by Ross Bentley | Jan 13, 2020 | Ask Ross
Q: “I have been pondering EoB (End-of-Braking) after attending your Improve Your Braking & Corner Entry webinar. You said we should focus on the EoB, rather than BoB (Begin-of-Braking), just like we are driving on the street and trying to stop before the traffic light. I’m still not sure if I understand that completely. On the street, when we brake for the traffic light, we probably use 20% to 50% of the braking power of the car. There is a lot of room for us to modulate the braking, harder or lighter, during the entire process to get us to stop perfectly at the white line. On track, we are probably using 95% to 100% of the braking power right from BoB. There is not much room to adjust the braking distance if we brake too late so we can still come down to the optimal speed at EoB. The question still in my mind is how we can focus on EoB and still consistently hit the brake at the right BoB point that leads to the optimal speed at EoB. Could you share some more insight? Thanks a lot! The webinars were all very inspiring. Please keep them going!”
by Ross Bentley | Jan 6, 2020 | Ask Ross
Q: “I’ve been autocrossing for about 20 years. I’m not a national champion, but I generally run slightly behind the national champs that run with our club and I usually finish in the top 10%. Last season I took on a co-driver of national caliber and ran data (SoloStorm) the whole season. Initially what I learned from the data was that we did many things in a similar fashion, but he made much more use of the throttle than I did. Trying to force myself into using more throttle closed the gap with him a little, but also resulted in a lot of spins. After looking at things more closely, I realized that he was putting the car in better positions to be able to use the throttle more, but the distinction is subtle enough that I cannot usually tell much of a difference in our line from the data. So, my question is… what is the best way I can learn more about car position and how to know if I am positioning the car in the most efficient way?”
by Ross Bentley | Dec 30, 2019 | Ask Ross
Q: “I have a question as someone who is a sim racer, and not a real racing driver, but I still want to ask how I can practice to become a faster driver? I’ve read your book and it has been very useful, but I’m still not where the fastest drivers are since I’m around 2-3 seconds off the fastest times. I feel like I’m doing everything they are in terms of braking, lines, etc., but still can’t get to their times. Is this all due to me just needing to practice more or is it over for me in terms of getting faster? If it’s due to needed practice then how exactly does one practice getting faster? I’m willing to put in all the time and effort that I can since my goal is to be as fast if not faster than the top guys (also some racing drivers have said one of the ways into racing is e-Sports because some events offer a race season as a prize). I just need to know how to get faster.”
by Ross Bentley | Dec 23, 2019 | Ask Ross
Q: “We are taught to use 100% of the available track, to increase radius to increase mid-corner speed for a given lateral G capacity of our tires. At what point are there diminishing returns for using the entire available track versus the shortest distance? I have always wondered this. Turn 7 at Portland International Raceway is a good example, as they widened the track a few years ago and I see some drivers use it all, and some not. You can keep imagining if we open up the track more and more, eventually there must be a point where it is no longer beneficial to use all the track available, right?”
by Ross Bentley | Dec 16, 2019 | Ask Ross
Q: “I am an instructor with PCA and often suggest that students review your work. One particular article, that I can’t find, described your analysis of thousands of hours of data and your conclusion that lap speed was affected by 1) line, 2) exit throttle, 3) braking, and 4) mid-corner speed, which is probably taken care of it if you get the first 3. I thought that it was very useful for novices that seem to want to work on everything at the same time. Is there a link somewhere to this article?”
by Ross Bentley | Dec 9, 2019 | Ask Ross
Q: “I have a question about memory. I’m one of those drivers that can’t really remember what I did in the last corner, let alone what I did one or two sessions ago. What can I do to be able to retain that information so when I look at the data, I can assign my actions to the outcome of that sector or lap?”
