By Jim Garry
3 time national solo champion
2008 C Mod champion, Citation FF
(Some points borrowed from Evolution Solo School instructors)
GOING
FASTER
By Jim Garry
3 time national solo champion
2008 C Mod champion, Citation FF
(Some points borrowed from Evolution Solo School instructors)
Lines
1. POSITION FIRST, THEN SPEED. Precise positioning of the car is more important than trying to attain the highest potential speed. For example, you will drop more time by correctly positioning the car nearer to slalom cones than you will by adding 1 or 2 MPH in speed. Also, position is a prerequisite for speed. If you are not in the correct place, you will not be able to go faster because being off line will cause a delay in when you can apply throttle or simply make your line through the corner less efficient.
2. TURN EARLIER ... AND LESS. To go faster, the arc you are running must be bigger. A bigger arc requires less steering. To make a bigger arc that is centered in the same place the arc must start sooner (turn earlier).
3. TAKE THE SHORTER PATH. In Solo, the shorter distance is usually the quickest way through a corner. It doesn't always feel fast and so the longer, faster line feels more glorious. Also, stay close to the critical cones. (Not THAT close DJ!) The further you are from a cone, the further your distance. It's especially critical in slaloms!
4. DON'T FORGET THE STUFF IN BETWEEN THE MARKED MANEUVERS. Too often we think of a course as a series of discrete maneuvers. There is typically much to be gained or lost in the areas that are in between. Use this area to set up for the next course element. Or make sure you are taking the shortest path through here without hurting your next line.
Slowing down
5. BRAKE EARLIER...AND LESS. Waiting until the last possible second approaching a turn and then dropping the anchor at precisely the correct place so that the desired entry speed is reached exactly as you come to the turn-in point is quite difficult to execute consistently. It's better to start braking a little earlier to give some margin for error. And by braking less, you can either add or more easily subtract braking effort as you close in on the turn-in point. This will make you consistent and smooth
6. LIFT EARLY INSTEAD OF BRAKING LATER. When you need to reduce speed only a moderate amount, try an early lift of the throttle instead of a later push of the brake. This is less upsetting to the car's suspension, it's easier to do and thus more consistent allowing for more precise placement entering the maneuver (remember No.1).
7. THE TRANSITION INTO A CORNER is critical. It sets the line and eventual reapplication of throttle. Getting that transition right is harder to do when you're locked up or nearly so.
8. WHERE TO SET YOUR BRAKING POINT? Racers often use something on the side of the track, a tree, a colored piece of pavement, etc. But determining that point only comes after miles and miles of practice on that track. We don't usually have that luxury (neither the practice or having a mark to pick out). So simply looking into the corner and around the next apex will result in your eyes telegraphing the correct braking location to your brain. "Feel the force Luke" (just don't close your eyes).
Speeding up
9. GET ON THE THROTTLE AS SOON AS YOU CAN. Obviously, you calculate your line in a way to enable you to do this. But if you are too fast through the middle of the corner, you often cannot apply the throttle when it needs to be applied.
10. NO BRAINER: Don't spin your tires accelerating out of a corner. Can experiment with using the next higher gear.
Speed modulation
11. IT'S EASIER TO ADD SPEED IN A TURN THAN TO GET RID OF IT. If you are under the limit, a slight push of the right foot will get you more speed with no additional side effects. On the other hand, if you are too fast and the tires have begun slipping, you can only reduce the throttle and wait until the tires to turn enough of that excess energy into smoke and heat. Don't use your tires as brakes!
12. USE YOUR RIGHT FOOT TO MODULATE CAR POSITION IN CONSTANT RADIUS TURNS, VERSUS THE STEERING WHEEL. In a steady-state turn, once you have established the correct steering input to maintain that arc, lifting the throttle slightly will let the car tuck in closer to the inside cones. Conversely, slightly increasing the throttle will push the car out a bit farther to avoid inside cones. It is much easier to make small corrections in position with slight variations in the tire's slip angle (that's what you are doing with the throttle) than with the steering wheel.
Steering
13. UNWIND THE WHEEL AND THEN ADD POWER. If the car is using all of the tires tractive capacity to corner there is none left for additional acceleration. At corner exit, as you unwind the wheel, you make some available. If you do not unwind the wheel when you start to accelerate, the tire will slide and the car will push out (see No. 6)
14. ATTACK THE BACK. For slaloms (also applicable to most offsets), getting close to the cones is critical for quick times (see No.1). To minimize time from cone to cone and get close to the next oncoming cone, we must move the car less. Because the car doesn't start changing direction until the steering wheel crosses center and because of the car's delayed response time, your brain must make the decision to begin turning the steering wheel back the other way shortly after passing a cone. Since this is a mental issue, a good visualization technique is to think about trying to run over the backside of each slalom cone with the inside of the rear tire. To hit it with the rear tire (and not the front), the car must be arcing well before the cone and the arc must be shallow. Attack the back!
15. NO EXCESSIVE STEERING WHEEL MOVEMENT. Every time you move the steering wheel, the tires move and speed is scrubbed.
Eyes
16. HANDS FOLLOW THE EYES, CAR FOLLOWS THE HANDS. Don't look where yo don't want to go.
17. SCAN AHEAD. DON'T STARE. Keep the eyes moving -- looking ahead does not mean staring ahead. Your eyes must be constantly moving forward (and sometimes left/right). Glance forward, glance back. Your brain can only operate on the information you give it.
18. LOOK THROUGH THE CORNER. See the geometry of the entire corner. Your eyes will communicate that geometry to your brain and you'll be better able to set your speed and acceleration points to the highest efficient level. Same for slaloms: see through the entire slalom. Also, see number 8.
Attitude
19. PATIENCE BLENDED WITH AGGRESSIVENESS. Typical locations for patience include maintaining your lines, taking tight lines, not over driving the middle of the corner, waiting for throttle out. Aggressiveness is often in direct opposition to patience yet the two must be blended. While striving to not overdrive into corners and slaloms, it is simultaneously important to not over-slow. Given the choice of one or the other, go with patience and use experience to learn how to speed up for that last few percent.
20. REVIEW. After each run, immediately review your run, either to yourself or with a co-driver. You'll be surprised at the errors you'll recall versus just getting out of the car and getting ready for next run.
21. CONTAIN EGO. Don't think about what you look like on course.
22. NO EXCUSES. Rationalizing away why you didn't win might make you feel better but it won't make you faster.
Mechanical
23. Unfortunately, our competition vehicles do need to be adequately maintained and set up. And in stock classes especially, the car must be one of the right models/makes for that class. Few can win without the car being right (except for you Mark Daddio).