After my track day in a GT40 I started to plan my next drive in it and was thinking about the things I should, or should not, try in my next drive and the risks involved therein.

To my mind the biggest accidents happen during, or as a result of the braking phase of the corner when the consequence of misjudgement or mechanical failure is the most serious. i.e. a small error in your braking point can lead to a big off and is really difficult (or generally impossible) to recover from. But maybe the biggest thrill happens in the turn in to the apex and acceleration out of the corner when the consequence of an error in judgement is generally a spin, or under steering which is easy to correct with a gentle lift of the throttle.

So would I be right in thinking that to reduce risk of a really big off one should be most cautious during the braking phase, i.e. brake early and lighter but keep the speed closer to the limits during the rest of the corner.

The other thought is that the worst wear on the tyres and highest mechanical loads is also most probably during the braking phase which increases the risk of mechanical failure.

So what do you think is the right strategy.

hmm I think mine would be, not to race a hired car or is this a car suppied by the race track owners for you to drive into a wall?

I'm not being cheeky like, I was just wondering



[Edited on 1/2/08 by Mr Whippy]

I think you think too deeply about it In other people's cars (that I'm not paying to drive) I sometimes hold back a bit, but it's more for mechanical sympathy than anything else.

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Originally posted by Mr Whippy
hmm I think mine would be, not to race a hired car

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I work up gradually, especially if I've not been to the circuit before, but I aim for the best racing laps I can - braking as late as possible, using the apexes properly and using full throttle for as long as possible. Though most circuits in the UK don't allow timing for insurance purposes, videoing it and watching the laps back on the video allows you to get an idea of lap times, and where you might be losing time on a lap.

Note the use of the word gradual. I have a video of me crashing swmbo's dad's trackday car at Castle Combe, with him in the passenger seat. I braked in the wrong place for quarry, didn't use the apex and dropped onto the very wet grass. Slid sideways into the tyres, damaging every panel on the passenger side. Doh!

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Originally posted by Ivan

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Originally posted by Mr Whippy
hmm I think mine would be, not to race a hired car

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It's not a hired car as such - it's a trackday car used for that purpose with the owner present.

I only used the expression "hired" as previously people thought I had bought it. - I bought the right to drive it on 6 trackdays.

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SPANK IT!

Hi there, just having read your post, perhaps I can give you a few pointers.

First of all, it's not a race so you don't have to be at ten tenths right from the start. Take it steady and work on smoothness and working out where the clipping points and apexes are. Then of course there are you braking points. These will change as your knowledge of the circuit and your car increases.

There are three phases of cornering, the braking, turn in and exit. Each has to executed to perfection one element flowing into the next seamlessly. Easy to say but much more difficult to put into practice.

Under braking, the car is unstable with all the weight having been transferred to the front. This why you should aim for braking in a straight line not in the corner. Don't leave it too late and build in a margin of safety should it go wrong. Brake progressively harder and harder which will give the weight transfer time to take place and give maximum grip from the front wheels. A sudden hard braking can cause a lock up which will prevent any steering.

Try to be inch perfect with your lines, turning in at precisely the same point on each lap and hitting the apex each time. The old adage of slow in fast out is very true. try to keep the car nicely balanced and drive at a pace where you are in control.

When I worked for Jonathan Palmer at Bedford Autodrome we had a lad there who was so smooth you thought he was slow until you saw his lap times. It was unbelievable. Each time you get out of shape you are losing time.

So to summarise, don't be the last of the late brakers and work on precision and smoothness and if you put a clock on yourself you will be amazed at the improvement.

atb

John

I start off fairly gently until I know the track and have warmed up the tyres, then I gradually build up. I don't go to 100% though because if you overcook it, you're off and are either walking home or you're Richard Hammond. Its just a bit of fun.

Just go and have fun, if you think about it to much you will make more mistakes.

Thanks for the feedback guys - re the over thinking - that is what I do - I guess it's the engineer in me - have found in life that it takes me to higher levels of performance like winning the national championships of my dinghy class or setting very consistant fastest time of day lap times in a Formula Atlantic track driving experience (I have never raced cars ) - I think mainly because a strategy helps smoothness and consequently speed and reduces errors.

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Originally posted by Ivan
Thanks for the feedback guys - re the over thinking - that is what I do - I guess it's the engineer in me - have found in life that it takes me to higher levels of performance like winning the national championships of my dinghy class or setting very consistant fastest time of day lap times in a Formula Atlantic track driving experience (I have never raced cars ) - I think mainly because a strategy helps smoothness and consequently speed and reduces errors.

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Ja Jubal - good point. I guess the whole art is to drive as close to the limit of your confort zone as possible.

What got me thinking about it was that on some corners under really heavy braking (98% or just below lock up) the car started to squirm quiet a lot and it made it difficult to stay smooth and actualy place it accurately for the turn-in., whilst under 90% braking the whole corner became what you said it should be (a flowing whole).

Part of the problem with the car I think is that the tyres where pretty ordinary road tyres and beyond their comfort zone (in some ways a good thing as they really squealed when reaching the limit and gave plenty of warning of that limit). It might be a whole different experience the next time with racing slicks