Newb driver

BioBandit

BioBandit

Greenie N00B Member
A new season of Time Attack (very similar to autocross) has begun in Colorado. I have little to no seat time in any kind of motorsport so I am always open to tips and tricks on how I can improve as a driver.

Round one has started today! 4 April 2019 and it was awesome being out on the track again (and not breaking down). There were close to 300 drivers at the event today with a total of 5 runs per driver. Classing for Time Attack is calculated by weight/horsepower ratio then based on that number you are put into a class. I am in FA (front wheel drive with a power to weight ratio of around 10). A few times a year they offer a one day driver camp that I will eventually attend to get more seat time as well as some instruction.

Anyways, here are a couple of videos I recorded from the last race so again if anyone has tips on how I can improve, that would be awesome :D.
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I unfortunately only got to record 2/5 of my runs because my battery died and I am known to struggle with gopro operation.
 
sounds like you had fun which is a good thing!

now when i think time attack im thinking lapping, one warm up, 1-3 full sends, and 1 cool down, based on your videos it looks like this is more autocross style? starting from a stop and doing one run through the course?

im also a newb, last year was my first time really hitting the track and i know one thing that was mentioned to me was brake or power, there is no coasting. Either be braking for a corner, or on the power. never just lifting and doing nothing. even just SLIGHT throttle is better then nothing. took me a bit to figure this one out but it made a huge difference in lap times. itll become easier with practice of course, as you build confidence.
 
It really is autocross, but more relaxed. We don't have to work the course, it's always in the same location, it's just having fun and driving on a cool course

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BioBandit said:
It really is autocross, but more relaxed. We don't have to work the course, it's always in the same location, it's just having fun and driving on a cool course

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the main thing is its fun, if youre not having fun dont do it. also youll learn some good car control like that. ive actually never done an autox, just jumped straight onto the road course last year and went a few times. thinking i might try autox this year.

your video setup is awesome too, looking to do something like that this year as my track day videos include 0 info
 
gotovato said:
the main thing is its fun, if youre not having fun dont do it. also youll learn some good car control like that. ive actually never done an autox, just jumped straight onto the road course last year and went a few times. thinking i might try autox this year.

your video setup is awesome too, looking to do something like that this year as my track day videos include 0 info
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Oh yea I am absolutely having a blast! Even riding along with friends has been loads of fun.

Part of my reason for recording was to show my dad because he's curious and also getting feedback because I'd like to improve. Bonus it's fun to show off something I enjoy doing.

I'm jealous, I haven't had a chance to do any road course racing yet but I'd love to someday!

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BioBandit said:
Oh yea I am absolutely having a blast! Even riding along with friends has been loads of fun.

Part of my reason for recording was to show my dad because he's curious and also getting feedback because I'd like to improve. Bonus it's fun to show off something I enjoy doing.

I'm jealous, I haven't had a chance to do any road course racing yet but I'd love to someday!

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We should see about hitting High Plains on one of their open lap days to get the feel for a road course!


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https://www.highplainsraceway.com/calendar/

We should definitely setup some kind of track day!!!

Edit: Looking at their schedule more, Thursday and Friday are open lapping days with camping over night. This could be a really fun event if everyone can get time off work.

Edit2: Costs
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I have a reference for the state patrols high speed test track that they open up for track days. We are responsible for setting it up and taking it down, but it's a cheap option from what I've been told. If there's interested parties I'll start getting in contact and find out info.

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BioBandit said:
I'm in. Maybe.... Just maybe my cold pipe will have shipped.

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I'm sure it'll take s little time to figure out getting the track. You'll maybe be ready and not broken again by then.

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More videos have been posted, even had a Co-Driver this time! This was mostly to introduce a friend to the track fun and part to see how the car does in 4 back to back hard runs, it seemed to do really well. It really is helpful to watch footage and learn what I do while driving and see where I mess up and potentially improve the next time out there.
Here is my first run, and fastest (69.7). Only because I hit a cone on my last run giving me a DNF (69.0).
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Here is a fun run that I felt like I cleaned up a bit better in some corners, unfortunately the timer was not working correctly.
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Again, any pointers from any other fellow drivers would be cool!!!
 
In the midwest a few groups host events like this on a section of a road course and you don’t have work assignments. They call it TrackCross. They’re fun. Faster speeds than an autocross without destroying your car like a hpde.
 
Northern Illinois. Autobahn Country Club and Blackhawk Farms have hosted in the past year. Tri-State Sports Car Council (Illinois,Wisconsin and Indiana) started doing them last year. I think Chicago Scca may hold events but not entirely sure.
 
Went to a NASA HPDE event a while back and it looked like a ton of fun, plus I like the progression path possible for a driver. HPDE 1-2 you get an instructor in the car with you, which would be super awesome. And then you can progress from that into HPDE 3-4 where, as far as I can understand, you're only allowed to pass in straights and then eventually turns. After that you can become an instructor and also race in Time Trials and then from there wheel to wheel racing.

First arriving at the track I was blown away at how serious everyone looked, there were covered trailers and RVs everywhere, 90% of the cars were towed in on a trailer. I am used to local autocross where most cars are also daily drivers and maybe a handful of cars are trailered to the event.

The only issue I could see my car having is in the rules it says "car has to look good" as in no primer and probably will be required to run a front bumper. But if I can get some racing seats, harness bar and harnesses, and rattle can it I'll find somewhere to get the car teched and if it passes great if not I'll have to wait a while before I start racing.

People at the track said there's pretty much a class for any car, where as Scca there isn't (could be false) and from reading it looks like it's based on driving experience and power to weight ratio. Everyone I talked to was cool and were happy to answer any questions I had and ask about what I was going to be racing (most surprised I wasn't building it for drifting lol).

I'll be checking out an SCCA event this weekend and poking around/asking questions there. Part of me is hoping they look like a mess compared to NASA so it makes my decision easier to decide which group to join, but I feel like it will be just as cool as the NASA event I watched.

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Yeah, that track looks like a lot of fun. Someone said last time scca raced there they didn't have enough people to work the corners so they didn't get to use the whole track (just something I heard someone at the track say) but yeah there are like 4 tracks that I know of all within 3ish hours of where I live. I'm glad sccas next event is at a different track so we can see check out a new track.

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