Let's talk about cleaner starts and smarter racing.

[Tim Comeau]

I'm posting this now to maybe get drivers thinking about it before the next event and to save some time at the next drivers meeting.

 

1. I'd like to see a tighter formation when we're rolling up to take the green flag. Seems like some drivers never decide which side to pick and they just kind of hover in the middle of the track. Please guys, pick a side and get up on the car in front of you. Not 30 feet back and not under his bumper. Every driver that doesn't "tighten it up" puts the cars behind them in a worse starting position relative to the pole position. The last couple times we started at Button Willow, I would say I lost about 200 feet due to "dead space" in the rolling start formation. So PLEASE, know the # of the car you're supposed to start behind, know which side pole position is on and get into formation (abreast or in the next row back)quickly because the guys behind you, who are still in single file, can't tell which side to pick until the drivers in front of them do so. Make sense? Let's tighten it up!

 

Second point is: Let's race smarter with respect to the different classes. We already know not to mess up someone's class battle. What I'm talking about is when a much faster car/driver makes a poor decision about WHEN to pass. This seems to happen at every event, though with different cars. At Button Willow, I had a much faster Honda try to outbrake me in the slow narrow turn exiting the bus stop. You guys know the turn. I cussed, made "racing room" for him, and we both went through the turn SUPER slow!! Talk about inefficient.........Both of us were hurt by his poor decision.

If that driver had simply fallen in line behind me, we BOTH could have gone through that turn 20 mph faster.........THEN he could have used his superior hp to easily get past me going into Riverside with hardly any lost time on his part! Make sense? It's all about efficiency guys. You've got to be thinking, "Where is the most efficient place to pass this guy in front of me?" It isn't always the first opportunity! I understand the sense of urgency to get back up to your full speed, but let's weigh that against how much time will be lost by the passing move.

It's much safer to pass under acceleration too. In your experience, where is most contact between cars made? My experience tells me it's under braking and the turn in point. Agreed?

 

Risk assessment.

Driving efficiency.

Racing etiquette.

I try to keep those 3 things in mind every second I'm out there. How 'bout you?

Let's work to make it a better, safer racing experience for everybody out there.

 

Driving.....for the love of it!

[clock]

HERE HERE!!!

 

I was at BW, and I agree 100% on both issues. We should all take more care to become better drivers. I hope it becomes clearer to people in high hp cars the risks involved with insisting on the line. I had to go 2 off in the bus stop to avoid getting hit by a fast honda that weekend. And anyone who was at the 25 hour knows about the "punting porsche". Thanks for posting this.

[Tim Comeau]

Chris, which Porsche was it?

[Brian L.]

It was both of the Glen Yee Porsches. They hit us twice in the race and finally took us out when they hit a mini that spun into us. They also ended another teams day and had multiple contacts all race long.

[Tim Comeau]

Well...........we'll just have to remember to talk about that stuff at the drivers meeting for the 25 hour race, too.

That's a shame. I chewed some a$$ on one of that teams newer drivers at Fontana last year. The guy made a really stupid, immature move that forced me to dive off the track to avoid contact. I think driver to driver feedback is more powerful than being talked to by an official anyday!

[chad]

i somewhat agree....

 

i can say that i have seen higher HP cars do the samething you have described....HC cars....but you have to get around the cars out front in at some point....yes it is better and easier to pass under acceleration but i might lose 2-4 seconds by staying behind a lesser HP car by not taking that pass.....

 

yes there are circustances going both ways!!!!

 

i have been in both cases....i just try and be curious....move out of the way let faster guys by....

[vapor]

how many cars were on the track at one time during the last event at b-willow?

[hondata]

When I started racing in a slower car it was never a problem to allow a faster car past. This was something which as a car about to get passed you would want to control so that you would lose as little time as possible. The best technique I found was if the faster car took the inside line at a corner, was to go wide, turn and apex late behind the other car - minimizing time lost. 90% of overtaking occurs under braking (Carrol Smith), so it is reasonable to expect faster cars to pass at this point.

 

Now driving a faster car I find passing the slower cars is difficult and stressful. As an example, reviewing the video from my last race, I passed 62 cars in that one race. I went 4 wheels of track once from a car in front spinning, and 2 wheels off track twice more by cars forcing me off the track, while being passed on a straight. Twice more I had to avoid cars while in the process of passing these cars on a straight. That should not happen. Reviewing the video I see that one car had no side mirrors at all, and the others appear not to see me.

 

Many of the drivers of the faster cars I have talked to have expressed their concern about the number of cars on the track at one time, and the speed differential between different classes.

 

Anyhow, the point I wish to make is that there's things which slower cars can do, as well as the faster cars, to make things quicker & safer for all parties involved.

[Rick Hohwart]

70 Sat, 64 Sun at BW

 

74 Sat, 64 Sun at CS

[vapor]

70 Sat, 64 Sun at BW

 

74 Sat, 64 Sun at CS

 

[Tim Comeau]

Hondata,

I hear ya. It's crowded out there. I'm interested in getting the faster class cars by me as easily as possible. That means as soon as possible, balanced by as efficient as possible. The example I used was extreme, but not exaggerated. Passing while exiting the bus stop was a move that was just not well thought out.

But we're aware of the problem and we're talking about it now, BEFORE the next drivers meeting. That's a good thing for all of us. Mutual respect.

[Tim Comeau]

Bump! Hey, fast Honda drivers! Read the first post of this topic, ok? Let's have some fun, clean racing! ZERO CONTACT.

[924RACR]

We have had some discussions about this subject out our way too. What is HC's policy on car-to-car contact? I believe 944-Spec, as with '44 Cup and GTS Challenge, etc., races with a 13/13 rule, which puts a special emphasis for us on driving clean. Does HC have any statements about contact other than NASA standards?

[Tim Comeau]

HC and 944-spec run Regularly with NASA. NASA has no 13/13 rule, but instead has a points system for "rewarding" driving/judgement mistakes. If you get 10 points during the season, they cut off one limb. Works well.

[ITAIntegraLS]

Just make sure all slower cars know when to point by when you are getting lapped. Instead of trying to stay in front for another turn thats when all goes wrong.

 

 

 

 

HC and 944-spec run Regularly with NASA. NASA has no 13/13 rule, but instead has a points system for "rewarding" driving/judgement mistakes. If you get 10 points during the season, they cut off one limb. Works well.