Jaws911

I'll try to keep this short - I 'crunched ' my car last week due to classic 911 oversteer, a wet road - and of course, driver error (for you NY'ers, it was on the upper level of the 59th st bridge- last left turn before the span - two narrow lanes bordered by concrete - but they're the only 'twisties' I get between where I park it & where I live) It'll cost me about $1000 to fix, but it could have been much worse, i think, if i hadn't done PCA DE's & car control (on the other hand, if I hadn't done those, I might not have been going so fast...) anyway, I'm doing a DE @ the Glen next weekend (I've been there before)- and drivng the car up to the wrench in Westchester for tech inspection thisPM, I was noticeably, well, to put it kindly, more cautious- really not trusting the car as before.

So, any body have any tips on how to get back on this horse?
All responses welcome

thanks

cmoss

I hear what you say. I just returned from a DE here on the left coast. Early in the day I had a small spin--slow corner/bad line/too much throttle. It would have been of no consequence, but for the fact I was closely followed by a couple of cars. Nothing bad happened--they missed me--whew!!!! But I was sufficiently rattled that the rest of the session was toast.

Since the rest of the day went great, all I can say is start slow, and slowly add speed. It's the right way regardless.

Chris

addictionms

best advice I ever got was to focus on what I was doing right, and forget the things I did wrong.

start slow is great advice, I am sure once you get on the track, it will all fade away.


Jim

jakermc

During a DE event I had a pretty good spin (offroading first to the inside and then the outside of the track) in my Boxster S on my last run on the first day. When the second day started I found myself very cautious. I lost the feel of a controlled 4 wheel drift and instead held back from reaching that point. To cure it, I asked my instructor to drive my car so that I could feel what a controlled slide felt like again. After feeling it again from the passenger seat, I was once again confident enough to push that hard as a driver. I had some of my fastest runs ever after this exercise.

cmoss

Great reply jakermc. I also find that time spent driving with my instructors to be really useful for just the things you describe. I've done a handful of DE's and I find they are truely demanding of utmost concentration. Very tiring, but very rewarding.

I--for one--would be interested in hearing about other people's offs. Specifically, what was learned AND HOW! So please 'fess up, and share.
TIA
Chris

JackOlsen

The anxiety will disappear completely once you get someone in your sights that you want to overtake. Until then, focus on the basics and take it one step at a time.

A930Rocket

I've had a couple of offs over the years, but with no damage except my pride. I find myself a little rattled, but I back off some and work my way back up to where I was. Seeing a car in front of me always motivates me to "reel them in". It really does help you focus and do better.

Now for when I'm being "reeled in"....it sucks!

JackOlsen

I've suffered some damage.

Jeff Curtis

Man Jack!! ...I HATE that pic!!

It's all too familiar to me, but I agree with all previous comments. I got right back in the saddle and started reeling people in ASAP...or was that getting reeled in?

Either way, it's the classic "get up, shake it off and get back on" mantra that seems to cure most of us.

Frank 993 C4S

I had did some lapping with Skip Barber in a Formula Dodge At Mont-Tremblant last Friday (awesome track). In the afternoon we had intermittent dry/rain surfaces. In the 4th session I took my foot off the gas in turn 15 after seeing the checkered flag (indicating last lap) and spun tail first into the concrete barrier.

Although I initially refused, they "forced" me into another car for a final session - smoothest and best driving I have ever done! Now I just have to get my full confidence back before taking my own Porsche to my first DE in September.

Two Lessons:
- See checkered flag = brain shuts down
- Get back in the saddle immediately

jakermc

For the spin I spoke of, it was Big Bend at MotorSport Ranch in Texas. Its a sweeping left that tracks out to the longest straight on the track. Turn in speed (at my beginning skill level) is about 75mph +/- 5 mph.

In this particular incident, I made multiple mistakes. I turned in traveling too fast for my skill level (80+), pinched the apex, and after realizing I was in a bad place, lifted off the throttle just a tiny bit. I picked a really bad place to lift - car was already comitted to the turn and the back end came around allowing me to take out the apex cone with the front passenger side of the car.

