Tried to really take the advice and suggestions I received here and put them into practice at NJMP yesterday. Can't thank Frank enough for the help!! I was trying to keep up with a pretty quick GT3 until that V8 M4 got in my way ... Goal of yesterday was to drive farther into 1 get down onto the Apex and then track all the way out then use the compression from 2 to carry speed and again track all the way out. I was really poor in 3 last time out, seemed to do better at getting my eyes up over the hill and tracking all the way out and maintaining at least some throttle all the way through. I was trying to carry more speed through 4, clip the apex, track out and then get all the way down into 5 allowing the wheel to unwind as I tracked out. Much better here than last time out. 6 I am "ok" with. I could be quicker back to throttle but that's not where I am losing time. I tried to get down into 7, track out then no coasting 7-9!! For some reason I keep cheating inside in 9 but still able to clip the curbing and get a full burst of throttle 9-10 as suggested. I need to work on 7-10 tbh... I was better at getting on the curbing out of 10 and on the throttle much earlier out of 10 than last time out. 12 I just need to keep working on. At least I was maintenance throttle through yesterday with a slight lift but again, not losing too much time there as it is such a fast corner. All in all I was happy with the progress. Ironically they were pretty slow laps in the 1:33's but they were great learning laps and speed only comes when you are smooth so the seat time is helping!! Enjoy my 09 Boxster trying to stick with a GT3 lol... As always, full screen and HD is recommended.

 

Nice driving. 1:33s are respectable times. Keep it up. A few quick comments. You are missing quite a few apexes. 1,2,4,5,6,7 for sure, maybe more. A few times you hit them well, then the next lap you missed them. You can get on the throttle sooner in most turns, instead of waiting and jabbing the pedal, slowly feed more gas, but do it sooner. Between 1 and 2, I am usually riding the track out curb the whole way. Turn 3 is very fast, and there's a lot of flat ground to the left to drive straight off if you don't make it. Turn 4, looks like although you're not all the way to the right, it's because you're steering to mid track, not because your car is carrying so much speed that you just can't make it to the right side if you tried. Really get on the inside curb in 5.

PS. What you said about not losing that much time in the fast corners is not true. A couple of MPH difference which gets carried along the whole length of the front straight matters a whole lot and is probably the easiest way to drop significant lap time. Take turn 1 at Watkins Glen for example. 1-2 MPH there can mean lots of seconds because it affects speed all the way to the bus stop.

 

Thanks linzman!! I only have about 8 days in this car and maybe 15 days total under my belt on 4 wheels so LOTS to learn. I noticed my inconsistency with apexing as well, was really bothering me. To your point I also need to work on maintenance throttle instead of the jab like you said. I have a lot of work to do but only have 3 days on T-Bolt in this car so I will take the 1:33's as I learn Everything you said makes total sense. Thank you!

 

Pretty good laps. It's easy to miss the apex in 1, I would suggest braking a little earlier if you can't hit it consistently. Get on the gas earlier in 2 and try not to lift so much for 3. No need to lift at all in a SPB but you've got more HP and weight.

 

Good driving overall given your self-reported experience.

Stop treating the gas pedal like your high school girlfriend

Go slower to go faster. Do some laps at 60-80% of your usual pace and work on precision, car placement, apexes.

 

Thanks Scott! Really appreciate it! Matt, just spit out my drink LOL.

I got myself a professional coach for my next event, better to nip the bad habits early before they become entrenched in my driving... Funny thing is I actually realized that next month will be a year from the first time I ever took my car on track. And last year I was tracking a Macan LOL... Before you laugh it ran a 1:39 on T Bolt lol

 

While a pro coach is never a bad idea, I think that any good DE instructor could help you at the level you are at. I agree with Matt, your speed is beyond you current level, build up speed AFTER you can put the car in the right position 99% of the time. Lap times alone mean zip to me....

