Road Racing for the first time, any tips?

[Jerry Clayton]

Good point Rick about the health card and drivers licsence---also on your person have a list of any medications or medical history----good idea to have your blood type on your jacket and helmut---not to be scary or an alarmist, but if your a organ donor----and make sure whoever is with you has the keys to your tow vehicle and trailer!!!!!

[scottj]

Originally Posted by Jerry Clayton

Good point Rick about the health card and drivers licsence---also on your person have a list of any medications or medical history----good idea to have your blood type on your jacket and helmut---not to be scary or an alarmist, but if your a organ donor----and make sure whoever is with you has the keys to your tow vehicle and trailer!!!!!

I always just leave the keys in the ignition. I also carry a sawzall and a port-a-power in the trailer... for those times when the car wont fit back in through the trailer door

[COBRA427]

Scottj :

The way you drive, that sawzall is a good investment.

[mrmustang]

Jamo hit the nail on the head with his post. Safety is paramount, tech your car before you get to the track, fix whatever might be questionable. SNELL helmet (full face) a must, do not buy one online, get it fit locally, and as others have already said, get rid of the drag radials, they are not for road racing.Purchase a set of Z rated street tires for now, they will last you longer than you will be on the track that day/weekend.


Road racing is not about how fast you can make it around the road course, but how smooth and consistent you can do it lap after lap.

This is what I have told my students in the past:

This is not a race!!!!! This is an open track HPDE event.


Pretend you are driving on ice, make small input changes at a time, think ahead and do everything in slow motion. Again consistency is what you are looking for right now as a newbie, the faster lap times will come later as you gain more experience.

Since this is your first time out on a road course, do not expect to be perfect, if you get yourself in to a spin, remember this phrase "when in a spin, two feet in". Clutch & brakes, forget about the accelerator pedal when spinning.

Finally, when you go to your orientation class, pay attention, listen to everything the instructor is telling you. Do not think you know better than they do because you don't.


Have fun, take pictures, come back and tells us how you did.


Bill S.

[Jimbocobra]

To All:
Thanks. Had the car looked over and found some loose bolts on the half shaft. We tightened everything. I am putting in some Nitto NT05 street tires on the rear and pulled the drag radials off, added oil to the engine, packed tools and aforementioned supplies. I'll take it easy and learn as I go. I appreciate all of the suggestions. You have all already helped tremendously.

[Ant]

I guess this is a sprint event with one car on the road at once, or if it is racing with other vehicles?

Dont change your line while negotiating turns, as faster cars will have problems if the are passing, let them go round you dont move as they might move the way you go and a collision occurs.

Make sure your front wheels are pointing in the right direction, and try and balance the car with smooth inputs, get used to the car and have fun, worry about hard braking and early severe throttle out of turns as you gain experience with the vehicle.

Check you wheels give them a wobble after racing to check wheelbearings, and give the knock offs a thump and if they make the right sound or torque them, personally I dont safety wire never have, if they are done up properly they are no different to having a big nut there torqued correctly like a lot of professional race cars use!

[DAVID GAGNARD]

Originally Posted by Jerry Clayton

Good point Rick about the health card and drivers licsence---also on your person have a list of any medications or medical history----good idea to have your blood type on your jacket and helmut---not to be scary or an alarmist, but if your a organ donor----and make sure whoever is with you has the keys to your tow vehicle and trailer!!!!!

One of the sacntioning bodies I've run with require you to put info on the back of your helmet......Print it out on your computer:

name
address
age
blood type
allergeies
contact person with phone number

you can do this in standard type/print, then cut it off the page and put it on the back of your helmet just about the Snell rating sticker and use wide clear tape to tape over it completly.....

There is ONE other thing NO ONE has mentioned, so I will..........

DO NOT DO THIS, I repeat, DO NOT DO THIS, STAY HOME AND PLANT FLOWERS OR SOMETHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is very addictive,worse than any kind of drugs, you'll become an addict, then you'll start spending money for a fire suit, safety equiment,trailer,tow truck,etc.,etc..........then you'll start hauling your Cobra all over the country doing this stuff, then your wifey will probably leave you and take everything but the Cobra/truck/trailer and you'll have to live in the trailer parked at some track in the middle of nowhere.........
David

[John McMahon]

Originally Posted by DAVID GAGNARD

One of the sacntioning bodies I've run with require you to put info on the back of your helmet......Print it out on your computer:

name
address
age
blood type
allergeies
contact person with phone number

you can do this in standard type/print, then cut it off the page and put it on the back of your helmet just about the Snell rating sticker and use wide clear tape to tape over it completly.....

There is ONE other thing NO ONE has mentioned, so I will..........

DO NOT DO THIS, I repeat, DO NOT DO THIS, STAY HOME AND PLANT FLOWERS OR SOMETHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is very addictive,worse than any kind of drugs, you'll become an addict, then you'll start spending money for a fire suit, safety equiment,trailer,tow truck,etc.,etc..........then you'll start hauling your Cobra all over the country doing this stuff, then your wifey will probably leave you and take everything but the Cobra/truck/trailer and you'll have to live in the trailer parked at some track in the middle of nowhere.........
David

David,

....and then you start meeting very questionable characters from the north, right?

