Q: “Sometimes I go to the track and set my best time of day on my third or fourth lap in the first session of the morning. It makes for a discouraging afternoon. I suspect tire pressure build up might be part of it, or maybe track conditions, but I think it has mostly to do with me. I usually don’t see lap times till the session is over. Any suggestions?”
Q: “I’ve been track driving for a good while and don’t understand the car “taking a set.” How do we sense when the car sets, why do we need it to set, how do we take advantage of car set? My Tahoe does what might be described as taking a set on entrance ramps, and when it does it will take more throttle. My V8 944 with Moton suspension never seems to “set” when running on track.”
Q: “What I’d like to ask you is, do drivers ever talk about the altered state of being while behind the wheel? I love it, it’s total focus, no drifting of thought, time is irrelevant, here/now/input/output blazing away. I like to think it’s getting in touch with Fight or Flight, eat or be eaten. 99.9999 percent of our lives is not in that realm, thankfully. But it feels so wonderful to pull into the paddock, drained, mentally and physically.”
Q: “Following up with a question on Heel & Toe that was asked recently. My question is about downshifting through a corner and the correct timing. My example is a corner where you begin braking from 5th gear and want to exit in 3rd. My current method is brake, clutch, shift into 3rd, release braking, blip, release clutch and accelerate out of the corner, never having used 4th gear. I have noticed in car videos of drivers, in the same corner, rowing through 4th gear and finally into 3rd. There are also multiple blips involved. You can also hear multiple blips listening to cars while standing as a spectator at the same corner. This seems to me a lot of extra work when a lot of concentration is need for cornering.”
Q: “I’m a big fan, and believer, in your ‘mental game’ stuff, but I’m struggling with one thing! I totally get it that we should focus on our own performance and not that of others, based on the fact that one we have influence over (ourselves) and the other (our competitors) we don’t. BUT, if I make a goal to beat an individual competitor/team (or indeed, all of them; i.e., win a race/championship), am I making a mistake by focusing on the performance of others?”
Q: “I heard a comment that professional racers often remark that VIR is one of the most technical tracks they drive. Thinking about this remark my mind came to this question: What defines a ‘technical track’? I really don’t have an answer and I’m curious what makes one track more technical than another, and then perhaps you could address how one prepares for a more and a less technical track.”