Category Archives: Formula Vee

The Donington Park Test

03 Friday Oct 2014

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The Donington Park Test

Anyone following me on Twitter and Facebook will already know that This Did Not Go Well.

Basically, the engine seized on the 3rd corner on my first ever lap, and unfortunately that means it’s season over for us!

I mentioned in my blog about the ARDS test that I have absolutely no frame of reference for driving a car on track, and although this didn’t contribute to the death of the engine, it did lead to my first spin.

I spent literally two minutes stalling the car in the paddock before deciding to hit the track and go for it.

Leaving the pit lane I dropped it into 4th (top) gear with the aim of cruising around for a few laps.  The tyres were not only cold, but hadn’t done a lap for 6 years.

It was here I also realised I hadn’t adjusted my mirrors! I couldn’t reach to sort them out properly, and could see a little, so thought I’d cruise around and pull into pit lane at the end of the lap to sort them out.

I turned through the first corner and saw some cars coming up fast behind me, and at the top of the Craner Curves a Ginetta G55 flew past me very close.  As a biker who loves filtering, this didn’t phase me, but pulling such a close pass on a Novice in the opening minutes of a test day did seem a little harsh.

No matter, I stayed in 4th through Old Hairpin, and on the exit the back stepped out.

Now, this was my first time ever driving the car.  I had no idea if I could go into that corner at 30mph or 130mph safely.  I honestly thought I was cruising at about 50% of the cars ability, so wasn’t expecting any loss of traction at all.  I took Old Hairpin FAST when I was last there on a bike!

From there it all happened very quickly.  I though it had just spun before I’d had a chance to do anything.  It was only when I watched the onboard video that I saw that I HAD corrected the slide on instinct, and kept a good constant throttle.

I’ve been drilling “Correction – Recovery” into my head for about a year.  Correct the slide then bring the wheel back to recover, so you don’t spin the other way.

The problem is I have no idea what the steering is like on this car, and as it came back into line I cocked it up and around it went.

Whee!!

I stalled it during the spin just before I remembered to get the clutch in, but caught it nicely so I ended up facing the right way and was hitting the starter button before I’d stopped spinning.

It didn’t start, so I thought it might be because I was still in 4th gear, so fumbled into first and it took a few tries before the engine roared back to life.

I felt like an idiot for spinning on a damned out-lap, but I guess I was asking too much of the car/tyres without knowing it.  

I was still perfectly calm (even with cars whizzing past me as I was stationary in the middle of the track!) and wasn’t having a flap.  I’d just take it even easier for a few laps and be ready to catch the back if it stepped out again.

I gave a stab of throttle and eased off the clutch, and it went about 10 yards and then died.

Thinking I’d stalled it somehow, I used the momentum to pull over to the right hand side of the track out the way and hit the starter button again.

*CLUNK*

I tried a few more times but just got the clunk.  I figured the battery must be dead, and got my hand in the air to let the marshalls know I had a problem.

They red-flagged the session, and I got towed back to the pits by the Wagon Of Shame feeling like a right dick-head…

Glenn knew instantly that the engine had seized, and getting a spanner on it confirmed it was locked solid…

We think it’s either a piston or main bearing, but we also had a very tight tolerance on the crank (or cam? Hell, I just drive the thing!) which could also have failed under load for the first time.

Either way, our test day was over.  And with no time in the car, even if we could get it fixed for the race on Saturday, we thought it best to withdraw our entry.

So that’s all for 2014 for me!  Gutted, but that’s racing!

We’ll make sure I get some proper time in the car to get the feel of it in early 2015, then will be able to think about doing a full season.

I hope you’ll continue to follow my progress, and thanks for all your support!

This video isn’t the proudest of my life, but I’m giving you the warts and all tale of my journey into racing, so it’s only fair you get to see this:

Testing The Waters

26 Friday Sep 2014

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Testing The Waters

We’ve had a few setbacks to our very tight, last minute testing plans.

The car wasn’t ready for Mallory Park on Wednesday.  No problem – Llandow is cheap and are bound to be quiet on Saturday, right?

Wrong.  They’re fully booked!

