Jump to content

Photo

Hitting your Marks


  • Please log in to reply
8 replies to this topic

#1
Daniel Meade

Daniel Meade

    Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 10 posts
  • Location:Boston
  • Region:New England
  • Car Year:1990
  • Car Number:88

I'm looking to improve my consistency at NHMS. Does anyone want to share their "marks" at NHMS? I'm specifically looking for turn in marks in 6 and in 9.

 

Thanks



#2
Johnny D

Johnny D

    Veteran Member

  • Moderators
  • 6,121 posts
  • Location:Fremont, CA
  • Region:San Francisco
  • Car Year:1999
  • Car Number:88

I'll give it shot. It's worth what you paid for it.

 

I think nobody replied because everyone has their own and it changes from driving style, track condition, tires, brakes, etc.

 

For you to get better you need to be consistent lap after lap. Lap times the same. Get in a rhythm.

From there, remember what your marks are, brake, turn in, apex, exit. You have to pick something on the track.

I know that's a lot for every turn, a camera would help to review later.

 

Then start to adjust. I would only work on one turn at a time, the one you think you're doing the worst.

Adjust all above and watch your lap times. Once again if can't remember what you did on your fastest lap the camera helps.

Fast in, slow out, doesn't always work. Slow in, fast out, may work better.

Also you may want to give up some in one turn to be faster in the next if it leads to a long straight.

 

And if you're testing and you're getting tired.

You may want to call it a day or take a break.

Running tired just enforces tired driving, and that's not what you're trying to do.

 

Hope that helps,

Anybody else have something to add, I'm no coach. But I did stay at a Holiday Inn.

J~

 


  • Daniel Meade likes this
2011 NASA Western Endurance Racing Championship E3 Champ
We have a Winnah! - Won their 1st race... Congratulations! Beta-Tester - Assisted us with beta testing the website. Donor - Made PayPal donation Bona fide - A bonafide Spec Miata driver Novel Approach - When a paragraph simply won't do... Survive the 25, NASA Thunderhill - Survive the 25, NASA Thunderhill Instigator - Made a topic or post that inspired other Make it Rain - Made Paypal donation of $100+

#3
Cy Peake

Cy Peake

    Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 280 posts
  • Location:West Simsbury, CT
  • Region:NER
  • Car Year:1999
  • Car Number:7

Jerry should be able to answer your question.  I use a horizontal black line across the outside of the track for my T6 turn-in point.  Adjust for conditions.  T9 is more of a feel thing for turn-in and everyone does it differently.  The school line is to clip the turtles with the left tires, continue to the center of the track in a straight line while continuing to brake and then begin your turn-in at the center of the track.  It's not the fastest way around but can be driven consistently.  Your goal for T9 is to end up (track-out) up against the wall with the left side of the car so that you can execute a large radius for your way through T10.

 

See if this helps any (my best lap last season):

 

I'll be around this Friday if you want to come find me and do a few laps of lead/follow during a morning session.  Jerry knows where to find us.  Were you in the 88 car for the rainy SM2/STU race on Saturday afternoon over Memorial Day weekend?


-Cy
Supported by LTD Racing

2011 + 2013 NER STU Champion


#4
Alberto

Alberto

    Veteran Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPipPip
  • 1,471 posts
  • Location:Mountain View, CA
  • Region:SFR
  • Car Year:1990

Whatcha using for a lap timer?  I've gotten a lot better and more consistent ever since getting my AIM Solo.  Dumb, simple to use.  Predictive lap timing in real time is awesome.


Bona fide - A bonafide Spec Miata driver

#5
Keith Novak

Keith Novak

    Steadily Improving Member

  • SMembers
  • PipPipPipPipPip
  • 1,128 posts
  • Location:Seattle
  • Region:Northwest/Oregon
  • Car Year:1995
  • Car Number:88

One thing worth mentioning about hitting your marks...how you're looking at them can make a huge difference to where those marks are, particularly in high speed corners.  I've found that when I'm focusing on a reference point on or near the track I'll tend to lift and brake earlier than I should anticipating the braking point.  Then I immediately have to shift my viewpoint from that nearby reference point to somewhere much further down the track. 

