ProCoach

Agreed-and usually it's BECAUSE drivers are trying to "float" speed into T1 and can't (or won't) go to THRUST POSITIVE throttle before they hit that bump (or better yet, well before). Better to slow enough to be CONFIDENT and go thrust positive throttle (actually gaining speed instead of losing, even though you're ON the power) than to be ambiguous and floppy-footed...

That bump has caught out the best in the business. VR, I think you might have been there with me for the 12 Hour qualifying session in 2009 when Ben Devlin ended up on top of the tire wall (and almost over the fence) exit of T1 when the bump caused the car to yaw CCW looking from above and air caught the car underneath. He went flying. Thankfully he was ok, but they had to rebuild the wall and move back the concrete...

I've had a dozen folks I've worked with (including Rolex 24 veterans) spin that same way, at the same spot.

The fix is to be slightly MORE aggressive in the slowing for T1 and NOT allow that slowing to extend into the turn very much at all. Then, the closer is thrust positive throttle application.

Most data traces, EVEN WITH THROTTLE, show a drop from EOB to vMin over an extended distance that approaches and includes the apex area.

The best do NOT show that drop, but instead edge up after EOB.

MSR Racer

Right on

C-gt3

not gonna lie, turn 17 and 1 scare me sometimes.
my favorite is a point bye on the front straight, then no lift off, then racing all the way down and being pinned on the inside.
but im getting better at that move.

Veloce Raptor

Yes Peter I was. Ugh

tcsracing1

What are your thoughts on left foot braking through T1?

ProCoach

I think if you're very well calibrated, that can help. But the issue is still the same. If the speed drops after the initial decel, the chassis is still potentially unstable...

Veloce Raptor

And to that point: the instant you turn in the speed drops even more due to front tire scrub. So get back onto the gas! This is why in a car like Mikes i would go a gear higher so as to have more confidence with more positive throttle not near or at red line

PLNewman

VR, you're saying 5th gear thru #1?

Veloce Raptor

Normally no. But if maintenance throttle puts you at 5000 rpm, that tells me you'll run out of gear pretty close to track out if you're on more positive throttle

Veloce Raptor

Addendum: try it and see if it helps you brake less for 1 and if you can go back to lots of throttle sooner. Then see if the data shows you're faster or slower. My view is that it's such a long segment, less brake and more gas is always a win...even if we are not necessarily in the gear we think we should be...

ProCoach

That's why this is a wonderful sport! I'll have to agree to disagree with you, on this one. Two, actually.

It's been my experience that whenever people "brake less" to raise entry speed in s fast corner like this one, they arrive going a little (and sometimes a lot) too quickly, and the first manifestation (of the resultant wide-eyed uncertainty and lack of confidence) is NOT to pick up the throttle. Less brake (often combined with braking too soon and releasing too soon) more often than not, equals an entry speed that doesn't engender the kind of confidence drivers need to commit like you and I want them to. Turn One Sebring is number one on the list of places where, if you try and "float it in," you're not going to get that throttle progressively down in anywhere close to the rate it needs to be to offset that scrub you talk about. Better to practice by slowing DEEPER than you have been, but still effectively (with a relatively high pedal
pressure and decel rate, something that can be repeated over and over) such that you can be proactive with the throttle and AT LEAST not see the speed drop. Preferably increase gradually and then steeply not all at once.

i know you and Matt are big champions of this "one gear up" thing, but if you know the speed you're going through the corner, and you know the revs you're at, and you're NOT having to upshift before the end of the track out curb, you're in the right gear. Also, T1>T3 is a useful and seriously productive "hustle zone," often allowing a pass into T3, if not too far back, so every bit counts...

fatbillybob

I have only raced Sebring once on my swing this year through the East. Since we are talking about Sebring can someone tell me about How to take T5 to T6 under the sign transition? Once you get to the sign it is WOT for me until T7. I'm having a problem getting on the gas past T5 as the road makes sort of a left bend the goes under the sign. I have to lift before the bridge and often put 2 wheels in the dirt as I blew out of the turn. I never felt like I got that right so I could carry more speed all the way to T7. Any advice or is there something there like a bump I overlooked as to the reason for my lack of grip there?

Veloce Raptor

First point: I wasn't suggesting he execute it badly. When done well, it can bring real benefit to the entire segment. My point was try something different...it may suit him as a driver and yield better segment & lap times with more consistency.

Second point: agreed...however if he is at 5000 RPM just doing maintenance throttle in the middle of 1, chances are pretty good that he will be at the ragged edge by track out if he gets to the point of executing better and using more positive throttle sooner and all the way through 1. So that concerned me.

ProCoach

PLNewman

Hey Peter. Is that a thumbs up...or a one finger applause?