I did some desperation research to see if we could get testing anywhere else…

Bruntingthorpe was our original plan, but it seems they will only let you test there if you have full public liability insurance in place.  You try finding that for one day, for something that isn’t a road car!  It isn’t happening…

There are lots of small tracks around England – mainly airfield type ones.  Unfortunately, I suspect the story with them is much the same.  I think they’re all more geared up for the ‘Driving Experience’ days and corporate events that they run.

Track days are plentiful all over the UK, but what you might not know is they don’t let ‘open wheel’ cars mix it with their average customers.

Even Mallory Park’s infamous Wednesday test days run separate sessions for open and closed wheels.

I believe this was originally because of the risk of a closed wheel car riding up over a wheel and getting airborne.  That kind-of makes sense, until you have a think about open wheel cars on the track together, anyway.  Or things like Caterhams, Locosts and Ariel Atoms, which are all allowed out with closed wheel cars!

Either way it’s not going to help, though – the fact is we can’t test before Donington Park on 4th October.

Apart from the official test day on the Thursday before, right?

Umm… yeah… except I waited until I was back off holiday, and was horrified to be told it’s fully booked!

I managed to wrangle the morning, so at least that’s something.  It’s also an open pit lane (you basically go out on track when you want and do as many laps as you want), so potentially we have up to 3 and a half hours of track time available.

Then I ‘just’ have to turn up on race day and qualify…

Obviously a higher power thought I needed a bit more of a challenge!

My First Race Is Approaching!

22 Monday Sep 2014

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My First Race Is Approaching!

“Life is racing.  Anything before or after is just waiting” – Steve McQueen


After a lot of waiting as my car is being built and prepared, a lot has happened all of a sudden.

We decided to set a target of entering the last round of the UK Formula Vee Championship at Donington Park on 4/5 October 2014.  It would still be a bit tight, but having a target forces you to push, so with exactly one month to go, I paid my entry fees… and then went to Spain for a couple of weeks.

This meant that whilst Glenn was working away at the car, I still hadn’t even sat inside it yet – until only last night, with less than 2 weeks before the first race!


I was expecting the car to feel uncomfortable and awkward, and was pleasantly surprised to find it quite comfortable.  The seating position is almost perfect for me for the steering wheel and pedals, and once I’d contortioned myself around the chassis and dropped into the seat the car fit me quite well.

I did find that changing from 3rd to 4th gear means my knuckles brush against a metal tube, so will be expecting a bit of pain after a few hours pounding around trying not to cock up the right handed gear shifts.

Which leads me nicely on to testing.

We are hoping to do the morning session at Mallory Park in *panics a bit* 2 days time!  This looks a bit tight, so we may revise that and try and get a day at Llandow.  Failing that, it will have to be the test day at Donington Park 2 days before the actual race!

I’m prepared to do that, but I think things would be much better if I can have some time in the car just to get used to the feel of it.  I have no idea what to expect from a single seat race car – except that it will be very different to anything I’ve ever experienced before.

If I can get a few hours driving on my own, and be comfortable with that, then maybe I can aim to do more at Donington than stay out of everyone’s way and get the car home in one piece.

I hope to get cameras onto the car (or even a helmet camera) for the testing, so that will be up on YouTube, and will also be studied to help me improve as much as I can in this short window we have before the race.

I’m not expecting to sleep much before that!

Race Fitness – Part 2

08 Tuesday Jul 2014

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Race Fitness – Part 2

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!

Race Fitness

06 Sunday Jul 2014

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Race Fitness

I’m not built for speed.

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!

Formula Vee – The New Attack Plan

25 Monday Nov 2013

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Formula Vee – The New Attack Plan

 

So, you may have noticed my posts dried up about my start to racing.

I didn’t crash and explode in my first race, or anything exciting – in fact, I had to write off the 2013 racing season.

The Ray and the Sheane Formula Vee cars are both still in pieces.  The Ray, from the Mallory Park crash at the end of 2012, and the Sheane because we’re dropping the ride hight at the rear, and adding some extra strength to the rear of the chassis.

