[atakacs]

Ok it's like this: At my last AX I was probably 6 seconds slower than the avg for my class, ESP on what was mostly a 50-60 second course. Most cars were mid to low 50s and a Z06 even ran a 49. My best was a 60. I am literally one of the slowest drivers at the event. I'm on stock tires which I know sucks, but... even when I let a buddy drive my car, he got a better time than me the 1st time ever driving it so I know it's me, not the car. I mean... there's a guy in a lightly modified CTS-V on street tires that gets better times than me!!!

I ran a few AXs last year... 3, maybe. How can I improve or practice without spending several years doing it? We get so few runs per event and then I couldn't attend the local driver's school, and I'll miss about 4 of the AX events over the summer for work as well as the EVO school. I thought about setting up some cones in a Wal-Mart parking lot after hours but I'm sure the cops would show up in no time... so I tried something different. I got a Logitech/Momo racing wheel & pedals for the PC and a few driving games/simulators like NFS and GTR2. I'm not sure how good they are at making you a better driver... unfortunately I think they made me more cautious, not more competitive.

So what do I do? I'd like to be competitive by the end of the year and recognized as the most improved this year. Do you think there's any hope?

This post has been edited by atakacs: May 11 2007, 08:21 PM

[z28tt]

When you're driving, do you notice mistakes? Things like "oh crap! I should've braked earlier, now I'm pushing through this corner, and don't have a chance to jump on the throttle early for the straight?", or does every run feel perfect until you see your time? Try running at 80%, and don't turn up the speed until you get it perfect. Only 5 runs makes it hard, but at least start slow. It's much easier to go a little faster for the next run where you've noticed there is room on the table, but if you've gone too fast and screwed up a corner, it's hard to know where to slow down more.

I always make a little map when I walk the course, with every cone. I memorize it, then run the course in my head while in staging. If you don't have to think about where to go next, you can focus on improving the driving, rather than reacting to the course. After your run, you can add notes on where your brake point is (or needs to be), turn-in, apex, where to go slow, etc... With so many corners on an autox course, it's tough to remember the corners that are critical, and messed up your last lap. This way you won't make the same mistakes twice.

Looking ahead. Your car is going where it's going, so no point focusing on the hood. Look past the current corner to the next one, so you can think on how to handle it, where to brake, etc... Videotape yourself driving, so you can see your helmet, and if you're looking ahead.

Has an instructor ridden with you? When just starting out on a complicated course, having someone there to yell - "left, left, right, BRAKE!" help offload some of the thinking so I could drive, rather than get overloaded. Have you ridden with anyone else? Get as much time in a seat as possible, even if it's as a passenger. It'll help you get more familiar with the course, and see where you need to do things.

Forget about messing with your car. Get the tire pressures so they don't roll over, and then focus on the driving. When working the course, watch how other folks go. The fastest guys usually look slow, since they're smooth. Don't toss the car around, slide it, etc... Slow in, and fast out. You don't make up time solo racing in a brake zone.