TRACK days
- Thread starter Bruce Jibboo
- Start date
agree autobahn has much more space.
i am awful at a new track, a total mess. i need 2 sessions to just learn things and poke around and my pace is pretty poor i think. 3rd session i start driving closer to a normal speed.
depending on the track, if it's my first time there, i'll weigh between starting out in intermediate or starting out in novice. the latter might be better since a lot of people will be doing the same thing, and if you get it down you could ask to be bumped up.
if you have zero track time whatsoever, you should absolutely start with beginner. aside from the new track/motorsport, you'll also be juggling other new to you things - how to take/give a pass, keeping an eye out for/remembering/listening to flag signals, etc.
i also never actually braked hard until i was in someone else's car (my instructor) who actually braked hard... it just didn't click to me until then that what i thought was hard really wasn't.
some groups have no instructors, some have people who've lapped a bit or are buddies with the guys running it, some groups have dudes with racing licenses and pro experience.
not necessary but imho one of the best introductions is a bmwcca school. usually done 1-2 times a year at autobahn/gingerman.
if you end up at autobahn monday, if you want to go as passenger fyi only the advanced drivers could take you with this organization. the guy i'll be next to could take you.
I plan to leave the computer on all day until maybe 1-2 laps at the end of the day once I'm very comfortable.
I fully appreciate technology that can save me and my car from my ignorance and heavy right foot!
there seem to be 2 philosophies here, leave it on until your comfy and turn it off - or just turn it off and go from there. on one hand you could argue the first keeps you safer until you are ready, but on the other it might let you get away with/teach you bad habits. the latter might mean you start out driving slower but also learn to behave with your car and not do bad things, and when you do lose it, you're probably going slower.
personally i go out in sports mode, which in the brz is pretty good. once i am comfortable at a track i will go into a much more off mode that will give me more than enough rope to hang myself. i know for sure the sports mode has saved me from spins that the other mode will let me go right into.
TLDR, but I'm a decent driver and go pretty aggressive right out of the box. I've had some professional driving instruction and know enough to be dangerous.
note that the progression isn't necessarily about speed - more about following the rules and flags in particular from novice to intermediate. people want you to know enough to be predictable and safe.
The computer uses the engine functions and the brakes to control the car. I have seen and heard of people leaving the computer in full control and kill the rear brakes quickly. A "sport" mode probably is less intrusive than the lets the car get a little more out of shape before intervening. Meaning the brakes will be used less by the computer.
The instructors were a HUGE help for me. I know how to handle the car pretty well. By the time I got done with my first and second track day I was a better driver, understood how the car works with different inputs and was WAY quicker around the tracks.
I also worry about running in the intermediate group just because of the passing. In the beginner group you have to be waved by to pass. Well in intermediate you can make safe passes. But I worry I pick a wrong line or do something wrong in a pass that causes damage to my car and someone else's car. Or someone else doing something wrong and I have no control over the outcome. So for now I still run the beginners class until I know the car as best I can and feel comfortable stepping up to intermediate. I am not ashamed to say I am a beginner. haha
note that the progression isn't necessarily about speed - more about following the rules and flags in particular form novice to intermediate. people want you to know enough to be predictable and safe.
Slow, steady and safe. Learn the lines and how to be smooth. Speed and quicker lap times.
I want to get back on the track. Haven’t been in years. Lots of great advice here.
I was lucky that I have a friend that is a really great driver and has a ton of seat time at Autobahn and Gingerman-Both are awesome tracks for beginners. My suggestion is to find someone that KNOWS the track and let them drive you around for a while. Pay attention to the line they are taking and where they are braking. Then switch seats and go around and practice hitting the line and improving your braking. Be humble and know that you are not going to be the fastest car out on the track and even then there’s always someone faster. I just tried to listen, learn and test different approaches to see how they work.
Another thing to remember is that these are really driver education events and not open wheel racing, so don’t drive like it. Be courteous of others on the track and let faster cars pass. At the end of the day, safety is what counts. No one wants to damage their car or get hurt.
I was lucky that I have a friend that is a really great driver and has a ton of seat time at Autobahn and Gingerman-Both are awesome tracks for beginners. My suggestion is to find someone that KNOWS the track and let them drive you around for a while. Pay attention to the line they are taking and where they are braking. Then switch seats and go around and practice hitting the line and improving your braking. Be humble and know that you are not going to be the fastest car out on the track and even then there’s always someone faster. I just tried to listen, learn and test different approaches to see how they work.
Another thing to remember is that these are really driver education events and not open wheel racing, so don’t drive like it. Be courteous of others on the track and let faster cars pass. At the end of the day, safety is what counts. No one wants to damage their car or get hurt.
it looks like laps still has spots because they keep showing ads to me on facebook. plus if you bring a new buddy or 2 they give you some cashola off your next event.
in any case if you can make it, monday is autobahn full with laps, i'm kind of mixed between ab south or ab full is my favorite track. in any case it's rare to get the full opportunity and pretty much always on a monday. late registration but you can still get in!
in any case if you can make it, monday is autobahn full with laps, i'm kind of mixed between ab south or ab full is my favorite track. in any case it's rare to get the full opportunity and pretty much always on a monday. late registration but you can still get in!
i'm not sure what group that is - i think most even still require advanced to point? i have never been to a day as intermediate where i was not required to give or receive a point. usually the difference is novice can pass in say 3 areas while intermediate can have 5, etc, if any difference at all.
fyi at the nurburging no points (or helmets) but there are cops there and it is a 'one way public toll road with no speed limit' - it basically has a virtual left and right lane. if you roll around in the right the whole time you are fine, but if you go into the left to be on the racing line and set up a turn, but you doing so caused an accident, the cops may find you at fault for an accident. i was constantly checking my mirrors up to any right turn.
i will be in a suzuka blue s2k most likely next to audi andy's trailer. i'll be running novice though. my friend who's going with (no longer driving after getting his race car rear ended last night on the way to my shop to get race prepped) is instructing, so he'll be riding with me on my sessions.
any idea who else is going to be at the event besides laps?
any idea who else is going to be at the event besides laps?
ooh that sucks, sorry about your bud.
do you guys know austin?
most events are just one group, although i think sometimes someone co-hosts them to try and bring in more people. the last time i went to an audi event it was really laps or mvp i think, audi no longer runs their own. actually bmw is the only one that runs their own still, as far as i know.
do you guys know austin?
most events are just one group, although i think sometimes someone co-hosts them to try and bring in more people. the last time i went to an audi event it was really laps or mvp i think, audi no longer runs their own. actually bmw is the only one that runs their own still, as far as i know.
i dont remember austin, what does he drive? i'd probably recognize his car
last event i went to a viper club and some porsche club was also cohosting. watching those maniacs in fiberglass body'd race car vipers scream around the track in the rain was awesome
actually i think the last laps event did do some kind of cohost with a viper group - there were lots of them.
austin has a red but multi-color/paneled s2k. for a time he also had a red scion frs. i think he has the fastest frs time at gingerman and is pry in the running with the s2k.
1:45.578 at gman in the frs
1:35.028 at ab south s2k
he brought a stock vw wagon to gridlife, at times he had 4 passengers, i was with on one of them. i'm not sure if that was enough to slow him down to my speed even...
i have most of the upcoming events here eagle. i'm not signed up for any of these yet though. what are you guys planning on going to?
You're gonna like that track. Lots of turns and elevation changes. Only the pros however get to run the full 3.2 miles.
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