the perfect driver

[Brian Minkin]

michael lang wrote:

Brian, when you do have a student that you can tell is nervous or on mental overload, what do you tell them or what do you do to help settle them down?

The nervous student will probably have death grip on the steering wheel and their body will be very tense. I usually suggest that they loosen the death grip and relax their arms and shoulders. I am understanding of how they feel as I have been there myself. I suggest that we do not need to be concerned with the speed of the other cars/drivers and that we only need to drive at a speed they are comfortable with. To lower mental overload we will work on one thing at a time and build our skills and knowledge in easy steps rather then trying to do it all at once. Lets go have fun. You will be amazed at what you and the car can do.

As Nick suggested I always try to meet the student before getting in their car and learn about the car, their experience and their goals for the day or weekend.

My main goal is that at the end of the event is that my student has a big smile on their face and that we have made progress at what ever rate they are comfortable with. Every one advances, just some faster then others.

Teaching an overly aggressive student with way to many ponies under their foot is a whole different chapter and for me a bigger challenge then helping a student overcome nerves and fear.

[Nick]

I've always told my students, the Perfect Driver doesn't react to what the car does - he anticipates what the car is going to do and makes the car do what he wants it to do.

[Nick]

The limiting factors of the perfect driver are anticipation and judgement.

[michael lang]

Nick, I have been invested alot of time already so far this offseason in learning as much as I can about track driving. My personal goals although may be steep are in my opinion very attainable. I totally get the material I have been studying so far and am very much looking forward to this coming DE season.

[fasthonda]

Nick wrote:

I've always told my students, the Perfect Driver doesn't react to what the car does - he anticipates what the car is going to do and makes the car do what he wants it to do.

hi all! i think nick has it right; i'll just add that a 'perfect driver' (i don't know that there is such a thing) should have a connection with the car; this goes beyond even anticipating what a car will do on track; for me, it's more like a relationship, i guess! when i am 'on it', or 'in the groove', or whatever you want to call that feeling/sense when out on track, and everything is clicking and you are driving very fast laps (either when DEing, or racing) -- i am linked directly to the vehicle i am driving -- it is 'transmitting' its feelings to me, and my whole body responds without intervention from my conscious brain... i don't think i am explaining this correctly or clearly, but i'll try again:

my conscious brain is doing the following -- looking ahead, seeing the cars ahead, their positions, the track ahead, and it's condition(s), flag stations, slow moving vehicles, etc. during a race, especially, my conscious brain is also trying to size up the car(s) in front and back of me; is the guy in front weak under braking? hey, he seems to slide left early at T4 every time! that might be a great place to try xxxxxxxx. meanwhile, my subconcious systems are in touch with my vehicle; listening for 'funny' sounds. and doing the mechanical 'driving'. my hands and feet do things for me, without me instructing them to! now i KNOW that sounds weird, but thats how it is for me, when i am really 'on it'. my hands will counter a slide, fractions of a second before it even occurs; and unwind fractions before the slide has stopped. the end result is a smooth drift that makes folks say 'wow'. and 'how do you DO that, time after time?'. i can explain the mechanics to them, but generally am at a loss as to explaining the timing of the mechanics. it happens for me automatically, all by itself. i always tell students that this sort of thing takes experience, experience, experience -- i usually equate it with music, or dancing (funny, because i am lousy at both!); but students can grasp the music analogy pretty well -- hours upon hours upon hours of training and things start to happen 'perfectly' all on their own (the one thing i generally leave out when speaking to students is the talent factor. i don't want to discourage them, but some level of talent must be there in order for this to occur. it is this way with me and music/dancing. i have tried, but i have no talent. it doesnt come to me when it comes to music!).

the last thing i guess i can add is that over the years i have been able to 'integrate' with the vehicle i am driving in a very short fashion. maybe this comes from the fact that i have 3 race cars and one daily driver that i track regularly. plus all the other cars i have driven on track. my mind very quickly seems to synch-up to whatever i am driving, and does its subconscious-driver thing. included along with this is the ability to respond instantly to changes in track surface, weather, or 'failings' that are happening with the car (tires going off, brakes going off, shocks overheating, etc). i'm comfortable driving just about anything, in any weather, under most circumstances. my inner computer adapts and is ready to go without any intervention from me. for me, thats how it feels (even though, after looking up in the paragraphs, i don't think i expressed myself very well! hey, i'm an engineer, i can't help it!!! )

as a last comment, i'll add that i think i am fairly low on the totem pole when it comes to this skillset. when i watch television, and i see some of the pro drivers doing what they do best -- i think they are doing what i do, but are probably doing it better by a factor of 4, or more. i like to think of it as such -- my driving brain, at least at this point, is a Pentium I 133 Mhz. i bet Randy Pobst/P. Klienubing/Cunningham et all are using Pentium IV 2.8 Ghz brains!!!

well, that turned out a lot longer than i wanted... hope that helps to illuminate the subject a bit, michael!

todd reid

[Nick]

That was a great explanation of the Zen of High Speed Driving.

 

Todd excels when driving in High Tenth Values.

 

[michael lang]

fasthonda wrote:

hope that helps to illuminate the subject a bit, michael!

todd reid

I completely understood your point, thanks!

[TwentySix]

fasthonda wrote:

the last thing i guess i can add is that over the years i have been able to 'integrate' with the vehicle i am driving in a very short fashion.

Any advice on how to acclimate to faster car?

[fasthonda]

TwentySix wrote:

fasthonda wrote:

the last thing i guess i can add is that over the years i have been able to 'integrate' with the vehicle i am driving in a very short fashion.

Any advice on how to acclimate to faster car?

well, i guess i can give this advice: don't be 'afraid' of the car; don't have a death grip on the wheel, and don't hold your breath while you are driving! when i hop in a new car (new to me, i mean!), i go out and drive it; certainly not 'balls to the walls', but i DRIVE it, and let it move and flow as it wants to; after a lap or two, i can pretty much start 'clicking' with it, and feeling what it 'likes', and what it doesn't like! cars are like people; very few are the same; they all have personalities and traits, and character! when instructing, i often might be found saying (especially with more advanced students 'try doing x-y-z right here; the car LIKES it like that!'.

it's like a 'getting to know you session'; almost like a blind date; if you are too defensive and careful, you'll never learn anything!

like i said before, i am very 'sympathetic' towards mechanical things -- i tune in and get in synch with them quite easily....

todd

[bobt993]

when i hop in a new car (new to me, i mean!), i go out and drive it;  certainly not 'balls to the walls',

Hellooooooo, I thought this was Todd talking.........but it must not be based on this comment.

Todd, are you doing the Feb NASA race at VIR?  It looks like I will be ready for the March race there.