When a few mates over Christmas suggested we should go karting, I realised it had been over 2 years since I last went to my local track! This wasn’t good enough, so this time we actually sorted it out, and turned up at Birmingham F1K to take advantage of a £20 deal for 30 mins of track time.
Last time I was there, I’d done a few sessions close to each other, and was convinced that my 27 second lap time was as good as I could drive, and my weight was the only factor left to bring my lap times down.
That said, when I’m karting I’ve always used the brakes as a bit of an on/off switch. This worked to get the kart sliding and drifting, but, as I hope we all know by now, if your tyres are sliding you’re almost certainly going slower than you could be.
On previous sessions I’d worked at making sure I’m hitting the right lines, and there’s less than an inch between me and the edge of the track so I’m using everything I can. These things alone will help you carry speed through corners – which is vital in a kart that goes ‘off the boil’ the instant you release the loud pedal. This time, I was determined to have a go at using the brake pedal a bit more lightly and progressively.
Video here:
I was a lot faster than the others on the track – which made the passing fun, but didn’t actually give me a whole lot of clear laps. And it was all just a bit of fun, so I do like to get majorly sideways and full on the throttle through a few of the corners on the track! I also wasn’t going to shove the others out of the way and ruin their enjoyment, knowing I wasn’t going to get stuck behind them for long.
I was here to work a little and get some benefit from it, though…
I remember getting a good exit onto the start/finish straight, looking over to find the track ahead clear for most of the lap, and thinking “Right, let’s get a quick one in!”.
I scrapped the drifting, and used very delicate braking for the whole lap – just to see if I could get a faster time. This was Lap 9 – and I smashed my previously ‘unbeatable’ (for me!) time by a full second! And I still weigh the same as I did, then!
The other few clear laps I had I did the fun way – which felt faster to me, and wasn’t far off that time (a few tenths in it), but never bettered that Lap 9 time.
So, experiment concluded – keep it all in line for the best times!
Of course, I’m once again convinced that I’d need to lose weight in order to beat my best time – so it’ll be fun to go back again soon, and see if I can get under 26 seconds!
A HANS (Head And Neck Support) device goes over your shoulders and around your neck, and attaches to your helmet on each side by a short tether.
It’s an ingenious invention that has saved many lives. Basically, if you hit something had head-on, the car stops dead but your head keeps on going forwards, rotating down towards your chest before pulling your spinal column out of your brain. What you may hear referred to as a ‘brain stem injury’ or ‘basil skull fracture’. And you’re dead.
A HANS device will stop your head going forward enough that your brain will stay attached to your spine, and you’ll live.
I’ve put that bluntly, because us drivers like to gloss over safety stuff, obscure them in technical language that makes it all sound colder and less personal, or we just ignore it and hope it never happens to us.
When the HANS kit first came into racing, one of the biggest opponents to it was one of the greatest NASCAR racers ever – Dale Earnhardt. Somewhat ironically, when he hit the wall head on at silly speeds, he would have almost certainly walked away from the crash had he worn a HANS device to stop his fatal and instant brain stem injury.
“Before this point, many drivers, including Earnhardt.,[5] resisted the HANS (and similar) devices, claiming them to be uncomfortable, more restrictive and fearing that it would cause more injuries and problems than it prevented. Some stated that the positioning of the device made the seat belts feel less secure or rubbed on the shoulders or collar bone. Earnhardt himself referred to the device as “that damn noose“, claiming the tethers would sooner hang him than save him in the event of a crash. The week after Earnhardt’s death, Mark Martin said Rockingham, “I would not wear one for anything. I’ll just keep my fingers crossed and take my chances”.[5] However, drivers were not willing to participate in the process of perfecting the fit, and endure the limitations imposed by such devices.”
If NASCAR is unfamiliar to you, you may know a few of these who also may well still be with us if they’d worn a HANS: Ayrton Senna, Roland Ratzenburger, Blaise Alexander, Gonzalo Rodriguez.
Many top level formulas from open-wheels to closed wheels now have HANS devices as a mandatory requirement.
There is always talk of making them mandatory in all levels of motorsport – and it’s pretty much impossible to argue anything against this ruling.
To surprise you even more, I currently do not have any plans to use a HANS device.
