Re: track safety

[albert jenab <jenab@xxxxxxx>]

At 12:51 AM 10/9/98 -0400, duane wrote:

(some very good comments)

>Why this is not drilled upon in the Driver's Meetings is beyond me.  The
>typical pre-session Driver meeting is far more concerned with pass waves
>(don't even get me started on those) than how to handle an off-track event.
>If you don't know what to do when you go off the track (and you WILL go off
>the track if you do these days enough) then ask someone how to do it.
>Better learn it the right way and how to recognize when you're cooked.

Would like to add something regarding passing slower cars that won't move over.  Take a dive into the pits.  There is no reason somebody should have been trying (or been allowed to try) to pull a late pass on somebody else into turn 3, for god's sake.  Simple and safe solution is to zip through the pits, cool down a little and come back out on a clear track.  Instructors ought to drill this into students' heads and event organizers should drill this into instructors' heads.  This ain't a race.  And while it's important to know how to handle the car off-track, getting off in the first place by pulling a stupid pass attempt is the more critical issue.

I ran a stock miata at FATT, Seat Times, etc. for many years.  Almost every session I'd get stuck behind some corvette, mustang, testa rossa etc. that wouldn't get out of the way and would then disappear down the main straight, only to end up with me on his bumper through the carousel (or by turn 2 if they were really bad).  So I was a frequent mid-session pit visitor.  One time we were getting waved out of the pits by the flagger at the beginning of a session.  I was second in line behind a big-block full-race vintage 'vette.  He flags the vette out and then puts his hand up as I'm going out for me to stop.  So I flip up my visor and say what gives.  He says I just want to give that guy a little time before you catch him.  Made my day.  Never did pass him but I was on his bumper by the last lap.

Another thing I used to do was (gasp!) slow down and let the guy get a large lead.  By accident I found that since I was able to run the carousel much faster, if I timed it just right I had so much more speed as I came up on their rear end by turn 9 that I would just blow right past them at the exit, and there was not enough time for them to catch me by the entry to 10.  Usually this would keep them from passing again on the main straight.  If they did, I'd just blow by again at 9.  This got to be loads of fun and opened up a whole new area of learning how to pass people based on relative strengths of car/driver at different points on the track.

Anyway, so you miss two minutes of track time by ducking into the pits.  BFD.  You'll more than make up for it in less frustration and more open track.  Plus you cool off your brakes a little, the red mist thins a bit, and you're not tempted to do something truly dangerous (like outbrake somebody going into turn 3).
- -Al

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