Some very basic “rules” for track walks: Walk with no more than 2 other people, and stay focused on the track. Don’t make it a social event. Get down, get dirty. Even if it means sitting on the track surface to get the same view you’ll have behind the wheel, do it…
What I learned was that if I entered each turn just a little faster than the grip level dictated (even just half a MPH too fast), I was ready for what the car was going to do. In fact, I made the car do what I wanted it to do. I was proactive.
Do you sense the limits by feedback through the steering wheel? Yep. Do you feel the g-forces build, and then begin to reduce as the tires slides too much? Uh-huh. Does the car communicate its limit to you through your sense of balance? Absolutely.
In-car video, data acquisition / telemetry, track maps, notes, debrief forms, other drivers and engineers, instructors and coaches, observation from a corner, stopwatch / timer, track walks, TV coverage… All of these are the tools can be used to improve your driving.
Every time you finish a session, think about how the tires behaved. Did they have good grip to begin with and then began to fade? Did they gain grip with more laps? Did they give you lots of feel for the limit, or not? Could you feel them flex; was the ride over the bumps harsh?
Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. We cannot not think about something. If we think, “Don’t make a mistake,” our mind only hears, “make a mistake.” It doesn’t register the “don’t.” The harder you try to avoid making a mistake, the more likely it is that you’ll make it. How many times have you felt yourself heading for the edge of the track – and a little beyond – and tried to avoid it by steering away from the edge… only to have the car hook up and spin towards the inside of the track?