girlish screams over the drone of your exhaust. It would just add that much more to the instructiveness to the video

Veloce Raptor

Yeah, none of my screaming, giggling, or texting can be heard, since there is not a microphone in the cabin! But I do get extra credit for hand gestures!

Glad it helped, Mike. Gary, bite me!

Gary R.

Only if you come out of Mr. Chicken's oven!

Jimbo951

About 5 years ago I discovered that simply moving my thumbs improved my driving. If I wrap my thumb around the wheel and grip it like a baseball bat, I would hold it with a death grip. More tension in the car and it was easier to saw the wheel back and forth.

Now I get my thumbs out (like the VR video) and hold it like a golf club. More relaxed and everything smooths out.

TXE36

Apparently there is quite a bit of demand for the interior audio portion of VR's lesson. Always wanting to give something back and not wanting to waste something of this instructional value, I spent a bit of time using some advanced audio processing algorithms to reconstruct the interior sounds during VR's Italian tune-up of my ride. It is quite amazing just what that microphone back by the license plate picked up


You can tell this is genuine by how well the audio syncs up with T1-T2 and the entry of T3.

-Mike









H/T to Globe for the original: The Truth About VR's Instructing

Veloce Raptor

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mglobe

**** never gets old!

KaiB

It's just farking classic!

The poor man will never, in his life, be able to post a driving video without somebody doing a "proper" edit.

WAY too much fun...

mglobe

My work is done here.

TRAKCAR

Thanks.