The mirror tap is to let the person behind know that they are seen and will give them the pass at the next opportunity. If they are on their toes they may even give a point as to which direction so that you can set up. This way the pass takes the least amount of time and every one is happy.

As for following distance, the answer depends is a good one. If I am in an area that I cannot pass (the passing zones are established at the driver's meeting) I will hang back and will generally close when it is time to pass. I will close so that I am well within their side mirror view when in the passing zone. Since I do not know what the line is I am usually off of it. I do not have the fastest car on the track so if I see someone catch me from behind I want them in front of me as quick as possible.

It is the guys who like to be the head of a train that drive me nuts.

 

We use the "mirror tap" up here in the northwest when a faster guy comes up behind. It means, 'I see you and will let you by next chance I get.' My hope in doing it is to keep the guy from riding my **** into the brake zone.

In the opposite situation, I do what we call "presenting yourself for the pass". That means leaving a reasonable gap until right before the next passing opportunity, then you close right up on the slower car. That way he notices you closing the gap and can't help but accept his slower-ness. It also gives you a head of steam to execute the pass.

Rich

 

Perfect. This is exactly what I'm looking for. A signal that says to the car behind me with 150 more hp, "I see you. We're in the middle of the carousel right now. You'll get a point-by ASAP once we're going straight again. Now get off my bumper."

Have to make sure you tap the inside mirror with your index finger, though, and not your middle finger. An Ariel Atom was running with us Mon-Tues at the Glen, and his point-bys consisted of a finger pointed straight up near his right ear. Looked like he was flipping us all the bird.

 

Exactly.

 

I drive a 121hp fwd (MINI) car in the upper run groups so I am constantly driving my mirrors (except in the rain ), and passes are rare so I must admit that I do tend to crowd people in the corners if I see that I am faster.....happened quite a bit this past Monday at the Glen. More often than not the faster car just takes off out of the turn, which is fine, but if I do keep catching him/her in subsequent corners I crowd more and more. Conversely, when a faster car approaches and we're coming up on a turn, if the event's rules don't allow a point-by into the turn I will give the index finger and point them at the next straight. Works well for me, and MOST of the drivers I've driven with are very courteous in this regard.

Gary

 

I have driven with Chin, BMWCCA, NASA and PCA among others in the SouthEast region, and have never heard of the "Mirror Tap"

I have always been taught "Mirror Wave" at the car behind me.

Obvi, that signal could be confused as a "Wave off the Pass" by a car in front, so I like the idea of a "Mirror Tap" as a distinct signal directed toward the car behind.

Thanks Mike/TXE36 and others. Any suggestions for how to get this established as protocol locally?

 

In Texas, running with NASA and Edge Addicts primarily... The mirror tap is prevalent here.

 

I would suggest it to your CDI as this person is responsible for the rules you run under even though this is more of a courtesy than a rule. I first heard of it in my first green (newbie) classroom session many years ago.

-Mike

 

I like the mirror tap method, barely remember anyone using it out here in the West. Thank you for the reminder.

Once in a while a come across a slower car and give'em the wave off just to following their line.

 

Chin used it at WGI. I liked the mirror tap, especially in a low hp car knowing the mustang was going to let me get by was really nice.

 

While we ( NNJR, my former region ) does not call it a mirror tap, I tell all my students to acknowledge the presence of a faster car if a passing zone is not forthcoming. Also, if a student is given a passing signal and chooses not to take it, I tell them to make a big wave in the windshield. Think about it, the first thing most people do after giving a signal is to look in their rear view mirrors. Communication on track is essential to close safe running.

 

You were the Mini! It was fun following you and watching you lift an inside rear wheel in turns. Nice little controlled slides and dancing around! I'd share a track with you all day long. It was someone else in a very fast car who was driving very aggressively on Tuesday, riding other people's bumpers and reportedly passing without a point-by on at least one occasion.

 

I can't remember who I saw with it (maybe Rennlister? Disasterman?) who had written on their hood in backwards letters, "God didn't put me here, please give me a point by." I always thought that was pretty funny.

 

With regard to the mirror tap, FYI, if you live in the South or Southwest, many street cars have tinted windows. This can make the mirror tap difficult or impossible to see from behind.

 

Thanks! Must admit the short course was fun.....didn't run on Tuesday but saw enough on Monday. Been doing this for a long time and, in my experience, what you saw is unfortunately more often than not par for the course--there's usually at least one in every crowd.

Here's a traffic jam coming out of the Bus Stop--lots of fast cars overcooking it out of there and then braking halfway into the Outer Loop

http://tracktimephotos.com/largeView...6_WGI_ADV_8418

Gary