ARPCA Welcomes You To Watkins Glen

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ARPCAWelcomes You To Watkins Glen!

• A and B Classroom
• Advanced Techniques

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Self Coaching

• How far ahead do I look on highway / city streets
  / race track? Can I look farther ahead?
• How consistent is my corner entry speed? Does my
  speed at turn-in vary from lap to lap by 1 mph or
  more?
• When did I last work on practicing my traction
  sensing skills?

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• How tightly do I grip the steering wheel on the
  street / race track? Can I relax grip?
• Where am I in the continuous learning process
  loop? Have I perfected the line / exit phase /
  corner entry / mid-corner speed?
• What can I do to improve the above? Turn in
  later or earlier? Begin accelerating earlier?
  Or get on throttle harder at same place? Make
  smoother transition from brake to throttle? Turn
  steering wheel less or unwind earlier?
• What would happen if I turned in 1 or 2 feet
  later? Earlier?

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• Am I apexing too early? Too late? Is the car at
  the right angle when pass the apex?
• Am I unwinding the steering wheel from the apex
  on out? Letting car run free at exit?
• Which is most important corner on track? Second
  most important, etc?
• Am I using all of the tires traction when
  accelerating out of the corners?
• What happens when I start accelerating sooner?
  If I squeezed throttle quicker? Am I causing
  under steer / over steer by accelerating too
  hard? Can I squeeze throttle smoother?

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• Am I holding the car in the corner too long? Can
  I unwind steering sooner?
• Before I get to apex am I looking through the
  exit point and down the straight?
• Can I carry 1 mile per hour more into the corner?
  2 mile? 3 mile? What happens on each change?
• Can I left-foot brake in my car? Do I have the
  required sensitivity?
• Am I coming off the brake pedal too quickly? Can
  I come off more gently? How does it change the
  feel?

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• Am I over-slowing the car on entry? Is that
  resulting on too hard a throttle? What do I do
  to make the car turn in with more speed? Trail
  brake more or less? Change in line? Turn
  steering wheel more crisply / slowly?
• Hows the cars balance during the entry phase of
  the corner? How about in the mid-corner phase?
  What can I do to improve the cars balance? Ease
  off brakes more gently? More progressive with
  steering input? Squeeze on throttle more
  smoothly? Make smoother transition from braking
  to throttle?

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What is your cars most efficient performance
system?

• BRAKES

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Braking Techniques

• Threshold Braking
• Trail Braking
• Left Foot Braking
• Driving with your feet / Steering with the
  Throttle

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Threshold Braking

• Smoothness essential.
• Holding the braking at the absolute threshold of
  the limit while still keeping control and not
  locking the wheels.
• Initially, a little jab of the brake on a scale
  of four out of ten causing instant weight
  transfer to the front wheels.
• Then squeeze on the brake pedal in earnest, which
  puts more weight on the front wheels until you
  reach ten on the scale.
• Contemporary vehicles when ABS starts to engage.

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Trail Braking

• Maintaining a low and decreasing level of brake
  application into a turn even as far as the apex.
• Keeps weight on the front tires at a time you
  need it most. Sets the suspension.
• Every car and every turn requires a different
  amount of trail braking from none to a lot.
• Slower and tighter the turn, the more you will
  use trail braking.

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Left Foot Braking

• Difficult concept. Practice on the street.
• Must concentrate / be very smooth on the brake.
  Not like pushing the clutch in and out.
• Keep the power on the gas while braking
  intermittently with your left foot.
• Keeps car balanced / weight more neutral.
• Turn one Nelsons, Keyhole Mid-Ohio, Carousel,
  Watkins Glen.

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Driving With Your Feet / Steering With The
Throttle

• Using the brakes and throttle to alter the cars
  balance at various points in a turn to make the
  car turn.
• Controls the amount of understeer and oversteer
  to your advantage.
• Can make your car rotate and point through the
  turn with little movement of the steering wheel.
  Managing weight transfer.
• Less turn of steering wheel scrubs off less speed
  as front tires straighter.
• Straighter the steering wheel the sooner on the
  throttle.

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Maximizing Traction / Controlling Weight Transfer

• Successful high performance driving equals
  maximizing traction.
• Maximum traction achieved by controlling weight
  transfer.
• Tire contact patch about the size of your hand.
• Smoothly transfer weight. When gas weight goes
  to rear of car. Lift, weight starts to move
  front. Brake, front shocks and springs compress
  increasing contact patch.
• GOAL - make weight transfer harmonize with needs
  of suspension and tires to achieve optimum
  traction Set suspension.
• Getting to know your particular car, you will
  learn its particular balance.

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Getting to Know Trouble

• Two types of emergency situations
• 1. Originates from you or your car.
• 2. Someone elses actions.
• Most out of control situations Result of lack
  of CONCENTRATION / FATIGUE.
• Anticipation and proper eye technique help keep
  you from trouble. Skilled drivers become experts
  at anticipating.
• Swerving to miss someone spinning or to miss oil
  or deer on the track can be done safely if you
  are alert, are looking far enough ahead and your
  reactions are quick enough.
• First Do not use your brakes Instead lift off
  the throttle transferring weight forward giving
  you a larger tire contact patch.
• Second Turn to avoid the object Aim for where
  the object has been and put the power back on
  smoothly.
• Going off the track Most important to turn the
  wheels straight stay off the brakes and ease
  smoothly and carefully back on the track.
• Most common skid is rear of the car sliding out.
  Left or right its the same. Stay off the brakes
  and quickly steer in the direction the rear of
  the car is sliding.

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Mental Imagery

• Developing a mental program for the act of
  driving a car on the track.
• Two types of Mental Imagery
• 1. Cognitive Rehearsal of specific skills the
  line, braking points, throttle application,
  applying what you have felt feel from the
  car.
• 2. Motivational Goals and goal attainment, mental
  toughness, setting mental objectives and goals
  for each track session.
• Use all of your senses in Mental Imagery just
  like you should when driving. Smell Hear
  Feel See.
• Mental Imagery takes practice.
• Your mind should be relaxed.
• Start Mental Imagery weeks before your track
  event.
• Sit in your car ten or twenty minutes before your
  track session.

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Chassis Adjustments Tire Pressures
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Seat Time

• PRACTICE
• PRACTICE
• PRACTICE
• BE SAFE