Survived my first race

[Darren]

steveh wrote:

Great stuff. Here's a question that may steer this thread back to a more "DE" oriented theme. Todd, Darren and the other SER are all front-drivers, and all very fast around the track. I've never driven an FWD car on track, but they seem to be plenty quick (there were also a couple of H4 Hondas in one of the races, that seemed to do very well).

Are there significant differences in line, throttle application, car rotation in turns, brake bias, trail braking etc. between the FWD's and RWD's, or do they drive and handle pretty much the same?

There are some differences, but pretty much the same thing.

When the back end starts stepping out on a FWD car you just mash the gas and the front wheels will pull you out of the spin. It also transfers more weight aft which helps the rear traction. There is a video from a pro race a few weeks ago where a FWD car is sideways and the driver recovers!

A lot of people will say (erroneously) that when a FWD car starts to spin there isn't anything you can do. It's just not true and if the car is set up well they are very easy to control.

I also mash the gas if I go off track (in a race) which I'd never do in a RWD car. It's a delicate balance though As long as the back wheels aren't going faster than the front you won't spin