Trackday tips

Here are some tips that I would like to share for improving one's driving. Some of them have been passed on to me by more experienced folks, others I found through observation or experience, so I cannot claim full credit for everything here. Hope they are of some use to the reader as well.

The driver's job is no more complex than that of traction management. The ultimate driver is one who can commandeer the vehicle at its traction limits, and be skillful enough to bring it back under control should it go beyond.

In order to achieve this goal, we must start with a plan:

1) Find the correct driving line. Wet weather can significantly change the optimal lines.
2) Find optimal acceleration point. This will be dependent on vehicle drivetrain layout, course layout, tire compound/condition, weather, so on and so forth.
3) Find optimal braking point. Start conservative, and work slowly, closer to the limit. Always leave room for errors in judgment. You are driving for enjoyment, not to seek an end to your life (or others').

While pursuing this plan, keep the vehicle in control at all times. This is where risk management comes in. Contrary to popular belief, it is very rare to completely lose control of the vehicle suddenly, except under uncommon circumstances e.g. oil spill, someone crashing right in front with no chance of avoiding etc. To minimize the risk of losing control there are some things one can do, namely: planning ahead (anticipation), knowing what to do and being decisive in a timely fashion about it, and finally, practice.

Equipment checklist:

1) Tire pressure gauge. Tires are the only contact surface with the road and thus are one of the most, if not the most, important part of the car. Use a suitable pressure range to match your skill level and preference.

2) Video recording and/or datalogging equipment. Sometimes it's not possible to see any mistakes until after the trackday. Being able to review past performances and making conscious efforts to not repeat mistakes is a basic step in improving any process.

3) Transponder or other timing equipment. How do you know your performance without a time sheet? In the worst case timecode information from videos is better than nothing.

Driving checklist:

1) If at all possible, get a reasonably experienced person to ride shotgun with you. Frequently the driver is actively driving and may miss some things which would be apparent to the passenger.

2) When going for "hot laps", concentrate on driving the lines instead of the vehicle ahead of you. Otherwise, you will subconsciously mirror his mistakes. This invaluable tip was offered by Shaun and it has helped me countless times.

3) Get on the throttle as early as possible, for as long as possible.

4) Get on the brake as late as possible without unsettling the balance of the car. Be firm on the pedal, but do not lock up the brakes. Be smooth. Always.

5) The fast corners have the highest priority, the slow corners, lowest.

6) Corner entry speed and cornering speed are highly overrated. A lot of drivers have tried to prove their mettle by turning in too early, only to allow another car to overtake them on the corner exit because the car was too unbalanced or too far off the line to get on the throttle early enough. On slow corners, this is not an issue. On fast sweepers like T5 and T6 on Sepang, this could quickly develop into a dangerous situation.

7) Speaking of the fast sweepers, Scott Speed was quoted to say that T5 and T6 are taken flat out. Always understand the context of the quote. Scott happens to drive a Formula 1 car. It is highly improbable that a mildly modified, full weight production street car can take those sweepers with increasing speed.