Q: “I have been tracking my car for three years now. It’s a 2017 MX5 with a clutch so I’ve always braked using my right foot. I do a lot of sim racing and do the same there. Recently my right knee has been getting sore from an old bike racing injury. I want to learn to left foot brake on the sim. Any tips to make the changeover easier? Or is it just something I just need to do a lot of to get as good as I am with my right foot?”
Q: “I have a question for you – it’s about the ‘tire chatter’ I experience a fair amount of at Sebring. It’s most notable at Turn 7, and to a lesser extent at Turns 5 and 10. Other drivers have described this as me needing to reduce corner speed a bit, as well as not ‘throwing the car in there quite so aggressively,’ but I was wondering if you had other ideas. My setup is that I run a Ford Focus ST with some engine and suspension mods, and Maxxis Victra RC-1 tires. In experimenting on Turn 5 a bit I found that if I relaxed my hands a bit at the apex and let the car run out a bit more to track out, that I could reduce the amount of chatter, but the chatter is still there. I don’t see too much opportunity to do that sort of an adjustment at Turn 7.”
Q: “Can you recommend some resources on retaining focus in endurance racing?
Q: “How do I try to manage my tires’ heat so that they don’t get oily and slick as the day gets hot as I’m driving? I’ve noticed I can get efficient traction my first two laps if it is hot out, but after that the tires seem to want to slide a bit more.”
Q: “If telemetry tells me I’m over-braking for a turn, but reducing braking creates understeer, is it a steering input issue? To clarify, reducing braking causes me to miss the apex. What is going on here? Do I stink at turning in?”
Q: “How do you “test” if a corner can be taken flat? How do you build up, mentally and input-wise, to go faster through a corner than you ever have? How do you prepare for it not working out?”