This all would have been done and dusted, but unfortunately, ‘life’ got in the way a bit, and due to work commitments and illness of family members, Glenn hasn’t been able to do as much to the cars as he’d anticipated.

Whilst this is frustrating for me, I fully understand and support his decisions.  He’s giving me an awesome opportunity to drive one of his cars, and so I’m more than happy to wait until next season.  I’ll also have more budget for a proper attack at Formula Vee, rather than maybe a single round or two.

Formula Vee has been in a bit of turmoil for the last few years.  It’s not something I want to go too deeply into here, because it feels wrong to talk about this to ‘outsiders’.  Basically, some competitors have been taking some liberties with the rules and/or the outright spirit of Vee as a cheap and tightly controlled series.  Many felt the 750 Motor Club were sorely lacking in the way it was all handled.

It’s no secret that a lot of the competitors were unhappy, and I know for a fact that this all contributed towards a lack of motivation with Glenn as well as some of those competitors.

However, I am now pleased to say that rules have been clarified, changes have been made, and the future for Formula Vee looks great, once again!

I’ve been to a few rounds this year, and found that rather than seeing any of the racing that I’d paid for, I spent the whole days chatting to other drivers and people from the Vee circles – literally only watching the Vee races when there was nobody left to talk to as they were on track.  The worst thing about this, is that I really bloody enjoyed it!

Looks like I’ll fit right in with them!

I have kept up my gym membership, and although I haven’t even been karting for a long time, I find visualising the view from a Vee cockpit when I’m running on the treadmill gives me a massive burst of energy.  It’s why I’m there, and if I can lose a few stone it can only be a good thing.

So for 2014 my eyes are back on the target.

There will be a race in June at Castle Coombe, which may be a good target for my first race.  It’s also Rob Cowburn’s home race, so hopefully he’ll be back in the car and we can do a 1-2 finish!

I’m thinking about grabbing one of the Experience Days whilst they’re cheap over Winter – but I’m not sure how much driving a Ferrari will teach me, and having seen the single-seater experience at Silverstone, they seemed so slowwwwww I think I’d end up headbutting the steering wheel in frustration – so I’ll have to see…

Either way, I still want it.  In the worst possible way.

car

Getting Kitted Out

03 Wednesday Jul 2013

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Getting Kitted Out

Some of you have asked me what I’ve done about racewear, and how much I’ve paid.

The Lottery winner miracle still hasn’t happened, yet, and so I’m still on a tight budget.  This has meant a compromise between buying top-quality brand new kit for safety, and taking the second-hand gamble to get stuff cheaper.

I went to the NEC National Motorsport Show early in the year, with the aim of trying on things like a race suit so I had an idea of size, and hopefully grabbing some bargains.

The ‘bargain’ thing didn’t really happen.  Instead, after going in with the idea to buy a budget 2 layer race suit, I made the mistake of trying on a good quality 3 layer suit on one of the stands…

The quality oozed through in every aspect of the suit, and even the feel.  The suit I instantly fell in love with was up for an absolute bargain of £300 – but this was way over my budget, and by some miracle I managed to resist the temptation to buy it.

What I did decide, was that I was going to spend more money on a 3 layer suit rather than a 2 layer suit.  There is a simple reason for this: if you wear a 3 layer suit, it becomes optional to have nomex underwear.  That will save £100+ straight away.

Whilst a nomex race suit IS important for safety, it’s not providing you with active protection like bike leathers do.  Unless you catch fire – and then you want every penny you have invested in it!

I’d been watching and bidding on loads of suits on Ebay, and just missed out on one before it ended unsold.  I emailed the seller to see if the suit wa still for sale – it wasn’t, but as it turned out he did have a few others for sale.

After a brief flurry of emails, and finding out exactly who this ‘Martin Byford’ fellow was, we agreed a price of £120 for one of his old suits.  It’s a 3 layer Sabelt suit.

My fiancée made the final choice between two suits, because she said one of them ‘felt lucky’.  As it turned out, it’s the suit that Martin Byford won the Renault Clio Cup with in 2007! 

Sabelt 3 layer suit, modelled by my beautiful fiancée!

