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After my father wadded up his car in turn 10 at Watkins Glen last season I keep asking the question and we have had many hours of discussion on the subject of car control. I don't know the answer as to how to better teach it or even how it is taught in the first place.
We teach "The Proper Line", awareness, safety etc. There is an inherent problem with this. The proper line unfortunately supports the most speed. The more you strictly adhere to the proper line the faster you can go without ever getting near the limits of adhesion of your car. What happens then when you exceed these limits for the first time and you never have before?? How, even when you're believed to be a capable driver that gets around very quickly, do you have any idea what to do when the car truly starts sliding? Even more to the point and at the crux of the issue is that you don't have time to think "this is what I should do now" when you're traveling 85 to 90 mph in turn 10 at Watkins Glen or 11 at Summit and the car begins to slide off the track.
Some will say skidpads which are ok for what they are. Many times they are used incorrectly as slide training courses. What I believe needs to be taught, but really can't be for safety reasons unless enough space is available, is circling the pad as fast as you possibly can while trying to maintain control of the car on the very limits of adhesion. Not inducing slides which are actually quite meaningless when related to racetrack application. Speeds are 1/3 to 1/4 as fast during induced slides as they will be on the racetrack.
Slide correction also needs to be done instinctively, subconsciously. The processing of a sudden high speed slide is almost proactive and not reactive in nature. You know you are going fast enough to know you will slide and your corrections will automatically happen. You certainly don't want to be wondering "Am I going too fast and what do I do if I start sliding"?
My Dad had no idea what to do once he started sliding at the speeds he was traveling. He was on the line getting around pretty well and then turned in too early to 10. Next he lifted and turned the wheel more in an effort to slow down and keep the car on the track. Wrong moves both of them. Problem was this was his first time ever sliding a car at speeds like that. What happened next was a totalled car sitting in the kitty litter.
What are your ideas on the best way to teach car control?
We teach "The Proper Line", awareness, safety etc. There is an inherent problem with this. The proper line unfortunately supports the most speed. The more you strictly adhere to the proper line the faster you can go without ever getting near the limits of adhesion of your car. What happens then when you exceed these limits for the first time and you never have before?? How, even when you're believed to be a capable driver that gets around very quickly, do you have any idea what to do when the car truly starts sliding? Even more to the point and at the crux of the issue is that you don't have time to think "this is what I should do now" when you're traveling 85 to 90 mph in turn 10 at Watkins Glen or 11 at Summit and the car begins to slide off the track.
Some will say skidpads which are ok for what they are. Many times they are used incorrectly as slide training courses. What I believe needs to be taught, but really can't be for safety reasons unless enough space is available, is circling the pad as fast as you possibly can while trying to maintain control of the car on the very limits of adhesion. Not inducing slides which are actually quite meaningless when related to racetrack application. Speeds are 1/3 to 1/4 as fast during induced slides as they will be on the racetrack.
Slide correction also needs to be done instinctively, subconsciously. The processing of a sudden high speed slide is almost proactive and not reactive in nature. You know you are going fast enough to know you will slide and your corrections will automatically happen. You certainly don't want to be wondering "Am I going too fast and what do I do if I start sliding"?
My Dad had no idea what to do once he started sliding at the speeds he was traveling. He was on the line getting around pretty well and then turned in too early to 10. Next he lifted and turned the wheel more in an effort to slow down and keep the car on the track. Wrong moves both of them. Problem was this was his first time ever sliding a car at speeds like that. What happened next was a totalled car sitting in the kitty litter.
What are your ideas on the best way to teach car control?