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HPR Driver Education Event “Track Initiation Daze” AKA - 1st DE @ High Plains Raceway Sunday - April 26, 2009 This No Times drivers’ education event is the first chance to drive the new High Plains Raceway with the Rocky Mountain Region of PCA. We have all been waiting a long time with great anticipation for the opening of this wonderful “home” track near Byers. It’s less than an hour from Denver! We expect a large turnout from all of the RMR members for this “Track Initiation Daze” and will limit the registration. Along with the new track comes an increase in track rental to the club. To help offset these costs for RMR drivers we will invite drivers from other clubs, driving other “lesser marques,” to register in the last week or two of the registration window. This means that we all need to plan ahead and sign up EARLY! We will endeavor to have registration open at least a month before an event. Registration is available on motorsportreg.com, as usual, at a rate of $175 for the first driver and $150 There is no substitute. Like you would accept one even if there was. Boxter, Cayman S, 911 Carrera, Cayenne (303) 238-8101 9201 W. Colfax Ave, Denver CO www.prestigeimports.net for the second. We are still in the process of working out details on the density of cars, and corner worker requirements. If you haven’t seen the track, you should visit the High Plains Raceway web page at http://www.highplainsraceway.com and take a virtual lap of the track. Even better, check the schedule, and take a drive to participate in “tire bundling” at the new track. Further event details and updates will be available online through the RMR website. Please contact the “Track Initiation Daze” Event Chairpersons with any further questions. Registration Fees: $175 for one driver, $150 for codriver. Registrar: Kristie Widrig (303) 655-7495 (Home) or email trout4fun@aol.com Event Chairs: Rick Goncalves at 303-901-2367 Email: RickG@RGEngineers.com Jim Widrig at 303-655-7495 Email: trout4fun@aol.com See Ya There!
instructor’s insight ... Learning to Drive a New Track (and Remembering an Old Track) Every year we suffer through the winter months in anticipation of a new season of PCA driving events. Many of us “Track Rats” spend the winter working on our Porsches, making improvements to our cars for safety and performance. The wise drivers are reading the driving related books and seeking the advice of the seasoned drivers to improve their driving performance on the track. One of the subjects which comes up amongst drivers is - How does an experienced driver go about learning a new track? What are the steps a person should take to learn a new circuit? I believe there are many different answers to these questions. However, most drivers who have had the experience of visiting a new track and learning how to drive it have similar methods to tackle the problem. Professional and amateur drivers learn through “seat of the pants” or sensory inputs while driving on the track. They know how the car should feel when cornering and accelerating down the straight. Most drivers can also hear when the car is working well and whether the engine picks up speed through a corner without even looking at the tachometer! One of the key points in the process is to prepare yourself mentally to learn prior to driving on the track. As simple as this may sound, I have seen many people who come to a new track and are overwhelmed with car preparation, registration, etc. causing them to forget the primary task of learning their way around the track! Professional drivers maintain their focus when learning a new track and will not allow themselves to be distracted by car problems when practicing and qualifying on a new circuit. This is a luxury most us may not have while participating at a PCA DE event. Personally, I like to show up early at the new track and make sure the car is ready. When, registration opens I like to be first in line. Get the paperwork rmrporschenews done and ask questions to become familiar with the facility. Look at the track map and figure out how to get on and off the track. Then, find where the facilities are; gas, food, water, bathrooms, etc. Then I like to go around the pits and talk to everybody and gather as much information about the track as possible. Socializing is a big part of any track event. You can get a lot of information about a place just by asking people who have been to a particular track before. Always, have your track map at hand and ask for tips on how to drive the track the first time. I’ve never been to a track where the other drivers would not help each other. Next, find out when your group is staging and get to the grid on time. Many drivers like to get into the car and have a little “quiet time” before going out on the track. This helps them concentrate 100% on learning while driving the track the first time. Plan how you are going to drive through each corner, observing and placing information into your memory bank. When given the signal to go, try to relax and concentrate on getting yourself and the car warmed up the first couple of laps under the yellow flag. A good driver will spend the next couple of laps observing key reference points of each corner and overall landmarks for orienting themselves on the track. Brake points, turn-in points, apex points and trackout points need to be recognized and memorized. The contour and elevation changes of every point on the circuit can drastically change the way a driver approaches a particular corner. Overall track condition is also an important piece of information. There are always some places on a road racing circuit where you do not want to go off for one reason or another. While watching the pros learning a new track, I have observed the fastest drivers testing the breakaway point of their cars on each corner. This is done by braking adequately when approaching a corner and stabbing the throttle to see if the track surface has good traction when applying the throttle. Alan Fritze, RMR-PCA Chief Driving Instructor A few laps later, a driver should be refining their turnn points (most important!) and throttle application to obtain the best result through each corner. Forget late braking. Find the point where you can put your foot down and put the car into a stable four wheel drift without losing momentum through the turn. Consistency breeds confidence while driving on the track. When the driver senses the car is behaving well as it is being driven around the track, they can attempt to reduce their lap times by entering the turns at a slightly higher speed and see if the car has enough traction to comfortably negotiate the turn without leaving the track. Sometimes a minor correction of the turn-in point or apex point can help a driver go through a corner in a more stable manner at a greater speed. Using the tachometer or the speedometer to benchmark track-out speed and speed at the end of the straight helps a driver to improve his performance. An in-car timer is also useful for taking overall lap times or segment times through certain sections of the track. Try and take notes as soon as you come in and record your tach readings before getting involved in some other task. Weight transfer points are also important to maximize the performance of your vehicle through a sequence of corners. By modulating the brakes, a good driver can prevent the car from transferring to much weight to the front of the car when entering a corner. The driver can then control the amount of weight transfer to the rear by gradually releasing the brakes and applying the throttle judiciously to keep the car from understeering in the turn. This is often called trail braking and must be practiced to be effective. April 2009 17
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