 

As I've become a bit better (in certain corners at least) rather than focus on my brake marker I keep looking down the track through the corner and pick up my marks in my peripheral vision.  Instead of "I brake at the 1" meaning I'm coming off the gas somewhere before there and getting a good foot on the brake by the 1, I'm waiting until I see the 1 wiz by the car before going from gas to brake.  It's a good half second difference and I don't have to suddenly shift my focal point from feet in front of me to well down the track.  That's kind of key because not having to suddenly change your field of view from immediately in front to down into the corner makes it far far easier to negotiate the corner.

 

I've seen it watching my own videos (Damn, early again!) and people describe to me where they think they're braking and I know from following them that they're actually braking earlier than they think.  Point being, you can't exactly take other peoples' description of their marks at face value.  "I brake here" can mean I've already come off the gas and here is where I'm on the brakes or I don't lift until here and where the brakes actually come on is a fraction (but many feet) later.  Similarly "I turn here" could mean I don't move my hands until here or I've gone from zero to hands turned in at this point.


  • Cnj likes this
Donor - Made PayPal donation Bona fide - A bonafide Spec Miata driver We have a Winnah! - Won their 1st race... Congratulations!

#6
Adax

Adax

    Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 208 posts
  • Location:Atlanta
  • Region:ATL
  • Car Number:49

The HPDE guys place a lot of emphasis on this and it is a good tool for consistency.  Unfortunately it only works when you are alone and you will find very quickly that the pavement marks are useless when you are drafting in a train of Spec Miatas. I've personally gone off in corners because I had no idea where I was. I was so dependent on a turn-in mark that I could not see due to traffic.

 

So, if close racing is your thing, pick marks you can see in traffic.


Alan Cross

My build blog

2017 SARRC SM Champion

2016 SARRC SM ECR Champion

Donor - Made PayPal donation Bona fide - A bonafide Spec Miata driver ARRC Champion - Won the ARRC Race in a Spec Miata We have a Winnah! - Won their 1st race... Congratulations! Bona fide - A bonafide Spec Miata driver

#7
DrDomm

DrDomm

    Veteran Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPipPipPip
  • 889 posts
  • Location:Binghamton, NY
  • Region:NER
  • Car Year:2000
  • Car Number:46

What a great idea...sharing track specific driving/racing information on an amateur racing forum.  I've only been to NHMS once, so I have nothing to share.  Sorry.


  • Daniel Meade likes this
Domm Leuci
--because someone commented that we should all post our names, and not be anonymous. I agree.
Make it Rain - Made Paypal donation of $100+ Bona fide - A bonafide Spec Miata driver

#8
Daniel Meade

Daniel Meade

    Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 10 posts
  • Location:Boston
  • Region:New England
  • Car Year:1990
  • Car Number:88

Jerry should be able to answer your question.  I use a horizontal black line across the outside of the track for my T6 turn-in point.  Adjust for conditions.  T9 is more of a feel thing for turn-in and everyone does it differently.  The school line is to clip the turtles with the left tires, continue to the center of the track in a straight line while continuing to brake and then begin your turn-in at the center of the track.  It's not the fastest way around but can be driven consistently.  Your goal for T9 is to end up (track-out) up against the wall with the left side of the car so that you can execute a large radius for your way through T10.

 

See if this helps any (my best lap last season):

 

I'll be around this Friday if you want to come find me and do a few laps of lead/follow during a morning session.  Jerry knows where to find us.  Were you in the 88 car for the rainy SM2/STU race on Saturday afternoon over Memorial Day weekend?

 

Yeah, that was me Cy. I was good in 6 about 1/4 of the time. The rest is where I lost time. Just need more practice.

I got better in 9 and was actually able to catch people there.

 

Thanks for the advice. I'll check out the video.



#9
Daniel Meade

Daniel Meade

    Member

  • Members
  • PipPipPip
  • 10 posts
  • Location:Boston
  • Region:New England
  • Car Year:1990
  • Car Number:88

Whatcha using for a lap timer?  I've gotten a lot better and more consistent ever since getting my AIM Solo.  Dumb, simple to use.  Predictive lap timing in real time is awesome.

I have a traqmate with dash connected to a GoPro. So I have data & video to look for. I was just wondering what other's feedback would be.






0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users