Rawr I want to autox again!!!! Sadly cuz of my busy schedule, won't have my next event till August!!

 

Had an event today held by the local Alfa-Romeo Club. Weather was perfect, course was narrow as expected. My issues today were not looking ahead and not braking correctly. However I did have very consistent times with the fastest being a 52.41x on my 3rd run. Faster 370Z guy got a 50.x

I got to ride with a couple other really fast 350/370 drivers. The two main differences I noticed between their driving and mine were the level of braking and sliding transitions.

Braking - Ok I know I still need to brake later and harder, but I found it hard to brake at the long sweeper in the back because I could never get my car straight enough. I had to slow down halfway through the sweeper in order to straighten the car in order to slam on the brakes before turning. One of my runs I tried to brake while still turning which we all know is a big no-no, that ended up in me almost spinning so forget that idea. Somehow you guys did it though.

Sliding - I found it interesting that both of them slid their cars a lot through each of the transitions. It was almost like slide one corner then go into another slide the next. It was strange cuz I've always tried to drive on the verge of grip. But they kinda went in between grip and slide. But I guess they controlled it enough to make it smooth and fast.

Anyhow, fun day and definitely learned a lot. Can't wait for next Sunday!

Here's the vid of my last run (not my fastest, but you get the idea of my lines). Comments welcome.

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Nice driving. I didn't know there was an autox today, looks like Belle Isle.

 

Nice driving Rob!

 

I am not too good at giving advice from videos, but I might be able to help with the braking and sliding stuff you are working on....

Braking- you can brake while the car is loaded in a turn, but you have to work with the car. Just letting off the gas in a turn can get the back "light" (like it might step out) and braking can indeed bring the car around. However, with practice you can find ways to transition the car, and the forces at work, from turning to slowing and a lot of gray area in between.

(When the car is loaded in a turn, you can even use the brake to gently rotate the rear of the car to set up for the next maneuver.)

Start gentle and transition (quickly) to forceful as the car's weight shifts and allows for more brake. This happens very fast and takes some getting used to. The back should not step out any more than you need it to (if at all) but the car shouldn't feel "settled" either. (-Until the very moment you need to get back on the throttle.)

Sliding- the sliding you are describing sounds like what I have heard called "throw and catch", "wagging the tail", "dancing" etc.

I do this, but I am still working on improving my precision. Car setup also can effect how easy or difficult this is.

In a slalom, for instance, if my back end doesn't "move" enough I will step on the cones with my rear tire. Of course, if it moves too much I will get out of rhythm and lose time that way too.

You basically "start" to upset the car (throw) in one direction (without actually getting a lot of slip angle) and then do the same thing in the opposite direction the moment it "catches". You actually have to anticipate the "catch" moment and turn early so that everything happens when it should.

When your speed and timing are perfect it's a beautiful thing. I seldom get an entire slalom "right", but it's starting to become less rare for me.

BTW: I know AznSky already knows this, but a little a disclaimer for anyone, with no track time, that might stumble into this thread.....

This is the kind of stuff that needs to be learned on a track. The learning curve often includes spins and/or hitting stuff. (cones) And even veteran track junkies get this stuff wrong from time to time. (myself included)

 

Wow... such awesome driving, you MUST be on RE-11s. Email me back about Aug 22nd!

 

yeah sorry, been crazy at work. I'll email you tomorow.

Plus you need to help me devise a plan on how to beat Z1 in Milwaukee

 

Another autocross today at Belle Isle. Course was a lot more open which meant a lot faster than last week.

First couple runs were slow, but started pushing it and was able to cut over 2 full seconds by the 4th run. I was even FTD for a good half of the day (only because the fast guys were at a SCCA event in Indiana, and the ones that stayed behind were coning every run ) Right before I left though there was a turbo miata that had just beat me by 0.02 seconds Still really proud of my improvement

Key points for me this course was slowing down for the first slalom. I also realized I drove more conservative after the 2nd slalom to try to keep my run clean. I bet if I pushed it more I could have gotten into the 51's.

Oh well, a few more events before the National Street Tire Challenge in Milwaukee.

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