by Ross Bentley | Apr 16, 2018 | Ask Ross
Q: “I race in the Champcar Endurance Series, formerly Chumpcar. One of the many things I’d like to get better at is dealing with traffic. Sometimes it’s cars that are a lot slower than ours, sometimes close in speed, and then there are the ones that are faster. I’m a long-time autocrosser and the addition of others around me can be a serious overload of stimuli. We just finished up our 4th season so I’m better at this than I was, but still feel like there’s a long way to go. To add to the challenge often we are on a new-to-us track, or one that we only go to once a year. Can you address this topic?”
by Ross Bentley | May 6, 2019 | Ask Ross
Q: “I thought you might have some information to share regarding a good basic home simulator. I tried the sim at the Atlanta Porsche Experience Center, for 15 minutes… and I got motion sickness. I’ve had the condition since childhood as a passenger, but not as driver. Now, prior to track time, I take Meclizine in case I ride with someone, and it works.”
by Ross Bentley | Sep 14, 2021 | Ask Ross
Q: “I am an instructor and often suggest to students that they review your Virtual Track Walks in preparation for a DE day. They have asked me, “What does he mean by “collect up” the car in turn 2? As you will recall, there is a discussion of racing ovals and using a “diamond” line. We teach either the single apex or a double apex approach. I can’t explain to them what you mean by “collect up.” When we teach double apex, we are taking a relatively fast, straight entry, braking to apex 1, releasing/rotating and driving to apex 2 and tracking out to the right side of the track. Perhaps the double apex approach with braking to Apex 1 and then turning is the same thing as “collecting up”, but I’m not sure.”
by Ross Bentley | May 14, 2018 | Ask Ross
Q: “Could you possibly explain more about the definition of ‘load sensitivity’ and ‘vertical load’ if possible?
by Ross Bentley | Aug 10, 2020 | Ask Ross
You’ve mentioned how brakes are useful for more than slowing down, and can be useful for rotating the car and helping me drive faster. Is there something about the actual rate of release beyond, (1) not over-slowing, and (2) keeping some weight on the fronts to steer in the corner? Also, isn’t this “trail braking”?