Der Gasser

[smankow]

jakp993 wrote:

What if we made a skidpad session available for all participants? We determined that we could cycle everyone through the skidpad in a weekend, giving everyone 5-10 minutes on the pad. That may not sound like much, but anyone that's been on a skidpad knows that's a ton of time.

The objective is to teach students what happens when you lift in a corner, what understeer feels like, how to correct oversteer, etc. This would give the students an opportunity to experience these dynamics in a safe environment so they understand what they are feeling on the track at speed, and to know the consequences of their driving inputs.

Should we make this mandatory if we offer it at an event? Should this be a prerequisite for driving solo?

I'd love your views on this.

Take care,
Jack

I'd like to see us use the skid pad on more occassions. It is a great learning tool, as mentioned. We have used the skip pad at SP, but we need to organize it a little better to faciliate both the students and the instructors. Yes, it helps to have an instructor in the car initially to talk about oversteer and understeer and how to identify and correct.

An idea would be to cycle instructors and students between run groups, but have the students sign up for a particular time or maybe with a particular instructor. In this fashion, everyone would be able to keep their run groups, work assignments, etc. and learn at a time that would be better for them.

As for participation, I'd make it mandatory for instructed group students and have them get time preferences. Any open times would be based upon availability for the other groups.



Steve