So at this point I am traveling sideways up the track, both feet in. Back end then rotated back to the left and I rolled off the track on the oppiste side of where I started. Fortunately no one was too close behind me. One tire was pinched on the rim and had to be remounted, otherwise no damage. Not the most graceful way to track out!

Biggest lesson learned - don't ever lift! I knew this beforehand but only now did I repect the warning. Its pretty hard to spin a Boxster, but once it goes it goes on you pretty fast and is hard to recover. (I am now tracking my 911 and it is much easier to work the back end). Pretty good lesson on 'in slow, fast out' as well.

Other thing I learned, spinning is nothing to be afraid of, at least on this track in a DE environment with lots of run-off. It's part of the learning process. Not saying I want to spin, but I know I can remain cool calm and collected if the situation happens again.

Jaws911

Thanks for all the responses so far - apparently I'm not alone here...

Just for clarity, on this one the rear end came out because of too much throttle & i started to slide nose first into the concrete wall. i think that if I had I slammed on the brakes, I would have at leaast done a 180 and ended up facing oncoming traffic w/ no way to turn quickly around (road too narrow for a quick turn) or, even possibly crunching the car much more ie; lost all control - so I corrected the line as I feathered back the throttle - but there was no place to go and I took my licks as I bounced off the wall on the front bumper - I can't guess how fast I was going - but i did think i most ahve really crunched the fender. Because I was on the bridge at the wrong end of a blind turn, I just kept going -
Amazingly, the car seemed to just shrug it off - like a bumper car! they are well built!
Anyway, this is helping - keep 'em coming

Alan Herod

Yikes, first off testing the limits on the road does have its down side and I surely don't do it as much as I used too. It's amazing what many of us have lived through.

Like many have said take your time on the track and work your way up to it. This would not work if I was your instructor. I know that many other instructors feel the same way. For training purposes, I will take a student out in my car. On the other hand, some instructors have no qualms about sliding a student's car around the track. Point is - anything can happen at any time -- you may have taken a turn the same way 200 times before, but on the 201st the 996 TT in front of you may have dumped its radiator and you are the one to point it out to corner workers. (red run group, turn 11, mid ohio)

jakermc

Alan -

My instructor was a good friend of mine, I guy I have known for 12 years and have complete trust in both on and off the track. I'm not sure if I would have asked my instructor to do this for me if it wasn't him, but as luck would have it, he was my instructor that day. Three or four laps with him behind the wheel cured me.

By the way, we have similar tastes in cars. I have a '01 Boxster S and a '83 SC.

Jack Kramer

I'll add my $.02 here.

First, as an instructor, I would rather take you out in my car vs. yours. I will drive a student's car, but generally only for track orientation purposes. If I'm pushing the car at all, I'd rather be in my vehicle.

Second, I agree with everyone here that you should get back in the saddle as quickly as you can.

I totalled an RX-7 several years ago at Watkins Glen. I dropped two wheels off in the "laces", a high speed sweeper, and stupidly yanked the car back on track. I spun across the track and into the guard rail (the locals call them "the blue bushes"). Luckily I was not hurt, but I had to watch my wife's reaction when I stepped out of the ambulance on the mandatory ride back to the paddock.

This experience taught me a good degree of humility. Let's face it, very few of us will ever make a dime doing what we do on the track. We do it for fun. I did a lot of soul serching and determined that until I could be 100% consistent with my driving, I had no business trying to use every bit of track. It also taught me the all corners (and tracks) are not created equal. Some can be played with, others are to be massively respected.

I was fortunate enough to be able to swap my suspension and drivetrain into a new chassis and was back at Watkins Glen in about 2 months. Boy, was I ever cautious the 1st few laps. But, my confidence grew as the weekend went by. By the end of the event I felt comfortable again and realized that my mishap was a simple mistake, and more importantly, a mistake that was easily avoided.

Lastly, I'll get on my soapbox... Please do not test your or your car's abilities on the street. You can approach the limits of your car much more safely in the controlled environment of the track.