Dr911

I should have included "Long Term Strategy" in my question. Thanks for all the good suggestions.

For me there's no hideously pressing urge to be "signed off". And, perhaps equally undesired, I've actively avoided solo given my assumed knowledge gap at new TRX.

Im quite capable (thanks to excellent instructors) of figuring my way around a new track. And if it's an option, I'll "self-demote" to blue at a new track.

Coaching is certainly part of the long range plan: I happen to know a couple of outstanding pros close by! I do like the idea of riding w an instructor first session out or first day.
Chin starts w the warm up session--excellent strategy, wish others would do the same.

The AiM Solo sounds like an interesting learning aid: looking forward to Santa! And I will begin recording every session w Harry's effective immediately- thx!! Will use to in tandem w instruction.

A session plan/ride plan is something I always make but never actually written down as pre-ride notes--great suggestion! Thanks!

Winning DEs? Nah...my sponsors don't care about that

mrbill_fl

Something I do at the end of the day, is pull out my track map, and write down my reference marks. -the non movable ones.

ie, the crack in the concrete on drivers left, is half a car before I start braking in T1,
its off camber before the apex in T2,
T6 is slightly uphill so I can go a bit deeper, because of the increased tire patch.
or when the 4th light pole, crosses my A pillar, that's where I start my turn-in for T9.

if they do a lunch parade lap, look for reference marks.

SCCA use to have write ups of tracks in their monthly mag.. and there was a website of race tracks, like 'wiki' with everything from hotels, race fuel, and bathrooms.


See if anyone will share their track notes...


I emphasize the non movable reference marks...
On time, I watched some workers have fun, when they notice people using a large weed patch as a reference for the brake zone.
-At lunch they dug it up, and moved it, up-track 10 car lengths..
We had bets to see who would take the longest to figure it out... LOL... (it was a race weekend, but you never know).

ExMB

+1000000

+1000000


Just to be clear; and I did talk to VR about this.


I'm new to the manual on a track but have plenty of experience in a PDK - I'm solo rated in advanced group.
After personal evaluation and input from trusted sources - who may or may not agree with my thinking - I've decided to request an advanced instructor for my next DE. I've discussed my limitations and my goals with the instructor on this familiar track - i.e. not my home track - in order to improve while at the same time not be a hindrance to others in my normal run group.

Sorry LuigiVampa - but I've decided to throw this one and not try to win it.

Speeds5

I find that having an instructor with you in the car is tremendous help. I ask for one at every event. Having that voice in your ear telling you can go a bit faster here, turn a bit later there, is irreplaceable for me.

Dr911

Just to share in case others can use it:

A friend who's an experienced driver suggested this sequence for videos to learn the track:

"Watch for a few laps and pay attention to (in this order) *turns (left, right and degree of turn) then focus on markers being careful to select *markers in the distance rather than a patch on the track surface (this will keep your eyes and head up where they need to be) next focus on *braking zones, where the markers are.

After... this, drive the track. Dont be shy. Put your hands up and hold a fake wheel. Left turn, look up and left for your marker, count off the turn (number 1, oak tree etc) turn back straight, give it throttle and call off the straight (front, back etc) as you approach the brake zone, plan your braking, shift as needed (or as you expect to need) and turn in, off brake, unwind the wheel and on the throttle.

Follow this around the track until you know the corners and straights. Dont worry about knowing your degree of turn, degree of brake etc. You cannot determine that until you are on the track. "

IRacing etc is just not my thing...But I like how doing this feels, and how it makes me keep my vision up, as must be in vivo.

winders

I am not one to use markers on or near the track as visual cues. At least not beyond the initial track learning phase where I will sometimes use markers to get me close to where I want to brake and turn in. Instead, I focus on mental pictures or, as we called them in Skeet shooting, "site pictures".

I learned all the tracks I race on now by doing track days and racing on a motorcycle. At first, I tried using visual cues to indicate when to brake and when to turn in. That worked okay when I was running on my own trying to do the perfect qualifying lap each lap. Where it all fell apart was when there were a lot of bikes on the track. Either I couldn't take the "perfect line", the visual cue was obstructed, or I was busy looking elsewhere and did not see the visual cue. This became even more convoluted in tense race situations.

What I wanted was to have the riding and riding line skills handled by my subconscious mind so I could use my conscious mind to focus on racecraft.

What I found that worked for me was learning site pictures of the track. My mind appears to be good at understanding the performance envelope of my vehicle and how it works in the spatial model of each turn complex. Part of this requires me learning a lot of different lines through a turn. On test days and in practice sessions, It is not uncommon to see me take some very different lines. I do this so I understand how my vehicle will behave if I need to take a non-standard line through a turn. In other words, if I need to take a non-standard line through a turn, it likely isn't the first time I have taken that line. So I have a pretty good idea as what to expect.

