The shell and structure of the new building to house the Learn To Race simulator is coming along.
In 2019 we will be offering track familiarisation sessions at a variety of tracks from all corners of the globe along with driver coaching sessions.
Contact us to find out more and to book a session.
Interesting video from Safe Is Fast with a few drivers explaining their way of getting into, and out of, a corner. You will hear the word ‘rotation’ alot as this is key: getting the car into the corner and using the pitch under braking to move the grip forwards to allow you to rotate the car so you can get cleanly on the power on the exit.
You will also notice some slight variations in emphasis each driver gives to different parts of the corner. This shows the individual style of the driver and where they are strongest so best able to maximise their corner.
Lap times will usually drop off when racing in the dark. This has a few scientific factors such as track and air temperature changes but the biggest drop is usually down to the driver going slower.
Remember, the track isn’t any different in the dark, the corners are still in the same place so make sure you know the track better than the inside of your own pockets so you loose the least amount of time possible.
In rough terms, the speed at which you can apply the brake pedal is related to your spring and damper rate. The stiffer the spring and damper the faster weight transfers so the quicker the front tyres load up and generate more traction allowing you to brake harder. The softer the spring and damper, the slower you need to apply the brake as the weight transfers forward more slowly taking longer to load the front tyres, which generates the traction to allow you to brake hard.
Unless you are driving a ‘downforce’ car, then just hit the pedal as quick and as hard as you can. The downforce is already pushing the tyre into the track generating traction and in anything with GT3 or higher levels of downforce its almost impossible to block the brake at speed as the downforce generates more traction than the brake can overcome.
It’s tempting, at this time of year, to kick back and relax. The new season is ages away, right?
Start your prep now. If you don’t I can guarantee someone else on the grid has already started their prep and you want to start the season as prepared as you can be, not be playing catch-up.
I’m issuing you a challenge for the winter: learn how to make data work for you.
Spend time looking at your chosen data analysis software and learn all it can offer. The more you know about it the better weapon it is in your arsenal. Learn to read all the data efficiently and fluently so you can identify all the ways it can show where improvements can be made in your driving.
This will give you a big advantage in 2019 in getting up to speed quickly and maximising your performance.
If you need any help with your data analysis drop me a line and I’ll be happy to book a coaching slot for you.
Finishing off the last working day of the year today with the end of a 2 week event giving guests the opportunity to ‘Be The First’ to drive the fantastic new BMW 8 Series.
December and January are often quieter months in the motorsport community as the weather can preclude any decent tracktime so at LearnToRace HQ I’ll be using the time to build a simulator to enable track familiarisation and coaching sessions to be done all year round.
Updates will be on here during the build process and the simulator will be open for business in the New Year.