 

Gary,
While I don't want to sound unappreciative of the great advice and feedback I will respectfully disagree with you. You are the first person to advise me "against" a professional coach and to stay with DE instructors. Not to take anything away from DE instructors at all but to compare them to the focus I will get from a professional coach is night and day. While Lap times may mean zip to you they are a pretty good indicator of someone's natural abilities behind the wheel. I have 10+ years on bikes on T-bolt. My best time in that Boxster is a 1:29.83 on Bridgestone street tires... When I run 1:33's I run 1:33.1, 1:33.1, 1:33.1, 1:33.3, 1:33.1 so these aren't fluke laps... To say that means zip is confusing to me. If I was out there running 1:50's I wouldn't be looking for a professional coach. Running 1:33's consistently and a best of sub 1:30 in a street car on street tires with under a year of seat time tells me there is something there to be tapped into. As I intend to end up racing imho the best thing I can do is get a pro coach to eliminate bad habits early. Don't get me wrong, I do not in any way think I am a great driver or beyond a DE instructor, I think I am someone who may have a knack for it and wants to pursue it seriously. Seriously being the key word. I WANT to understand my telemetry, I WANT to have the same focus level as a professional because I approach anything I do seriously with the focus and dedication of a professional. To me that means get a professional coach.

Ironically, where you say I am driving beyond my ability because I can't hit an apex 99% of the time both pro coaches I spoke to after watching that video said it will come naturally as they help me improve my vision and kinetics. Telling someone to do some laps at 6/10 or 8/10's to focus on something is different than telling them they are driving beyond their ability... Even pro's do 6/10 and 8/10's laps sometimes.

Again, greatly appreciative of all the feedback.

 

You never mentioned the motorcycle experience before. That is a tremendous advantage, as you already "get" the weight transfer/butt dyno idea. Now, it's just a matter of fine tuning it to your new "car". As I said before, you're doing a good pace, but sometimes, in the quest to be fast, we all get carried away and digress from the basics. Doing a whole bunch of laps at 75-80 percent and concentrating on "perfection", hitting every apex, working on the acceleration points and smoothness, will go a long way. While it would not hurt to get a pro coach, I agree that a DE instructor can help you with that just as effectively at a much lower cost. Mostly, you need seat time, do 20 days or so of DE, see how you progress, and then hire a coach to get you that last bit. Or, if money is no object, hire a pro for all 20 days

 

I don't know where you saw that I advised you " "against" a professional coach"? I merely stated that after watching your video it's pretty obvious where and how you are messing up and that any good "coach" could help you. Again, lap times don't mean anything to me when I see inconsistency in the driving, but that's just me talking as a DE Instructor.. you definitely should get a pro coach as that is what you want.

 

Thanks Linz!! Yeah, the bike background is a huge advantage, no two ways about it! I think I am going to do a combination of everyone's advice... Stick with my coach for the next session. I am sure I will have PLENTY to work on after that. Then work with the DE coaches to help master my skills and then come back to the professional coach to measure the progress and to your point get me that last bit... Also, to your point, I need to make sure I am not sacrificing the basics for speed as once they are entrenched it is SO much harder to break the habit...

Sorry Gary, I misread, always tough with typed vs spoken words sometimes... My bad. I think part of the problem is I have had some PHENOMENAL DE coaches and also a few that quite frankly left a lot to be desired in terms of actual "coaching"... I feel like I am at such an impressionable point of my learning right now that the wrong coach is more detrimental than no coach. Hence this "desire" for a pro coach. As I said above, I am going to combine the two and follow everyone's advice to try and maximize the learning experience... Thanks Gary.

 

Like others, I suggest you may want to slow down and work on consistency, line and smoothness. Pace will come if you work on those three. Throttle pedal isn't an on/off switch. You have good natural ability (no doubt enhanced by time on the bike) but I think taking a step back on pace and working on "base" skills will ultimately pay a dividend. You can do with with a high quality DE instructor or a Pro Coach if you're cool with the incremental cost.

 

Yep, With smoothness and consistency comes speed, very very true... With seat time comes smoothness and consistency. So seat time + smoothness + consistency = fastest possible.

Time to focus on the basics opposed to the speed.
Thanks everyone.

 

Paul, Nice driving. Here is some video of a 968 with 235RWHP that weights 2900lb w/driver running Hankook Z's. These times a few sec faster. The diff to me is hitting the Apex's and carrying more momentum. Watch the vids side by side. I still have much to learn so am not looking for feedback, on this tread, but hopefully this will allow you to learn something for free
https://vimeo.com/138154683

 

Yep, tremendous difference, especially in 1, 3, 4, 5, 7 your whole approach to 7-9 and 12 and just overall smoothness to your laps compared to mine... What is really evident is how abrupt on the controls I am and the fact I am breaking the corner up into too many different segments instead of one continuous motion... I am too hard on brakes, too sudden on steering input and too abrupt on throttle out which really kills the fluidity.

That was great to watch, thanks for that!!! Talk about a momentum lap, that was phenomenal to see.