The downside is I look like I’ve just fell out of the Clio Cup – the upside is that this should terrify fellow open-wheeled racers!  I need to look into getting patches to cover up the worst of the sponsors…

I did pick up some cheap Sparco gloves from the NEC show – I figured gloves will wear, so best to buy these new.  I can also upgrade to better ones when I have more cash.  They did keep my hands warm driving on Winter roads, though!  £40 from Demon Tweeks.

I won a pair of fairly tatty OMP boots from Ebay for around £25.

It doesn’t seem all that clear whether boots and gloves have to conform to regulations, but I made sure all my kit meets the 2000-8856 standard, just to be sure.

I’m considering borrowing Glenn Hays helmet (if it fits!).  It does irritate me having to buy a car helmet.  I really should be upgrading my bike helmet, as that is getting old, now, but of course motorcycle helmets don’t meet car regulations!

As an aside, the reason for this is firstly that car helmets must have nomex lining, and also because a car helmet has to be able to withstand multiple impacts such as smacking against a roll cage on every corner.  A bike helmet is built to withstand one big impact and is then scrap.

Hedtec and V2 do good quality helmets for around the £150 mark, so I’ll be getting one of these for now, if needed.  If you’re interested, I’m also looking at around £3-400 for the latest AGV bike lid, but bear in mind I’ll be wearing thsi every day and travelling much faster!

I had my beady eye on balaclavas next.

I was going to spend as little as possible here, but thinking about it, decided to shell out for a 2 layer one.  The more expensive ones also have an extra cooling function which may well be made up nonsense.  I do get hot, however, so figure I may as well go for it.  £40 to £50 should get a Sparco one with ‘X-Cool’ coating.

Looking on Ebay, I found one for £15 that had ‘only been worn once’, put my bid in, and won it!

So, the running total so far, for some top quality kit at bargain prices:

  • Sabelt 3 Layer Race Suit: £120
  • Sparco gloves: £40 (bought new!)
  • OMP boots: £25
  • Sparco 2 layer balaclava: £15

The bad news is both Formula Vee racers are still in bits, due to other aspects of life getting in the way, and my debut at Rockingham International is off.  It’s a setback, but it’s only that.  I could have made the extra effort but it would mean jumping straight onto the track with championship contenders when I’ve never even sat in the car before… So I’m planning on at least one test to get the feel of the car first.

Driving A Car On A Race Track

06 Thursday Jun 2013

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Driving A Car On A Race Track

Note: This blog was first published 21 October 2012.

“So what was it like to drive a car on a race track?”

Well, I wish I’d had more laps!

Two days after my ARDS test, I’m sat here watching the British Touring Car Championship and my adrenalin is going mental.  How can fate put me on a racing track for the first time (in a car) and then say “Well, actually you might get another go next year at some point.”?

Very frustrating!

It was essentially a road car I was in at Silverstone.  I didn’t know that they’re supposed to be pretty rapid cars until afterwards – 2 litre turbo with 225hp.  One of the hottest Hot Hatches around.  I thought it was a bit slow…

I had a Hell of a lot to take in, and many things to adjust about the way I was driving.

I made sure I was trying to use every inch of the track – keeping right to the edge on the corner entry, getting two wheels up over the curb on the apex, and then drifting out with two wheels over the exit curb where it was safe.  The racing line is where you will make up most of you time, especially on a damp, greasy circuit like it was all day long.

I know I could make up a few seconds a lap straight away on the brakes just by braking later and harder.  I could make up more seconds by pushing harder in the corners, as I had more traction to go.

But that’s where I’m kind-of in unknown territory!

I have no comparison.  I know it’s advised to go at 80% of your ability on the test, but where was I?

50%?  100%?

As I’ve never done it before I have absolutely no idea.  Thinking about it, nobody else overtook me all day – apart from two sideways Nissan 350z’s driving by those super-fast Playstation 3 Nissan GT Academy geeks.  I did try to hang on to the back of them but I just got a bit more ragged, and as soon as we hit Hangar straight their 125hp more took them well away.

https://i0.wp.com/wot.motortrend.com/files/2012/01/Nissan-GT-Academy-370Z-Oversteer.jpg

I overtook some of the others, but that doesn’t really tell me much because I don’t know how hard they were pushing.  I didn’t get a chance to actually follow anyone around, which is a bit of a shame.  Or a good thing?  Who knows!

