sccsiouxland

http://www.sccawiregrass.org/mistakes.html

Mistake #1: Improper Driving Position

Mistake #2: Failure to Look Ahead

Mistake #3: Improper Braking Technique

Mistake #4: Improper Downshift Technique

Mistake #5: Apexing Too Early

Mistake #6: Premature Acceleration

Mistake #7: Not Using the Entire Track

Mistake #8: Failure to Compensate for Slip Angles

Mistake #9: Killing your Momentum in Traffic

Mistake #10: Poor Weight Management

Read the info here: http://www.sccawiregrass.org/mistakes.html

Thought i'd share enjoy

I think I fail at most of those, I seem to forget everything when I drive.

Van

Very good info. When you are still new to the game it gets interesting. The tips and tricks you pick up as you go are amazing. When you listen to the tips, and use them you pick up alot of time. My biggest failure last year was looking ahead. I know this- I had it pointed out to me several times throughout the year. When I would catch myself it was amazing at the difference of my lap times. Just that one thing. There obviously was other things that I could have done better. Everyone on this site could say there is something on that list they could improve on.

Remember - the biggest modification in autox is the driver mod. Adjust the driver first- then the car.

gotta add one though:

#11. Failure to be smooth with the controls.

believe me, if you're just choping away at the controls you're not going to be going to fast. i found that when i was smoother with the controls last year, my times would drop pretty quickly (about as quickly as a v6 Camaro can drop times )

Haha I swear when I put a helmet on my iq drops down to single digits.

I think #11 is probably covered by weight management.

Hey I just want to maybe add to this. Some of these things aren't very useful unless you can relate them to your driving... at least thats how I felt when I read these a long time ago. My little blurb here is probably useless... but i doubt anything bad can come of it so here it goes.



Before I figured out what was going on... I would early apex because the car felt better this way. Thats the reason beginners always early apex... because the car feel nice and stable at turn in and you try to keep it that way. The truth is you want to either trail brake (on slow corners) or breath the throttle a few feet before the turn in cone to achieve that "floaty" feeling in the rear of the car.

Now, after turn in (you should be looking at least through the apex at this point) the floaty feeling will turn into the back end coming out UNLESS you get back on the gas to move weight to the rear of the car. The trick here is to NOT LIFT. This for me is the largest challenge of driving at the absolute limit as it is totally counter intuitive to add throttle to keep the back end from sliding. I'm so used to trying to get power oversteer in corners on the street it has completely wacked out my driving on the track.

An instructor as skip barber went as far as to compare driving formula cars to dirt bikes... he said "when in doubt, gas it". Not sure how accurate that is but formula Atlantic drivers sure do know more than me so I'll go with it. Of course if the back end does come completely out you very very gently squeeze out of the gas and try to save it. In a formula car you are most likely about to go both feet in.

I also catch myself not looking far enough ahead at times, and when you tell a beginner to look out the side window they stare at you in disbelief. The truth is that you have to look VERY far ahead (literally turn your head, not just eyes), and it works. It has to do with the way your brain processes information and a little to do with the infant connection between the head turning and arms.

The last thing I learned is how important trail braking is... it's a driving technique that is so often ignored it's scary. Learn trailbraking.... not trailbraking should be newbie mistake #11




Anyways... aside from the seat time that was basically all that I've gained from thousands of dollars of race school.