Just looking to up my game this year and start taking track notes. Just wondering what most include or if they have a standard boiler plate form.

thanks

 

Depends what you want to get out of the notes. You can do notes about the track, lines, brake points, turn ins, etc. That works well right on a map (on 8x10 glossy photos with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back). You can also do more engineering things on a spreadsheet type of form with things that worked well, things that didn't work, things that you want to try based on areas of the car - springs, shock settings, aero items, etc. All depends on what you want to do and what you want from it.

 

Oh, goodness. This is a GREAT idea and I wish more people would do it, most all the pros do them...

I would say a majority of my clients write down anything from a page to twenty pages, per track. It just depends on how deep we get into it.

There are overviews like this one, a short, abbreviated version of what I supply the folks I work with at VIR. http://www.peterkrause.net/Krause_%2...VIR%20Full.pdf The long one is THREE TIMES this long!

Then, there are the more detailed, corner-by-corner deconstructions of the topographic features so you can put turn-in, apex and track out to bed. Like this one illustrated here (not mine): http://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i1...ivingNotes.jpg

I think a very good template for the latter is something like a Skippy course outline map with key points and topographical features for each corner written by you during a course walk or bench racing with your friends.

The Pro Track Guide series, assisted by Shane Lewis, here https://www.facebook.com/ProTrackGuides are a good, albeit expensive for not having basic information on them, "blank sheet of paper" for those tracks that they have out.

I provide my own (plus Google satellite maps, course geometry, radius and banking) to folks I work with, but encourage them to add notes and to do their own.

 

Thank you everyone for the ideas. Peter, i only ran my spec racer 4 times last year, do you think its to early for a coach and should i get some more seat time?

 

I don't know. I do know that with a coach, you will achieve more in less time...

It's really up to you, but the value IS there.

 

Thanks. I have just heard mix reviews, some say get some more seat time others say just do it.

 

Thanks Matt, since Motion Dynamics sets my car up i usually do not worry about the engineering side. May be i should though and will add some of the setup to my track notes in case we do make a change.

 

Get a coach before bad habits are too well established and you're forced to change what's become a routine.

 

One of the best sheets I've seen is what Jeff Braun does and published in the first Speed Secrets Weekly (it's the best $12 I have spent on track stuff yet). Check out http://speedsecretsweekly.com/samples and do the first link, then click the example in the issue. Also sign up for SSW!

 

I would concur with this.

 

Terrific methodology, laid out for you!

 

Especially Peter (Data Logging, electronic and written) and Matt for their sage advice.

Enclosed is a little reading list (URLs), that show some links to Peter's web site. Go there…read his list of tips. His reading list is epic.

 

If MoDy is setting it up, the car is setup right. Very minor sway bar variation and such but for the most part the sweet spot for those cars is pretty well known.

Ask the four MoDy guys who had Peter at VIR a year or two ago. Varying amount of seat time. ALL got faster.

 

Shawn Morrison is one of the best in the business. Fact.

I have extensive experience with SRF driver Joe Wolf, some with SRF drivers Herb Sweeney and Bob Kullas, all under the MoDy tent. They (and the crew) can vouch for me.

 

DE/lapping/open track only--no racing....obvious stuff such as date, venue, weather conditions.

Also, any changes to the car since last event......tire condition and pressure.

After each run I take a seat and rehash what I just did.....record exit speed (and sometimes entry speed) for each turn on the track (no data system, just the tach/speedo). What was the attitude of the car through the turn? Did it feel slow or quick? Scrubbing too much speed off? How were the brakes? When trailing through the turn how soon could I get OFF the brakes and back ON the power? Visualizing what you just did will really help you out--do it as soon as you can after the run.

What are other cars doing out there? Fast or slow, and where? It really pays to know who has what out there--can't tell you how many times I've pointed a "faster" car by, only to follow it around for laps.....

Did I sleep well? How do I feel? What did I eat? Too much, too little? During an event I eat about as little as I can get away with and still feel good in the car (and I make up for it afterwards!). Nothing heavy--fruit, water, protein bars, water, a coffee for lunch (not recommended by most but hey), water, and MORE WATER! I see people eating stuff like subs for lunch and I wonder how in the hell they drive (or worse, occupy the right seat) in the afternoon without honking, particularly in the heat....

Sure I'm forgetting stuff, but there you go.....

Gary