One thing I am well impressed with, is that when the time came to string my test laps together I instantly dropped into The Zone.  A huge calm came over me, and I was totally relaxed and focused.  Even my breathing was perfect and normal – not hyperventilating or holding my breath at all.

That bodes very well for the future.  If I CAN drop into that state at will, then it means I can think clearly and feel everything that’s going on, rather than feeling rushed and having get by purely on reactions.

I’m hoping the actual feel is much better in a Formula Vee single seater.  I expect it will all feel much more accurate and less detached than a hot hatch, and I think I’m ready to have that.

Compared to a riding a bike on track… I don’t want to say driving a car is ‘easy’… but it’s far less busy.  Because I’m used to having to brake from 170+mph and deal with acceleration of 0-60 in under 3 seconds, plus having massive forces working against your whole body the whole time, actually getting a car around a track is far less challenging.

Of course, getting a car around a track faster than 30 other people will be a whole new ball game, and the difference between a respectable pace and pushing right to the performance limits will be massive.

I know now that I can at least string some solid and consistent laps together, and that’s a huge relief.

It’s a base.

I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of balls it takes to jump off that base, and what kind of rush it gives me!

https://i0.wp.com/homepage.eircom.net/~goconnor/Fvee1/driver.jpg

Taking The ARDS Test – The Morning Preparation

03 Monday Jun 2013

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Taking The ARDS Test – The Morning Preparation

Note: This blog was originally posted 19 October 2012.

“What experience do you have?”
“Loads of bike track days, and car skid control courses and, err, stuff.”
“What are you going to race?”
“Formula Vee, next season!”

That was the last moment I felt confident on the day of my ARDS test!

Luckily, not everyone there (there were about 18 of us) had done loads of car track days and stuff, so I wasn’t alone in my lack of experience, but then the instructors spent the next part of the morning basically telling us all we weren’t going to pass today.  I guess this was a good thing, as it knocked the cocky straight out of you.  Especially when you learn that Silverstone is the toughest place to pass the ARDS test (although this can also work in your favour as Race Stewards will look on you more favourably if blame needs to be apportioned for an on-track incident).

After a brief chat about the basics that we should already know (race lines, car physics, under and oversteer etc), we split into two groups – one group going off to the skid pan whilst my group were first out on the proper track.

The instructors were people I almost recognised.  If I could remember their names you’d probably know a few, too.  I clocked Ian Flux who I know from old Formula Vee and Tuscans but hadn’t seen him since I was tiny. He wasn’t my instructor, so no chance of favouritism there!

I got Neal.  If you know who Neal is, please let me know, because I didn’t get his surname, and the sheet he filled signed I never got to take home!  He was great, anyway!

So, I was literally one of the first to jump in the Renault Magane Sport test cars.  The six speed gearbox felt flawless, but, not being a car I’ve ever driven before the controls were a bastard.  The throttle was too sensitive, the brakes too sharp.  Heel & Toe was ditched immediately – I had far too much else to worry about.

We pulled out onto the Silverstone International circuit which I have never seen before in my life and began wishing I’d looked at on YouTube.  It is very fast, and not the simple 4 corner layout of the National track that I was expecting!

https://i0.wp.com/www.silverstone.co.uk/Global/Images/Circuit%20maps/Experience/Exp_map-southern.gif

So that’s all my excuses.  In the first session we did about 15 mins worth building up speed (instructor first for a few laps then me), and I realised I was In Trouble.

It was my first time EVER driving a car on a race track.  I went into 6th gear a few times when I wanted 4th, and was braking, coming off the pedal and then braking a bit more into corners.  I was feeding the steering wheel a little instead of keeping my hands at quarter-to-three.  My lines weren’t terrible, but transitions were ragged and nothing was very smooth.

There was no way I would pass unless I seriously got my act together.  And fast.

We had a second session for 15-20 mins and I was consciously trying to improve everywhere, plus looking through the corners and doing a respectable pace.

