Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/v/Xsbr9SB5hn0

Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/v/9DIKUMd1LDA

A video of me at an open pit lane arrive and drive track day event in the UK at Bedford GT Track. Appreciate if you more experienced chaps could take a peek and see what you think and give me some pointers

Details on the cars....Black 911 that comes past me and I stay with is a 996 C2 with a few bits and pieces (KWv3's, GT3 Top Mounts and ARBs, Different intake + Exhaust) My s2k is stock power wise and then the mods in my signiture.

 

You brake and are off throttle a bit too much/too early. I couldn't really watch the whole thing where I am right now, will finish it up later today.

 

Cheers for the initial post, I should say I've only done about 5 trackdays so aware I still have a lot to learn !

 

I wish I could give you a little advise, but I'm not so hot on the track either. But I will say that it looks like you could be taking some of those corners alot faster. Remember that exit speed is much more crucial than entrance speed. Looks like you can apply more throttle sooner in alot of those corners.

 

That back straight is loooonnnngggg!

one of my favorite quotes....
"If your car feels like it's on rails, you're going too slow!" - Ross Bentley

 

Great video, real good sound.You looked faster when ya had someone to chase

 

Its quite interesting watching it back on the camera. I can tell you it felt a lot quicker than it looks !

The back straight is 1KM long and I was braking from 120-125ish MPH, so gives you an idea as to how quick I was going in places !

I think the key points are that I need as much tuition as I can afford to keep building on my confidence

 

I'm not gonna critique your driving but there are some basic ideas that I use to improve my hot laps. Its the same basic ideas that your instructors will teach your or if you pick up a book..... Either way its always a good idea to attack the track with a thought out process instead of just blindly aiming to go faster each lap without keeping track of what your doing....Kinda like doing your home work and being ready for the test

Dissect the track into the most important corners....those that lead to the longest straights and or longest section of fast track. Don't worry about the slow sections just yet as the time that can be made up through them is generally speaking less.
Once you've decided which corners are the most important...make a not of it on a track map and number the corners....the first few corners (maybe 1-4) is where your gonna start. The idea of slow in fast out is not always true....however when your trying to maximize your exit speeds its not a bad idea to follow this rule of thumb. First start with a late apex and get on the throttle as soon and as hard as you can without over driving the tires. If the car is not naturally tracking out to your exit.....start to apex the corner slightly earlier. At some point in time (happens to all of us) your gonna spin...but at least you know the limit. So now that you got your apex nailed down and your tracking right out to the edge of the track with maximum acceleration...make a mental note of your visual markers and feel for the speed.....its time to move on to increasing your entry speed....you may find that as you explore the limits of the tires traction on corner entry the apex of the corner may change slightly....you will need to be the judge of which one is fastest (data logger will tell the truth of the matter).

In the end.....if you were to look at a G graph of the corner...you'd want it to look as close to a half circle as possible. Try using all of the traction units for maximum breaking into the corner...as you begin to turn slowly transfer the traction units from braking to cornering Gs....once you start to unwind the wheel slowly transfer the traction into forward acceleration. Constantly keeping the tires at their maximum traction throughout braking, cornering, and acceleration.
From there its easy (since your heading onto the longest straight) just stay on the throttle. Set a visual marker...maybe start/finish and check your speed...you'll carry all your speed from exiting the corner faster all the way down the straight....exit 2mph faster...you should see a increase of you top speed at the end of the straight....reducing you lap times!

This methodology should provide noticeable improvements in you lap times. The great part too is you can work on multiple corners in the same lap...just be sure to make mental notes and maybe try to review your thoughts and findings after the session. Keep a journal too and make notes on the track map.

 

Very good info, rob

If you're looking for a couple books on the subject, I've read, and really recommend:
The Technique of Motor Racing by Piero Taruffi
Going Faster! Mastering the Art of Race Driving by Carl Lopez

Taruffi's book is an oldie, but a goodie. It was first published about 50 years ago, but is no less valid: cars are still cars. Very easy to read, and covers the basics and more pretty well. Going Faster gets a slightly more technical, plus it also has some sections about car suspension and such.

 

You may know this already, but in the beginning of the second video where you almost spin out, I noticed that the mistake you did was to let off the gas completely. Next time you should just stay with your foot on the gas when you initially start the spin. By letting off, you're shifting the weight of the car to the front wheels and the rears lose even more traction and you spin out. You did handle the recovery pretty good though. I know it's hard, I used to do the same thing as an initial reaction, but you will learn to stay on the gas when you feel the rear start to swing out.

Andre