Mostly fourth and fifth.

 

Regarding how calm and collected the driver is, FWIW, I can assure you all that it is not possible to drive a car on the edge with any kind of consistency unless you are calm and collected. When I pull up to the starting line before an autocross run I am focusing on the course layout and recalling all my critical cones. Then when I am given the OK to start my run, I take a deep full breath and release it slowly as I say to myself, "Relax." If I can't get my entire body to relax I do it again, and I don't start my run until I've managed to release any tension anywhere in my body or mind. As long as I maintain that relaxed state all I have to do is focus on the correct critical cones at the right time and everything pretty much falls into place. Where it all falls apart for me is when I make a mistake or two (and everyone makes mistakes, but ...); The mistake(s) will sometimes (all too often) irritate me and all of a sudden I'm not relaxed any more, and my run goes to pot. Once that happens I'm more apt to just drift around the rest of the course to vent, have some fun, and put on a good show. A good driver would settle back down and use the rest of the run for practice, to help out in later runs, but I'm not that good or that seroius about turning the best possible times. I'm out there to relax and have a good time.

Looking at the relaxation thing from another perspective, I think many people (at least I'm sure I'm not the only one ) find that fast driving is one of the most relaxing activities possible. It totally absorbes one's attention and all the worlds problems fade away. When I was working in R&D and would get stuck, unable to solve some kind of problem, I'd jump in my car and go for a fast drive. Nine times out of ten a solution would come to me out of nowhere while I was focused on my driving. Up to a point (maybe 8/10ths.) fast driving is one of the most relaxing activities I know of.

I believe that the biggest mistake most people make when they first start autocrossing is failing to relax before a run. After I started autocrossing with Tripper I found myself constantly telling him that he needed to relax and that if he did his times would improve. Then one day he was just laid back at one of the events and unconcerned about the results, and all of a sudden his car started handling better and turning surprisingly fast times. Now he's going to events with an eye on TOD, and relaxing before a run is a key element of his strategy.

I guess I think being relaxed at speed is a part of what makes for a good driver.

 

Looks to me like he is double clutching with his heel while braking. If that's the case it's pretty damn impressive.

 

yea that looked like he got some air on the last few seconds of the clip haha. anyone know what SSM the prototype name stood for?

 

cool video

 

I don't recall what it stands for, but it was the name given the original show car, and was carried over to the pre-produciton prototypes like the one in the video.

Does anyone have a better memory than me? What does SSM stand for?

 

SSM > Super Sexy Machine

Actually it stands for Sports Study Model:

From: http://world.honda.com/news/1998/printerfr...y/4980924b.html

Honda Announces the S2000 Prototype
-A New-Generation Convertible Sports Car-

Tokyo, September 24, 1998 --- Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today announced the release of the Honda S2000 prototype, a new-generation convertible sports car.

The S2000 is the result of extensive, long-term development and is based on the SSM (Sports Study Model), one of the most talked-about display cars at the 1995 Tokyo Motor Show. Powered by a Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) engine, the S2000 delivers both outstanding performance and low emissions, a combination which makes this two-seater 2.0 liter DOHC VTEC with an output of over 240 PS, an environment-friendly convertible sports car and a true next-generation automobile.

Honda President Yoshino had this to say: "In line with today's focus on safety and environment preservation, the S2000 is the latest addition to Honda's line of sports cars designed for pure driving pleasure, and shows the direction in which Honda's car design is headed for in the future."

Current plans call for further developmental testing to finalize the S2000 design before introducing the vehicle into world markets, starting with Japan as early as spring 1999.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfyRA-g1nhI

As a "soon-to-be-first-time-S2K-owner", I was just digging through some of the stickied threads and FAQ's, but here's an unpdated/working link for the video! Lot's of pictures and links to different things all around have gone haywire...

Gives me the chills when he gets air off that inside of that corner!