Tracking how do you get better?

[gone_n_60]

I'm in my fourth season and while I've seen a lot of improvement to my driving there's still a lot of room to grow and learn. Doing HPDE with a groups instructors are often the advanced drivers who while very savvy and skilled are not always giving consistent advice. Recently my last event the sponsor offered us a chance to have a professional young driver, Sabre Cook do one 30 minute session with you. I jumped at that and did I get schooled! Also she drove my car for a bit, wow. it left me thinking how can I get better critiquing and help without having to pay something like $3000 for an afternoon. I'm never going to track for competitive events but I want to drive this GT as best I can getting to that 10/10th level. Open to ideas, schools, etc. FYI I go Intermediate with some groups and others that are more aggressive I'm Novice Solo in waiting.

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[S550HPP]

Advanced mode driving video games are a great way to hone your finesse intuition often slower is faster. It comes down to seat hours and pushing the limits nothing substitutes for experience both virtual (low cost) and track (high cost).

 

[K4fxd]

Doing HPDE with a groups instructors are often the advanced drivers who while very savvy and skilled are not always giving consistent advice.

If possible find one or two instructors who are fast and you trust. Having multiple instructors is usually counter productive unless you are very advanced.

 

[tosha]

Driving with same instructors you trust is a great advise, ask to be paired with somebody you want to work with on more continuous basis is a good thing. Not all instructors are the same and man did I have some weird ones . And a lot of them can't drive very well to be honest... they just talk about what they heard when they were students themselves.

Once you start driving solo, it will be a huge boost to your learning curve. Alternating solo with instructed sessions is a great way to define specific focus areas together with instructor and then let you work on those.

Ross Bentley has some great strategies and methodologies on this topic (e.g. how to set goals, prioritize, track and analyze the results, etc.). Check out his speed secrets channel on youtube.

Ask to go as passenger with as many instructors as you can, especially with good ones.

At the end of the day, seat time is the main thing, but just make sure you don't keep doing the same thing lap after lap, because at that point it's just an exercise in burning gas and consumables.

 

[gone_n_60]

Thanks for the feedback. For my local track I go with the same sponsor group so I could request certain instructors but when you sign up at further away tracks you don't know who's who. I have been driving Novice solo or intermediate for two years now. One groups intermediate doesn't allow passing on turns but my main one does, a lot more skill needed to pass on turns. Being in Indianapolis there are places you can get very high skilled instruction but it's not cheap. Still it might be a good investment. Seat time yes is great, plus I'm doing this to enjoy driving the GT the best I can which then increases enjoyment (and increases tire budget, oof).

Oh and yes I do ask for ride alongs with guys that are really good and fast.

 

[Forestlump]

If it's car control you want to learn,
have you thought about karting?

Most F1 or top drivers in Europe start karting at a young age. It's competitive and very close racing with lots of seat time for little money compared to a full sized car.

I started moto x before going in to karting at 11. A few guys I raced against made careers from it, though I failed on that. One guy now is an instructor at Silverstone and I regularly beat him. I learnt more car control from karting than any other motorsports I've done.

Rotax max is very popular 125cc and about 35hp in a kart weighing 170kg with the driver. 100mph and 0-60 in 2 ish seconds.

It took me 3 months to get quick but 3 years to get my first win. It's seat time and repetition to learn properly.
You can read the theory of playing a guitar but can you play when you finish the book? It's the same for driving, you can learn the theory but actually learning the fine motor control to be an accurate driver, that can only be done with repetition and time in the seat. There's different lines to learn when in different situations and the best place to learn this is in an inexpensive and close racing formula.

 

[ihasnostang]

having footage to review can be helpful too. it can be hard to remember things that happen over the course of an event. that rollcage could be a good mount

 

[Ewheels]

Film your sessions and post them to Blayze Coaching. You submit your best lap (or whichever lap you want) and a professional driver will critique your lap one turn at a time. Very valuable info for roughly $100.

That or compare your lap videos to others' lap videos in similar cars and see what line they take, what their entry speeds are, when they get back on throttle at corner exit, etc.

 

[gone_n_60]

Now that folks mention this, videos yes. I happen to have 2 GoPro's laying around even. I like the recommendation to mount on the rollbar (no cage). I could add a side outside mount too or a front mount. I used to use my Iphone but not the best results.

