Race Driving Fundamentals: Practical Discussion
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Practical Discussion
04.46
| 00:00 | - Alright so we've just gone through the module on the traction circle or GG diagram and we've got Andrew here, we're going to go through some of these concepts. |
| 00:08 | Now I think Andrew it's fair to say that for most drivers that are relatively inexperienced, this is a completely foreign concept. |
| 00:16 | And I know one of the issues coming from driving on the road to driving on the track, we always were taught, at least here in New Zealand, brake on the straight before it's too late. |
| 00:27 | So I think that's what a lot of people take to the track is braking in a straight line and then the turning component is done completely off the brake pedal. |
| 00:36 | Is that something you see from a lot of novice drivers? - Yeah it definitely is, it's something that you find a lot of drivers, getting that initial brake done and then they're not, they're just waiting to get to the middle of the corner, they're not thinking about that next phase and that's where that traction circle is such a good visualisation of understanding how to break down the corner and it's a really really good visual tool to use. |
| 00:58 | - Now of course if we are going through that process and we're not combining braking with cornering, we're really taking a straight line approach from the longitudinal G force under braking, we're kind of missing out that whole portion where we're trying to ride that rim of the traction circle and instead we're going sort of straight from braking back to 0 G and then across to our lateral G so that's that big portion and that's the potential that we're missing from the tyre? - Yeah it's a huge amount of time basically that you're giving away, if you're not riding that rim and doing it properly. |
| 01:29 | So yeah getting that right and it's all well and good us talking about it but when you visualise it as I was saying before, it makes it so much easier to break it down and understand and just makes everything throughout this whole course a lot easier to understand. |
| 01:47 | - Now of course as we go through, this is fairly early in the course, we will be talking about some of these concepts in more detail such as trail braking which is where we're combining the brake and the steering as we're entering the corner which is one of the keys to help us ride that rim. |
| 02:02 | And I think another thing, understanding the concept is one thing but being able to actually see what you're doing in the car is so powerful and this is where this course really has a good combination between the driving fundamentals course and our data analysis fundamentals. |
| 02:18 | Even the most basic data package will provide a GG diagram or traction circle so as a race driver yourself, is this something you're reviewing with your own driving to see how close you're getting? - Yeah it is, it is, it's more of a tool to use when you're getting quicker and quicker understanding the car. |
| 02:37 | You use it a little bit here and there when you're looking for the last couple of 10ths but the main one is when you're really trying to break it down for newer drivers wanting to understand the different concepts, that's where I find that it really does make the difference and it's just that visualisation, it's just so key to understanding. |
| 02:55 | - I think even just having that understanding of that traction circle and the fact that the tyre can only do one thing at a time and we need to basically manipulate the amount of longitudinal force we're asking for from the tyre so that we can free up some force for cornering and then of course as we get out of the corner and we start wanting to accelerate we've got the same situation going so if we intuitively can understand that, it's going to mean that while we're out on the track, even though we can't see that GG diagram, we can understand that on the corner exist for example we need to be able to start releasing the steering wheel if we want to be able to start accelerating. |
| 03:31 | So if we're still at maximum lock, assuming that we are at maximum lateral G force, that means that we shouldn't be able to accelerate, is that something that we should be keeping in our mind? - Yeah absolutely, when you're right in the middle of the corner, you're looking at that traction circle, you're thinking which point of the traction circle I'm at, right I'm in the middle of the corner, I need as much load through the centre to get the car rotated and as you start coming off the steering and thinking about that traction circle riding around to the back and as you're basically back straight on the steering, that's where you've got all that grip again back on the back wheel. |
| 04:05 | So it is just such a cool tool and a good way to, the amount of people I do coaching with and I draw this up and then just so many lightbulb moments happen because they now understand why I've been saying this or what I've been telling them here, it's just amazing how many lightbulb moments go off. |
| 04:22 | - I mean for myself as a novice driver or a weekend warrior, whatever you want to refer to me as, basically getting an understanding of this has been really beneficial in me at least pushing my driving from being a novice up to the point I am now and it's something I do always try and keep in mind. |
| 04:39 | Alright well we've covered that topic so I think it's time to move on with our next module. |
