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Race
Driving Fundamentals Chapter 5 Starts The start of every race is the one facet of racing where driver participates in on an equal footing no matter what the performance of your racecar. Whether you are first or last on the grid, the object is the same. In professional drag racing mathematically faster cars are beat by faster reaction times on the initial roll out of the car from the starting line. In formula one and in most all of Europe, standing starts are the norm. They are a sight to behold! The start is the most stressful, but exhilarating part of the entire race. The demands made of you mentally, physically and socially are great. I say socially because is you mess it up big time and wreck yourself and others you may destroy your future career as a race driver! In the late eighties, during an Indy 500 race, Roberto Guerrero had the fastest car and his career was in high gear. His turbo Buick powered racecar was so powerful that when it came on the turbo boost it took extra concentration to control the car’s tendency to go completely out of control. At the start of the race, Roberto was about 4th on the grid. Just seconds before the field got the green flag, Roberto’s engine came on the boost down the straight-away. He must have had a momentary lapse of concentration because the racecar veered to the right and hit two cars, thus putting them out of the race as well as his own! This was one mistake that was unforgivable in the eyes of his peers, car owners, and car sponsors. As a result his career went downhill: no more first class cars and no more trust from his fellow drivers. In auto racing it may seem like a “loner” sport but to be successful you need cooperation and favors for yourself, your car, and your crew. Let us examine what Roberto was contending with at that fateful time. Number one: sensory deprivation- his hearing was non-existent because of the extreme noise from all of those cars packed so close together. This put an extreme strain on his hearing. He had to monitor the tachometer to know what level the engine is performing at. Remember practicing knowing your RPM by ear. The eyes were in 100% use with keeping track of competitors all around him. Plus, he was watching for the green flag way out in front of his racecar. Also he was warming up his tires to make sure they would take the sudden acceleration. Physically there is a disconnection because of the lack of hearing your own engine. All in all, starts are very unnerving, but very rewarding. Many times I have seen drivers with slower cars get great starts and be the object of admiration by fellow race drivers and car owners alike, even though they may have wound up coming in last place! Many very good race drivers have crippled their careers by never getting a good start. They always concentrated on good finish! Car owners and sponsors like first impressions because theirs constituents remember first impressions. To practice rolling starts put in your ear-plugs and turn up your radio high enough to drown out any hearing or sensation you feel with your engine. It will be very nerve-racking to say the least. Next find some turns that lead into a straight-away. Freeway on-ramps are excellent because you can accelerate as fast as you want, up to the legal speed limit. While you are accelerating check your mental attitude, are you using the right side of your brain. Is any part, such as your hands, tensed up at all? Next use your full vision. What are the objects from side to side of you? Pick out the most minuscule details from the rearmost part of your side vision. At the same time pick out an imaginary flagman out in the distance. Do this while going through the turn also, because if you are at the back of the starting grid many times the field is so stretched out that the flag will be dropped while cars are still going through a corner. You must look across the corner at the flagman. You should not rely on the car ahead of you, you may want to swing around them because they are not watching or they might have car trouble. Another good practice is to drive next to very large trucks with your windows rolled down and your earplugs in and radio up very high. Do this for almost 5 minutes. If you plan on driving an open wheeled racecar, line up your head next to the turning tires. Hopefully some tire particles will come off and hit your car or even you! That is precisely what it feels like to race open wheeled cars! Review: 1. Practice freeway on ramps 10 times daily. 2. Practice next to big trucks 3 times daily. 3.
Daily use your newly developed intuition to guess when the light will turn green. Just say
“NOW!” when you think it will change. 4. When at a stop light next to another car, always accelerate when the light changes to green before they do. 5. Record in your logbook your
response to the stress. Chapter 6 - Traffic
Motor Meister Inc. 12262 Woodruff Avenue Downey, California 90241 Motor Meister is not
affiliated with Porsche Cars North America or Dr. Ing. h.c.F. Porsche AG. |
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