Ask Ross
Q&A with Ross Bentley
Q: Any tips on managing your breathing during a race? Breathe through the nose or mouth?
Q: “Any tips on managing your breathing during a race? Breathe through the nose or mouth?”
Q: How can I shift gears without damaging the gearbox or engine, but still push really hard to be fast?
Q: “When I push hard, I tend to mistreat the gearbox to the extent that I have already damaged it or the engine on two occasions. This always happens when I’m under pressure. When I focus on managing the gearbox and try to preserve it, I’m consistently slower because I can’t reconcile this with driving in “attack” mode. Do you have any tips to help me drive as fast while managing the gearbox properly?”
Q: If I’m about to crash into a wall, am I better to hit it head-on or sideways?
Q: “If you are about to lose control of the vehicle, i.e. at the end of a straightaway due to brake failure and frontal crash is imminent, would you rather try to rotate the vehicle so it might impact sideways or let it go straight to the barrier? What would be the wiser action to take right there?”
Q: When starting with wheel-to-wheel racing, is it best to buy a car, or rent one?
Q: “I have a dumb question for you. I’m older (mid 40’s) and I am really enjoying track day events in my car. I’d like to do W2W (wheel-to-wheel) racing. Would you recommend a budget-built car and racing in local clubs, or gain experience by renting a race car and have the freedom of renting from well-funded teams locally and throughout the nation?”
Q: What’s the best way to practice my high-performance driving?
Q: “Is there a “best” way to practice and improve my high-performance driving?”
Q: What should I expect and how should I prepare for my first HPDE event?
Q: “A friend has convinced me to take my Toyota 86 to what he calls a HPDE event. What can I expect, and how should I prepare?”
Q: With a Front-Wheel-Drive car, is some rotation a good way to reduce inside wheelspin when exiting a slow corner?
Q: “With FWD in a slow corner is some rotation a good way to solve inside wheelspin on exit?”
Q: How can I improve my night driving in endurance racing?
Q: “How can I improve my night driving? I had my first endurance racing at Spa last year, and I struggled in the traffic. Especially, it was very difficult to see the position and distance of other cars in the mirrors.”
Q: What types of corners should I use trail braking on, and what types should I not?
Q: What types of corners should I use trail braking on, and which ones shouldn’t I?
Q: How do I know when to change the brake bias with my mid-engine GT car?
Q: “With a mid-engine GT car, how do you decide when to give more brake bias to the front versus the rear?”
Q: What should I do to practice using my mirrors when driving on the road that will not distract me on the track?
Q: “How can I practice using my mirrors more wisely during driving on public roads, while not losing focus from the road and while using peripheral vision?”
Q: How can braking lighter make me faster if I have to brake earlier?
Q: “If you started braking lighter at the same place entering a corner, wouldn’t that suggest that you’re not quite at the limit under braking? And wouldn’t that make you slower because you don’t have the car at the limit?”
Q: What’s the difference between a good oval racer and a great one?
Q: “What’s the difference between a good oval racer and a great one? I know that one of your best races was on an oval so you might know a lot about it.”
Q: What driving technique changes should I make when driving on a newly-resurfaced race track?
Q: “I’m racing at Laguna Seca in July, shortly after the resurfacing. I’ve never raced on new pavement before. What driving techniques change with new pavement?”
Q: How can I get over having had a crash?
Q: “Do you have resources for experienced HPDE drivers that have had a crash and while are physically okay are a mental and emotional wreck and riding the roller coaster of blame, shame, and self-doubt? I have a friend who had a significant crash last weekend and is struggling with that.”
Q: How can I reduce the amount of understeer I experience – with my driving technique or car’s setup?
Q: How can I reduce the amount of understeer I experience – with my driving technique or car’s setup?
Q: What advice do you have for drivers starting later in life, and how to manage age-related performance regressions?
Q: “What advice do you have for drivers starting later in life? What tips do you have for managing age-related performance regressions? Do you see things linearly degrading over time? Or is there a point where ability starts to drop off pretty quickly?”
Q: What do you think of Guenther Steiner and how he manages the Haas F1 team?
Q: “This is a different kind of question than you usually answer here, but I’d like to hear your opinion. What do you think of Guenther Steiner and how he manages the Haas F1 team?”
Q: How can I become a faster autocross driver?
Q: “I have a dumb question: What tips do you have to help me become a quicker autocross driver?”
Q: How can I get over crashing my car?
Q: “How can I get over the frustration of crashing my car?
Got Questions?
Send your questions to Ross by email. Or, if you want an immediate answer, use SpeedSecrets.ai. It’s as if Ross is right there, coaching you.