(Posting from NC as we speak looking to relocate less than an hour from VIR)

[DAVID GAGNARD]

David,

....and then you start meeting very questionable characters from the north, right?

(Posting from NC as we speak looking to relocate less than an hour from VIR)
__________________
REMEMBER....In Case of Spin....Both Feet in!!!!!

Yes, you WILL meet some very questional characters at the track, beware of the ones that like to kiss other guys, but, the others are just "good ole boys" like yourself trying to have fun.......


Johnny Mac, hope your successful with your relocations plans.......keep me posted on how it goes.......

David

[John McMahon]

Originally Posted by DAVID GAGNARD

Yes, you WILL meet some very questional characters at the track, beware of the ones that like to kiss other guys, but, the others are just "good ole boys" like yourself trying to have fun.......


Johnny Mac, hope your successful with your relocations plans.......keep me posted on how it goes.......

David

Just bought me a lake front home in Stokesdale, NC....less than an hour to VIR!

Where is Racer Al....Sleeping in Stoneville?

[What'saCobra?]

Best wishes for your initiation! It is a disease, so be welcome to it.

When i asked an old chap at the aerodrome near my boyhood home what i ought to learn to become an accomplished aircraft pilot, he warned me that my first goal was to learn how to make money if i wanted to be an accompllished sportsman. And, learn how to conquer my fears and tolerate poverty, if i wanted to win. You are warned.
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Jamo nailed it. Here is a little personal preference/reinforcement/subtlety:

1. Swing your helmet/head towards the next turn, BEFORE you get there, so your eyes can switch into the turn very much quicker than you can swing your head. It should be noticeable to an observer and it is not an easy habit to learn. Looking as far as possible down the racing line and keeping global awareness are dual skills necessary.

2. Wet track? Disengage one side of rear anti-roll bar. Reduces oversteer (important in wet) and avoids re-setting brake proportioning valve for less rear over-steer (some vehicles, some Cobras, if very stiff racers).

3. Study Mark Donohue's traction-circle concept in his book (Unfair Advantage) and experiment for your style, comfort and preference, while you have already set-up cone practice; to test your turn-in and weight transfer from loaded springs. You can brake while turning, with practice.

4. Practice watching the tach for your max rpm, just before you lift/brake for turn. This should increase as you increase your exit speed from the last turn, get a more stable curve and higher/earlier power out of the last turn and drive deeper into the current turn at the end of the "straight". This max rpm is a clear indicator of your better lap speed, "easy" to learn to notice and REMEMBER for each turn as you practice today's conditions.

5. Absolutely observe and practice long-range reading of the turn flag stations. They just might save your life and we need your attendence. Some turns are certainly not easy to see (ex: over the crest of the hill at Elkhart Lake's turn six Toyota bridge, or at the top of the hill after Spa's challenging Eau Rouge) and the flag folks are there to save our insignificant buttinski's. If you do not recall what the last turn's flag station was relaying, your are living dangerously.

6. On very hot days, keep the last lap for brake cool-down, very light on both the throttle and brake. If the disc arrives in the paddock red-hot, it will pump excessive heat into both your pads, pucks, cylinders and wheel bearings. The wheel grease can drip onto the hot disc and you are lucky if it only smokes and "fries". Use high-temp wheel grease, always. (Do not use in the Urals on your tanks if you are invading Russian winter, as they will congeal at those temps and stop the wheels from turning. In a Russian winter, use non-parafin oils, like bear grease or synthetics.)

7. Quick, get to Minnesota to get in some ice racing! THE best practice, next to a wet traction circle (hard to find), to learn how to manage drift, low traction (particularly if you have cooked it into the corner too much!) and turn-in response as a function of your car's braking weight-shift onto the fronts and the necessary steering angle(s) and throttle position(s) to maintain control or re-gain control.

8. Be very careful re-entering the track after an off. Many sanctioning bodies prefer no re-entry, but if you do, learn how to enter carefully and be cautious of dirty rubbers with gritty, un-predictable or low traction. As a new driver (or an expert with red misty eyes!), there is a very high degree of probability that you will also go off at the next corner for the same reason as the first... or even easier with the un-clean traction.

9. Since down-shifting can upset the cars line, traction and stability, avoid it. First gear is for starting. Period. Second gear is for very slow turns only and even many of those can be taken in third gear as you learn how fast you can really go in that corner and just how many max rpm's you got on the last entry. You will learn how fast you can actually go in a turn if you use third gear more, rather than all the fussiness of downshifting into second.
Engines and cars have broken when the driver down-shifted into second at a far higher speed than sensible and got mechanical over-rev, which also caused extreme additional braking action on the rear brakes (not a good idea while cooking into a corner, yes?).

10. Apres race, thank a corner worker (this means get him/her a beer, in case you are not from the South). As the track rescue-diver at Palm Beach (Moroso) for a few years, it is always welcome. Do you know how freaking hot it gets here in the summer sitting in a wet-suit for 5 or 6 hours? It brings a whole new meaning to the desire for a cold one.

Ps: Freebie! Driving on an extremely-banked course will require that you also learn to look UP! to see "down" the course! Try Daytona's turns at 175+ in the turn. Easy at 130, hard at nearer 180.