It's time to talk basics of how to improve your times on course. In this post I'll go over some things to think about while walking the course, taking your runs, and reviewing how you did after the event is over. Please keep in mind these are basics. Every turn is a little different, every braking zone is a smidge unique, and every car you drive will have a different way to do things. Just take these points as general things to know.....
Slow In, Fast Out
If you stick around in motor sport you will hear this phrase a million times and it's the single most useful idea on course but it's also one of the hardest to master. What the phrase is saying is you need to slow down at the beginning of the turn to go faster out of the turn. Here's the basic idea:
In a turn you shouldn't be fighting the car. There's a limit to the car's ability and if you exceed it your times will get worse. This means you need to slow way down for the start of the turn, so you can remain in control around the turn, allowing you to roll onto the throttle as you finish the turn. If you find yourself fighting the car and sliding to the outside then you went into the turn too fast. Think of this over simplified example: The first third of a turn is the slowest and if you're really good you may even be lightly braking still at this point. The second third you have stopped decelerating and started to apply a tiny bit of throttle, not to accelerate, but to balance the car. Finally, if you've done the first two thirds of the corner correctly, you'll be able to roll onto the throttle in the final third of the turn and be already accelerating before you even leave the corner!
This leads us to the next lesson:
The Turn Before A Good Straight Is The Most Important
It's a simple premise really, the faster you exit a turn, the faster you go down the straight. If you use the Slow In, Fast Out rule above, you will find your times drop significantly. Note these important turns when you walk the course in the morning. See a decent straight? Look long and hard at the turn before it. Where do you want to enter it? Where is the apex? And most importantly, how do you take that turn in a way that allows you to start accelerating the soonest? Even one mile per hour faster out of the turn is one mile per hour faster than your competitor down the straight. Remember, when I say faster out of the turn you need to be in absolute control of the car and not fighting it.
And finally:
Slow Down To Go Faster
Confused yet? It's all about control. If you and your car are out of control you can't better your times. Sure, sliding around makes lot's of smoke and cool noises, and you may even get a round of applause, but it will also make your times suffer. So make sure you're not fighting the car to stay in line, and if you are, slow down! It's rather rare to win a race when you're all over the place. And if you need proof of this, simply watch the fastest drivers at the event. Are they plowing through a turn, fighting the front tires as they loose grip? Are they drifting sideways through the turns at crazy angles? No. So slow yourself down, stay in control, and be the faster driver.