And I think pace was my biggest problem overall.  I have absolutely no frame of reference to what a fast car is on a track.

On a bike track day I’m busy all the time.  On the edge of my abilities, but not exceeding the bikes limits.

In a car it’s the opposite.  Because I’m used to thinking at 1000hp-per-tonne performance levels, cars are S L O W…

I had far too much time braking into corners.  I could have done some knitting and still made the corner.  The car felt so much slower that it almost felt like I was coming to a complete stop before the tight corners, and then waiting an eternity to get back on the power.

Once race driving is in muscle memory and I can do it all naturally without over thinking it all, this may well work to my advantage – but it was a major problem for me here.

Neil showed me a different way to hold the gear stick to improve my changes and stop getting 6th gear by accident.  Great, but this meant I had just a few laps left before the test in which to completely rewire my brain of how I’ve shifted gear on the roads for the last two years…

Next was the skid control, with the cars on cradles to simulate oversteer around a course of cones.  This was no problem for me, as I have done skid control in cars before, so was more a bit of fun getting it drifting.

Going into the lunch break I knew I’d improved a lot, but I still had a massive amount of work to do on my driving.

I put my chances of passing at 50-50.  60-40 at best.

I’d have to take 10 steps back and find a solid foundation to build on to have any more chance of passing the test today…

http://thinkingshift.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/10.jpg?w=584

ARDS Test Part 2: The Go Racing Pack

01 Saturday Jun 2013

Posted by in ARDS Test, Formula Vee, Racing, Technique, Uncategorized

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ARDS Test Part 2: The Go Racing Pack

Note: This blog was first published 06 August 2012.

I’ve now got my Go Racing Pack, and am preparing to book the test!

In the pack you get a DVD of what’s expected of you for the test, which goes over lots of regulations and flags you need to know for the test, and also a fair bit of first aid.  You get the ‘Blue Book’ of all contacts/rules/regs in the motor racing world along with some quick reference sheets for flags and handling techniques, a Demon Tweaks catalogue, and the application form itself.

Next step is to book up a day at Silverstone.

I have made a few observations along the way so far:

Although bike part prices are wayyy above car ones, when you get into car racing the balance shifts.

Car helmets? Unless you buy from overseas you’re looking at £300 for a cheapo, and most double that. Or in the thousands. Compare that to a bike lid that will do the job for £100…

And the flame retardant suits themselves? More than a set of leathers! You might scrape a cheap suit for £300, but just over £1000 seems to be about right – and that’s into custom-made super-leather jobbies on a set of bike leathers!

And then you need Nomex boots, gloves, and ideally a full set of fireproof undergarments head-to-toe.

Luckily, having just called Silverstone up directly, all you need for the test is comfortable clothing (as a lot of the day is in classrooms) and they provide an open-face helmet (so you can speak to the instructors and hear them yelling at you).  The may let me use my bike helmet, so I’ll take this along as well – mainly to try and sneak a bit of camera footage out of the day!

The other thing catching my attention at the moment is:

Heel & Toe

Every racing driver uses this technique, right?

Wrong, from what I can tell! I’m trying to find out from various sources exactly how many use it, and is it just the fastest drivers, and so far results are inconclusive.

I know championship winners who never use it, fo example.

I mean, I use the bike equivalent (blipping on every downshift), so it would make sense for me to learn heel and toe. Probably not for the test, but for the future, certainly.

I’ve said before about how driving a car is a bit boring as it’s all in slow motion compared to a bike.  Maybe this will liven things up a bit for me!

I’m enjoying watching old videos of Ayrton Senna and suchlikes working the pedals.  One thing to watch for, is if you’re learning from videos of Group B rally drivers, be aware that because of the filthy great primitive turbos they used, they’d often keep the throttle wide open as they braked.  This kept the turbo in the narrow sweet range when they got back on the power.

As a slight tangent to this, I recently learned that Ari Vatanen(?) drove the Lancia Delta S4 on the Portuguese GP circuit in 1984, and clocked a time that would have put him in 6th place at that years Formula One race!  Is that a sign of how awesome those Group B cars were, or how good their drivers were?

Do you use heel and toe in the car?