The end result of this is that I can be in the heat of battle racing someone, or in traffic at a test day or DE, and I don't have to think about finding my brake marker or turn in marker. That happens subconsciously because I of how I have trained my mind. Instead, I can use my conscious mind to formulate a passing plan.

What is my point in all of this? I guess it is to caution you to not make this all too rigid or too linear. You will not always be at the same place on the track at the same trajectory and speed. You need to be able to feel the limits of your car (understand its feedback) and you need to be able to handle situations where the visual cues you use might not be visible. The track is a dynamic place. You will want to be flexible enough to deal with that.

Manifold

^ Great points. IMO, all of that has value for DE, and I've made it standard practice to have students drive off-line and alternate lines through corners before I solo them. Being able to adapt when the unplanned happens and use the whole track comfortably makes for better safety.

TXE36

I would be very careful about markers. I much prefer to just drive the track. It is difficult to put into words (IMO, Winders did a pretty good job of it). A good mental picture of the turn itself, knowledge about the various lines through it, some experience with the car and voila, your brain just does it.

We don't need no stinking markers .

-Mike

hf1

+1
I rarely (if ever) use simple visual markers. To me, a "marker" is a complex mental picture of sight (location), speed, sound, and body inputs describing my state in the "3-D grip-ballet". Simple visual markers may often (and subconsciously) enter this mental picture but they are by far not the only inputs and I don't spend conscious energy to seek them and act on them. Winders found a way of explaining it better than I ever could.

Mark Dreyer

Ron Zitza taught me an excellent visual marker to line up for turn 13 at Sebring. There is a T in the pavement where asphalt meets concrete and by putting my right front tire on that T, I know I can hit the gas and power through the apex perfectly. That's the only place on the track where I use a visual marker for a turn.

LuigiVampa

Visual markers are good when you are first learning a track as it gives you an idea of a starting point.

One you feel comfortable markers are a crutch and completely useless during a race situation where you are often off the traditional line.

AudiOn19s

Late to this thread, and several others have already agreed with this but personally this along with someone GOOD in the right seat regularly is what helped me work through many a plateau in my continual progression.

Go lay down what you feel is a good reference lap and use it to experiment with different lines / techniques in 1-2 corners per session. Don't over complicate things but have a plan for that session and evaluate during with real time data and after with data on the laptop if any of the changes carry merit. Don't just evaluate line, evaluate braking technique, picking up the gas earlier intentionally, etc. Have a plan ahead of time and execute on that plan while in the car each session. Always be aware of what changes do for you not only in that particular turn but to total sector time as well.

Some of the very best that I have had the opportunity to learn from could tell me before we went out exactly what they intended to work on that session. Never stop setting those goals for yourself.

sbelles

Apart from an instructor / coach, data is a great way to improve. One easy way is to compare your Vmax and Vmins to someone else who is going faster in a similar car. Once you know that you can go faster in a turn it's much easier to do it.

Dr911

I have a long way to go. Many thanks to those who shared. I appreciate the wise words of experience.

ProCoach

THE fundamental tenet of my plan to optimize driver performance is to give a driver such INTIMATE topographic knowledge of the race track that there IS NO QUESTION where to place the car or where to drive to next...

ANY doubt or knowledge gap, conscious or subconscious, manifests itself in a measurable lack of throttle, brake or steering commitment, in my experience.

I use landmarks, at three distinct levels, to establish the desired sight picture and to judge proper lateral car positioning for every foot of track length. The establishment of the proper sight picture for each approach, turn-in, apex and track out allows the use of Ron Zitza's excellent "Go-No Go" checks, basically allowing instantaneous judgement of what further to do and when to do what.

I use permanent track level landmarks. These are not limited to trackside curbings, additional behind the trackside curbings, patches, sealer, cracks, surface changes, finish changes, polished outside loaded tire tracks, verge lines, color changes in the verge lines, blue-orange or red SBRS and Roos cone markers, paint marks and other markers easily sighted on an out lap.

I use permanent eye-level landmarks. These are not limited to buildings, fence ends, fence openings, wall openings, tire walls, signal lights, guardrail openings and steps, gravel traps in the distance, signs, corner marker signs, brake marker signs, turn in marker signs, poles, worker stations, advertising hoardings, banners (painted) and grandstands.

I use permanent above eye-level landmarks. These are not limited to light poles, billboards, permanent radio antennas, PA speakers, telephone poles, cones on top of fences and on bridges, signal lights under bridges, anything that allows me to judge my position better when following one or more people so closely I can't see anything except through their windshield or above their cars...

Landmarks are very important to me and many of the people I work with...

While I agree with Scott that you have to drive the car with your butt, because you WILL find yourself off-line around other cars, I think you HAVE to have this information, in this kind of detail, to formulate the correct sight pictures...