I mean, if I come into some money I’d have it on the list, but at present my helmet isn’t equipped with the ‘posts’ needed to attach the tethers (I’m told you can get these fitted quickly and easily to any helmet), and my budget doesn’t stretch to the £500 or so needed to buy the kit.
Yes, I am fully aware that I’m a fool.
I’m not trying to pretend to myself that it could never happen to me, or that the chances of sticking a Formula Vee face-first into a wall are too slim, or that we’ve done without them for years etc.
Having said that, finally forcing myself to write all this out, I’m now thinking about it… It’s pretty much one race weekend fees for something that could very well mean you’ll be able to do it all again next weekend…
Do you use a HANS device yourself?
If not – why not?
***UPDATE***
As soon as I posted this I’d really decided that I’d be using a HANS device myself for racing. Plus my beautiful fiancee proved she does read my boring racing blogs, and gave me her ‘thoughts’ on the matter, too!
There are no arguments against using a HANS device.
Fellow Vee racer Ben Miloudi has also very kindly offered to lend me his HANS kit whilst he’s away from racing next year, so that sealed it all for me! Cheers Ben!
***FURTHER UPDATE***
Well, well. Today I saw from several sources that the MSA have actually made it mandatory for drivers of any single seater racing car manufactured after 01 January 2000 to wear a HANS device. This will come into effect from 01 January 2015.
They’ve also made it very clear that they recommend them for pre-2000 cars, too (Glenn’s Formula Vee Sheane that I drive would be exempt), and added that from 2016 all single seater drivers will need to be using a HANS.
This is good for all of us, and fair play to the MSA and FIA!
The original plan was to do this before jumping in the Vee, and then I would have a benchmark for driving a single seat racing car. I couldn’t book the day up until AFTER I should have had my first Vee race, but as it turned out, this all righted itself.
So I was up bright and early yesterday to be at Silverstone for 08:20 am.
The ‘Experience Centre’ is easy to find at Silverstone (just follow the signs to the right and over the bridge), and presenting a valid road license for signing on was quick and easy.
I’d taken my full race kit, but didn’t want to look like a Tit-Head, so decided to sign in and check out what everyone else was wearing/carrying. Nobody had anything at all with them, so I decided I’d use my own helmet, gloves and boots, but my three-layer race suit would be overkill. Silverstone provide gloves and helmets free of charge – but if you’ve got your own kit, you may as well use it!
There’s a half hour driver briefing with a video covering all the essentials like racing lines, flags, the track and braking and turning points/cones. It’s very good for novices, but if you hold a race licence you should really know this stuff already! The main difference from the ARDS test briefing was probably that you’re expected to do all your braking before you turn in to the corner.
Also, you can’t overtake anywhere on the track apart from on the straights and only on the left. The marshalls will show a blue overtaking flag to the car in front, who is expected to accelerate ‘more gently’ out of the corner to allow the car behind to pass safely. This does work wonders for safety, as you know nobody is going to try to come past you on the brakes, or pull a block pass mid-corner. The day works incredibly well because of this.
Next you go over to the Stowe infield circuit and meet the cars.
They’re special ‘Formula Silverstone’ cars – a 1.6 litre Ford Duratec engine and four gears on the right hand side, with treaded tyres and wings. They look the part, and I noticed the bodywork was pretty heavy duty, which I’m sure is part of having reliable cars that any old numpty can jump in and thrape around a circuit!
The cockpit was quite spacious, and much easier to get into and out of than the Sheane Formula Vee, but you felt very safe and secure even just using a four-point harness.
It’s a full racing clutch – so pretty much an on/off switch! You need to rev to around 5000rpm and very gently ease the clutch out until it punches you in the back and away you roar!
When I first slid into the cockpit I realised how much confidence I’d lost after spinning the Sheane. I had a bitter metallic taste in my mouth from adrenaline, and realised I’d put myself under serious pressure not to cock this up, and to prove that I actually CAN drive a racing car. I was much more nervous than sitting in the Vee for the first time.
All the cars went out in small groups, following single file behind an instructor in a Renault Clio. I was the lead car in my group, so headed out at what felt like a very slow pace.
Much like a Vee, you only really use first and second gears to get going, and the whole of Stowe was third and fourth gear.