 

[Biggsy]

Film your sessions and post them to Blayze Coaching. You submit your best lap (or whichever lap you want) and a professional driver will critique your lap one turn at a time. Very valuable info for roughly $100.

That or compare your lap videos to others' lap videos in similar cars and see what line they take, what their entry speeds are, when they get back on throttle at corner exit, etc.

This right here. Use a view that shows your hands also whether it be helmet or roll bar. Blayze is a great resource and there are a few videos online of examples of them walking through laps. I used one of them before I went to Road Atlanta.

YouTube videos can be very helpful but damaging depending on the driver. I try to find well known drivers or pro drivers and similar cars to the mustang. Before and after I have a track day, I spend several hours watching walkthrough videos so I have an idea of what to expect (be careful with info overload). I did it before I went to NJMP a few years ago. I never been to that track but learned it quick enough that the last 2 sessions, the instructor didnt bother plugging in the headset. He said he has nothing to say to me and I have it down.

 

[SHOdaddy68]

On our race team we use a device called "Race Capture". It connects to the CANBUS or OBD port in the car and has a GPS. It's a very useful tool for monitoring car condition. One thing it does is show you predictive lap times. As soon as you cross start/finish it flashes the lap time and begins a new lap. You can tell corner by corner if you are doing better or worse than the previous lap by how the predictive time changes during the lap.

This can easily become a distraction if you're paying more attention to the timer than your driving.

 

[GTP]

OP have you considered a Garmin Catalyst? I use it and it is Just Right for me. At Road America my best lap was 1 second slower than my optimum lap. My first time at RA.

 

[luc]

I'm in my fourth season and while I've seen a lot of improvement to my driving there's still a lot of room to grow and learn. Doing HPDE with a groups instructors are often the advanced drivers who while very savvy and skilled are not always giving consistent advice. Recently my last event the sponsor offered us a chance to have a professional young driver, Sabre Cook do one 30 minute session with you. I jumped at that and did I get schooled! Also she drove my car for a bit, wow. it left me thinking how can I get better critiquing and help without having to pay something like $3000 for an afternoon. I'm never going to track for competitive events but I want to drive this GT as best I can getting to that 10/10th level. Open to ideas, schools, etc. FYI I go Intermediate with some groups and others that are more aggressive I'm Novice Solo in waiting.

Obviously seat time is the most important but here are some advices/tips
Understand the physics at play, why for example trail braking is done
Learn the lines, braking markers, apex,etc
Work 1 section of the track per session
To progress you need to be willing to push yourself out of your comfort zone … a little bit at the time
The most often asked question is how do i know the limits of the car…
You need to develop an understanding of what the car is trying to communicate to you…
The car is always talking to you and feedbacks come through your hands on the steering wheel and your butt on the seat
For that your body need to experience the same G forces and at the same time than the car
That’s mean a racing seat and harness
You can’t get any feedbacks if you hold the steering wheel with a death grip and brace yourself against the door on right hand turn or the console on left turn
Always look far ahead and never where you don’t want to end at
Coast less… on a track it should almost always be full brake or full gas
Foe example, in a braking zone before a turn if after releasing the brake there is a time delay, being 1/4 of a second or something else, you’re wasting time
Next lap, brake a bit later and you want to have to start turning the wheel at the same time that you’re starting to release the brake
Remember, speed is a byproduct of skills

 

[NightmareMoon]

• Crosstrain (autocross, sim racing)
• Read books
• In car coaching, yea its expensive but its the only way to get direct corrections for mistakes YOU are making, as well as confirmation for things you are doing well.
• Datalogging tools - works if you know what good driving looks like in data
• Ridealongs with faster drivers

Try to do most or all of it.

if you’re getting different advice from different instructors, try to stay open to all of it, theres a chance they’re all right, and what seems contradictory might not be when you level up your understanding.

driving completely different cars will also grow your understanding. Cars with strengths and weaknesses different from your current ride.

 

[gone_n_60]

More good stuff. On equipment I have added Schroth harnesses but I won't do the racing seat. I have to have a line somewhere where track gives a little to still keeping it street-able for road trips. On coaching there is a company that offers skilled drivers/coaches with the group I go with locally. They have a package with some simulator hours then in car work at the track during a weekend event. Yes it costs but it's probably worth it, so I'm planning on that for October. It looks like my Mustang buddy and I are going to NCM in August then Sept my Anniversary is same weekend at the next track time so too bad, track loses out to wife. Sadly the season ends in October for most Midwest tracks.

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