After a few laps slowly building up the pace, we came into the pits, a different lead car went behind the Clio, and we went out again.
This pace was actually pretty perfect for all levels of driver. If you’re brand new to it all, you won’t be intimidated, and have plenty of time to learn the track and racing line. Even for me, once again having my Tom Cruise ‘crisis of confidence’, it settled me right down so I could concentrate on getting the feel of the grip and the responsive throttle.
Once more we came back to the pits, and then were let loose for the last 20 minutes on our own!
When you push the throttle down properly, it all gets a lot more hectic.
With the revs up you’re instantly lapping the circuit in less than half the time, and having to really stand on the brakes coming off the straights.
Out the pit lane you come down to an awkward entry to a left hairpin, with a late apex meaning you feed the power in onto the longest straight. Then you realise you’re being a wuss and squeeze the pedal more.
It’s a fair feeling of speed and a very bumpy journey as you ease the brakes on before you get to the ‘Brake Now!’ board, kicking yourself for not leaving it 50 metres later even as you slam it down to third gear and turn into the corner.
As you exit you drag it back to the left and dab the brakes again for a right hander, leading into a complex of corners all in third gear, some requiring a dab of brakes as you get later on in the session and pick up speed.
There’s another really awkward entry to the other hairpin, and it’s begging you to turn in too early, so you hold off and look for the yellow apex cone and bring it in to that, building power through a lovely left hander that snaps right onto the pit straight as you scream the revs up to fourth gear, braking hard but keeping as much speed as you can through a right-left s-bend back down to the first hairpin.
I was there to have fun, and pushed a fair bit with a few wiggles, but don’t think I ever strung a decent lap all together without hitting traffic (or missing a gear!), which I wish I’d concentrated more on, because in the debrief they hand you a printout of all your lap times!
I did ok, and I’m happy with my performance because I know there was a lot more to come.
As mentioned before, it ironed out some confidence issues both with driving itself, and also the big fear mentioned in previous blogs that my braking would be a major weak point. It wasn’t, and I was very comfortable with it, and willing to push much further than expected.
On about the only clear lap I had, I put in a 1:04, and although I did get caught in a fair bit of traffic, it looks like I got lucky with a very fast group, so didn’t get held up nearly as much as I’ve seen watching other peoples videos. That’s the chance you take with arrive-and-drive things.
So I’m feeling good about driving, and that should get me through to next years Formula Vee campaign. Shame there weren’t any spaces in the next session, or I may have had another go…
The full experience is available from Silverstone for around £199 – but you’ll find loads of vouchers, offers and cashback around to bring that down to around £140 – I bought mine through www.buyagift.co.uk. Then there’s the £20 damage waiver (it means you pay nothing if you kill the car), CD of top quality photographs for £20, and £30 for a full video of the day on a USB stick (plus you get £5 off the photographs with this). Not cheap, but welcome to motor racing!
It seems that my last post here about getting ‘race fit’ attracted a fair bit of attention.
I feel a bit bad about this, as I glossed over the specifics of what I’m doing, so anyone reading that blog won’t actually get anything of much use from it!
I did mention that running is my primary exercise. Ask any boxer what the best training is for fitness, and they’ll tell you it’s all about road work.
It’s the fastest way to lose weight, tone up, and massively improve your aerobic fitness.
I run on the treadmill, as I don’t want to terrify old Grannies on the streets as I lollop past in a wheezing splutter of sweat and stitches – or spew my guts up as I fall past the 1 mile mark in public before collapsing in a charity shop doorway.
Set a target that’s realistic to YOU! Ignore what anyone else is doing – if you want to walk for 5 mins then jog in 2 min blasts, then you do that! Likewise if your aim is to burn 200 calories, do 2km, or to just spend 20 mins on the treadmill. Just remember that you do need to keep pushing yourself further and faster to get the best results.
Breathing is often the first thing people neglect. However fit you are, however strong your muscles, if you’re not BREATHING you’re going to fade fast inside the car.
Most people will hold their breath in a stressful situation, so this is something very important to racing. I might stencil ‘REMEMBER TO BREATH!’ in the cockpit somewhere!
I basically use all the gym equipment after I’ve had my run – the bike, cross trainer (again awesome for your aerobic fitness), rower, then do 2 or 3 sets on the weights machines.
Putting on muscle will increase your weight. It will also protect you when you’re tumbling end-over-end smashing into the chassis, so don’t look at it as a totally bad thing to build!
Strengthening the core body muscles is a good idea. I’m doing squats, abdominal crunches, and neck exercises outside the gym.
My neck gets a lot of stick from riding a sports bike, so isn’t too bad for strength. When I used to play American Football I used to do the ‘wrestlers bridge’. You need to be very careful building up your neck muscles, and be warned now that this one is pretty extreme, and won’t work for all of you!
Basically, you lay on your back with legs bent. Keeping the back of your head on the floor, push the rest of your body upwards so your back arches, and then roll from back to front of your head.
Isometric exercises seem to fit well with motor racing. Because you’re working one muscle against another, this will strengthen your muscles for efficiency, rather than just for show. Personally, I also do stretches for flexibility – I’m not sure of the outright value of this for racing cars, but the more range of motion your muscles have, the less likely they are to pull or tear.
I need to pick up my free weights at home (not in the gym, staring at myself in the mirror, because I find that weird!) as I’ve noticed my arms have wasted a bit, and arm strength will be essential to wrestle the car around.
I’m no expert on all this, and even if you think my somewhat half-assed approach to a routine is too much for you, DO SOMETHING!
I’m planning on introducing short sessions to my routine by setting alarms on my phone, and doing a few crunches, squats, push-ups etc. If you do just 10 push-ups a week then you’re 10 push-ups ahead of someone who doesn’t!
You need to motivate yourself to get started – then the rest will come.
And what better motivation than living every child’s dream to be a racing driver!
14 years ago, I was at at the peak of my fitness – 11 1/2 stone with barely any fat on me, and prepped ready for a ‘no holds barred’ fighting tournament.
Sadly, after that I got a job in security, and sat there for 2 years eating free bacon from the factory canteen. This now leaves me – although not an outright fat git – at an unhealthy 13 1/2 stone with a Homer Simpson belly.
I still have the balance of a cat, and riding motorbikes keeps my reactions top-notch, but most of my muscles have faded and been covered by 37 year old chub.
Whilst I know I need to get fitter to help me race, I also need to remember that:
A) I’m not a professional racing driver, and,
B) Trying to deny myself of all the ‘bad’ food WILL NOT WORK, and is the ruination of almost everyone’s so-called dieting.
So, luckily for this realistic approach, I’ve stopped my sitting-down-eating-bacon diet long ago, and DO now eat a good, varied and balanced diet.
I’m not going to go over the top with a diet, but am already making some changes – such as snacking on rice crackers at work where I may have had chocolate or something before. These sorts of small changes all add up, and don’t let anyone tell you it has to be all or nothing.
Despite all these fad diets, there is really only one simple rule to losing weight and getting healthier:
Eat less and exercise more.
I’d like to lose 2 stone, but a realistic target is to lose 1.
My time in the gym took a knock with an ankle problem recently, but now I’m back on it.
I also know that the absolute best way to get fit is to run!
I’m not an outdoor runner, so do this by pounding the treadmill. This raises your heart rate for the prolonged period necessary, burns calories, and teaches you to control your breathing – something that is very important when hurtling around a racetrack at silly speeds.
I’ve also found that I can focus on the view from a Formula Vee cockpit as I run, visualising lapping race tracks. And THAT motivates me!
I have no real set routine, other than that. I just work the rest of the machines to try and tone up my muscles, and am working for muscle strength and flexibility rather than mass (which adds very little to racing except more unwanted weight).
I’m never going to be the lightest driver on the grid, but I think the Sheane is under the minimum weight limit, so we’ll be using ballast, anyway.
Oh, and the engine is now back in the car! Glenn has made a few changes to the rear ride height and seatbelt mountings, and from now it’s just a case of prepping everything, painting parts, and putting it all back together ready to get it out for testing!
We’re also finding that various bolts and bits can be VERY hard to find after a car has been left in pieces since 2009!
My focus is now stepping up a gear, and I shall be posting more blogs about my thoughts and what I’m doing as I get ready to take to the track!
Thanks for all the support I’m already getting from friends, family, and the other Formula Vee drivers! I’m gagging to get out there, and should do so before the end of this season!
James Cater Racing 